Middle East family offices on agenda for Hong Kong officials, bureau says while steering clear of mentioning Dubai’s Sheikh Ali Al Maktoum
- Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau says recent ‘talk of the town’ shows there is a general lack of understanding about family offices
- Bureau says Hong Kong welcomes family offices of all asset sizes and will not intervene in their investment decisions
Officials are planning another visit to the Middle East in a bid to attract family offices to Hong Kong, the government has said, stressing that such wealth management firms do not require approval locally amid controversy over a Dubai prince’s commitment to investing in the city.
The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau also said in a social media post on Saturday that recent “talk of the town” showed a general lack of understanding about family offices, but steered clear of mentioning Sheikh Ali Rashed Ali Saeed Al Maktoum.
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In a post presented in a question-and-answer format, the bureau said Hong Kong welcomed family offices of all asset sizes and would not intervene in their investment decisions.
“The establishment of a family office in Hong Kong does not require special government approval, and the government does not invest in or provide financial assistance to individual family offices established in Hong Kong,” it said.
“It is entirely up to the family office to decide which investment projects an individual family office will undertake in Hong Kong.
“The government will not be involved in its investment decisions. As long as they are compliant, Hong Kong will welcome them.”
