Hong Kong is preparing to expand preferential tax treatment for alternative investment managers by exempting eligible carried interest and hedge fund performance fees from taxation. The proposed Hong Kong hedge fund tax reform forms part of broader efforts to attract investment professionals and strengthen the city’s competitiveness as a regional asset-management centre. The legislation, expected to be presented to the Legislative Council, would extend favourable treatment be

DBS Group will make tokenised physical gold available to retail customers in Singapore during the second half of 2026, expanding access to digital asset-backed precious-metal investments. The tokenised physical gold offering will be delivered through the DBS digibank application and is designed to simplify ownership, trading and redemption of gold. Each DBS Physical Gold Token will be backed by one gram of tokenised physical gold stored in a dedicated DBS vault in Singapore.

Credit Bureau Singapore and Experian Malaysia have signed an agreement to develop a two-way cross-border credit reports framework designed to improve access to financial services for consumers and businesses operating in both countries. The initiative aims to create a more seamless credit-assessment process across the Singapore-Malaysia corridor. Under the proposed system, individuals with financial histories in both jurisdictions will be able to share cross-border credit rep

China’s Ministry of Finance plans to raise RMB15bn (USD2.2bn) through a sovereign bond sale in Hong Kong, marking its third offshore yuan issuance in the city this year. The China sovereign bonds Hong Kong offering reflects growing international demand for yuan-denominated assets and continued support for Hong Kong’s offshore renminbi market. The bonds will be issued through public tender on June 16 via the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Central Moneymarkets Unit and will inc

Hong Kong has been ranked among the world’s top 10 financial services talent markets and fourth in Asia-Pacific, according to Colliers’ Global Financial Services Markets 2026 report. The Hong Kong finance talent ranking placed the city behind Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai, but ahead of Tokyo, reflecting its continued importance as an international financial centre. Colliers classified Hong Kong as a Global Centre due to its strong international connectivity, concentration o

Hong Kong remains firmly supported by mainland Chinese authorities as an international financial centre despite recent regulatory actions targeting illicit overseas investment channels, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said. Speaking at Bloomberg Invest in Hong Kong, Chan emphasised that the Hong Kong financial hub continues to play a critical role in connecting mainland and international capital markets. Chan said cross-border capital flows should move through legitimate and tr

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief executive Bonnie Chan said Stock Connect trading activity remains robust despite recent measures by China’s securities regulator targeting illegal cross-border securities operations. Speaking at a Bloomberg conference in Hong Kong, Chan said the regulatory actions have not affected legitimate market access through the programme. Average daily Southbound Stock Connect trading rose 14% this year to approximately RMB138bn (USD20.4bn) compar

Asian family offices need to engage earlier with private technology opportunities as more value creation occurs before companies reach public markets, according to a new report released by Annum Capital, Deane Consulting and Turoid. The Asian family office technology investing guide argues that category-leading technology firms are remaining private for 10 to 14 years or longer. The report said Asian family office technology investing strategies must evolve because much of th

AXA has launched AXA Global Private, a new platform designed to serve affluent clients and wealthy families across Asia from a Hong Kong base. The AXA Global Private initiative will offer specialised insurance and investment solutions covering luxury properties, art collections and kidnapping-and-ransom risks. The platform will operate through entities in Hong Kong and Bermuda and initially target clients with assets ranging from HKD10m (USD1.28m) to HKD50m, according to Sall

Mirae Asset Securities has introduced a new foreign-investor omnibus account service through a partnership with Singapore-based brokerage UOB Kay Hian. The Mirae Asset omnibus account initiative is intended to improve access to South Korean equities for investors across Singapore and Southeast Asia. Developed through Mirae Asset’s Singapore subsidiary, the service forms part of broader efforts to attract international capital into South Korea’s stock market. The Mirae Asset o

Singapore’s economy remains strong following better-than-expected first-quarter growth, but policymakers must prepare for increasing uncertainty arising from geopolitical tensions, inflation pressures and artificial intelligence-related disruption, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said. The Singapore economic resilience message came during a Singapore Press Club dialogue. Wong noted that the economy expanded 6% year on year in the first quarter, significantly exceeding the earlie

The Southeast Asian family office sector is entering a period of rapid expansion, supported by rising regional wealth, succession planning activity and evolving investment strategies. The SE Asia family offices report by The Venture Network highlighted accelerating growth across the region, particularly in Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore, the region’s largest hub, surpassed 2,000 family offices in 2025 with assets under management of USD66.8bn. Malaysia is also developing i

WRISE Wealth Management has launched WRISE Master Trust in Hong Kong as demand rises for integrated wealth planning, succession and asset-protection solutions among affluent Asian families. The WRISE Master Trust combines the company’s wealth-management platform with the licensed trustee capabilities of Quantum Trust. The new offering is designed for high-net-worth individuals and family offices seeking cross-border wealth management, governance support and long-term successi

Mainland Chinese investors are increasingly travelling to Hong Kong to preserve access to international markets following Beijing’s crackdown on unauthorised cross-border securities trading. The mainland Chinese offshore investments trend accelerated after regulators penalised online brokers Futu, Tiger and Longbridge for soliciting mainland business without appropriate licences. The crackdown has prompted some investors to transfer assets to Hong Kong-based brokers while nav

South Korea and ASEAN will begin formal negotiations this week to modernise their trade agreement and deepen cooperation in emerging sectors. The South Korea ASEAN FTA upgrade discussions will cover areas including the digital economy, critical minerals, supply-chain resilience and future trade facilitation. The first round of negotiations will be led by Park Geun-oh of South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and Alpana Roy, ASEAN’s director general for intern

Investors in mainland China and Hong Kong have reportedly been barred from participating in SpaceX’s planned public offering, according to Bloomberg News. The SpaceX IPO restrictions were communicated by lead underwriters, which instructed syndicate members not to accept orders from customers in China and Hong Kong, including private banking clients. The reported decision reflects regulatory and compliance concerns surrounding cross-border participation in the offering. Forei

China has announced tougher supervision of its RMB23tr (USD3.4tr) private investment sector as regulators seek to reduce financial risks and channel more capital towards technology innovation and strategic industries. The China private fund industry reforms were unveiled by the China Securities Regulatory Commission as part of a broader clean-up campaign. The CSRC said it would strengthen registration requirements, crack down on illegal fund activities and encourage more long

Singapore businesses lose an estimated USD7bn annually because of inefficiencies in traditional international payment systems, according to research by Airwallex and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The Singapore cross-border payments study found that payment failures, foreign-exchange spreads, correspondent banking fees and settlement delays continue to impose significant costs on companies. The report described these inefficiencies as a “Global Growth Tariff”

Family offices, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals are the focus of a new platform launched in Hong Kong to strengthen the city’s role as an international investment gateway. The Hong Kong investor hub initiative, known as the Global Investor Institute, was founded by William Kwok and aims to connect capital with emerging technology opportunities across Asia and beyond. The Hong Kong investor hub will provide a continuous platform for dialogue among instit

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned that the world economy faces a growing global recession risk if conflict in the Middle East continues into next year and disrupts energy supplies. The OECD said prolonged instability could weaken growth, increase inflation and force central banks to maintain tighter monetary policies. Under its baseline scenario, global growth is expected to slow from 3.4% in 2025 to 2.8% in 2026 before recovering to 3.1% i