Stacy Choong
Partner | Singapore
Secretary Noraini Mohamad
Operating as Withers KhattarWong LLP in Singapore.
Track record
Establishment of family offices
Assisted some of the wealthiest families globally with the establishment of their family offices in Singapore and obtained the appropriate Singapore tax exemptions (by procuring the Enhanced-Tier Fund Tax exemption or the Resident Fund Tax exemption status) for the relevant investment holding companies and family fund entities.
UHNW families
Assisted to apply for Singapore employment passes and also Singapore Permanent Residency ("PR") status (under the Global Investment Programme or otherwise), as appropriate, for family members in various global UHNW families, in connection with their investments to set up their Singapore family offices or other selected businesses.
Private trust company
Advised an UHNW family on the establishment of their private trust company ("PTC"), their family trust for the holding of their global business operations with the master holding company based in Singapore. Also assisted the family with their family constitution and their family philanthropic foundation. Assisted on further restructuring of the family trust when certain family members acquired new tax residency status (eg in US/UK).
Singapore and Southeast Asian families
Advised many Singapore and Southeast Asian families on the formulation of their family constitution and/or shareholders agreements/family agreements (as the case may be), taking into consideration restrictive ownership requirements, requisite disclosure requirements and where applicable local forced heirship law considerations. Assisted also with putting in place appropriate prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements for family members.
International real estate investment advice
Assisted UHNW families with their real estate investments in Singapore in a tax efficiency and confidential manner, including appropriate asset protection features. Advised also on their international real estate portfolio structuring (for their HK, US, UK, Australia and Japan real estate portfolio).
Formulated family philanthropy policies
Assisted in formulating family philanthropy policies, established family charitable trusts and foundations, advised on the suitability of each charitable trust and foundation to apply for registered charity status, and assisted in structuring the investment and asset holding structures for the charitable trusts and foundations.
UHNW family
Assisted an UHNW family with the restructuring of their family wealth and reorganisation into two trusts: one trust to hold their family operating businesses and a separate trust for their financial portfolio investments; with agreed policies in place for the funding and distribution of wealth between the 2 trusts and also for inter-company financing transactions. In the restructuring of their existing holding structure, assisted with appropriate tax planning (from both local and foreign taxes) and applied for stamp duty exemptions to minimize the restructuring costs.
Cross-border business investments
Assisting families with cross-border business investments, and enhancing the results with seeking applicable tax treaty benefits to achieve a tax efficient solution.