00:00And just now, most of the speech covered by Bing covers financial services or family offices.
00:07But I must say, as we see things now, it's worthwhile to go a little bit further
00:13in terms of how this whole journey has started in terms of Hong Kong building a family office ecosystem.
00:20Without boring all of you, if you recall, the year 2023,
00:24this government issued a policy statement on how we want to develop Hong Kong as a family office ecosystem.
00:30It was a time when we have COVID, and also at the same time,
00:33there was a lot of uncertainty about how the world may unfold.
00:37But against that backdrop, we have eight measures being introduced,
00:40including tax concession for family offices, a capital immigration scheme,
00:45the decision to set up an academy for wealth legacy,
00:48and at the same time, ways to streamline our approval process for charities in Hong Kong.
00:54And since then, till now, four years have passed.
00:58And at the year 2023, when we launched the policy statement,
01:02it was also the very first year we hosted the Wealth for Good Summit.
01:06So it was a time when nobody knew exactly what it is,
01:09because it was a time when people thought most wealthy individuals or families
01:14want to stay low profile, so they don't want to be seen.
01:18So I was warned by many people around me that the summit's going to be a failure
01:22because they don't want to be seen, they don't want to be heard,
01:26and that's why no one will come.
01:28But that said, we had a very successful inaugural event in the year 2023,
01:33and at the same time, that time goes on, now we come to the fourth edition.
01:37So as I highlighted, it's really a journey.
01:39So after 2023, you may wonder what happened.
01:41Just now, Bing mentioned about our collaboration.
01:44And it's exactly in the year 2024, the year thereafter,
01:48that we have a family office nexus with Bloomberg,
01:52in terms of articulating what Hong Kong's proposition is for family offices,
01:56and also in particular, what each other can offer to each other
02:00in terms of growing this ecosystem.
02:01So if I may recall, actually before that nexus collaboration,
02:05I had the opportunity to meet Michael, and also Kevin,
02:09back then in New York, and thanks to Bing's arrangement.
02:12What I impressed most are two things.
02:14First of all, Michael is really a person that's very approachable.
02:20So I recall that when I went to his office,
02:22it was just like a normal desk for a clerk, really.
02:25I thought I was in a waiting room,
02:27and actually it's not waiting, it's his office.
02:30So he served me tea and fruits, and I still remember that.
02:33That's number one.
02:34And number two is the fact that he has a lot of insights,
02:38in particular, how he can put his personal wealth and energy
02:41to good causes, in particular his foundation.
02:43So it actually inspires me a lot,
02:45in terms of what family offices can do,
02:48not just for wealth preservation or creation,
02:51but more in particular, what you can do for the community.
02:54And thereafter, thanks to Bing, and also thanks to Kevin,
02:57we have this arrangement where we have this nexus,
02:59and then, soon after that, we have this rulebook issued by Bloomberg.
03:06Basically, a one-stop shop on the Bloomberg terminal,
03:10allowing everybody who would like to learn about Hong Kong's licensing
03:13of requirements for family offices,
03:16the investment landscape in Hong Kong, and other information,
03:19you can get access to that.
03:20So I was told there's a lot of entries,
03:24and also, at the same time, a lot of usages in that rulebook,
03:27which is promising and also enlightening.
03:30And that said, soon after, 2024 with 2025,
03:34and during that year, I think that we have a number of good newses.
03:37Number one is that we announced there are 2,700 single-family offices in Hong Kong.
03:44What I want to clarify is that even though we fixate on that number,
03:48it's not just the number that we get from our Invest Hong Kong.
03:53It's actually include the number that Deloitte,
03:57which is the independent consultant that we asked to do this research,
04:02provide us with in terms of single-family offices in Hong Kong,
04:04and it hasn't included the multiple-family offices in Hong Kong.
04:07So that's why the ecosystem, in terms of number,
04:09is actually bigger than 2,700.
04:12That's number one.
04:12And number two, if you look at how we have come about,
04:15as I say, the journey, since 2024 and 2025,
04:19just very recently, in the early part of this year,
04:21we announced another figure, which is 3,380,
04:26which represents a 680 increase in the number of family offices,
04:29and also almost 25%.
04:31And that number, again, is just a number that was given by an independent survey,
04:36and we expect the number to be more,
04:38because the reason that we have this number is we didn't really count
04:42for other family offices, which has come by without government support.
04:46So many of them just come here, get their company listed,
04:49and form a family offices, and actually we don't really know.
04:51But that said, I think the 3,380, which is a quite auspicious number,
04:56is a good indication in terms of how vibrant and also how robust we have
05:00as an ecosystem for family offices.
05:03And also at the same time, I think one thing that we all try to do throughout these years is,
05:07apart from the number we want to grow,
05:09we also want to make sure that the family office system,
05:12as it grows, is benefiting the overall community.
05:15That's why in a later survey,
05:17apart from indicating this number of 3,380 single family offices,
05:21we also have a few figures.
05:23First of all, is that we estimated there are around 10K, 10,000 individuals,
05:29or professionals, working in this sector in Hong Kong.
05:32I suppose most of them are here,
05:33so raise of hands if you are working for family office here,
05:37I suppose, one day or another, or indirectly.
05:39At the same time, there's another figure that we produced,
05:42is that annually, we expect the family office ecosystem
05:47is benefiting Hong Kong in terms of GDP around like $13 billion Hong Kong dollars.
05:52So again, we want to illustrate,
05:54family office is not just an elite group in Hong Kong,
05:57but rather, it is penetrating and benefiting the overall community.
06:02And of course, being journalists and being Bloomberg,
06:05you are all very critical people,
06:07and every time I quote this number,
06:08people will ask, okay, a good number to quote,
06:11but that said, how about the size,
06:13the AUM of these family offices?
06:17And I can also share with you in this report
06:19that we estimated, among these 3,380 single family offices,
06:24more than half are managing assets, or AUM,
06:27beyond $50 million US dollars.
06:29And the smallest that we get is around $10 million US dollars.
06:32So I would say, it is really a quite indicative report
06:35in terms of how the ecosystem has been faring,
06:38at the same time, how it has grown about
06:40developing this financial service area.
06:43So this is how we, where we are now, this number.
06:46So, but next question to ask, being journalists,
06:49I'm trying to put myself in your shoes,
06:50is how about going forward, right?
06:52Where should we go from here?
06:53And it's my firm belief that we should really
06:56get our family office 2.0,
06:58or this ecosystem, deeper and more integrated.
07:01I think it should be integrated or deeper in three senses.
07:04Number one is to get the local,
07:07or the very indigenous family offices in Hong Kong,
07:10try to be more integrated with the regional and global ones.
07:12And it's very initiative in our Wealth for Good Summit
07:15that we took place yesterday,
07:18that we have a very good dialogue
07:19among the long-established family offices in Hong Kong,
07:22like Haisen, with the new ones,
07:25or with the very well-established ones from Germany.
07:28For example, we have Leica,
07:30and also at the same time from Europe and US and Australia.
07:33So this is number one,
07:34in terms of integration that we want to see.
07:36Another type of integration is to see how family offices
07:39can get more embedded in different economic
07:42or financial activities of Hong Kong,
07:44including light technology,
07:46in terms of green,
07:48in terms of social enterprises, etc.
07:51And that's why I suppose the reason
07:53that Kevin and Bing are having this conference
07:55is to make sure that these topics
07:57will basically penetrate throughout this coming summit.
08:00The final integration that I want to see
08:03is that the ecosystem is not just benefiting
08:06the so-called Wall Street,
08:08but also the broader Wall Street.
08:11That's why philanthropic activities are so essential.
08:14And in that regard,
08:15right now we have more than 10,000
08:18registered charities in Hong Kong,
08:19and we are looking forward to see more.
08:21In particular, we are very eager to see
08:23how this family office ecosystem
08:25can really benefit the underprivileged in the community.
08:28That's why the Academy for Wealth Legacy
08:31that we set up a few years ago
08:32is very eager to see how we have
08:34all these kind of local and regional charity projects
08:37coming together,
08:37share experiences,
08:39learn from each other,
08:40and also encourage more similar acts
08:42by family offices here
08:43and also regionally and globally.
08:45Right now, they have engaged
08:46around 700 family participants,
08:49and I definitely want to push them to do more.
08:51And in that regard,
08:52I look forward to a further collaboration
08:54with Bing and Bloomberg
08:56to get this ecosystem more integrated,
08:59deeper in the three senses I mentioned,
09:01East and West,
09:04finance and other economic activities,
09:06and also at the same time,
09:07finance with the broader social
09:09and also the philanthropic endeavors.
09:13So I suppose my time is up
09:15because I saw the right light is flashing,
09:16and also at the same time,
09:18I look forward to more insight
09:19and also more sharing
09:20from the speakers to come.
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