Hong Kong courts ultra-rich Mid-East families in wealth push

Move comes as foreign investors leave and Beijing steps up links with oil-rich region

Hong Kong is zeroing in on rich Middle Eastern investors as it looks for new pools of capital to boost its status as a wealth management hub.

Interest groups in the city have invited more and more guests from the Gulf's ultra-wealthy clans and family-linked entities over the past two years at a pace unseen before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to about half a dozen observers interviewed by Bloomberg News.

The move responds to a steady outflow of foreign investors, taking the shine off Hong Kong as the gateway to China.

Just last week, executives heading two of the biggest Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabian philanthropies, both founded by members of the royal families, spoke at an event organised by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Hong Kong's push has continued even after an embarrassing situation in March, when the credentials of a guest speaker at a governmentsponsored summit, who claimed on his website that the ruler of Dubai was his uncle, were questioned.

The growing ties are part of Hong Kong's charm offensive to show that it is open for international business.

Money flowed out of the city when many of its super rich left for Singapore and other locations during the draconian Covid-19 restrictions and sweeping crackdowns against political dissent.