The Wealth Management Strategy of the 2000s: summary

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From 1998 the government of Singapore and MAS pursued a deliberate strategy to turn the city into a global centre for asset and wealth management, using public mandates to private managers, tax exemptions, the Wealth Management Institute of 2003 and the abolition of estate duty in 2008. Section 47 of the Banking Act, re-enacted in 2001, created a closed statutory regime of banking secrecy with criminal penalties, which the Court of Appeal in Susilawati confirmed as exclusive of the common law exceptions. The Trustees (Amendment) Act 2004 modernised trust law with a fixed perpetuity period of 100 years, protection against foreign forced heirship and a limited power for settlors to reserve investment functions, while the Trust Companies Act 2005 brought professional trustees under MAS licensing from 1 February 2006. Swiss, European and Asian private banks turned their Singapore offices into booking centres, a movement accelerated by the pressure on Swiss secrecy after 2008 and symbolised by the creation of Bank of Singapore in 2010. Singapore and Geneva emerged from the decade as competitors for Asian wealth and as complementary booking centres of the same banking groups, both obliged to replace secrecy with integrity as the basis of their attraction.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me directly at [email protected] if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. As a Singapore law practice, KGP Legal LLC is authorised under the Legal Profession Act 1966 to advise on Singapore law and to represent clients before the Singapore courts; foreign law practices with an office in Singapore are, as a rule, not permitted to do either. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.