US family office Avestar Capital has opened a Singapore hub, positioning the city-state as its Asia-Pacific base as it expands beyond the United States. The new entity, Avestar Singapore Pte. Ltd., will be led by Zal Devitre, a wealth management executive with more than two decades of international experience, the firm said. Founder and chief executive Xerxes Mullan said Asian ultra-high-net-worth families increasingly require cross-border advice that integrates investment ma

Hong Kong investment volumes rose 12% to HKD39bn (USD5.0bn) in 2025, with momentum accelerating in the fourth quarter as pricing turned more attractive, property consultancy Colliers said. Fourth-quarter transaction volumes surged 65% from the previous quarter, supported by three US Federal Reserve rate cuts totalling 0.75 percentage points and positive wealth effects from gains in the Hang Seng Index. Large transactions dominated activity, with 85 deals above HKD100m, mainly

Vietnam’s 2026 growth outlook will hinge on a recovery in domestic consumption, effective policy execution and sustained public investment, analysts said. Nguyen Xuan Thanh of the Fulbright School said household spending remains the biggest uncertainty, although industrial-zone employment is improving and tourism-related services are rebounding. A stronger social safety net and concrete reforms could help restore confidence, he said. Vietnam public investment will remain a ke

Thailand has indicted members of the Phornprapha family in a high-profile Thailand stock manipulation case involving More Return Plc. Prosecutors said Akapat “Kim” Phornprapha, Athipat Phornprapha and Orapin Phornprapha were charged over alleged coordinated trading that distorted MORE’s share price and volume between July and November 2022. The court denied bail, citing the seriousness of the allegations, estimated investor losses of THB4.5bn (USD127m) and flight risk after t

UBS hosted the UBS Asia Wealth Forum in Singapore, bringing together more than 2,000 clients, investors and industry leaders, underscoring the growing importance of Asia in global wealth and family office strategies. The UBS Asia Wealth Forum, which concluded on Jan 12, featured speakers including former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman, Oaktree Capital co-CEO Armen Panossian and Gavekal CEO Louis-Vincent Gave, the

Ares Management is expanding its Hong Kong office footprint in Central, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the city as global asset managers seek higher-quality space. Ares will add about 12,500 square feet in Gloucester Tower, where it has been a tenant since 2017, with the new lease taking effect in March, landlord Hongkong Land said. The Ares Hong Kong office expansion comes as financial firms upgrade premises in the core business district. Hongkong Land said banks an

Singapore has defended the performance of its sovereign wealth funds, saying Singapore sovereign wealth fund returns from GIC and Temasek are reasonable and within expectations despite criticism. Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow told parliament that comparisons with global peers should account for different mandates and risk profiles, with Singapore prioritising long-term results over short-term swings. He said GIC’s risk-moderation measures ahead of potentia

Taiwan has ended its longest-ever market-support operation after the Taiwan stabilization fund intervention concluded, citing improved trading conditions and restored investor confidence. The Taiwan stabilization fund intervention deployed a cumulative NTD12.25bn (USD387m) since April 9, 2025, generating a return rate of 52.56% and an unrealised profit of NTD6.44bn as of last month, its executive committee said. The 279-day programme was launched to stabilise markets amid glo

Rising costs and family disputes are driving an increase in family office closures, advisers say, even as the sector continues to expand in the United States. There were nearly 3,200 single-family offices in 2024 managing USD1.3tr, according to Deloitte estimates, but for some families the overheads are increasingly outweighing the benefits, particularly those with USD250m to USD750m in assets. Advisers point to intense competition for experienced staff pushing up compensatio

Asian household cash holdings remain unusually high, with households often keeping 50% to 55% of net worth in cash and deposits, far above the roughly 15% typical in the United States and Western Europe, business magazine CEO World reported. The conservative approach reflects memories of past crises, uneven social safety nets and limited access to trusted investment products. However, this stance is beginning to ease as incomes rise, capital markets deepen and digital investm

South Korea FX market reform is set to accelerate after authorities said the country will open its onshore foreign-exchange market to 24-hour trading from July, loosening long-standing restrictions as it seeks an upgrade to developed-market status from MSCI. Since the late-1990s Asian Financial Crisis, South Korea has maintained tight currency controls, with MSCI citing limited FX market access as a key obstacle to reclassification. Vice Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said of

China offshore income tax enforcement is being stepped up as authorities seek to shore up strained public finances by targeting undeclared overseas income, Bloomberg News reported. Tax officials in multiple cities have contacted individuals identified through “big data” analysis and asked them to self-declare offshore income for 2022–2024, calculating back taxes typically at a 20% rate on capital gains and dividends, plus late-payment charges. A new rule due in March would al

Vietnam’s central city of Da Nang is positioning itself as a new regional finance hub after granting membership certificates to 16 organisations and financial institutions for its planned international financial centre. City authorities also issued letters of interest to three commercial banks and an international holding group, and approved investment proposals worth VND37.8tr (USD1.5bn), local media reported. The announcements were made at an investment promotion event link

Singapore is seeking to streamline cross-border listings as part of plans for a Global Listing Board linking SGX and Nasdaq, with reforms that could appeal to global issuers and long-term investors. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has proposed legal and regulatory changes that would allow companies to use a single prospectus for dual listings, speed up prospectus registration to better align IPO timelines with the United States, and introduce US-style safe harbour provisi

China is moving to tighten oversight of government investment funds as it seeks to steer capital more effectively toward national priorities such as industrial upgrading, innovation and entrepreneurship. The National Development and Reform Commission has issued a trial regulation setting stricter evaluation and management requirements for government investment fund allocations. The NDRC said the framework is intended to align capital deployment more closely with industrial po

Family office expansion in Asia and the Middle East is accelerating as rising private wealth pushes families to diversify and professionalise investment, governance and operating models, recruiters say. Singapore and Hong Kong are competing aggressively for family office mandates, with Singapore’s single-family offices climbing to about 2,000 by end-2024, according to government data cited by Reuters. In the Gulf, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are attracting established regional famili

The Complexity–Privacy Dilemma: Why the Classical Family Office Model Is Breaking A central tension in modern family office staffing is the widening gap between what families want and what the investment environment demands. On one hand, most principals still aspire to the traditional model: a small, tight-knit, highly trusted team that knows the family intimately and keeps everything in-house and under the radar. On the other hand, the opportunity set they are trying to capt

Vietnam firms face rising delisting risk as concentrated ownership squeezes out minority investors, raising governance concerns. State-controlled PV Gas said it no longer qualifies as a public company after parent PetroVietnam held 95.76% of voting shares, breaching free-float rules. Similar ownership structures exist at PetroVietNam Low Pressure Gas Distribution, Vinacomin and other large firms. Under Vietnam’s securities law, prolonged non-compliance can trigger revocation

South Korean prosecutors have sought arrest warrants for MBK Partners chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim and three other executives over alleged misconduct at supermarket chain Homeplus. Prosecutors allege the executives knew a credit-rating downgrade was likely but still pushed Homeplus to issue asset-backed bonds in February last year before the retailer entered court receivership, causing investor losses. Warrants were requested for Homeplus CEO Kim Kwang-il, MBK vice president

Chinese investment banks dominated APAC investment banking fees in 2025, supported by offshore bond issuance and a rebound in Hong Kong IPO activity, according to LSEG league tables. Citic Securities topped Asia Pacific ex-Japan fees with USD1.45bn, or 5.8% of the regional total. It was followed by China Securities, Bank of China, China International Capital and Guotai Haitong Securities, while Morgan Stanley ranked sixth. Chinese banks benefited from strong issuance of yuan-