How to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as the World’s leading wealth management centre? Prof. Anna Wong, Director of the Wealth Management Academy (WMA) at HKU Business School, noted that the industry’s key challenge is a talent mismatch. She explained that the sector needs professionals who possess strong financial acumen and excellent communication skills, qualities that many young graduates have yet to fully develop.

Hong Kong surpassed Switzerland to become the world’s largest cross-border wealth management centre. As demand for talent continues to grow, HKU Business School, with the support of Bank of China (Hong Kong), has established the first university-led Wealth Management Academy (the Academy) and successfully held its inauguration ceremony on 8 September. This significant milestone brought together more than 180 business leaders, academics, and industry experts.

China’s 90-day grace period for unpaid offshore trust taxes is causing widespread market anxiety. Prof. Berry Hsu and Prof. Yang Liu at HKU Business School have recently shared their insights with Citywire Asia on the tightened grip on cross-border wealth. Prof. Hsu highlights that the underlying legal principle of taxing residents on worldwide income is not new, but established under the Individual Income Tax Law. With global data-sharing frameworks such as the Common Reporting Standard already in place for tax authorities to cross-reference data, the administrative grace period aims to encourage voluntary compliance, rather than introducing a substantive change to the law. Prof. Liu adds that trusts should not be treated primarily as ‘tax-avoidance vehicles’. The focus should be on succession planning, robust governance, and long-term asset protection. To navigate the new landscape of cross-border wealth, the industry will require a higher calibre of expertise from emerging wealth management talent.