Dubai royal's delayed venture casts cloud over HK's bid to lure super-rich

Report says authorities did not conduct due diligence in verifying sheikh’s background

- Magdalene Fung

A little-known Dubai royal has made headlines in Hong Kong after his high-profile plan to open a US$500 million (S$674 million) family office in the city was suddenly delayed.

Doubts about Sheikh Rashed Ali Saeed AI Maktoum's commitment to the venture deepened over the past week, after the local media uncovered his sideline career as a pop singer and revealed that the authorities did not vet his background before letting him meet the city's top leader.

The incident has cast a shadow over Hong Kong's ambitions to attract the super-rich to set up family offices in the financial hub. It also comes as the city increasingly looks towards wealth in the Middle East as a source of foreign investment.

Sheikh Ali, whom the United Arab Emirates consulate confirmed is a relative of Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AI Maktoum, on March 27 abruptly halted plans for the official opening of his Hong Kong family office the next day.

His office said he had to see to "urgent matters in Dubai", and in a subsequent flurry of statements over the following week, insisted that the sheikh remained committed to his plan and would formally open the office at the end of May when he visits Hong Kong again.

Sheikh Ali's planned office, located within Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan, shares its space with an investment firm linked to late Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho, local newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

Sheikh Ali was among a group of important guests who met Chief Executive John Lee and spoke at a major wealth summit in Hong Kong in late March.

In an interview with Bloomberg earlier that month, he said he decided to set up his family office in Hong Kong because "I got to see a lot of similarities with Dubai.

There's potential for long-term growth".

The sheikh's exact ties to Dubai's ruling family as well as the size and source of his wealth have not been disclosed.