Respondents “in general supported the reform proposals”, according to a statement released last week, believing that a reformed regime, as proposed in the consultation, “would provide a more robust legal framework facilitating more effective operation of present-day trusts.”
This in turn “would… enhance the competitiveness of the local trust industry, and bolster Hong Kong’s status as an international asset management centre”.
As reported, there has been considerable interest in updating Hong Kong’s trust laws for some time. Two years ago, at a gathering of the Hong Kong Trustees’ Association, Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Board KC Chan observed that “many provisions” of the existing laws were outdated, “as you would expect from a trust law that was enacted in 1934”.
The reform package under consideration now seeks to clarify trustees’ duties and powers, better protect beneficiaries’ interests and modernise the trust law by means of amendments to the Trustee Ordinance (Cap 29) and the Perpetuities and Accumulations Ordinance (Cap 257), last week’s statement noted.
The next step is for the government to finalise the proposed legislation, in light of the outcome of the consultation. It is still expected to introduce it to lawmakers during 2012-2013 session of the Legislative Council, which began on 1 Oct and runs through next year.
