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

AI-for-finance hubs are increasingly defined by production-grade deployment rather than experimentation, according to Deep Knowledge Group’s Global AI Competitiveness Index. The report ranked the United States first among countries, followed by China, Britain, Switzerland and Singapore for AI-for-finance capability and maturity. In the city-hub ranking, New York placed first, London second and Hong Kong third, citing connectivity, institutional concentration and regulated-mar

The Asian Financial Forum opened in Hong Kong as global policymakers and finance executives gathered to discuss the global outlook and reinforce the city’s position as an international financial centre and a bridge between mainland China and global markets. The 19th Asian Financial Forum, co-organised by the Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, is being held under the theme “Co-creating New Horizons amid an Evolving Landscape” with the tagline “Fi

Thailand fund assets rose in 2025 as investors turned to safe havens, with strong performance in gold-related funds lifting the market. Thailand fund assets increased 1.67% to THB3.65tr (USD117bn) at end-2025, according to Morningstar Direct data shared with Asia Asset Management. Four Singapore-based Eastspring Investments funds, all gold-focused, topped performance rankings, led by the Eastspring Gold Bullion Retirement Mutual Fund – Currency Hedged, which returned 59.07%,

AI trade finance is set to move beyond digitising paperwork towards redesigning end-to-end processes, bank executives said at a Hong Kong forum during International Financial Week 2026. HSBC’s head of global trade solutions Raluca Popa said digitalisation often replicates existing workflows, while the next phase will require rethinking processes to expand access to financing. She said AI trade finance systems could connect directly to clients’ accounting or enterprise resourc

Hong Kong is in talks with South Korea on mutual ETF listings that would allow exchange-traded funds tracking each other’s stock markets, highlighting Hong Kong’s role as a gateway to global capital. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said about half of stock market capital comes from global institutional investors, with mainland China’s southbound flows and local investors each accounting for around a quarter. He added that more than 400 companies are in Hong Kong’s IPO pipeline,

Hong Kong Asia Financial Forum took centre stage as Chief Executive John Lee opened the two-day event by urging confidence despite heightened geopolitical tensions, positioning the city as a resilient international finance hub. Speaking at the Asia Financial Forum, Lee said “one country, two systems” underpins Hong Kong’s rule of law, free flow of capital and low-tax regime. He pointed to rising business activity, including a record 11,070 foreign- and Mainland-affiliated com

Federated Hermes Hong Kong office plans mark a further expansion of the US asset manager’s Asia-Pacific footprint as it seeks to deepen relationships with private banks, family offices and institutional investors. The firm said the Hong Kong office, announced at the Asia Financial Forum, is subject to regulatory approvals and will support a consultative distribution model across the region. Jim Roland, head of distribution for APAC, said a Hong Kong presence will allow Federa

Hong Kong yuan financing received fresh support after the People’s Bank of China said it will deepen financial market links between the mainland and Hong Kong to facilitate global investment and financing in renminbi. PBOC Deputy Governor Zou Lan said more than 800 overseas institutional investors have accessed China’s onshore bond market via Bond Connect through Hong Kong, with holdings exceeding RMB810bn (USD113bn), about a quarter of total foreign bond holdings. Bond tradi

Blackstone Asia hiring plans are accelerating as the alternative asset manager looks to capture rising private market demand from individual investors, Ed Huang, its Asia-Pacific private wealth head, said. Blackstone has roughly doubled its regional team over the past two years and is expanding in Japan, adding staff in Australia and placing people on the ground in South Korea. Huang said the firm sees strong potential in offering private equity and private credit products to

Hong Kong’s MPF Authority has suspended eKYC registration on the eMPF platform after fraudsters used forged smart identity cards to impersonate scheme members, chairwoman Ayesha Macpherson Lau said. She said no personal data was leaked from the system. The suspension of Hong Kong MPF eKYC registration follows the discovery that about 80% of users had registered via the government’s iAM Smart digital identity app, with the remainder using eKYC. With enhanced authentication bei

Hong Kong has approved 14 company re-domiciliation applications under its new regime, signalling growing interest from global financial institutions, Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui said. The approvals include French insurer AXA, which has completed the transfer of its regional insurance unit from Bermuda to Hong Kong. AXA Hong Kong and Macau said AXA China Region Insurance Company (Bermuda) has re-domiciled to the city and been renamed AXA China

Raffles Family Office has appointed former BNP Paribas banker Pradinan Arkarachinores as managing director for relationship management, strengthening its advisory capabilities for ultra-high-net-worth clients. The Singapore-based multi-family office said Arkarachinores will lead a team overseeing portfolios for Asian UHNW families, with a focus on relationship management, strategic advisory and the delivery of tailored wealth solutions. She will report to Kendrick Lee, the gr

SGX board lot reform has been welcomed by market participants as a step towards improving accessibility, though challenges remain. Singapore Exchange has proposed cutting standard board lot sizes for higher-priced securities to lower minimum investment thresholds and broaden participation. Under the proposal, board lots would be reduced from 100 units to 10 units for securities priced above SGD10 and up to SGD100, and to one unit for those priced above SGD100, with the smalle

Wisdom Group multi-family office has appointed banking and external asset management veteran Arthur Fong as managing director and senior adviser, strengthening leadership for its UHNW client base. Wisdom Group Holdings, a Hong Kong-based platform with about USD7bn in assets and a presence in Hong Kong and Singapore, describes itself as an independent asset management and multi-family office business serving ultra-high-net-worth families and their advisers. Fong said he joined