Statistics
Hong Kong’s Wealth, Asset Management Status Shines Bright – KPMG

One of the world’s top professional services houses gives the Asian city high marks for its status as a financial and wealth management hub. It certainly suggests that Hong Kong has emerged from recent challenges stronger than might have been expected.
Hong Kong’s wealth and asset management sectors rose 13 per cent
in 2024 reaching HK$35.1 trillion (about $4.5 trillion), showing
that tariff and geopolitical frictions aren’t holding the Asian
city back, KPMG said in a
new report.
Tax reforms, a resilient initial public offering pipeline, and
clear regulatory framework for virtual assets are among reasons
why the city is prospering, KPMG’s Hong Kong Asset Management
and Private Equity Outlook 2024 said. It was released late
last week.
The KPMG report chimed with official Hong Kong data published on 16 July. The Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong said asset and wealth management sectors' AuM rose 13 per cent last year from a year before, while net fund inflows surged 81 per cent. Total AuM rose to HK$35.1 trillion ($4.53 trillion), powered by net fund inflows of HK$705 billion. In particular, the AuM of private banking and private wealth management business grew 15 per cent year-on-year to HK$10.4 trillion).
Reforms
An important reform is the refinement of Hong Kong’s Unified
Funds Exemption (UFE) regime. Recent updates have broadened the
scope of eligible assets, notably including alternative
investments such as private credit. The regime now offers
enhanced clarity on the tax neutrality of both fund entities and
their associated Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), addressing
prior concerns about unintended tax liabilities, the report said.
“Hong Kong's commitment to refining its UFE regime, fostering a
vibrant IPO market, and establishing clear regulations for
virtual assets sends a strong signal to global asset managers,”
Vivian Chui, head of securities and asset management, Hong Kong
SAR at KPMG China, said.
While Hong Kong was hit by domestic political issues in 2020 and
the onset of the pandemic-induced lockdowns of the same year, it
has recovered some of its former lustre, taking steps
to encourage
family offices to locate there, for example. The
cross-boundary Wealth
Connect system – starting in 2021 – channels two-way
investment and financial flows between mainland China, Hong Kong,
Macau and the Greater Bay Area. (See more stories on Hong Kong's
family offices activities,
here and
here.)
Hong Kong financial secretary Paul Chan has outlined plans for
the city to overtake Switzerland as the world’s biggest asset and
wealth management centre by 2027. Separately, Boston
Consulting Group has said it
expects Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore to capture
nearly two-thirds of all new cross-border wealth through
2029.
Virtual assets
The KPMG report said virtual asset regulation – covering areas
such as digital tokens enabled by blockchain tech – has also
become a “defining feature of Hong Kong’s evolving financial
ecosystem.”
The city has an expanding number of licensed virtual asset
trading platforms and a “clear regulatory framework under
development.”
KPMG added that domestic renminbi funds remain actively deployed,
particularly in government-prioritised sectors such as renewable
energy and advanced technology.
Hong Kong can be a “super connector” linking global capital with
Chinese opportunities, the report added.