Hong Kong sees over 3,380 family offices, marking a 25% growth in two years, boosting local economy

Hong Kong's single-family offices total surpasses 3 380, injecting over $10 billion annually into local economy

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) jointly announced today (February 10) that over 3 380 single-family offices were in operation in Hong Kong as of the end of 2025, according to the Market Study on the Family Office Landscape in Hong Kongcommissioned by InvestHK and conducted by Deloitte. This represents an increase of about 680 offices over the past two years, equivalent to a growth of more than 25 per cent.

Photo source: reference image

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, "Hong Kong is a leading global asset and wealth management hub, with sustained and robust development in its family office ecosystem. The continued growth in the number of family offices in Hong Kong reflects the tangible outcomes of the Government's efforts in policy formulation and institutional development. Amidst global changes, the family office industry and asset management sector are undergoing a rapid evolution, placing greater emphasis on sustainable growth, intergenerational legacy, and positive impact. Under the 'one country, two systems' framework, Hong Kong, with its advantages of being backed by the motherland and connected to the world, provides a favourable environment which is both predictable and has high potential for family offices to grow. The Government will continue to pursue the development of the family office sector through multipronged measures, including enhancing tax arrangements, implementing the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, conducting global investment promotion activities by the dedicated FamilyOfficeHK team of InvestHK, establishing the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy, etc."

He added, "In particular, we plan to introduce legislative proposals in the first half of this year to expand the scope of qualifying investment for the preferential tax regimes offered to funds and single-family offices, covering, for example, precious metals, loans and private credit investments, and digital assets. With various policy measures in place, we are confident of achieving the new target set out in the Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address to assist more than 220 family offices to establish or expand their business in Hong Kong from 2026 to 2028."

The Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Ms Alpha Lau, said, "When our dedicated family office team conducted promotional activities in Europe and Southeast Asia, we learned that many overseas family offices had a strong interest in Hong Kong's institutional advantages and tax incentives. Hong Kong offers a highly flexible investment environment, with a preferential tax regime that imposes no restrictions on the geographical location of investments, and facilitates family offices to invest in global assets through Hong Kong. In addition, single-family offices are not required to obtain a licence in Hong Kong in general, which helps maintain a high level of privacy. These are key considerations that overseas family offices particularly value."

Family offices contribute to the local economy in various ways, such as making diversified financial investments, managing their operations, pursuing philanthropic endeavours, etc. The study estimates that single-family offices operating in Hong Kong contribute approximately $12.6 billion annually to the local economy through operating expenditures alone, and that they directly employ over 10 000 full-time professionals within their operations. Taking account of multifamily offices and other service providers supporting family offices, the actual economic benefits are expected to be even more substantial.

The study also highlights Hong Kong's pivotal role in asset and wealth management in Asia, with assets under management of approximately $35 trillion (about US$4.5 trillion) as of end-2024. In addition, Hong Kong ranked second in the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals as of June 2025, being one of the top destinations for setting up family offices. The Government will continue to work closely with the industry to introduce more supporting measures, with a view to developing a robust family office ecosystem.

Photo source: reference image

Chief Executive in Council adopts recommendation on Statutory Minimum Wage rate

The Chief Executive (CE) in Council has adopted the recommendation of the Minimum Wage Commission (MWC) on raising the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate from its prevailing level of $42.1 per hour to $43.1, an increase of $1.0 or 2.38 per cent.

The Government will publish the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 2026 in the Gazette next Friday (February 20) and table it in the Legislative Council (LegCo) on February 25. Subject to the approval of the LegCo, the revised SMW rate will come into force on May 1 this year.

When conducting the review under the new annual review mechanism of the SMW, the MWC adopted the formula approved by the CE in Council to recommend the new SMW rate (please refer to the Annex).

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, said that the MWC had thoroughly drawn up the implementation arrangements for adopting the formula, examined the data of each indicator in the formula, and assessed the relevant impacts. The indicators adopted in the formula are objective and easily comprehensible, which enhance the transparency and predictability of the SMW adjustment, minimise controversy and are conducive to fostering harmonious labour relations. An annual review also allows closer alignment of the SMW with socioeconomic changes. He is very pleased with the MWC's smooth completion of the review under the new mechanism, and paid warm tribute to the Chairperson of the MWC, Ms Priscilla Wong, for leading all MWC members in making valuable contributions.

Mr Sun said, "After careful consideration, the Government is of the view that the MWC has ably discharged its statutory function of reviewing the SMW rate. The recommendation of the MWC is in line with the policy objectives of the SMW to maintain an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs, while giving due regard to sustaining Hong Kong's economic growth and competitiveness."

The 2026 Report on Reviewing the Statutory Minimum Wage Rate has been uploaded to the MWC's website (www.mwc.org.hk).

The Government will publish the Employment Ordinance (Amendment of Ninth Schedule) Notice 2026 in the Gazette on February 20 and table it in the LegCo on February 25. The Notice concurrently amends the monthly monetary cap on the requirement for employers to record the total number of hours worked by employees in a wage period. An employer will be exempted from the requirement to record the total number of hours worked by an employee in a wage period if the wages payable to the employee for that wage period are not less than $17,600 (currently $17,200) per month. The revised monthly monetary cap will come into force on the same day as the revised SMW rate takes effect, which is May 1 this year.

Photo source: online image