New World's Adrian Cheng, Sino's Daryl Ng, UBS' Amy Lo to join Hong Kong's first wealth academy to attract family offices

Hong Kong will set up a new academy next week to nurture financial talent and augment the city's claim as Asia's hub for wealthy family offices, as the local government pulls out all stops in the race with other financial centres for investments.

The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), established a decade ago to promote Hong Kong's financial industry, on November 14 will set up the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy to cater to family offices, next-generation wealth owners and professionals in the management of private wealth, the council said in a statement.

This confirmed a report by the Post earlier.

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The new academy is aimed at "fostering collaboration, networking, knowledge sharing and talent development across the sector ... and establishing Hong Kong as a principal centre for managing family wealth legacies", the FSDC said.

New World Development's chief executive Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, a scion of Hong Kong's third wealthiest family, has been appointed as chairman of the academy, the FSDC said. Undersecretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Joseph Chan Ho-lim, the FSDC's executive director Au King-lun and Charles Ng Siong-kwong from the office of the Financial Secretary will represent the city.

Seven other industry leaders will also join the board. They include Sino Group's deputy chairman Daryl Ng Win-Kong, UBS's chairman of global wealth management Asia Amy Lo Choi-wan, the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology's adjunct professor of finance Roger King and Jeremy Dinshaw Lam, a partner and the head of financial services at the legal firm Deacons.

"The Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy will provide a great platform for Hong Kong's private wealth industry to groom talent and experts to cater to the different needs of family offices, next-generation wealth owners and entrepreneurs in managing their wealth," UBS's Lo told the Post after the FSDC's announcement on Thursday afternoon.

"Family office is one of the most important topics among our clients, as we are seeing increasing needs for succession planning, family advisory and wealth transfer," she said. "Being an international financial centre, Hong Kong has long been the ideal destination for family offices. Hong Kong is also well-positioned to become the family office hub in Asia."

UBS will also explore trainee programmes with the academy, Lo said.

More representatives of eminent family offices around the world will be added to the academy's advisory board, a source said, declining to divulge names.

The academy will foster collaborations through networking, knowledge sharing and talent development via workshops, conferences and networking events, the person said, declining to be named.

The plan is a another firm step towards the goal laid out last year by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to attract 200 family offices to Hong Kong by the end of 2025. The city's government will fund the academy to create an enabling and competitive environment for family offices and asset owners.

During his policy address in October 2022, Lee outlined a number of initiatives to attract family offices, including tax concessions, talent development and the establishment of a wealth management network. Since then, a refreshed Capital Investment Entrant Scheme was launched to provide residency to eligible applicants with investments such as equities and Hong Kong-listed bonds.

Some wealthy business clans and investors in the region have considered Hong Kong as a possible base for their family offices, including the Chearavanonts from Thailand. Clients at BNP Paribas Wealth Management are also said to be planning similar moves, a top regional executive said.

Based on the collective experience and wide-ranging expertise of its board members, the academy is expected to benefit from invaluable guidance in shaping its vision and strategic planning, the source said.

The board members are expected to assume their positions on November 14 during an inauguration ceremony at Victoria Dockside in Tsim Sha Tsui, the person added.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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