When you are a prominent figure at a trust and corporate services firm in Asia, a large part of your value proposition is being able to help clients navigate the relentless flow of new regulations.
In May this year, to give an example, the Hong Kong government introduced a company re-domiciliation regime under the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 2025. It established a formal re-domiciliation pathway for overseas companies. Such a move is all part of Hong Kong's drive to gain a competitive edge as a financial centre.
“There have been more compliance requirements in the past 10 years,” Alice Lau (pictured below), senior executive director and head of private client, Asia-Pacific, , and based in Hong Kong, told WealthBriefingAsia in a recent call.
Alice Lau
CSC has a team of about 30 people in Hong Kong and 10 in Singapore. CSC, which was originally founded in 1899, is a US business. It has been operating in Asia-Pacific since 1976, which means it has gained considerable experience that clients value, Lau said.
Regulatory changes are a challenge but also create opportunities, Lau said. “Compliance costs have increased…at the same time there is a talent shortage and a limited supply,” Lau continued.
Hong Kong is on a roll, Lau said, referring to comments from the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, who recently said Hong Kong will surpass Switzerland to become the world's largest wealth management hub by 2027.
The CSC business also benefits from the rising interest in family offices in Hong Kong, and in Singapore, she said.
Other sources of work, Lau said, includes pre-IPO trust work and structuring. (There are specific rules regarding pre-IPO investments and the treatment of pre-IPO investors' shares after the IPO in Hong Kong. For example, pre-IPO investors may be subject to lock-up periods, and their shares may be counted as part of the public float.)
Experience counts
The importance of experience in a field like this came up several times in WBA’s conversation with Lau. Her own career demonstrates it: Lau has been director and head of trust and corporate services since January 2008 – starting in the year of the global financial crash; before that, she worked for more than four years at Intertrust.
Such durability in her role is a quality shared across the business. “We have developed career plans for our staff. That is also why our retention rate is very high,” Lau said. Most of the trust managers have been at CSC for 20 years.
With experience comes a network. Lau said CSC has relationships with most of the major banks in the region, as well as the large accountancy firms that operate there.
“We don’t need to do cold calls,” she said.
There are several business drivers. HNW mainland Chinese people, for example, have been coming to Hong Kong and Singapore. “I would see more coming to Hong Kong…the government there has been promoting a variety of schemes,” Lau said, referring to Hong Kong’s programme to attract family offices, among others.
“In Singapore, because of the recent money laundering , private banks are quite cautious on taking on new clients. It takes longer to open accounts there and get permanent residence.”
Elsewhere, Lau said CSC may have opportunities to look at India – with its growing wealth – as a market in coming years.
Regulatory challenges
Turning to specific regulatory tasks, WBA asked Lau about the re-domicilation pathway for overseas companies, and why this new regime matters.
The regime, which kicked in from 23 May, offers continuity of legal identity (funds and trust structures can maintain their existing contractual relationships and operational history); there are no minimum asset thresholds or staffing requirements; the process is streamlined so that the Companies Registry in Hong Kong can sort applications in about two weeks, and the regime is designed to be tax-neutral: it will not create new tax liabilities during the transition.
“The new regime extends Hong Kong’s 2021 framework that already allowed re-domiciliation for open-ended fund companies and limited partnership funds. This creates a more comprehensive ecosystem for fund managers and asset owners,” Lau said.
There are indirect benefits too, such as more demand for trust services; enhanced asset protection services; opportunities for trust companies such as CSC to offer bundled services to re-domiciled entities; and a more competitive trust environment.
“As global tax transparency increases and economic substance requirements expand in traditional offshore centres, Hong Kong’s business-friendly approach positions it as a leading destination for Asia-focused financial structures seeking both legitimacy and operational efficiency,” Lau said.
Singapore’s AML situation
WBA asked Lau about her reference to tougher compliance checks in Singapore following the recent money laundering case. And we asked how this affects CSC and the work it does. (See some of the coverage of how onboarding is being affected, and related issues here and here.)
“These enforcement actions have triggered several compliance changes and heightened regulatory expectations,” she said. “The Monetary Authority of Singapore has already enhanced AML/CFT supervisory expectations and published updated supervisory expectations for financial institutions emphasising customer risk assessment, source of wealth verification and transaction monitoring.”
“MAS also revised AML/CFT notices effective July 2025, clarifying requirements like proliferation financing coverage and STR filing timelines. It also triggers stricter governance and accountability. It also urged financial institutions to adopt advanced tools for transaction monitoring.
“CSC certainly has been complying and will comply with all these enhancements imposed by MAS and align with MAS’ published best practices, especially for source of wealth verification and transaction monitoring. We have internal audits in place to do regular reviews of AML/CFT controls to ensure consistent implementation. Staff are also trained on red flags and escalation protocols,” Lau said.
Lau added that CSC has made “significant investments” in technology to enhance compliance solutions, leveraging automation, AI and digital tools to address evolving regulatory demands.
(Editor's comment: This interview was carried out before yours truly headed out to Hong Kong – where I am at the moment – and the comments about the challenges and opportunities that CSC has been able to tackle resonate. Hong Kong is clearly working hard to sharpen its competitive edge as a wealth management centre. The level of dynamism here, after what has been a testing period for the city, is palpable. Stay tuned for more insights.)