“Due diligence needs to be proportionate. If the background checks were overly stringent, this could offend [Maktoum] and other potential investors,” one government insider told the Post.
“We need a better balancing act between maintaining the city’s image that ‘Hong Kong opens its door widely to all business opportunities’ and preventing anyone from exploiting controversies to tarnish the government’s reputation.”
Scrutinising the prince’s past was not required as he had no involvement in projects involving public funds at this point, the source added.
Maktoum’s ambitious US$500 million family office plan attracted considerable interest from the business sector, but some said they could find little public information about him or his investment track record.
Some residents took to social media to accuse the government of failing to sufficiently vet the Emirati’s family background and his financial history before inviting him to Hong Kong and escorting him to meet Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu last week.
The government insider said staff at the economic and trade office in Dubai had already carried out “basic background checks” on the royal identity of the Emirati by liaising with UAE officials before the prince came to Hong Kong.
“We couldn’t blame overseas colleagues for finding no clues about [the prince’s] showbiz history and his fan base in the Philippines,” he said.
Aide to Dubai prince: ‘We are committed to Hong Kong but we do it quietly’
Aide to Dubai prince: ‘We are committed to Hong Kong but we do it quietly’
The Chief Executive’s Office on Friday confirmed that the sheikh was one of the 30 guests Lee met last Tuesday to exchange views on the strengths of setting up family offices in Hong Kong. Lee also hosted a dinner that night to welcome visiting participants of a summit.
The insider added the government normally only conducted basic checks of people using online searches so officials would have basic knowledge of the individuals they were meeting. But the process could be improved, the source conceded.
Maktoum’s family office announced on Wednesday last week it was postponing the inauguration ceremony originally scheduled for March 28, citing “some urgent unexpected private matters” that required the sheikh’s attention.
The event would instead take place in late May, while the office repeated the prince’s commitment to press ahead with the plan in three separate statements in the past week.
A second insider said the government still anticipated the Emirati’s return as “a potential investor” but did not promise whether officials would attend any future events hosted by the prince’s private office.
He acknowledged that the presence of high-ranking officials at such events could demonstrate the government’s support of the family office sector, but authorities were also mindful of avoiding any “undesirable impression” that they favoured any particular business.
According to an invitation to the sheikh’s postponed inauguration ceremony obtained by the Post, government officials were supposed to speak before the office unveiled “cooperation partners and investment projects”. The invitation was extended to various parties by the Hong Kong-Middle East Business Chamber.
Director general of Investment Promotion Alpha Lau Hai-suen had been invited to attend on behalf of the government, the Post learned. She heads InvestHK, the government department responsible for drumming up foreign direct investment and which co-organised the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit the prince attended.
A third source added that if any officials promised to attend the inauguration, the head of InvestHK would be the most appropriate as it would be unfair to other family offices to send one top official to only one particular ceremony but not the others.
UAE prince reaffirms plan to open family office in Hong Kong in latest statement
UAE prince reaffirms plan to open family office in Hong Kong in latest statement
The business chamber’s founding president Aaron Shum Wan-lung told a radio programme on Friday that some officials promised to attend the ceremony but later said they were unavailable.
“Many of the invited officials had first agreed,” Shum said. “But some people said they were sick or even caught [Covid-19]. It might have appeared that some of the officials [originally scheduled to attend] were downgraded. I wonder if the sheikh’s side felt uncomfortable?”
He said his chamber assisted with inviting guests and media for the ceremony because the office’s CEO, Eleanor Jane Mak, was “inexperienced” in organising events.
Amira Lobaton, head of business development of the sheikh’s private office, declined to comment on Shum’s claim as “there is nothing between Aaron Shum and the private office right now” and “he is not representing the private office”.
In a reply to the Post, the Chief Executive’s Office said Lee, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu and senior government officials held talks with about 30 forum speakers and important guests last Tuesday, on the eve of the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit.
They spoke about Hong Kong’s “unique advantages as a hub for family offices” and “opinions on the city’s future development”.
“Sheikh Ali Rashed Ali Saeed Al Maktoum, of the United Arab Emirates, was also invited to attend the meeting,” the office spokesman replied.
“The chief executive often receives different invitations to attend various events, including opening ceremonies. Our office will not comment on individual invitations,” the spokesman added when asked whether Lee was personally invited to the now-postponed opening ceremony.
