Just a laugh at other’s expense:
CS-lite, officially known as Sarasin, has finally got their Singapore trust license [http://www.sarasin.ch/internet/iech/en/index_iech/news_iech?reference=118826&checkSum=8599521F49A8C67E1E2852EF85D8CE7D] and their new trust company is being touted as the “latest addition to the holistic Private Banking offering of the Sarasin Group, and a further step in implementing its future focus on acquiring and managing declared assets in the best interests of its clients.”
- How politically correct!
The spiel goes further…..”The Trust services are growing in importance globally as part of the wide array of asset management services offered by financial institutions.”
- Where have you been the last 40years?
“Trusts have become an integral part of estate and succession planning.”
- Always were.
“To this end, Sarasin Trust provides discretionary trusts (providing trusteeships for full protection trusts, tailor-made, holding liquid and non-liquid assets) and insurance trusts (holding life insurance policies only), as well as corporate services, providing the management of offshore companies.”
- What a (grammatically poor) mouth full!
Then there are lies, damn lies and statistics
Be it Twain or Disraeli, neither of whom were math people, this was a pretty astute observation. A headline (uh…advertisement) making the rounds is: SocGen’s Singaporean Estate Planning Unit to Boost Staff by 33% [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-25/socgen-s-singaporean-estate-planning-unit-to-boost-staff-by-33-.html]
However, the numbers say the increase is from 30 to 40 over 2 years. While increasing headcount by 10 is still an impressive feat, how about if I increase the number of blogs this month by 200% by writing just 1 more entry?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
You learn Something New Each Day
Well, each day seems to bring on a new twist to the Stanley Ho saga. I've lost track of who's suing who, who's on whose side....: http://trustprofessioninasia.blogspot.com/2011/01/dead-men-tell-no-tales.html
Well, just when we thought we have heard the last of Tony Chan as his "totally dishonest" Appeal failed, he is now seeking police assistance as he alleges evidence tampering causing him lose the case in the first place: http://law.lexisnexis.com/webcenters/hk/News/Main-Topic-1/Fung-shui-master-loses-appeal-over-billionaires-will and http://trustprofessioninasia.blogspot.com/2011/01/oh-my-piggy-wiggly-boo-poo-ga-ga.html
And among the commentators, is this Wall Street Journal (HK) entry by a Ms Cathy Yan: http://blogs.wsj.com/hong-kong/2011/01/27/hong-kongs-feuding-families/
"Institutional structures for wealth planning and succession are relatively new to Hong Kong — and far less accepted than in the West. Setting up trusts years in advance of the death of a patriarch used to be a way to avoid inheritance tax. But the legal safeguard has become even less popular after inheritance tax was abolished in 2006.
- The earliest family trusts in HK that I have seen date back to the 1960s, There are records of trusts in HK well before that. How relative is that? As with private arrangements, who knows they exist until they are compelled to disclose? Some are disclose under Securities rules (of listed companies), others via other precedings.... Just because you can't see it or find it doesn't mean it's there not there, or existed at some point in time.
- Less accepted, sure.....but I believe every one of those families you have listed have had trust structures somewhere, sometime. The effectiveness of their trusts for succession planning is another matter. My experience is people are still tax driven and the succession issues planning usually takes a back seat. Understandable as the possible tax savings benefits are usually more immediate and quantifiable but as this article helps illustrate, tax may be the least of the worries
- HK didn't have an Inheritance tax. There was an Estate Duty, which isn't the same thing.
- [Trusts] Even Less popular? Sure, take away one of the drivers for creating trusts and some will lose and some will win. But overall, I seem to be getting busier, how about you?
Can't believe every you read can you?
Well, just when we thought we have heard the last of Tony Chan as his "totally dishonest" Appeal failed, he is now seeking police assistance as he alleges evidence tampering causing him lose the case in the first place: http://law.lexisnexis.com/webcenters/hk/News/Main-Topic-1/Fung-shui-master-loses-appeal-over-billionaires-will and http://trustprofessioninasia.blogspot.com/2011/01/oh-my-piggy-wiggly-boo-poo-ga-ga.html
And among the commentators, is this Wall Street Journal (HK) entry by a Ms Cathy Yan: http://blogs.wsj.com/hong-kong/2011/01/27/hong-kongs-feuding-families/
"Institutional structures for wealth planning and succession are relatively new to Hong Kong — and far less accepted than in the West. Setting up trusts years in advance of the death of a patriarch used to be a way to avoid inheritance tax. But the legal safeguard has become even less popular after inheritance tax was abolished in 2006.
- The earliest family trusts in HK that I have seen date back to the 1960s, There are records of trusts in HK well before that. How relative is that? As with private arrangements, who knows they exist until they are compelled to disclose? Some are disclose under Securities rules (of listed companies), others via other precedings.... Just because you can't see it or find it doesn't mean it's there not there, or existed at some point in time.
- Less accepted, sure.....but I believe every one of those families you have listed have had trust structures somewhere, sometime. The effectiveness of their trusts for succession planning is another matter. My experience is people are still tax driven and the succession issues planning usually takes a back seat. Understandable as the possible tax savings benefits are usually more immediate and quantifiable but as this article helps illustrate, tax may be the least of the worries
- HK didn't have an Inheritance tax. There was an Estate Duty, which isn't the same thing.
- [Trusts] Even Less popular? Sure, take away one of the drivers for creating trusts and some will lose and some will win. But overall, I seem to be getting busier, how about you?
Can't believe every you read can you?
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