JGBC 2025: Elevating estate planning

New Straits Times

5 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Fewer than five per cent of Malaysians have a proper will or trust in place, reflecting a serious gap in estate planning awareness, said Joint Global Business Conference (JGBC) 2025 organiser Sim Wen Yee.
Sim, an advocate and solicitor at Messrs Sim & Rahman Advocates & Solicitors and president of the Malaysia Law Institution, said the lack of basic financial and legal knowledge among Malaysians was a key reason for organising the inaugural conference.
"The purpose of this global event was to bring together stakeholders from Malaysia and abroad to share knowledge and legal frameworks. This helps us build more connections and raise awareness. We aim to sustain this for at least the next 10 years," she told Business Times in an interview.
Sim said the inspiration for the conference came from her professional experience, where she observed a significant lack of information on estate and succession planning in Malaysia.
Sim stressed that asset planning began with individuals, families and communities. It is not limited to personal wealth but also extends to business management. Effective succession planning, she said, helped entrepreneurs grow from small businesses into established companies while ensuring wealth is managed across generations.
"This is why such initiatives matter," she said, adding that the goal was to build a culture of awareness and get everyone involved globally.
"We have international delegates here because people have assets all around the world. This is a platform to bring everyone together where they can network."
She also highlighted the government's introduction of the family office concept in Malaysia last year, calling it a major topic of interest, as many Malaysians were still learning how it worked and why it mattered.
On the response from international participants and partners, Sim said everyone had been very supportive, with colleagues from 30 countries present in Malaysia. She said this was Malaysia's first estate planning conference and expressed hope that it would become an annual event.
The JGBC 2025 served as a premier platform for estate planners, policymakers and global experts to collaborate, share insights and stay ahead in the evolving landscape of estate planning and wealth management.
The three-day conference from July 14-16 brought together 300 delegates and 30 speakers from more than 30 countries. It offered participants, such as estate planners to professionals seeking to deepen their expertise, the opportunity to explore emerging global trends, innovative wealth preservation strategies and transformative approaches to legacy planning.
The event featured nine conference modules covering topics such as wills and trusts, property development, Labuan foundations, syariah-compliant estate planning, family office setup, banking innovations, investment strategies, risk management with insurance and pre-planning.
As one of the conference sponsors, Amanah Raya Bhd group managing director Ahmad Feizal Sulaiman Khan said AmanahRaya was established to serve the nation with a social mandate from the government, being wholly owned by the Finance Ministry.
"Our role is to ensure that all Malaysians, regardless of their financial bracket or income level, receive structured and secure estate planning solutions so their estate benefits future generations."
He said estate planning meant different things to different people, and the common perception was that it was only for the wealthy.
"But at AmanahRaya, as a public trustee, estate planning is meant for everyone. When assets are left unattended, loved ones can face uncertainty, dependents may go unprotected and disputes can arise regardless of whether the assets are large or small."
Ahmad Feizal said the main objective of the conference was to raise awareness among Malaysians.
"If expressed in numbers, the aim is to increase awareness from five to 20 per cent. It is a long way to go, but conferences like this create that swarm advantage where different professions come together, including lawyers and financial institutions, to achieve shared goals. When efforts are combined, those goals can be reached more effectively," he said.
Bank Islam Trust Ltd. chief executive officer and Labuan Offshore Business director Masdayana Md Setamam said Bank Islam was a service provider offering estate banking, wealth management and Labuan Foundation services beyond the religious context.
She said public awareness of wealth management in Malaysia was moderate, with many unsure where to start — whether through a will, hibah or trust.
"At Bank Islam Trust, we conduct master classes on using Labuan Foundation or Labuan Trust structures to build complete family wealth solutions that can be passed down through generations."
Masdayana said the conference helped promote estate planning, enabling the sharing of networks.
"We especially want to expand our network and educate lawyers. This platform allows us to share insights on tax structures as well," she added.
"From a jurisdictional perspective, we have a roadmap identifying key business segments — captives, digital, Islamic finance and increasingly, wealth management," said Labuan IBFC Inc deputy director of strategic planning and investor relations Serene Liew.
Another sponsor, Marvel Capital Holdings Ltd., saw the event as a valuable platform to bring together top professionals.
Its business development manager, Eva Wong, said the company aimed not only to support the event but also to contribute new ideas and help raise the standards of estate planners in the industry.
"At Marvel Capital, we provide offshore trust solutions to protect settlers' wealth and secure their families. As you know, the level of awareness of estate planning in Malaysia is still quite low. By participating in this event, we can help raise public awareness. At the same time, we can also enhance the services provided by other estate planners since our specialty is in offshore solutions."
Wong said they hoped to complement other services with offshore expertise, providing clients with broader solutions.
"Beyond networking, the goal is to share knowledge, improve capabilities and prioritise client needs."
Participant Marco Buscema, co-organiser and founding partner of the Worldwide Independent Lawyers League, said estate planning required professionals with diverse skills.
He said in his country Italy, estate planning remained a concern due to a lack of legal awareness and inconsistent application of regulations.
"That is why sharing best practices at conferences like this is so important. There are practices we can adopt, but we can only learn about them if we attend events, join forces and share openly. By exchanging experiences and best practices, I can observe how well things are done here and bring those ideas back to my country," he said.