Hong Kong fund centre guide

Hong Kong

Hong Kong kept its legal system when sovereignty passed to China. The Basic Law, in force since 1 July 1997, preserved the common law that applied before the handover and kept the territory's capitalist system unchanged for 50 years, under the principle of one country, two systems.

The draw is scale. Assets under management reached HK$42.2 trillion in 2025, and more than 650 private equity firms are based in the territory. The Securities and Futures Commission licenses managers and registers open-ended fund companies, while limited partnership funds register with the Companies Registry instead, and the profits tax exemptions that matter to funds and family offices sit in the Inland Revenue Ordinance, outside both regimes.

Regulators

Securities and Futures Commission

SFC·Territory regulator · Hong Kong·Hong Kong

Independent statutory regulator of Hong Kong's securities and futures markets, set up in 1989 and drawing its powers from the Securities and Futures Ordinance. It licenses and supervises intermediaries, including asset managers licensed for Type 9 regulated activity, and registers every open-ended fund company, whether publicly or privately offered. It also authorises investment products before they reach retail investors. It does not register limited partnership funds, which sit with the Companies Registry.

sfc.hk

Numbers

2025

Assets under management

HK$42.2tn

2025

Open-ended fund companies

752

June 2026

Limited partnership funds

1,729

June 2026

Securities and Futures Commission, covering Hong Kong · annual · source

Fund structures

Last verified 14 October 2026

Private open-ended fund company

An investment fund in corporate form with limited liability and variable share capital, registered with the Securities and Futures Commission and incorporated with the Companies Registry. Private applications are generally approved within a month, and the fund needs at least one investment manager licensed or registered for Type 9.

HedgePrivate equityPrivate creditReal estate

Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571), Part IVA

Limited partnership fund

A private fund in limited partnership form, registered with the Companies Registry under an opt-in scheme for a HK$2,555 registration fee. It must have a general partner with unlimited liability, an investment manager, a responsible person for anti-money laundering checks and an independent auditor.

Private equityVenture capitalPrivate creditReal estate

Limited Partnership Fund Ordinance (Cap. 637)

Type 9 asset management licence

The licence a Hong Kong firm needs to manage assets for others. A private equity firm needs it where it holds discretionary investment authority over a fund, but a general partner that has fully delegated asset management to a licensed or registered firm does not.

Manager routePrivate equityHedgePrivate creditEmerging managers

Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571), Schedule 5

Family-owned investment holding vehicle

Profits tax at 0% on qualifying transactions for family-owned vehicles managed by a single family office in Hong Kong, with at least HK$240 million in specified assets, two full-time employees and HK$2 million of local operating expenditure.

Family office

Inland Revenue Ordinance