Hong Kong’s government will cut taxes for family offices as part of measures aimed at attracting the world’s wealthiest families to open or expand their presence in the city.
Tax exemptions on profits will be given to family-owned investment holding vehicles, according to a statement from the government Friday. They’ll be part of a range of measures to boost the competitive environment, the government said.
Hong Kong is trying to convince more family offices - the organizations set up by the super-rich to handle their lives and finances - to open shop in the city. That’s despite years of protests, Covid lockdowns and Beijing’s tightening grip driving some rich families to rival hubs in Singapore and Dubai.
Read more about Hong Kong’s rich hedging their bets in recent years.
These measures demonstrate “our determination to develop Hong Kong into a leading global family office hub,” said Financial Secretary Paul Chan. “Developing family office business will be conducive to pool capital from around the world in Hong Kong, bolster our financial market as well as asset and wealth management industry.”
One of the measures highlighted at the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit, being held in the Hong Kong Palace Museum, was the relaunch of its capital investment entrant scheme. More details will be provided later, according to the statement.
The need for such an event - complete with added incentives - speaks to Hong Kong’s declining fortunes. Once an easy sell to the global rich thanks to its low taxes, connectivity to China and a vibrant arts and philanthropy scene, the city has set a modest target of getting at least 200 family offices to either set up or expand operations by the end of 2025.
By comparison wealthy entrepreneurs have been flocking to Singapore, where the backlog alone of single family offices applying for tax incentives and pending approvals is around 200, according to its Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. The number of family offices in the city-state jumped to 700 in 2021 from 400 a year earlier, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.