Hong Kong Treasury Bureau: "New Plan" and Wealth Management Measures Have Achieved Significant Results, Attracting Investments Exceeding 460 Billion Demonstrating Hong Kong's Attractiveness.

On July 7th, the Deputy Chief of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong, Chan Ho-lim, spoke about the implementation of the new Capital Investment Entrant Scheme and related measures to promote the development of asset and wealth management industry. He stated that the response to the "new scheme" has been warmly received. By the end of June 2025, the Investment Promotion Agency had received over 1,500 applications, with all applications expected to bring in over HK$46 billion in investments to Hong Kong. In terms of asset and wealth management, as of May this year, over 190 family offices have been assisted in setting up or expanding their businesses in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has also attracted funds through fund optimization policies, with potential further tax incentives to enhance its attractiveness. Implementation of the "new scheme" Hong Kong currently is the largest cross-border wealth management center in Asia. According to the latest Global Financial Centres Index report, Hong Kong also ranks first globally in the field of "investment management." In recent years, the government has introduced several measures to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness as a center for asset and wealth management, to support asset owners to settle and develop in Hong Kong, and to bring more new growth momentum and business opportunities to the industry. As one of the key measures to enrich the talent pool in Hong Kong and attract more new funds, the government officially launched the "new scheme" on March 1, 2024, allowing asset owners who invest at least HK$30 million to develop in Hong Kong. Since its launch, the "new scheme" has been warmly welcomed by the industry and asset owners. As of the end of June this year, there have been 712 verified applications that meet the investment criteria, with total investment exceeding HK$21 billion. The top three categories of investments include nearly 40% in Securities and Futures Commission-approved funds, about 30% in stocks, and over 10% in bonds. The remaining investments are diversified, including investments in linked life insurance plans, open-ended fund companies, real estate investment trusts, real estate, and the "Capital Investment Entrant Scheme Portfolio." The Hong Kong Investment Management Company has appointed four fund managers for the first batch of funds in the "Capital Investment Entrant Scheme Portfolio," with an initial investment scale of around HK$860 million, targeting sectors like low-altitude economy, elderly technology, smart living, and technology-driven cultural and entertainment experiences. Following the recommendations made on the implementation of the "new scheme", the government has implemented optimization measures since March 1 this year, including relaxing the rules for net asset reviews and calculations, shortening the net asset review period from two years before the application date to six months before the application date, allowing the applicant and their family members to jointly own net assets or net capital, and allowing the investment through wholly-owned eligible private companies to be included in the qualifying investment amount. The optimization measures encourage more investors to participate in the "new scheme" and can also have a synergistic effect with the tax relief scheme for family offices, promoting the development of family office businesses in Hong Kong. Since the introduction of the optimization measures on March 1, there has been a significant increase in monthly applications, doubling from an average of more than 70 per month from March 2024 to February 2025 to over 150 per month from March to May 2025, reflecting increasing confidence in the "new scheme" among applicants and the market. The Investment Promotion Agency will continue to promote Hong Kong as the preferred hub for capital and talent aggregation globally. Other measures to support the development of asset and wealth management industry In promoting the establishment of family offices in Hong Kong, the Family Office Team of the Investment Promotion Agency has assisted more than 190 family offices in setting up or expanding their businesses in Hong Kong as of May this year. Another approximately 150 family offices are preparing or have decided to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong, aiming to achieve the goal set out in the 2022 Policy Address to assist in establishing or expanding businesses of no less than 200 family offices in Hong Kong from 2022 to 2025. It is evident that family offices and high-net-worth individuals have confidence in Hong Kong's prospects. The government is committed to strengthening the talent pool in the wealth management and family office industry, including implementing the "talent training pilot scheme for enhancing asset and wealth management industry" to cultivate more industry talents. In addition, Hong Kong has included "asset and wealth management professionals" and "asset and wealth management compliance professionals" in the "talent list" to facilitate the entry of outstanding professionals in related fields to Hong Kong. Other measures to support the development of asset and wealth management businesses include: optimizing the Mainland and Hong Kong mutual recognition of funds arrangement; supporting the listing of qualified alternative asset funds in Hong Kong and supporting Trillions of MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) funds to invest in private equity funds approved and listed in Hong Kong by the MPFA (Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority). Hong Kong will further optimize the tax concession schemes for funds, single family offices, and carried interest, with detailed proposals expected to be formulated within this year and legislative proposals to be submitted to the Legislative Council for consideration in 2026. If passed, these measures will take effect from the 2025/26 tax year. Additionally, the government has implemented a company re-registration mechanism in Hong Kong since May 23, making it simple and convenient for companies to re-register. Hong Kong will continue to promote and attract more overseas companies and family offices to settle in Hong Kong, making the Hong Kong market a treasure trove for businesses.