Exclusive | China’s ‘long-term growth story’ draws European family offices to Hong Kong

Wealthy European families are increasingly interested in investing in Hong Kong and setting up family offices in the city to diversify their portfolios and tap China’s long-term growth prospects, according to BNP Paribas.

“Hong Kong has implemented a very attractive framework to develop the family office business, which is good for our clients and for us,” said Vincent Lecomte, the French bank’s global wealth-management CEO. “This is why we are very supportive of all the initiatives, ranging from tax incentives to the migration scheme.”

Wealthy clans set up family offices to handle investments, succession planning, charitable efforts and other endeavours. Over the past two years the Hong Kong government has rolled out a number of initiatives to attract them, including tax incentives and an investment-migration scheme.

“Stability is essential because family offices are set up to meet the long-term objectives that these families have to preserve their wealth, transfer their wealth and grow their wealth over several generations,” Lecomte said in an exclusive interview on Thursday during a visit to Hong Kong.

“As such, it is important to have a framework, and the Hong Kong government’s policies have gone in the right direction to support the family offices in achieving their objectives,” he added.