UBS Hong Kong wealth hiring plans include about 50 new bankers for its wealth business after its North Asia franchise posted record revenue last year, with recruitment focused on high net-worth clients as the bank looks to broaden beyond its recent emphasis on billionaires, Asia-Pacific wealth co-head Amy Lo said. UBS brought in USD62.5bn of net new assets in Asia in 2025, helped by Hong Kong’s active IPO market and so-called win-back flows after the integration of Credit Sui

Hong Kong digital finance strategy was in focus at a forum convened by the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit to discuss how the city can support China’s push to become a financial powerhouse by advancing digital finance use cases, balancing regulation with development and linking more closely with mainland infrastructure. The forum brought together participants from Hong Kong and mainland China, including researchers from the People’s Bank of China’s research institute, members o

Macquarie Asset Management Asia wealth expansion gathered pace as the firm added three hires to grow its regional wealth business and push private market offerings to private banking and intermediary clients, the firm said. Wai Kin Leung joins as senior vice president, Asia wealth, focusing on Greater China and helping advance private market solutions; he most recently led managed solutions work at LGT Private Banking and previously worked at Pictet, Credit Suisse and HSBC. M

A Hong Kong family office AI venture fund is backing a new artificial intelligence vehicle launched by former SenseTime managing director Esther Wong, the founder said. Wong’s firm, 3C AGI Partners, is targeting up to USD100m by March after raising USD50m at a first close in November. The fund will focus on so-called “picks and shovels” AI infrastructure, including hardware and data centres, and will steer clear of application-layer bets that Wong described as overvalued. VMS

Asia family offices private equity exposure is set to increase as volatility in public markets pushes investors towards longer-term, less correlated returns, a Schroders Wealth Management survey showed. The poll of 60 family office executives in Singapore, Hong Kong, and across Southeast Asia and India found 52% plan to raise private equity allocations over the next three years, ahead of public equities at 38%, hedge funds at 33%, and bonds and real estate at 22% each. Schro

Hong Kong Fintech 2030 plan initiatives will focus on more advanced applications of artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology, backed by high-performance computing, as the city seeks to strengthen its fintech ecosystem. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the blueprint includes four flagship projects covering areas such as quantum computing, risk data, cybersecurity, and skills development, alongside events, competitions, platform upgrades, and hands-on work

Hong Kong IPO rebound momentum is being pitched as a draw for family offices, with advisers citing liquidity, a strong listings pipeline and a more supportive tax regime. IPO fundraising ranked first globally in 2025 at HKD285.8bn (USD36.6bn), and more than 300 companies have filed to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, PwC said, projecting about 150 IPOs in 2026 that could raise HKD320bn–HKD350bn. Supporters point to cornerstone buying by long-term institutions, including

Singapore private debt market growth is drawing another global asset manager, as Australian pension-fund-owned IFM Investors prepares to open an office in the city-state in March, sources said. The move underscores Singapore’s push to build scale in the USD1.7tr private credit market and follows IFM’s partnership with the Australian government to pursue Southeast Asia investments. It comes as Singapore sees an influx of private credit managers, with Sixth Street Partners open

Family offices AI investment is now centred on artificial intelligence, but exposure remains concentrated in big-cap listed stocks rather than infrastructure, a survey by JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private bank found. Of 333 single family offices across 30 countries, 65% cited AI as their top theme, ahead of healthcare innovation, infrastructure and cybersecurity. Yet average allocations to venture capital and growth equity were just 3.3%, and more than half reported none. The po

Hong Kong GDP growth forecast has been raised by Citi to 3.2% for 2026, the bank’s second upgrade in about two weeks and a cumulative increase of 0.7 percentage points. Citi said the economy kept recovering in the fourth quarter, with strong investment growth and steadily improving consumption pushing domestic demand beyond expectations. It added the rebound is broad-based across finance, property and retail. Citi expects residential home prices to rise 8% this year and sees

Hong Kong Switzerland financial dialogue talks were held in Bern as the two sides convened their eighth Financial Dialogue to deepen cooperation in financial services and discuss policy challenges, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said. Co-organised by the HKMA and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for International Finance, the meeting was chaired by HKMA deputy chief executive Darryl Chan and SIF deputy state secretary Christoph König, with officials from the Swiss National B

Hong Kong stablecoin licences are set to debut as early as March, with only a small number of applicants expected to be approved initially, Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue told lawmakers. Yue said vetting of licence applications is nearing completion, with the HKMA assessing proposed use cases, governance and risk controls, anti-money laundering arrangements, and the reserve assets backing each stablecoin. He added that licensed issuers must comply with

Jeonbuk financial hub ambitions are gaining momentum as major Korean lenders move to build asset management and capital markets operations in the province. KB Financial Group said it will develop a KB Finance Town in Jeonbuk Innovation City, bringing together banking, securities, insurance and asset management with about 250 staff. Shinhan Financial Group followed by naming Jeonbuk as its base for asset management and capital markets, targeting 300 professionals. The province

Crypto money laundering surged in 2025, with criminals receiving at least USD82bn in illicit cryptocurrency flows, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Crypto money laundering volumes rose sharply from about USD10bn in 2020, driven in part by rapid growth among Chinese-speaking networks. Chainalysis said the fastest-growing segment, Chinese-language money-laundering networks that emerged during the pandemic, processed nearly USD40m a day last year.

Hong Kong private equity hub prospects remain strong as the city positions itself to lead Asia’s private markets, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said. Chan said Hong Kong hosts more than 650 private equity firms with assets under management of about USD230bn, supported by deep liquidity in asset and wealth management, a rapidly expanding family office ecosystem and strong capital inflows. He highlighted opportunities in hard technology including artificial intelligence,

Hong Kong Asia-Africa investment corridor ambitions are gaining momentum, with the city well placed to link Asian capital with African infrastructure projects, according to a report by the Financial Services Development Council. The FSDC said Hong Kong can serve as a premier gateway connecting long-term capital from institutional investors and family offices with projects across Belt and Road Initiative economies in Africa. It highlighted opportunities for Hong Kong to export

Asia-Pacific private markets allocations are set to rise as regional investors show the strongest conviction globally, Aviva Investors said. In Asia-Pacific, only 9% of institutional investors plan to cut private market exposure, while 49% expect to increase allocations, broadly in line with a global trend where 88% plan to add. Aviva said Asia-Pacific investors are also most enthusiastic about the illiquidity premium, cited by 58%, as improved data helps calibrate allocation

Hong Kong family office sector growth is expected to remain robust at 10% to 15% a year, reflecting a deepening wealth-management ecosystem, executives said at a recent industry summit. Speaking at the Insight Experts 2026 Investment Summit in Hong Kong, Yuan Miaoling, director of personal and business banking at China CITIC Bank International, said rising wealth in Asia and globally is underpinning demand, with family offices increasingly used to separate family assets from

Founder-led family offices AI adoption is accelerating as smaller teams seek to automate operations without expanding headcount, Amin Naj, founder of Circle Family Office, said. Founder-led family offices AI adoption is accelerating as smaller teams seek to automate operations without expanding headcount, Amin Naj, founder of Circle Family Office, said. Naj said his team reviewed major AI models over six months to assess how founder-led family offices can reduce administrativ

Hong Kong Asian Financial Forum concluded after drawing more than 4,000 global leaders from over 60 countries and regions, reinforcing the city’s role as an international financial hub. The two-day Asian Financial Forum, co-hosted by the HKSAR government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, featured more than 150 speakers and launched an inaugural Global Business Summit. Former European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso warned of instability from technological