KPMG and the Hong Kong Trustees’ Association (HKTA) have launched Hong Kong Trust Industry Spotlight: Enhancing its competitive edge, which provides an in-depth analysis of the key developments, statistics, challenges and opportunities surrounding the Hong Kong trust industry.

The report is based on the responses from an independent industry survey covering trust companies, financial institutions, insurance companies and professional servicing entities in Hong Kong. It is a follow-up to our inaugural publication in 2013, which was published in conjunction with the amendments made to the Hong Kong Trustee Ordinance (HKTO), and seeks to understand how the industry has evolved since then.

Survey findings showed that the proportion of assets held by Hong Kong-domiciled trusts had increased in the past three years with the majority of respondents indicating that the 2013 amendment to the Hong Kong Trustee Ordinance (HKTO) has made a significant or some contribution to the growth of their trust-related business.

In addition, the report highlighted a number of methods that could enhance the competitiveness of the industry with the regulation of trust companies the top pick among survey respondents.

In terms of challenges, the industry faces increased compliance costs. This is mainly due to the expansion of compliance teams; many respondents predicted this is likely to escalate as a result of stricter Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Another concern is a shortage of trust specialists, as a result of a lack of formal training or qualifications for trust professionals in Hong Kong.