Thailand cost of living policy is leaning on its biggest family-controlled conglomerates to help curb living costs, with retailers tied to the Chearavanont, Chirathivat and Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi families agreeing to sell house-brand food, toiletries and other essentials at discounts of 25% to 50% under a government-backed Thais Helping Thais campaign. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul launched the programme as his new administration seeks to shield households from risin

APAC digital wallets payments remain dominant globally, with digital wallets accounting for 77% of online spend worth USD2.7tr and 63% of in-person transactions worth USD6.3tr in 2025, according to a report by Global Payments. Adoption is broad-based, led by India and South Korea, while Southeast Asia is seeing rapid growth in account-to-account payments supported by national systems such as PromptPay and PayNow. Thailand has emerged as a leading A2A market, while Singapore r

Asia family offices turned more cautious in 2025, with expected average portfolio returns falling to 6% from the 10% respondents had anticipated in 2024, as market volatility and concerns over US tariffs and fiscal policy clouded the outlook, according to Campden Wealth and BNP Paribas Wealth Management. Cash was seen as the most rewarding asset class over the next 12 months, while private markets still made up 24% of average portfolios, second only to public equities at 27%.

Circulate Capital Asia fund has raised USD220m for the first close of its second Asia vehicle, defying a broader pullback in ESG investing. Singapore-based Circulate Capital said the first close of Asia Fund II brings total assets under management to USD480m. Backers include Builders Vision, the family office founded by a grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, alongside existing corporate investors such as Coca-Cola and new institutional backers, including the Emerging Marke

Hong Kong fiscal surplus reached HKD62.6bn(USD8.0bn) in the first 11 months of its 2025/26 financial year, helped by bond issuance, government data showed, keeping the city on track for its first full-year surplus since 2021/22. Expenditure for April 2025 to February 2026 totalled HKD691.5bn, while revenue reached HKD654.8bn, according to the Information Services Department. After accounting for HKD148.9bn raised from government bonds and HKD49.6bn in bond repayments, fiscal

China VC fundraising is on track for a record first quarter as Beijing channels more state-backed money into technology sectors such as AI, robotics and quantum computing. Newly committed capital to venture funds reached RMB86bn(USD12.5bn) in January and February alone, already above the previous quarterly high of RMB68.9bn set in Q3 2021, according to data from the Asset Management Association of China cited by Reuters. Nearly all of the biggest backers of new yuan-denominat

Hong Kong family office tax incentives are being promoted to Australian investors as the city pitches itself as a base for family offices through its gateway role to mainland China and Asia-Pacific, deep capital markets and favourable tax treatment. Officials said Hong Kong manages more than USD4.5tr in assets as the world’s second-largest cross-border wealth hub, while Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing was the top venue globally for IPO fundraising in 2025. They also highligh

Hong Kong paperless securities regime is targeted for launch on Nov. 16, 2026, according to the Securities and Futures Commission, which said newly listed securities will have to be issued in paperless form from listing while existing listed securities will be brought into the system gradually over five years. The SFC said investors holding paper certificates could decide when to convert them into electronic form and that a commencement notice would be tabled before the Legis

Thailand private investment stabilises despite concerns that Middle East conflict and baht volatility could hurt the economy, the Fiscal Policy Office said. Capital goods imports, a proxy for private investment in machinery and equipment, jumped 43.7% from a year earlier in February, while exports rose 9.9% to USD29.4bn, extending a 20-month expansion. Excluding oil, gold-related products and military supplies, exports grew 11%, led by electronics, electrical appliances and v

World Data Organization Beijing was formally established after its first general meeting, where members adopted the charter and elected the first council and board of supervisors, according to the preparatory committee. The newly elected council then chose the organisation’s leadership and approved key rules and systems. The World Data Organization Beijing said it aims to promote global data development and governance, support compliant and secure cross-border data use, and h

Asian family offices alternatives exposure is deepening, especially in private equity and hedge funds, although some investors in the region have at times become overexposed because of their flexibility in deploying capital, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management Asia’s Christina Au-Yeung said. She said Asian families were still in the early stages of building more institutionalised portfolio frameworks for alternatives compared with peers in North America and Europe. Au-Ye

Hong Kong Singapore financial hubs cooperation can help both cities grow and remain resilient, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said after a three-day visit during which he met Chief Executive John Lee and other public- and private-sector leaders. In a blog post, Wong said Hong Kong felt familiar yet renewed, while Lee said both cities shared a commitment to free trade and multilateralism. The visit came as Singapore moved to strengthen its bullion ecosystem, with the M

Bursa Malaysia HKEX joint index development has advanced as the two exchanges launched a joint large-cap benchmark and signed an agreement to deepen capital market ties. The new HKEX Bursa Malaysia Large Cap Index tracks 60 stocks, split equally between the two markets, and is intended to support products such as exchange-traded funds. The exchanges also agreed to cooperate on dual listings, index development, ETF access, syariah-compliant securities and carbon market opportu

Vietnam venture capital funding could gain support from newly created state-backed funds, which industry executives said may help unlock more private capital for startups by giving foreign investors greater confidence in the market. Hanoi has set up a VND600bn(USD22.8m) fund, while Ho Chi Minh City launched a VND500bn vehicle, though executives said the sums remain modest relative to demand and far below the size of some regional funding rounds. ThinkZone Ventures said govern

Singapore family offices AI adoption is rising sharply in operations, though that has yet to translate into active investment in the sector, according to an Ocorian report. The study found 96% of 25 respondents, including family members and senior executives at Singapore-based family offices, were using AI to improve operations and data insights, yet none were currently seeking AI-related investment opportunities. Still, 64% said they expected to increase investments in AI an

Vietnam digital asset tax rules now impose a 0.1% personal income tax on every digital asset transaction under the Finance Ministry’s Circular 32/2026, while exempting such transactions from value-added tax. The circular, effective from March 27, also sets a 20% corporate income tax for businesses providing digital asset services in Vietnam, while foreign institutional investors trading through those firms will pay the same 0.1% per transaction. The move comes as Vietnam rema

Asia legacy planning remains weak, with nearly six in 10 high-net-worth individuals in the region lacking a formal plan, according to an HSBC Life report that highlighted risks to intergenerational wealth transfer. Only 24% of respondents in Taiwan had a legacy plan, followed by 26% in Hong Kong and 36% in mainland China, while Thailand led the surveyed markets at 57%. The report said economic and financial market volatility, cited by 45% of respondents, was a stronger trigge

Hong Kong financial centre ranking held steady at third globally and first in Asia-Pacific in the 39th Global Financial Centres Index, the Financial Services Development Council said, citing Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute. Hong Kong’s overall score rose to 765, leaving it one point behind London and two points behind New York. The city also retained first place in the fintech index and ranked top globally in banking, insurance and finance. FSDC chairman Benja

In This Issue: Deliberate development programs are replacing one-time succession handovers. Core components of next-gen readiness The rise of collaborative leadership models for a new generation of wealth stewards. For decades, succession in family offices was widely viewed as a singular legal event — a signing of documents, a handshake at the boardroom table, and a hope that the next generation would figure things out. That era is ending. With a good portion of family off

China fund manager merger activity is set to deepen as Huaan Fund Management and smaller peer HFT Investment Management prepare to combine under rules that bar one company from controlling stakes in two mutual fund managers, according to a local media report. Both firms are controlled by Guotai Haitong Securities, and the final merger plan is expected later this month or in early April. The proposed China fund manager merger comes as regulators push wider consolidation across