Pacific Trade Invest China (PTI China) hosted an information session, featuring a delegation from Cook Islands Financial Services Development Authority (FSDA) in Beijing, as part of the Cook Islands’ ongoing drive to deepen ties with Asia’s wealth-management and professional advisory community.
The event brought together Chinese estate-planning lawyers, family-office advisors, and trust professionals – a mix of private-sector intermediaries interested in exploring credible, regulatory-compliant jurisdictions for asset protection, and long-term legacy planning.
Matthew Smith (Director, Business development, Southpac) and Terai Boaza (Legal Counsel, Trustees & Fiduciaries Cook Islands) delivered comprehensive presentations on the strengths of the Cook Islands’ fiduciary, trust, and asset-protection frameworks.
Their presentation prompted a robust Q&A session, reflecting a high degree of professional interest and engagement among attendees.
Remarks from Mona Mato, Trade Commissioner — PTI China
“PTI China is very pleased to collaborate with the Cook Islands FSDA. We’ve dealt with foreign direct investments for a very long time, and I think over the last year, we wanted to be a bit more innovative and to explore the industries that benefit our Pacific Island countries. What I saw at the information session this morning was the interest from the Chinese business community in asset protection and the jurisdictions [that] can actually provide for their clients.
“It was great to see the questions, some businesses were very curious about our jurisdictions in the Pacific Islands. And I think FSDA, along with our trustee services and the companies from the Cook Islands really provided some good information…for Chinese businesses to look at the Cook Islands as a jurisdiction of interest.
“I think for a very long time in China, businesses here were focused on other jurisdictions, and for us, it’s exciting to see that we can provide or promote the services that we have in our Pacific Island countries.”
“I think there’s certainly opportunity for us to expand on this collaboration. We will continue to engage with…the business community, the private sector, the asset-protection organisations, and legal firms across China to really promote the services that we have in the Cook Islands.”
Comment from Tony Fe‘ao, CEO — Cook Islands FSDA
“PTI China has been an outstanding partner for us, and the event highlighted the strength that comes from working together. Mona, Cathy and the PTI team, created the right environment for open conversations and genuine interest in the Cook Islands.”
“What we saw in China was a clear appetite for credible, long-term asset-protection solutions. For the FSDA, this visit reinforced that the Cook Islands has an important role to play in this market, and that continued collaboration with PTI will be a real asset as we build our presence across Asia.”
The Beijing event formed part of a broader Cook Islands outreach programme across the region, reinforcing the jurisdiction’s commitment to expanding outside the key US market, partnering with local trustee companies – while providing advisers clear, quality information about Cook Islands’ trust, asset protection, and wealth-management solutions.
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