Stacy Choong
Partner, Withers KhattarWong*
Withers KhattarWong LLP is a Singapore law practice, affiliated with Withers LLP.
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.
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.
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).
Track record
Admissions
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.
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.
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).
State of New York, 2001
Me in a minute
It is such a joy and privilege for me to do what I do every day
Education
Languages
- English
- Mandarin