Background and challenges

The family founder held onshore and offshore company equity, real estate in several countries, an art collection, traditional financial assets, and some virtual assets held on licensed platforms. Assets were spread across different jurisdictions and nominee structures. The family needed to address CRS tax-transparency requirements, concentration in a single market, and unclear rights and responsibilities when the next generation takes part in succession.

ECG coordination and sequence of work

  1. Top-level governance and an asset inventory. ECG acted as the family's coordination layer, clarifying the control boundaries, liquidity needs and succession priorities of the founder and family members.
  2. A two-layer family-office and trust design. Together with private banks, accounting firms and trust counsel (private-bank examples: UBS, J.P. Morgan and China Merchants Bank Private Banking; accounting-firm example: PwC. These names are common market examples only and do not indicate a standing appointment, partnership or endorsement by ECG), the team assessed an architecture of an offshore family trust plus a Hong Kong single family office (SFO). Where the conditions for a qualifying family investment holding vehicle (FIHV) under the Inland Revenue Ordinance are met — including the minimum specified-asset threshold of HK$240 million — qualifying profits-tax concession filings would be handled by a qualified tax adviser. Whether concession conditions are met depends on Inland Revenue Department rules and professional advice. ECG is responsible only for coordination; it does not itself provide regulated investment, legal or tax advice, and it does not administer approvals.
  3. Compliant administration of multiple asset classes. Financial portfolios, real estate, art and virtual assets on licensed platforms were brought into one compliance-audit and risk-reporting arrangement, with audit and regulated transactions carried out by appropriately qualified institutions.

Work product

The family was assisted in establishing an auditable asset-governance framework that can be reviewed across jurisdictions, with clear interfaces for compliance reporting, risk concentration and next-generation participation in governance. Setting up the architecture does not automatically produce a tax concession or a reduction in risk. Actual tax and legal results depend on the law, on filings, and on the opinions of professional advisers.

項目背景與挑戰

家族創辦人持有境內外企業股權、多國房地產、藝術品收藏、傳統金融資產及部分在持牌平台上的虛擬資產。資產分散在不同司法管轄區與代持結構中，需要同時面對 CRS 稅務透明度要求、資產過度集中於單一市場，以及二代接班時權責不夠清楚等問題。

ECG 協調與執行序列

  1. 頂層治理與資產盤點：由 ECG 擔任家族協調層，釐清創辦人與家族成員的控制權邊界、流動性需求及傳承優先次序。
  2. 家辦與信託雙層架構設計：聯同私人銀行、會計師事務所及信託律師（私人銀行舉例：UBS、J.P. Morgan、招行私行；會計師事務所舉例：PwC。以上名稱僅為市場常見機構舉例，不表示 ECG 與該等機構存在固定合作、委任或背書關係），評估「離岸家族信託 + 香港單一家族辦公室（SFO）」架構，以便在符合香港《稅務條例》下合資格家族投資控權工具（FIHV，最低 2.4 億港元資產門檻）的相關條件時，由合資格稅務顧問處理利得稅寬減申報。是否符合寬減資格，以稅務局規定及專業顧問意見為準。ECG 只負責協調，不獨自提供受規管投資、法律或稅務意見，亦不包辦審批。
  3. 多類資產的合規納管：把金融投資組合、不動產、藝術品及持牌平台上的虛擬資產，納入同一套合規審計與風險報告安排，並由具備相應資格的機構執行審計與受規管交易。

工作結果

協助家族建立一套可審計、可跨司法管轄區檢視的資產治理框架，明確合規報告、風險集中度及下一代參與治理的權責接口。架構設立並不自動帶來稅務寬減或風險下降，實際稅務與法律結果取決於法規、申報與專業顧問的意見。

This case study is educational and informational. It describes coordination and planning work only, and does not constitute legal, tax, immigration, investment or admissions advice, or a promise of any official outcome.