Indonesia business group unveils HK family office plan

The Indonesian Employers' Association on Wednesday announced plans to help Indonesian businesses set up family offices in the SAR. Speaking to reporters after meeting Chief Executive John Lee, the group's chairwoman, Shinta Kamdani, said Hong Kong has much to offer as an international financial hub. "We're exploring what Hong Kong also has to offer in order to facilitate our entry in Hong Kong and also to mainland China. We know that Hong Kong is a big financial hub. I think a lot of projects that Indonesia is now going through will also need a lot of support on resources and facilitation," she said. Kamdani, who led a delegation of around 20 business representatives to the city, said the cooperation will cover a wide range of areas such as infrastructure and logistics. She also said she is not worried about the city's business prospects after the passage of national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law. "We are more confident that the stability is being upheld here in Hong Kong. I think there were also incidents that's happening that were becoming worrying for some investors. But I do believe moving forward there will be much more confidence," she said. Kamdani also dismissed concerns that the recent controversy over a Dubai prince's delayed plan to establish family offices in Hong Kong will impact the launch of her group's plan. Sheikh Ali Al Maktoum called off an inauguration ceremony just hours before it was scheduled to take place on March 28, sparking questions about his commitment to the project. "We don't really see scandals that are happening as a big [deal]. I think a lot of the businesses are very much forward driven, looking for opportunities here. So we're not looking into specific concerns on a specific scandal and so forth. Let's see this as the start of a learning journey," said Kamdani.