Exclusive | Hong Kong gains favour as platform for wealth planning, family offices in 2026: bank CEO Wealthy families will continue to use Hong Kong to set up family offices for succession planning and diversifying their investments in 2026, thanks to its vibrant market and government incentives, according to the Hong Kong CEO of Bank of Singapore. The bank, which is the private banking unit of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), has a bullish outlook after it reported very strong performance in 2025, according to Rickie Chan, who is also the bank’s head of private banking for Greater China. When Chan joined Bank of Singapore’s Hong Kong branch as CEO in February 2024, he set a high target of achieving 50 per cent growth in assets under management by the end of 2026, he said. “We achieved our goal in September 2025, one year earlier than initially targeted,” he said in an exclusive interview. “A key driver is the wealth planning business, which has seen revenue almost triple year on year as of the third quarter, as an increasing number of wealthy families from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia are using Hong Kong as a platform for succession planning and wealth management.” Between 2023 and 2030, ultra-high-net-worth families with liquid assets over US$30 million in the Asia-Pacific region were set to experience an intergenerational wealth transfer estimated at US$3.4 trillion, Chan said, citing a McKinsey report. “This will drive strong demand for private banks to help these clients in using various instruments such as trusts and insurance to facilitate the wealth transfer smoothly,” he said. “Setting up family offices in Hong Kong is also a popular option.” While many viewed Hong Kong and Singapore as competitors in the family office space, Chan said the two were complementary. “It all depends on the individual clients’ needs,” he said. “We have seen many clients set up family offices in both Hong Kong and Singapore.” “Geopolitical uncertainties and economic fluctuations have also led many wealthy clients to diversify their investment assets, he added. These clients do not want to invest solely in the US dollar, but want to diversify and invest more in Asia to leverage the region’s rapid growth. “They also want to diversify across different banks instead of just relying on US banks to manage their wealth,” Chan said. Government policies also played a role, he said. Since 2023, the Hong Kong government has introduced eight measures, including tax concessions and investment-migration schemes, to attract wealthy individuals to set up family offices in Hong Kong to manage their investments, succession planning and philanthropic activities. The measures have helped the city bag 200 new family offices since their launch, and Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu set a goal of attracting another 220 over the next three years in his annual policy address in September. “The Hong Kong government’s policies have been successful in encouraging many wealthy families to open family offices in Hong Kong to facilitate wealth planning and transfer their wealth,” Chan said. Hong Kong is also a good connector for mainland Chinese businesses to use as a platform to expand in Asia, Chan said, touting Bank of Singapore’s parent company OCBC’s extensive regional network in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong’s active stock market also makes it an ideal location for mainland businesses to invest and list their companies to raise funds, Chan said. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 28 per cent in 2025 and the city’s exchange reclaimed its title as the world’s largest initial public offering market. Hong Kong and Singapore were natural choices for affluent families with regional ties or pan-Asian investments, according to Julius Baer’s 2025 Family Barometer annual report, which tracked 2,500 family office experts in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America about their investment plans. Hong Kong has 2,700 single-family offices, while Singapore has more than 2,000. Both cities have offered tax incentives and investment-migration schemes to attract family offices in recent years. https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3338709/hong-kong-gains-favour-platform-wealth-planning-family-offices-2026-bank-ceo?module=top_story&pgtype=section (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post