RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, a leading Singaporean law firm with international capabilities, has been shortlisted for the WealthBriefingAsia Singapore Awards 2015. Showcasing ‘best of breed’ providers in the global private banking, wealth management and trusted advisor communities, the awards were designed to recognise companies, teams and individuals which the prestigious panel of judges deemed to have ‘demonstrated innovation and excellence during 2014’.  Commenting on the firm’s shortlisting, Tan Choon Leng, Head of Private Wealth, RHTLaw Taylor Wessing said: "Our clients’ needs are our priorities and satisfaction comes when we know that their expectations have been exceeded. The team understands the value of providing frequent updates to clients which has been key to long-lasting relationships. We are delighted to have been shortlisted and this is testament to the hard work the team has put in over the last 12 months.”   ClearView Financial Media’s CEO, and Publisher of WealthBriefingAsia, Stephen Harris, was first to extend his congratulations to the shortlisted firms. He said: “The firms who have been shortlisted in these awards are all worthy competitors, and I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations. These awards are judged solely on the basis of entrants’ submissions and their response to a number of specific questions, which had to be answered focusing on the client experience, not quantitative performance metrics.  That is a unique, and I believe, compelling feature. These awards will recognise the very best operators in the private client industry, with ‘independence’, ‘integrity’ and ‘genuine insight’ the watchwords of the judging process - such that the awards truly reflect excellence in wealth management. Our aim is to make these annual Awards one of the brightest, and keenly contested highlights in the wealth management calendar.” Winners will be announced at a gala awards dinner which will be held in Singapore on 16 April 2015 at Raffles Hotel.

An opinion piece by Managing Partner Tan Chong Huat, Partner Ch’ng Li-Ling and Senior Legal Counsel Dr Tan Lay Hong was published on 4 March 2015 in The Business’ Times Opinion section. The commentary, titled “Getting the formula for CEO pay right”, suggested that based on a 2013 SID survey, companies may be moving away from a profit-based metric as the sole determinant of CEO pay. 81% of the respondents cited the roles and responsibilities of the executive director as a factor in determining compensation, as compared to the second most popular factor “results achieved” (68%). The commentary asked if this could be a sign of growing dissatisfaction with a profit-based metric for CEO pay To read the full article, please click here.

RHTLaw Taylor Wessing congratulates our APG member firm Siam City Law Offices for being the only Thai law firm on the ‘Firms To Watch 2015’ list put together by Asian Legal Business (ALB). Leveraging on access to other countries in ASEAN through RHTLaw Taylor Wessing’s ASEAN Plus network, Siam City Law Offices was quoted as saying, “Since we have a good understanding of clients in Asia, we have set up firms in Myanmar and Laos to further expand our horizon and to be one of the leading full-service service commercial law firms of choice for local, regional, national and international clients in the Southeast Asia region.” ALB’s Firms To Watch 2015 list celebrates law firms that may be small in size but big in potential. The list was compiled taking into account submissions from the firms themselves, along with market feedback and ALB’s own insight into Asia’s legal industry.

The Straits Times announced today that RHT Holdings is preparing for a listing on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) by the first quarter of next year. Managing Partner Tan Chong Huat was quoted as saying, “The inception of RHT Holdings and our decision to list on the SGX Catalist board are a reflection of our international ambitions. We now wish to tap capital markets, to accelerate growth both in Singapore and internationally. The latest Budget measure, announced on Monday, to raise the tax allowance for merger and acquisition (M&A) activities, will help spur RHT's growth."