TL;DR
Hong Kong is luring European family offices with tax breaks and Chinese technology after overtaking Switzerland as the top offshore wealth center.
About 30 European family offices have told Hong Kong’s investment promotion agency they plan to set up operations in the city.According to InvestHK. The percentage represents about 19% of the 160 family office cases InvestHK is currently looking at and reflects a broader European trend towards Asia, driven by tax incentives, China’s tech boom and geopolitical rebalancing.
Jason Fong, head of InvestHK’s global family office, said several Italian families attended the Wealth for Good Summit in Hong Kong in March 2026 and held strategic discussions with the agency afterward. “For European families looking for a new growth spurt, Hong Kong offers something that is becoming increasingly rare: certainty, solidity, stability, innovation and opportunity in a single jurisdiction.Fong told the South China Morning Post.
The timing is not coincidental. Hong Kong overtook Switzerland to become the world’s largest cross-border wealth management center last year, according to the Boston Consulting Group’s Global Wealth Report published in May. BCG predicts the gap will grow to nearly $600 billion by 2030.
The city’s family office sector has expanded rapidly. A Deloitte study commissioned by InvestHK found that the number of single-family offices in Hong Kong has grown by 25% over the past two years to reach around 3,384 by the end of 2025, injecting an estimated US$12.6 billion annually into the local economy through operating costs alone.
Tax incentives are the central draw. Hong Kong waives the 16.5% profit tax on stocks and bonds for single-family offices that have an investment portfolio of at least HK$240 million (about $30.8 million), employ two employees in the city and have at least HK$2 million in annual operating expenses. The government is set to introduce legislation this month to extend the tax exemption to cover additional investment products.
Geopolitical tensions have prompted some investors to reconsider their global allocations, said Jennifer Chan, co-founder of Orientis, a French consultancy that advises high-net-worth European clients. “Traditionally, European family offices like to invest domestically or may invest in the US and the Middle East.” he said. “However, in recent years they have started investing in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.“
According to Chan, the Middle East conflict that escalated at the end of February made Hong Kong appear relatively stable. Orientis has organized eight tours to Hong Kong over the past 18 months for wealthy families from Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy, with some clients subsequently setting up family offices in the city.
There are two sides to the investment thesis. The first is China’s technology sector. International investors have flocked to Chinese tech stocks after the artificial intelligence startup’s breakthrough DeepSeek highlighted the country’s innovative potential early last year. Chan, who is also director of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, said representatives of many family offices have met with local startups at the science park, and some have already invested.
The second is Hong Kong property. Chan said European families believed the market had fallen significantly and was showing signs of recovery, making it an attractive entry point.
Government promotion has been active. Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po led European road shows to boost the city’s profile among wealthy families. Hong Kong’s growing role as a financial center for Chinese technology companies increasing its attractiveness as a gateway for European capital seeking exposure to continental innovation.
Institutional infrastructure is expanding to accommodate. French insurer AXA launched AXA Global Private in Hong Kong on Monday to serve high-net-worth clients and family offices, and CEO Sally Wan said the company was confident Hong Kong would remain the world’s largest offshore wealth center. The platform brings together life insurance, wealth management and succession services for wealthy families in Asia.
Cliff Ip Wang-hoi, chairman of the financial services committee for Greater China at CPA Australia, said Hong Kong acted as a gateway to mainland China and the Greater Bay Area. “The rapid development of the artificial intelligence and technology sectors in China presents significant investment opportunities for European family offices.Ip said.
