UAE, Hong Kong deepen family office ties with strategic partnership
The Emirates Family Office Association (EFOA) has signed a strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy (HKAWL), highlighting both regions’ emergence as influential global family office hubs.
The announcement comes amid a rising tide of Asian family offices establishing a foothold in the Gulf.
“Over the past two years, there has been a significant acceleration in the number of Asian families establishing family offices in the Middle East—particularly in the UAE,” Adam Ladjadj, founder and chairman of the EFOA, told AsianInvestor Wealth. “This shift is not just tactical but increasingly strategic, driven by policy alignment, economic opportunity and generational succession planning.”
Through the partnership, the two entities will co-develop a series of curated initiatives, ranging from closed-door networking and delegation visits to strategic deal-flow sharing and bespoke programming for family principals and next-generation leaders.
Pivot to the Gulf
The UAE, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, continues to gain traction with ultra-high-net-worth Asian families seeking a base to institutionalise their wealth. Regulatory innovation, tax-friendly regimes, investor-friendly structures and cultural affinity have all helped position the Gulf as a compelling destination for cross-border family wealth.
HKAWL chairman Dr Adrian Cheng said: “The need for legacy development by wealth and business families transcends borders. Both Asia and the Middle East face similar challenges — family enterprise transformation, cultivating next-gens and formalising governance. This partnership comes at the right time for families in both regions to learn and evolve together.”
EFOA board member Fahad Al Gergawi added: “HKAWL is an organisation that aligns closely with EFOA’s mission —engaging with family principals, next-gens, and SFO leaders. Our members now gain a regionally connected partner to help navigate what are often opaque and costly cross-border connections in Asia and vice versa for HKAWL’s network looking toward the Middle East.”
Founded in 2023, HKAWL is at the forefront of Hong Kong’s efforts to position itself as a global centre for family offices. The academy supports peer collaboration, cross-border partnerships and talent development, with the aim of cultivating a robust and future-ready family wealth ecosystem.
Strategic continuity
The HKAWL partnership follows a string of recent EFOA initiatives aimed at expanding international connectivity.
In 2024 alone, EFOA inked MoUs with the Middle East Venture Capital Association and Chinese financial data giant WIND, both part of a broader push to create new avenues for knowledge exchange, financial collaboration and investment discovery.
“We’ve already hosted several Asian families in the UAE, connecting them with regional stakeholders—sovereign entities, investment platforms and local family businesses,” said Ladjadj. “EFOA’s non-commercial, neutral platform allows us to facilitate these connections without cost—focused solely on building trust, access, and long-term collaboration.”