HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Wang Hui and Zheng Hui, King & Wood Mallesons
Introduction Over the course of more than a century of develop - ment, Hong Kong has established itself as one of the largest cross-border wealth management centres in Asia. In today’s increasingly globalised financial land - scape, family offices have emerged as a vital tool for managing and safeguarding the wealth of high net worth individuals and their families. As an international financial hub and a premier offshore centre for the ren - minbi (the Chinese currency), Hong Kong stands out as an ideal destination for family offices to establish their operations. The unique advantages offered by the “one country, two systems” framework allow for preferential access to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) mainland market while largely preserving the city’s international characteristics. These include: • the implementation of a common law system; • the broadly free flow of capital, talent, goods and information; and • alignment with the best international regulatory and business standards. Hong Kong boasts world-class financial services that facilitate seamless connectivity with the PRC mainland capital markets, a straightforward and low-rate tax regime, and exceptional professional services and tal - ent. These factors collectively contribute to the growth and development of family offices in the region. Addi - tionally, the Hong Kong government actively promotes and facilitates family office activities in areas such as philanthropy, green and impact investing, and cultural and artistic endeavours. Recent data and analysis indicate that: • Hong Kong is now home to 12,546 ultra high net worth individuals worth USD30 million or more, globally ranking second only to New York (Altrata’s World Ultra Wealth Report 2024); and • particularly notably, Hong Kong’s private wealth and assets are expected to reach USD2.3 trillion by 2030 (Bloomberg). Furthermore, pursuant to a written reply delivered by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Bureau on 2 April 2025, around 150 family offices have confirmed that they are either in the process of pre - paring to establish operations in Hong Kong or have already decided to expand their existing presence. This underscores Hong Kong’s continued appeal as a leading jurisdiction for family offices and wealth- management services. The aim of this article is to explore the latest trends and developments related to family offices in Hong Kong. It will provide a comprehensive analysis of the diverse range of services offered within this sector, as well as an overview of the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme associated with family offices in the region. Single-Family Offices Family offices operating in Hong Kong generally adopt one of two primary structural frameworks: either fam - ily members directly hold shares in the family office, or they do so indirectly through mechanisms such as trusts, limited partnerships or other offshore entities (eg, British Virgin Islands companies). This indirect method is often employed to ensure confidentiality and facilitate strategic holding-level planning. In practice, it is increasingly popular to hold the family office through a family trust (including those governed by Hong Kong law). The trust legislation in Hong Kong is predominantly based on English law, while also inte - grating local characteristics to develop new case law and statutory regulations. In 2013, significant revisions were made to both the Trustee Ordinance (Chapter 29) and the Perpetuities and Accumulations Ordi - nance (Chapter 257) to better align with the evolving demands of the trust industry in Asia. Notably, the pre - vious provisions that prohibited perpetual trusts and excessive accumulation of income were abolished, thereby clarifying that trusts can exist indefinitely under Hong Kong law without a specified time limit. Additionally, a new chapter addressing reserved pow - ers was introduced to the Trustee Ordinance, which governs the investment and management rights that trust settlors may retain over trust assets, as well as the regulations concerning the non-mandatory inherit - ance of trust property. In March 2023, the government of Hong Kong released a “Policy Statement on Developing Family Office Busi -
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