Singapore

A LAW

01 What advice would you give to a trustee that requested your opinion on the role, duties and responsibilities of a Singapore trustee providing active administration support and agency services to a structure based on BVI VISTA Trust legislation or New Zealand private trust company legislation?

02 Given the rising emphasis on philanthropy in Asia, discuss the statutory regime as it stands now in Singapore, in particular, what advice would you give to a trustee who requested your opinion on the role, duties and responsibilities of a Singapore trustee providing administration support and services to a charity in Singapore?

B ACCOUNTS, ADMINISTRATION AND COMPLIANCE

01 Discuss relevant provisions you would advise trustees to fully set out in Licensed Trust Company policies and procedures to cover the process of accepting and reviewing a trust as regards the identification of the settler, beneficiaries and source of funds. Detail what documentation should be obtained and retained, with specific emphasis on the position in Singapore under the Trust Companies Act, inclusive of related Notices, Guidelines and Circulars.

02 In light of the current compliance regime as pertains to AML and CFT discuss the duties of a Singapore trustee to disclose the details of the Due Diligence regime when advising a testator with multi-jurisdictional assets in both common law and civil law jurisdictions who is concerned about abuse of information.

C TAXATION

01 Consider the impact of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act on the fiduciary sector and steps trustees need to take to make sure they comply.

02 Discuss the key strengths and weaknesses of Eight Schedule to Income Tax (Amendment) (Exchange of Information) Act by taking a view on how neighbouring countries in Asia may view the process set forth in Eight Schedule.

D INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

01 CBEG Prize topic: You’re approached by a married couple, both British citizens of Greek descent, who own a house in an affluent area of London, which is their only residence and a small IT business that makes an annual profit of around £1 million, which is their main source of income. The wife has taken up property development as a hobby and has one or two small properties across the Southeast of England at any time, which she works on on weekends and aims to sell within a year of purchase. The husband has recently inherited some land in Northern Cyprus and the couple would like to have new Wills to take this into account, naming their son and two daughters as equal beneficiaries of their shared property. Give a detailed analysis of the issues that a conscientious will writer should take into account at each stage of the will writing process, from taking instructions to delivery of the completed documents.

02 Discuss trust law related developments in the recognition and application of domestic trust concepts in Asia where wealth is increasing at the fastest rates (e.g., China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines). You should consider the Hague Convention and decided cases.