Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

From Manila to Singapore: Why business families are shifting their money abroad

Article (news)

Raine Musñgi

MANILA — More Filipino family-owned businesses are quietly rethinking where to park their money — and where to grow it.On ANC’s Market Edge, family governance adviser Prof. Enrique Soriano said wealthy business clans are increasingly setting up family offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, drawn by legal stability, strong financial regulation, and predictable dispute resolution systems.It’s a rational move for wealth protection. But it also raises a harder question: what happens to investment, innovation, and jobs back home?“When families offshore wealth without maintaining strong domestic engagement, the Philippines risks losing not just capital, but strategic leadership and reinvestment capacity.” Soriano noted that global trends support the shift. Deloitte projects family business revenues to rise by up to 84 percent by 2030, outpacing non-family firms, driven by long-term capital and multi-sector holdings.“Family businesses are not merely winning the global economy — they are reshaping it,” he said. <div>From entrepreneurs to asset managers?</div>Beyond geography, Soriano pointed to another quiet transformation: many family firms are moving away from hands-on entrepreneurship toward wealth stewardship — managing portfolios instead of building companies.That transition can protect capital, he said, but it can also reduce risk-taking and job creation. And now, a new debate is emerging inside boardrooms: Are family offices helping build the next generation of industries — or just chasing returns?“Some family offices are evolving into strategic investors, especially in AI, healthcare, and infrastructure. When done well, they accelerate innovation,” Soriano said. But not all follow that path.“Many still operate as passive allocators. They chase returns without building ecosystems,” he added. “The real impact happens when families move from capital deployment to capability development.” That difference matters for the broader economy.Strategic investment can seed startups, fund technology, and create high-quality jobs. Passive investment, by contrast, often circulates money in financial markets — with little spillover to workers or local industries.Soriano said the challenge for Philippine business families is to balance global wealth protection with nation-building.“Family offices must not become purely financial custodians. They should remain active nation builders — through enterprise, innovation, and local reinvestment.”

More Filipino family-owned businesses are quietly rethinking where to park their money — and where to grow it.

More Filipino family-owned businesses are quietly rethinking where to park their money — and where to grow it.

From Manila to Singapore: Why business families are shifting their money abroad

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From Manila to Singapore: Why business families are shifting their money abroad

Raine Musñgi,

ABS-CBN News Channel

Published January 23, 2026 01:24 PM PHT

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Updated January 23, 2026 09:50 PM PHT

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