Family Office News Asia

Tag: Hong Kong

  • From Entrepreneurs to Dynasties: The Family Office Boom Reshaping Southeast Asia

    From Entrepreneurs to Dynasties: The Family Office Boom Reshaping Southeast Asia

    Southeast Asia is experiencing an unprecedented surge in family office establishments, driven by rapid wealth creation, generational transitions, and favorable regulatory environments.

    This growth represents a fundamental shift in the region’s wealth management landscape, with significant implications for capital markets and economic development.

    Quantitative Growth Metrics

    The expansion of family offices across Southeast Asia has been remarkable in scale and velocity.

    The number of single-family offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, the hubs for such entities in Asia–Pacific, has quadrupled since 2020 to about 4,000 across both jurisdictions.

    Singapore alone demonstrates this explosive growth trajectory, with single family offices growing from just 400 to 1,650, with expectations that new additions in 2024 will surpass the 300 added in 2023.

    This concentration is further evidenced by Singapore’s dominant market position, where 59% of family offices in Asia are located in Singapore, with over 2,000 family offices representing a 43% year-on-year increase.

    The regional impact extends beyond these financial hubs, with family offices now accounting for a third of the region’s investors, up from a fifth in 2020.

    Wealth Creation Drivers

    The proliferation of family offices directly correlates with Southeast Asia’s wealth expansion. The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) in Southeast Asia, defined as those with over US$30 million in assets, grew by 7.5% year-on-year, outpacing North America and Europe.

    This growth has been particularly pronounced in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, driven by booming real estate, tech entrepreneurship, and family-owned conglomerates.

    The broader economic foundation supporting this wealth creation includes substantial economic growth over the past decade, propelled by factors such as foreign direct investment, urbanization, and infrastructure development in countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.

    Additionally, Asia-Pacific private capital grew at 13% CAGR between 2013-2023, fastest compared to other regions.

    Investment Evolution and Market Transformation

    Family offices are reshaping investment patterns across Southeast Asia. The proportion of private market investments rose to over 30 percent in the first half of 2024, up from 18 percent in 2022, with growing investor interest in real estate and infrastructure opportunities in emerging markets.

    This shift demonstrates the sophisticated investment strategies these entities are employing.

    A critical driver behind the family office boom is generational transition.

    Many of Asia’s first-generation wealth creators are now moving businesses or capital to the next generation, with second-generation leaders seeking more governance, strategic planning and professionalisation in how their family’s wealth is managed.

    This transition is supported by advanced planning capabilities, with 65% of APAC family offices having succession plans, significantly ahead of their global counterparts.

    The trajectory suggests continued robust expansion in Southeast Asia’s family office sector. The convergence of wealth creation, favorable regulatory frameworks, generational transitions, and sophisticated investment demands positions the region for sustained growth in this sector.

    This development signifies not just a shift in wealth management preferences, but a fundamental evolution in how ultra-high-net-worth families approach capital preservation, growth, and succession planning across Southeast Asia.

    The data indicates that Southeast Asia’s family office sector has moved beyond emergence into a mature, rapidly expanding ecosystem that will continue to influence regional capital flows and investment patterns in the years ahead.

    FamilyOfficeNewsAsia.com

  • Hong Kong Set to Benefit as Family Office Hub Amid Surge in ESG Investments

    Hong Kong Set to Benefit as Family Office Hub Amid Surge in ESG Investments

    Hong Kong is positioned to gain as a family office hub and impact investment center as wealthy families increasingly embrace environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments, industry observers said.

    A new survey showed ESG investments account for at least half the portfolio of nearly 20% of family offices globally, while 60% of these wealth management entities have allocated at least 10% of their investments to ESG-related projects.

    The findings, released by the Hong Kong-based Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI), suggest family offices – entities established by wealthy families to manage investments, succession planning and philanthropy – are demonstrating “real and genuine commitment to sustainable investment,” said SFI CEO Katy Yung.

    “These figures demonstrate that family offices have not only maintained their focus, but have also refined their strategies to capture the twin benefits of social impact and robust returns,” Yung said.

    The survey of 144 family office representatives from 15 countries was conducted during SFI’s Impact Summit in Hong Kong in May.

    Hong Kong’s status as a financial hub stands to benefit from this trend, according to Tom Chan Pak-lam, permanent honourable president of the Institute of Securities Dealers.

    “The Hong Kong government has been promoting both family offices and sustainable investments in the city in recent years,” Chan said, noting that mandatory ESG disclosures by all listed companies make it easier for family offices to identify impact investment targets.

    The city’s stock market surge – with the Hang Seng Index up 29% this year following an 18% gain last year – has enhanced its appeal.

    Hong Kong also reclaimed its position as the world’s largest initial public offering market in the first eight months of 2025.

    Family offices are increasingly prioritizing nature-based solutions such as reforestation and regenerative agriculture, the survey showed. Food and agriculture dropped to second place from last year’s top ranking, while healthcare came third.

    The Asia-Pacific region emerged as the preferred investment destination for 42% of family offices, followed by Africa at 16% and Europe and North America at 15% each.

    Two-thirds of family offices expect to achieve their sustainable investment goals this year, though 37% anticipate missing their targets.

    For ESG investments, family offices favor alternative strategies, with 25% preferring private equity, 22% choosing direct investments, and the remainder using grants and loans, according to the survey.

    FamilyOfficeNewsAsia.com

  • BNP Paribas Bets on Asia’s Family Office Boom with Dual Wealth Hubs

    BNP Paribas Bets on Asia’s Family Office Boom with Dual Wealth Hubs

    Family offices across Asia are reshaping global wealth management practices as entrepreneurs and multigenerational families seek more sophisticated solutions for succession, governance and alternative investments, according to BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

    BNP Paribas, which operates regional hubs in Hong Kong and Singapore, is positioning its “One Bank” model to capture the region’s expanding wealth base. The bank says it is seeing rising demand from both first-generation entrepreneurs in China, who are focused on diversification and business continuity, and more established families in Hong Kong and Singapore seeking global portfolios and complex succession planning.

    “Asian families are not only writing a playbook rooted in tradition, they’re firmly establishing themselves as future global leaders in wealth stewardship,” said Lemuel Lee, head of wealth management for Hong Kong.

    According to the 2024 Asia-Pacific Family Office Report, published with Campden Wealth, Asian family offices now lead globally in structured succession planning, blending cultural heritage with international best practices. Direct private investments in sectors such as artificial intelligence, healthcare and renewable energy are gaining ground as families diversify beyond public markets.

    BNP Paribas has bolstered its capabilities with the acquisition of AXA Investment Managers, bringing total assets under management to €1.5 trillion (US$1.76 trillion). “The benefits include unparalleled access to private market opportunities, deep sector expertise, and innovative solutions that reinforce our commitment to supporting Asia’s entrepreneurial families,” Lee said.

    Arnaud Tellier, Asia Pacific CEO at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, said the bank’s dual hubs offer clients flexibility across Greater China and Southeast Asia. “Each hub offers distinct strengths, but together they provide seamless access to the region’s most important financial centres,” he said.

    With a growing client base spanning three generations, BNP Paribas is extending its services beyond investment advice to include inheritance design, corporate governance support and education for heirs. “We see Asian family offices not merely as clients but as strategic partners in shaping a more connected, resilient, forward-looking wealth ecosystem,” Lee said.

    FamilyOfficeNewsAsia.com

  • Hong Kong Family Offices Call for Urgent Regulatory Framework to Compete with Rivals

    Hong Kong Family Offices Call for Urgent Regulatory Framework to Compete with Rivals

    Wealthy families and financial service providers in Hong Kong are calling for urgent regulatory reforms to help the city’s family office sector compete more effectively with global rivals for managing ultra-high-net-worth assets.

    The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region needs a solid regulatory framework to build trust and attract wealthy families from mainland China and overseas to establish wealth management offices in the city, according to Mahesh Harilela, family council convenor of the Harilela Group.

    Harilela, whose family represents one of Hong Kong’s most prominent Indian business dynasties with a century-long track record in trade and hospitality, said creating a regulatory framework aligned with family offices would build on Hong Kong’s core competencies in investment management.

    Hong Kong currently manages around $1.3 trillion in offshore assets through more than 2,700 family offices, matching Singapore’s asset levels despite having significantly more offices than Singapore’s fewer than 2,000.

    Gregg Li, an honorary member of the Center for Family Business at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the sector urgently requires regulatory clarity, institutional support, talent development, professionalism and a strong brand identity to compete with other global family office hubs.

    Li, who also serves as an ambassador and researcher at the University of Hong Kong’s Laboratory for Space Research, noted that family offices in the city are seeking investment opportunities in technology and innovation industries, particularly where commercialization prospects are strong in the Greater Bay Area.

    The SAR government has allocated HK$1 billion ($128 million) for AI and high-tech project commercialization in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

    Li said Hong Kong has been a trusted broker because its professionalism makes the city a good bridge between mainland Chinese and Western standards in traditional business trade sectors, adding that the city is positioned to become a hub for data transactions and high-tech project financing as the big data and space economy expand.

    Despite the establishment of Family Office HK under InvestHK in June 2021 to promote the city as a family office hub, recent research by the Chinese University of Hong Kong Family Business Center found the sector is at a crossroads.

    The study, co-authored by Marshall Jen, director of the CUHK Center for Family Business, and Li, identified the need for more structured training regimes and ecosystem development to enhance industry professionalism – key factors for Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a family office destination.

    The research recommended a robust ecosystem supported by public-private partnerships to improve service quality and stakeholder collaboration as the sector seeks to mature and support growth in asset management and diversified high-tech investment portfolios.

    FamilyOfficeNewsAsia.com