Wealth for Good summit: Hong Kong launches project linking charities with donors as part of latest charm offensive to lure global capital and talent

The project will serve as a comprehensive database, displaying charities in need of financial support, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said during a gala dinner on Wednesday.

“By enabling meaningful connections between these projects and potential donors, we hope to expand transformative philanthropic ventures,” he said. “And, in doing so, [we will] reinforce our role as a global philanthropic hub for family offices.

“It underscores Hong Kong’s determination to harness its strengths and resources to drive positive change on a global scale, to assist family offices in using ‘wealth for good’.”

John Lee hosted a dinner with guests on Tuesday night ahead of the Wealth For Good Summit. Photo: Handout

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Fondation de France Asia, the Institute of Philanthropy empowered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Yidan Prize Foundation are among some of the charities that have joined iLink so far, Chan said. The University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong will take up advisory roles on life science-related projects.

The summit was 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 pre-eminent choice” for their family offices, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, Hong Kong’s leader, said at a welcome dinner on Tuesday, before the summit kicked-off a day later. Hong Kong provides the ideal environment for family offices to thrive, he added.

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Lee hosted guests that included UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti and the LGT chairman, Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, at a six-course dinner at Sky100 at the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon. 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.”

The Hong Kong government is sparing no efforts to bolster the city’s role as a family office hub, with competition from other regional financial hubs intensifying. The stakes have increased over the years, with the city overcoming 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.

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These efforts are yielding early results. FamilyOfficeHK, the agency spearheading the initiative, has helped nearly 60 family offices 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 in Hong Kong, he added.

Wednesday’s programme included a full-day conference at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong hotel in Wan Chai, which ran under the theme of “growing with certainty amid growing uncertainty”. Other major topics included green technology, luxury and legacy, philanthropy and wealth legacy and wealth creation.

“You have to establish a platform now, a conduit now, a road now, to access China – and Hong Kong is the premier hub for global family offices,” Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development, said during a panel discussion. “To establish your family office here is also a commitment that you want to look into China in the next five to 10 or 15 years.

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“If you are putting your money in Singapore and Dubai, why not Hong Kong for diversification?” he added.

“Because we are talking about the next generation, and you are taking the responsibility for making a choice for them.”

Other headline speakers included 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.

Key speakers at the summit included, from left, Iqbal Khan, president of global wealth management at UBS, Angelo Zegna, consumer and retail excellence director at Zegna, Caroline Scheufele, artistic director and co-president at Chopard, Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development, and David Wertheimer, founder of 1686 Partners/Chanel. Photo: Handout

A gala dinner was held after the conference, featuring 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, and Chinese violinist Jue Yao.

The menu featured an array of dishes, starting with a mosaic of cured Japanese hamachi followed by vanilla-poached lobster accompanied by risotto. For the main course, guests had the choice of grilled Australian M5 Wagyu tenderloin paired with tiger prawns or poached Patagonian toothfish served with a prawn and mussel fricassee. To conclude, guests were treated to a combination of salted caramel, hazelnut praline and coffee whisky ice cream.

The summit coincides with a slew of business and cultural events in the city. Art Basel and Art Central were launched earlier this week, and are expected to attract thousands of visitors, including wealthy art collectors.

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