Dubai royal nephew opens US$500 million family office in Hong Kong

SHEIKH Ali Al Maktoum, the nephew of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is opening a family office in Hong Kong, one of the first high-profile international investors to respond to the city’s campaign to lure foreign capital.

The investment firm, which will manage up to US$500 million, is looking for opportunities in Asia in sectors including artificial intelligence, construction, electric vehicles, tourism and fintech, Eleanor Mak, the firm’s chief executive officer, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Hong Kong is its first foreign outpost, and the family office has started engaging in talks with potential target companies.

“I got to see a lot of similarities with Dubai,” Sheikh Ali, 28, said in the Bloomberg Television interview, reminiscing about his first trip to the Asian hub in December, when he firmed up plans for his family office.

“Hong Kong is very advanced in so many aspects and has so much to offer in terms of investment opportunities and business expansion. There’s potential for long-term growth.”

The Asian financial hub has been seeking to rebound after an economic slump and exodus of international firms following the pandemic and growing US-China tension. It has stepped up efforts to attract the super-rich, introducing tax and residency incentives, just as the number of family offices has mushroomed in rival Singapore. The South-east Asian city-state awarded tax incentives to at least 1,400 single family offices by the end of 2023, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed.

In Hong Kong, a market study conducted by Deloitte estimated there were more than 2,700 single family offices. Chief executive John Lee in 2022 set a target to persuade more than 200 family offices with HK$240 million (S$41 million) in assets to establish or expand their operations by the end of 2025. As part of the campaign, he led a week-long delegation to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi last year, and in November the city enlisted property tycoons to help lure more of the firms.

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Sheikh Ali, who also has a private office in Dubai, is among the guests for the Wealth for Good summit that will take place in Hong Kong next week. Global tycoons including Jeffrey Katzenberg, founding partner of investment firm WndrCo and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios; Oliver Weisberg, the chief executive officer of Blue Pool Capital, Joe Tsai’s family office; and local property mogul Adrian Cheng are expected to attend.

“It’s known that mainland China and Hong Kong are some of the leading players in terms of investment and opportunities, so I want to take advantage of that,” Sheikh Ali said. The family office “would be a good step to build the bridge and to strengthen the bonds”. BLOOMBERG