Wealth for Good Summit: Hong Kong fetes guests in latest charm offensive to lure global capital and talent

Global heads of ultra-rich family offices and their advisers have gathered in Hong Kong for the Wealth for Good Hong Kong Summit to explore the widening opportunities and possibilities as the city’s government pulls out all stops to lure capital and talent.

The two-day summit is expected to bring together more than 400 key decision-makers and professionals from leading family offices, according to the government, significantly larger than the 100 guests it hosted at the inaugural event last year.

They will be here “to learn more about Hong Kong. about why Hong Kong is the preeminent choice” as the base for their family offices, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said at a welcome dinner on Tuesday. Hong Kong provides the ideal environment for family offices to thrive, he added.

Lee hosted the guests, which included UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti and LGT chairman Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, at a six-course dinner at Sky100 at the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon, preceding the first day of the summit. The dinner was followed by a dragon dance performance.

“This is the Year of the Dragon,” Lee said. “It means vibrancy, it means energy, it means prosperity, and it means that we are getting together for the overall good of mankind.”

Hong Kong is sparing no efforts to bolster the city’s role as competition with other regional financial hubs intensifies. The stakes have increased over the years as the city overcame a recession during the Covid-19 pandemic even as foreign capital and talent fled to other alternatives in Japan, India and Singapore, among others, for higher returns.

Those efforts are yielding early results. FamilyOfficeHK, the agency spearheading the initiative, has helped nearly 60 family offices to set up shop in Hong Kong over the past year, Lee said, adding to an estimated pool of 2,703 single-family offices in the city. Another 100 have indicated their interest in expanding their presence here, he added.

David Wertheimer of the Chanel family, Caroline Scheufele, whose family owns Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweller Chopard, and Angelo Zegna, whose family owns the namesake Italian luxury brand, were among some of the headline speakers on Tuesday.

A gala dinner was held after the first-day discussions at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong hotel in Wan Chai. The gala featured entertainment by local performers, including an interactive calligraphy dance and a special performance by Chinese classical pianist Zhang Shengliang, who is also known as Niu Niu.

The second-day programme on Wednesday will include a panel discussion on “growing with certainty amid growing uncertainty”, according to the organisers. Other major topics include green technology, luxury and legacy, philanthropy and wealth legacy, and wealth creation.

“These events are part of the emergence of Hong Kong as a hub for large-scale and international events,” said Lee. “It’s a clear and compelling statement of this world city’s dynamism and potential for sustained growth.”