Wealth for Good summit: Hong Kong launches project linking charities with donors as part of latest charm offensive to lure global capital and talent Hong Kong is set to launch a database that will connect donors with charity projects, as the city strengthens its ability to assist family offices in their philanthropic efforts. The project was announced at the annual Wealth for Good Hong Kong Summit, which brought together the global heads of ultra-rich family offices and their advisers. “Impact Link”, or iLink, will come under the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy and will initially focus on healthcare, early biotech research, poverty alleviation and youth empowerment projects. The project will serve as a comprehensive database, displaying charities in need of financial support, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said during a gala dinner on Wednesday. “By enabling meaningful connections between these projects and potential donors, we hope to expand transformative philanthropic ventures,” he said. “And, in doing so, [we will] reinforce our role as a global philanthropic hub for family offices. “It underscores Hong Kong’s determination to harness its strengths and resources to drive positive change on a global scale, to assist family offices in using ‘wealth for good’.” The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Fondation de France Asia, the Institute of Philanthropy empowered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Yidan Prize Foundation are among some of the charities that have joined iLink so far, Chan said. The University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong will take up advisory roles on life science-related projects. The summit was expected to bring together more than 400 key decision makers and professionals from leading family offices, according to the government, significantly larger than the 100 guests it hosted at the inaugural event last year. They will be here “to learn more about Hong Kong, about why Hong Kong is the pre-eminent choice” for their family offices. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, Hong Kong’s leader, said at a welcome dinner on Tuesday, before the summit kicked-off a day later. Hong Kong provides the ideal environment for family offices to thrive, he added. Lee hosted guests that included UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti and the LGT chairman, Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, at a six-course dinner at Sky100 at the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon. The dinner was followed by a dragon dance performance. The Hong Kong government is sparing no efforts to bolster the city’s role as a family office hub, with competition from other regional financial hubs intensifying. The stakes have increased over the years, with the city overcoming a recession during the Covid-19 pandemic even as foreign capital and talent fled to other alternatives in Japan, India and Singapore, among others, for higher returns. These efforts are yielding early results. FamilyOfficeHK, the agency spearheading the initiative, has helped nearly 60 family offices set up shop in Hong Kong over the past year, Lee said, adding to an estimated pool of 2,703 single-family offices in the city. Another 100 have indicated their interest in expanding their presence in Hong Kong, he added. Wednesday’s programme included a full-day conference at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong hotel in Wan Chai, which ran under the theme of “growing with certainty amid growing uncertainty”. Other major topics included green technology, luxury and legacy, philanthropy and wealth legacy and wealth creation. “You have to establish a platform now, a conduit now, a road now, to access China – and Hong Kong is the premier hub for global family offices,” Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development, said during a panel discussion. “To establish your family office here is also a commitment that you want to look into China in the next five to 10 or 15 years. Other headline speakers included David Wertheimer of Chanel family, Caroline Scheufele, whose family owns Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweller Chopard, and Angelo Zegna, whose family owns the namesake Italian luxury brand. The summit coincides with a slew of business and cultural events in the city. Art Basel and Art Central were launched earlier this week, and are expected to attract thousands of visitors, including wealthy art collectors. https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3256958/wealth-good-summit-hong-kong-fetes-guests-latest-charm-offensive-lure-global-capital-and-talent (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post