European wealth turns to Hong Kong as 30 family offices eye operations in the city Around 30 European family offices have expressed interest in establishing operations in Hong Kong, drawn by the city’s tax incentives and growing optimism about the prospects for China’s technology sector and Hong Kong’s property market, according to InvestHK and industry participants. Jason Fong, InvestHK’s global head of family office, said the government agency was assisting 30 European family offices that had indicated plans to set up in the city, accounting for about 19 per cent of the 160 family-office cases currently being handled by InvestHK. Hong Kong’s family office sector has expanded rapidly in recent years. A Deloitte study found that the number of single-family offices in the city rose 25 per cent over the past two years to about 3,384 by the end of 2025. Fong said European families were expected to contribute to the next phase of growth. “We also maintain close ties with European families. Several Italian families travelled to Hong Kong to attend the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit 2026 in March and subsequently engaged in in-depth strategic dialogues with us, during which they expressed strong interest in investing in Hong Kong,” Fong said in a written interview with the South China Morning Post. “For European families seeking new growth momentum, Hong Kong offers something that has become remarkably rare: certainty, resilience, stability, innovation and opportunity in a single jurisdiction,” he said. “Hong Kong also functions as a bridge. European families can directly link their existing businesses and family offices to the opportunities across Asia through Hong Kong.” Government promotion efforts, including European roadshows led by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and InvestHK officials, have helped raise Hong Kong’s profile among wealthy European families. At the same time, geopolitical tensions have prompted some investors to reassess their global allocation strategies, according to Jennifer Chan, co-founder of Orientis, a French consultancy that advises high-net-worth European clients. “Traditionally, European family offices tend to like to invest domestically, or they may invest in the US and the Middle East,” she said. “However, in recent years, they have started to invest in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia to capture the growing opportunities in the region. “Geopolitical tensions in recent years, especially the Middle East war that started in late February, have made Hong Kong look even more attractive – the city is more stable and safer than many Middle East cities.” Orientis has arranged eight tours to Hong Kong for wealthy families from Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy over the past 18 months, introducing clients to investment opportunities in the city. Chan said some of those clients subsequently established family offices in Hong Kong. Since 2023, the government has introduced a range of measures to encourage wealthy families to choose Hong Kong as the base for their family offices – firms that manage investments, succession planning, art collections and charity efforts. “Hong Kong’s tax incentives are attractive for these family offices, as the threshold is low enough that most wealthy families can meet it and at the same time they can use the city as a base to invest in Asia,” she said. Hong Kong has waived its 16.5 per cent profit tax on earnings from stocks and bonds for single-family offices that have an investment portfolio valued at HK$240 million (US$30.8 million) or more, employ two staff in Hong Kong who may or may not be locals, and incur annual operating expenses of at least HK$2 million. Chan said the number of family offices from Europe setting up in Hong Kong would continue to grow, with the government set to submit this month a law change to expand the tax exemption to include more investment products. Hong Kong overtook Switzerland as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub last year, with US$2.95 trillion in cross-border wealth booked here, compared with US$2.94 trillion in Switzerland, according to Boston Consulting Group last month. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3356945/european-wealth-turns-hong-kong-30-family-offices-eye-operations-city?pgtype=live (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post