Someday, Hawaii may be more than just a vacation destination. If a group of hedgies have its way, it may become the new center for Asian-focused hedge funds. The Pacific Island paradise, reports Financial Times, already has about 10 hedge funds operating in Honolulu, and is likely to double that number soon for several reasons: a HF-friendly U.S. legal system compared with those in Asia, especially Japan’s; comparatively low property prices (office space with an ocean view goes for about 2.50 to $3 a square foot a month); and English as its main language. The 19-hour time difference may seem daunting, notes FT, but when one considers that Hawaii is on the other side of the International Date Line from Asia, the islands are basically working around the same time of the day, even if it on different days; 9 a.m. in Tokyo is 1 p.m. in Hawaii the following day. The biggest draw, however, may be a lifestyle that beckons folks from all corners of the world. “I know fund managers who go surfing in the morning before going to the office,” Jason Bellamy of Bellamy Fund Management told FT, whose business attire includes a T-shirt and flip-flops. But there is also possible trouble with practicing in paradise. For one thing, it’s far from the major capital markets of the world and centers where prime brokers do business. What’s more the Hawaii state government has yet to make it easy for investors from other states, who may qualify for hedge funds in their home states, to meet Hawaii’s standards. That is just one of the points the Akamai Foundation, chaired by Louis Perez, is addressing as it embarks on a campaign to make the island state prominent for something besides tourism. “We know we will never topple Hong Kong or Singapore,” Perez said in an FT interview, “but if we get united we might be able to carve a little niche for ourselves.”