Stacy Choong
Partner | Singapore
Secretary Noraini Mohamad
Operating as Withers KhattarWong LLP in Singapore.
Stacy is a partner in the private client and tax team.
She advises individuals and families on their estate planning and this includes advising on wills, trusts, family governance/constitution and family/shareholders' agreements, and also on establishing family offices, private trust companies, family charities and foundations. She also helps clients with developing efficient holding structures and succession plans, not just for their personal bankable wealth but also for their real estate investments, special collections and their family businesses. Her practice is more focused on families with multi-jurisdictional or multi-generational planning considerations or other more complex governance requirements.She offers a unique perspective on wealth planning as she has experience not only as a legal advisor but also as a client advisor in a private bank. Stacy was previously a managing director of the wealth advisory team of one of the top global private banks and advised high-net-worth clients on succession planning and wealth structuring. Prior to that, Stacy was a tax and private client partner in the largest full service law firm in Southeast Asia.
Besides helping clients set up family foundations and philanthropic trusts and ventures, Stacy also acts for charities, non-profit organizations and trade associations on tax, regulatory and compliance matters and she has served as charity trustees for charitable foundations. For instance, Stacy is presently a director of B Lab Singapore, a not for profit organization. B Lab Singapore leads economic systems change to support the collective vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy through building a community of purpose driven businesses, developing partnerships and engaging the wider ecosystem of people, private and public sectors. Stacy is also a director of the Asia Community Foundation, the first Asia focused independent community foundation focusing on catalyzing change in the region; and a member of the governing board of Duke NUS Medical School. Additionally, Stacy regularly advises philanthropic foundations set up by prominent US families on their philanthropic activities.
Stacy is a respected legal and tax adviser. She currently sits as a member on the Goods and Services Tax Board of Review which seeks to adjudicate disputes between taxpayers and the Comptroller of Goods and Services Tax (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. She has also been invited to be a member of the Modern Services Sub-Committee of Future Economy Committee (FEC) to develop and implement the industry transformation maps for the modern services cluster.
Stacy's knowledge of the legal landscape and also her experience in the private banking industry put her in a good position to develop a bespoke and functional solution for each client.
She is a regular speaker at many international conferences. She also organises training events for bankers and intermediaries to ensure that they are kept current of the latest developments in the private wealth space. And on special request, she can curate special educational sessions for family clients, often involving members from various generations (and this can be conducted in both Mandarin and English).
Recent recognition
Me in a minute
It is such a joy and privilege for me to do what I do every day
I believe that my diverse background in the wealth planning industry enables me to share with my clients a broader perspective by looking at their concerns from different angles. I always aim to design and propose viable and efficient solutions that are right for each family.
I really enjoy helping my clients articulate their key objectives and wishes and to build and strengthen channels of communications across generations. I think it is such a joy and privilege for me to do what I do every day.
Perhaps growing up in a traditional hakka family where my grandfather has 3 wives (concurrently), I was constantly aware of the tension and fragility of living in an extended family, and that makes me appreciate and seek to achieve some sense of harmony and balance for people around me. I like to see the strength in everyone and the potential people can achieve by working together.