SFC: Family offices are actively expanding their businesses in Hong Kong; AI is expected to transform the financial services industry.

SFC Chairman Wong Tin-yau, speaking at the Private Wealth Management Association Summit, said family offices are actively expanding their businesses in Hong Kong, including investment management and succession planning. Alternative investments are becoming an increasingly important portfolio allocation, and the rise of digital assets has also become an important market for diversified allocation. He pointed out that Hong Kong's competitive advantages lie in technology, capital and connectivity, the trust in its markets, institutions and regulatory framework, and the trust that Hong Kong will continue to connect capital with opportunitiessomething other regions cannot replicate. Wong Tin-yau said Hong Kong has become the world's largest cross-border wealth management center, with assets under management of about US$2.9 trillion. Amid rapid changes in technology and geopolitics, global investors have turned their attention to European and American markets, but far-reaching developments are also beginning to emerge in Asia. He continued that more than half of Hong Kong's private wealth management scale comes from the mainland, and he believes Hong Kong's geographical location helps maintain close ties with major mainland regions. Coupled with sound market infrastructure and a regulatory framework that balances innovation and compliance, Hong Kong has unique advantages to seize opportunities. He mentioned that the expectations of the new generation of clients for wealth management have shifted, including in the application of technology, investment choices, and interaction with asset managers, and he believes artificial intelligence will transform the financial services industry. He said AI helps improve work efficiency, expand capacity and create opportunities, scale the application of knowledge, automate routine processes, and allow employees to shift to higher-value work, but ultimately humans still need to make decisions, ask questions, take responsibility for decisions and reap the returns. The authorities are also ready to help the industry better use technology through balanced regulation, promoting responsible innovation, and maintaining cooperation with the industry.