中国香港作为全球重要的财富管理中心而久负盛名，近期一系列变化——例如大湾区跨境理财通计划——将进一步巩固香港的这一地位。私人财富领域的律师们也变得愈发忙碌起来。
虽然遭受了中美贸易摩擦、某些社会事件，以及新冠疫情的打击，香港的财富管理与私人银行业依旧活跃。香港证监会发布的《资产及财富管理活动调查》发现，与2018年相比，2019年香港私人银行及私人财富管理业务增长19%，约达9.1万亿港元。“虽然此数据来自于新冠爆发之前，但2020年理财经理的业务依旧经历了持续增长。”毕马威在一份报告中指出，“虽然不断有人预测资本将流出香港，但事实上，这座城市却经历了持续的资本流入。”
过去一两年间，在香港私人财富领域工作的律师们也见证了这一板块的坚韧度，他们指出了香港在此板块具备的优势。“过去三年间，中国超高净值人士数量增长了20%，其中超五分之一聚集在大湾区。”思雅仕律师事务所国际合伙人李德全说，“香港是通往中国内地的窗口。对于期翼和中国内地伙伴展开交易的客户来说，他们对香港的普通法体系更有亲切感。”
此外，李律师补充道，符合国际标准的透明税制、优良的营商环境，“以及友好的移民政策”，都使得香港继续扮演财富管理中心的角色。“此外，香港通过双重征税协定连接着中国和全球其他国家地区。也正因此，香港今天依旧是亚洲最大的跨境私人财富管理中心，在全球的地位也仅次于瑞士。”李德全律师说，“例如和赴美上市相比，中国内地公司如今赴港上市要相对容易。”
李明士律师是罗夏信律师事务所大中华区私人财富业务负责人，他指出了香港近期发展的几点新优势。“在政策层面，香港监管机构不断追逐新加坡的脚步，吸引更多家族办公室入驻，推动基金境内发行。监管机构还在努力打造香港作为ESG金融中心的形象。”他指出。
“在市场层面，由于美国可以预期的负面态度，以及滴滴上市所引发的监管审查，越来越多中国内地企业改道香港上市。中国证监会在网络安全和其他层面，对于香港上市的审查或许不会过于僵化。在财富管理领域，IPO前及IPO后管理，以及员工福利计划，对律师来说都是很重要的工作。而对广义的财富管理业来说，活跃IPO活动所带来的影响将在股票锁定期后充分展现。”
变化的需求
持续至今的新冠疫情使生活变得复杂，超高净值人士也不例外。“坦白说，旅行和活动限制（迄今为止，香港对旅行者的隔离限制依旧很严格）使不少人担忧是否还能轻松调配自己在香港的资产。”思雅仕的李德全律师说。
“过去大家倾向于布置多元的资产所在地，现在不得不额外考虑在几个时区以外的地方布置资产是否具备可调配性。跨时区参加董事会通常需要统筹安排，会引发额外的行政工作，同时带来显著的税务影响。因此在设计资产保护结构时，客户越来越青睐简单的方案。”
李律师补充道，除了单纯考虑增收，客户也纳入了更多私人事务的考量——例如对继承计划进行压力测试，以确保在动荡的环境中实现财富传承的目的。
无疑，香港及中国内地的超高净值人士和家族办公室正面对着不断演进的财富管理需求。“近年来，个人和家族办公室都愈发注重继承计划。”李德全说，“创造却不保护财富，相当于给诉讼纠纷留下了敞口。最近的趋势转变无疑也源自过去这些年积累的负面教训。”
罗夏信的李明士律师也指出，新一代超高净值人士对于ESG投资越来越有兴趣。“这一市场在不断演进，我们的业务团队，甚至整个律所，都在强化ESG业务。”他说，“他们对数字资产似乎也很感兴趣，这也成为我们重点关注的领域之一。我们正就数字资产的保管和继承问题与托管人密切合作，解决当数字资产所有者出现脑部损伤，如何保护密码等全新的问题。”
论到争议解决，李德全律师告诉ALB，事实上大部分亚洲财富都设立了离岸信托或结构，相关争议通常由英属维尔京群岛和/或开曼群岛法庭专属管辖，或者由这些区域和香港并列管辖。
“我们是香港律所中少数能够同时提供离岸咨询和代理的律所，因此可以帮客户同时处理纠纷中涉及的离岸及在岸法律问题。”李德全律师指出，“虽然全球百强律所中有一半在香港设立了办公室，但其中只有少数能提供私人客户咨询，更少见我们这样阅历和资质的律所。除了直接为超高净值人士及家族办公室提供服务，我们还有幸收到了来自私人银行、信托公司和其他律所的推荐，说明同行很认可我们在为客户提供继承计划方面的价值。”
为了更好地为私人客户提供服务，思雅仕目前还推出了360º不动产服务，同时聚焦于民用和商业地产。“很重要，并且很独特的一点在于，我们能够就本地和英国不动产同时提供服务。”李律师补充道。
展望未来
未来一两年，李明士律师认为伴随全球最低企业税率实施和对经济实质的需求，不少企业将可能从离岸回归中岸法域，香港和新加坡的活跃度会进一步提升。“我所在香港和新加坡都设有分支机构，因此可以为客户提供以两地为结构中心的服务。”他说，“我们的客户中有许多封闭持股公司和控股家族，预期上述业务转移将带来更多的结构相关咨询。”
与此同时，李德全律师发现全球商业环境的脆弱性开始愈发引得客户焦虑，他们希望能够尽早就此得到建议。“客户希望看到简单，但强健且灵活的财富结构计划。”他说，“考虑到此种变化，也为了跟上情感及家庭关系的更新，关键司法管辖区很可能要更新信托及其他财富规划立法。英属维尔京群岛已经做出示范，近期修订了信托法83A条款所规定的信托防火墙制度。”
李律师补充说，伴随略显过时及坚韧度有限的财富规划不断遭遇挑战，短期内争议及诉讼量不会衰减。“从不动产的角度，客户投资本土或国际不动产的胃口不太会减弱，我们依旧会忙着帮客户处理此类交易。”他说。
HONG KONG HUB
Hong Kong has long been renowned as a key international wealth management centre, but a number of recent developments – such as the GBA Wealth Management Connect – has solidified its status. And lawyers specialising in private wealth have found themselves very busy too.
In spite of being battered by U.S.-China trade tensions, social unrest and more recently, COVID-19, Hong Kong’s private banking and wealth management industry has stood firm. The most recent Asset and Wealth Management Securities Survey from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has found that 32 industry assets under management was HK$9.1 trillion ($1.2 trillion) in 2019, an increase of 19 percent from HK$7.6 trillion (US$ 1 trillion) in 2018. “While these figures pre-date the onset of COVID-19, wealth managers’ financial results for 2020 have also shown significant growth,” says Big Four firm KPMG in a report. “Furthermore, despite recent perceptions or predictions of capital outflows from Hong Kong, the city has experienced continuous inflows.”
Lawyers working in the private wealth space in Hong Kong have also witnessed its resilience over the past year or two and point to a number of key factors that work in the city’s favour. “There has been a 20 percent increase in UHNW individuals in China in the past three years, of which more than a fifth are based in the Greater Bay Area,” say Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng, international partners at Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS). “Hong Kong is a unique gateway to Mainland China. Clients who are keen to transact with Chinese counterparties prefer to do so with the familiarity of the common law system in Hong Kong.”
The three lawyers add that the transparent tax regime in line with global standards and a proven track record of a business-friendly environment, “for example, immigration policies,” are reasons behind Hong Kong’s robustness as a wealth management hub. “Hong Kong also has an extensive network of double tax agreements both with China and the rest of the world. This adds to the many factors why Hong Kong remains Asia’s largest cross-border private wealth management centre, second globally only to Switzerland,” say Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng. “There has been significant development in terms of the relative ease for Chinese companies to list in Hong Kong as opposed to, for example, the U.S.”
Kevin Lee, head of the private wealth practice for Greater China at Stephenson Harwood, points out to some recent factors in favour of Hong Kong. “On the policy side, we see Hong Kong regulators catching up with Singapore in taking steps or introducing incentives to attract family offices and onshoring of funds. Hong Kong regulators are also working hard to make the city an ESG financial hub,” he notes. “On the market side, more PRC companies are moving their IPO back to Hong Kong due to perceived U.S. antipathy, and also pressure from China such as the regulatory scrutiny on Didi following its listing in the US. China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) may be less rigid about Hong Kong listing in terms of cybersecurity and other related concerns. In terms of the wealth management sector, pre-IPO or post-IPO planning and employee benefits structuring would be very important for lawyers. But for the broader wealth management industry, the heavy IPO activity would have more of an impact after the lock-up periods.”
EVOLVING NEEDS
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has complicated lives for many, and HNWIs are no exception. “From a practical perspective, the restrictions on travel and general mobility (as a result of conservative quarantine measures in Hong Kong) have raised concerns about how easily wealth can be accessed,” say Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng at CRS.
“Diversification of asset location is now balanced against considerations around challenges associated with access to assets held in wealth structures several time zones away. It usually requires more logistical planning to attend a board meeting in such jurisdictions and this additional layer of administration can raise significant tax implications stemming from central management and control. This has resulted in clients favouring simplification when designing asset protection structures.”
They add that departing from mere income generation, clients are also reviewing their personal affairs and in particular, stress-testing their succession plans to ensure that they are fit for purpose in what can be a volatile environment.
This is part of a broader trend of the evolving needs of HNWIs and family offices in Hong Kong and Greater China. “There has been stronger emphasis on the succession plans of individuals and their family offices in recent years,” say Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng. “Wealth creation without wealth protection is a recipe for disputes and litigation, and this current shift of focus from creation to protection represents progress along a learning curve that is already strewn with hard lessons.”
Kevin Lee of Stephenson Harwood points out that the next generation HNWIs are increasingly interested in sustainable investing and ESG. “It’s an evolving market and the practice team and the firm as a whole are building up our ESG focus,” he says. “Next-generation HNWIs also seem to be increasingly interested in digital assets which we also focus on. We work very closely with trustees on issues such as custody and succession of digital assets, how to safeguard passwords when the owner of the digital assets is mentally incapacitated, and so on.”
In terms of actual disputes, Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng say that the fact that a significant proportion of Asian wealth is held via offshore trusts and structures means that disputes are often litigated in court proceedings in BVI and/or the Cayman Islands, either exclusively, or in parallel with arbitration and/or court proceedings in Hong Kong.
“Since we are one of very few onshore firms in Hong Kong who can also provide offshore advice and representation, we are able to undertake both the Hong Kong and BVI/Cayman law aspects of any such dispute,” note Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng. “Although half of the global 100 law firms have a presence in Hong Kong, there are fewer than a handful that provide private client advice, and even fewer with our experience and pedigree. In addition to advising HNWIs and family offices directly, we are very fortunate to receive regular referrals from private banks, trust companies and other law firms that recognise the value that we can add to their clients’ succession plans.”
As part of building out adjunct services to private clients, CRS now has a 360º property capability that focuses on both residential and commercial property. “Importantly, and uniquely, we are able to advise on local as well as UK property matters, both from teams within our HK office,” the lawyers add.
LOOKING FORWARD
In the coming year or two, Kevin Lee sees more activity in Hong Kong and Singapore arising from global minimum corporate tax implementation and the need for economic substance, potentially driving some businesses away from offshore to mid-shore. “As a firm with offices in both locations we will have the benefit of offering both Hong Kong and Singapore as the structuring centres for our clients,” he says. “And because we work with many closely-held corporations and controlling families, we expect to see more requests for structuring advice from such businesses moves.”
Meanwhile, Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng note that clients are increasingly concerned with the fragility of the global business environment and are seeking good advice, early. “There will be greater focus on simple, yet robust and flexible wealth structuring,” they say. “In recognition of this demand and to keep pace with progressive concepts of relationships and family, key jurisdictions are likely to update their trust and other wealth-planning legislation. BVI has already pioneered this response with its recent amendment to the trust firewall provisions of section 83A of the Trustee Act.”
They add that disputes and litigation will continue unabated, as progress along the learning curve continues to expose vulnerabilities in older and less robust wealth-planning arrangements and structures. “From a property perspective, the appetite for investing in and holding real estate (whether locally or internationally) as part of a balanced portfolio of assets is unlikely to dissipate and we expect to continue to be busy supporting our clients on such transactions,” say Simon Green, Jeffrey Lee and Ray Ng.
To contact the editorial team, please email ALBEditor@thomsonreuters.com.
