While Hong Kong has long been seen as Asia’s leading asset management hub, the city has to take further steps to become a more attractive location of choice for alternative assets, according to a new report from AIMA produced in conjunction with KPMG.
The new report – Action Plan for Alternatives: Strengthening Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s leading hub for alternative assets – highlights that while the Hong Kong government has a number of policies in place to support the asset management sector, providing more clarity to some current incentives such as the Unified Fund Exemption (UFE) regime, is the most important step
The report takes a look at the current landscape for alternative assets in Hong Kong, and evaluates the government’s current policy support for the sector, and provides suggestions for ways that the city can reinforce its foundations and prepare for the future.
Asia Pacific’s alternative asset class is growing faster than the rest of the world, with Hong Kong managing most of the alternative assets in the region. Investors in the region who formerly focused on more traditional forms of asset management and savings, are developing a taste for alternatives as they seek to diversify and grow their investments. To serve this potential market, the report says that Hong Kong needs to look at further reforming its fund rules in order to promote the jurisdiction as a fund management hub, and also to ensure that Hong Kong remains a competitive jurisdiction for funds to hold and manage their investments in the region.