As it moves closer to reopening its borders and dismantling pandemic-related curbs, Hong Kong should revive its investment-based migration program.
It is time for Hong Kong to make up for the lost time by reviving the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) which was suspended in 2015, Katerine Kou, the CEO of Victory Securities, told the «South China Morning Post» (behind paywall) in an article on family offices.
In particular, it should attempt to cut the gap that has risen between the city and Singapore, given the latter is now the top choice in the Asia Pacific region and ranks as one of the top five countries worldwide for wealthy investors.
Still, there is rising interest from business owners to set up family offices in Hong Kong, according to Jennifer Lai, the managing director for wealth and residency planning of DL Holdings Group, who was cited in the same article.
Expanding Pie
According to her, restarting CIES will also attract more private investors or business owners who are willing to make Hong Kong their bridge to the west, and this will benefit Hong Kong’s economy.
Moreover, there is enough room for Hong Kong and Singapore to coexist and share an expanding pie, said Shantini Ramachandra, tax leader at Deloitte Private in Singapore, as each can leverage their respective competitive strengths.
Attracting Family Offices
In October 2022, Hong Kong’s CEO John Lee Ka-chiu announced a plan to give tax concessions to eligible family offices, among a series of new policies aimed at strengthening Hong Kong as a leading financial hub.
As part of that, the city is trying to attract at least 200 of the world’s top family offices to set up or expand their operations by 2025. According to another article by the SCMP announcing the government's plan in October, Hong Kong manages $216 billion of assets from family offices and private trusts.
