FOTIC holds Family Enterprise Equity Protection and Wealth Inheritance Summit

The 2017 China Wealth Forum, hosted by the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government and organized by Caijing Magazine and Caijing Think Tank, was held on June 17 in Qingdao. China Foreign Economy and Trade Trust Co., Ltd. (FOTIC) attended the forum and successfully held the Family Enterprise Equity Protection and Wealth Inheritance Summit. At the summit, FOTIC, alongside corporate, academic and research experts, exchanged ideas with more than 300 guests on the market environment of family wealth management, family equity trust practice and other hot issues.

Policy dividends released by reform and opening-up measures taken in the last four decades coupled with market expansion have led to a rapid increase in China’s national wealth, giving birth to a multitude of high-net-worth entrepreneurs. According to the latest statistics, China had about 89,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals worth hundreds of millions of yuan in 2016, including about 50,000 individuals worth more than RMB 500 million each.

With the entry of new-generation entrepreneurs into the period of family property transition, the demand for “wealth guarantee” and “wealth inheritance” has been growing. In addition, the intergenerational transition of family wealth and family enterprises is expected to gain momentum in the coming five to ten years.

As a preferred instrument for family wealth protection and inheritance, family trust has drawn the attention of a growing number of high-net-worth individuals. Sustained stability and smooth inheritance of equity as important assets of family enterprises is of great significance to building family enterprises into “century-old” ones.

As a promoter of local family trust, FOTIC has innovatively developed family trust services for listed companies in 2015. FOTIC Vice General Manager Qi Bin believes that corresponding laws and regulations are yet to be perfected as family trust for corporate equity has just emerged in China. “On the premise of ensuring integrity, unity and sustainability of family enterprises, FOTIC aims at employing legal instruments related to family trust for helping domestic private enterprises in gradually upgrading from family wealth protection to inheritance of familial spirit and culture.”

Roger Healy, a consultant expert from a global family enterprise and wealth consulting company; Wang Yan, President of New York Private Bank & Trust China; lawyer Gong Lefan, Partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm and the author of Wealth Management & Succession Planning; Prof. Gao Hao, Director of the Global Family Business Research Center, PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University; Zhang Yunlan, President of Qingdao Kutesmart Co., Ltd.; and Wei Mengmeng, General Manager of the FOTIC’s Wealth Management Center, participated in the summit. At the occasion, they voiced opinions, discussed domestic and foreign classic cases, and looked into issues arising in practice, such as perfection of family equity trust registration system and corresponding laws and regulations, establishment of family enterprise equity trust, distribution and transfer taxation.

As a major brand event in Qingdao Wealth Management Pilot Zone, China Wealth Forum has been held successfully three times. This year, the forum was themed as “New Globalization Era of Wealth Development”, integrating the main session with parallel sessions. It built an authoritative and forward-looking international industrial exchange platform for political, business and academic circles to present the new features and trends of domestic and foreign finance and wealth management development from various angles. On its 30th anniversary, FOTIC expected to show its thought and practice in the field of local family trust, and offer advice on industrial development through the summit. FOTIC is willing to join hands with people from all occupations for offering high-net-worth customers professional, exclusive, systematic and all-round family wealth management solutions, besides ensuring smooth inheritance of family wealth.