China’s wealthiest are triggering exit plans amid rising pessimism building over the future of the world’s second-largest economy Xi Jinping clamped another five-year term for himself as the supreme leader of the country.
What happened: Xi gets re-elected for the third term is a turning point for Beijing’s business elite, which thrived for decades when the country’s economy was booming, David Lesparancea Europe-based lawyer who has worked with some of the wealthiest clients in Hong Kong and China, said the Financial Times.
“Now that ‘the chairman’ is firmly in place… I have already received three ‘proceed’ orders from various very wealthy Chinese business families to carry out their emergency exit plans,” Lesperance said.
Kia MengLoha Singapore-based senior partner dentons rodyk, also told the publication that Hong Kong, a long-time favorite investment destination for China’s wealthy elite familieshad lost its appeal after Xi’s increasing control of the territory.
He added that “for months” there has been an unprecedented amount of requests to set up “family offices” in the city-state.
“The clients I work with saw [Xi’s] third term much earlier than this week as a foregone conclusion,” said Loh.
This happened just days after Xi in his report In the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Partysignaled robust regulation and tougher restrictions on how wealth is accumulated in China.
“We will keep income distribution and means of wealth accumulation well-regulated,” Xi said. “We will protect legitimate income, regulate excessive income and ban illegal income.”
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