A delegation from the Shanghai-based Griffin Plutus Family Office has completed a bespoke fiduciary qualification while on a week-long trip to Guernsey to meet with service providers from the island.

The visit was arranged by Guernsey Finance, which worked with the GTA University Centre, as well as the Guernsey Association of Trustees (GAT), the Guernsey branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and local trust, legal and finance practitioners to host an on-island training course.

The course was specifically designed for the delegation after Griffin Plutus Family Office expressed the desire to learn more about Guernsey's position as a leading offshore jurisdiction and understand the regulations and structures that exist on the island.

Antoine Kuo, Founder of Griffin Plutus Family Office, was one of five people from his office to complete the qualification. Mr Kuo, who has more than 25 years' experience in private banking and offshore finance, has a well-established relationship with Guernsey having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guernsey Finance in his role as Chairman of the Shanghai Family Office Union. He was also a speaker at the launch event for Guernsey Finance's Hong Kong representative office in March this year.

Mr Kuo said that the island's standard of regulation and flexible range of structures were important to the Chinese market and the week-long course had provided a greater insight into the way Guernsey operates.

"Through more than 40 meetings and classes over five days with some of the best practitioners in Guernsey, we were not only impressed by the professional expertise and well-regulated environment Guernsey has to offer, but also the warmth and hospitality shown towards us. These are some of the key reasons why Guernsey maintains its leading position in the private wealth market," said Mr Kuo.

"This visit will strengthen the relationship and cooperation we have with Guernsey to provide top tier global private wealth services for the Chinese market. We truly appreciate all the arrangements made for us by Guernsey Finance's Kate Clouston and the GTA University Centre, and thank all the institutions that provided such detailed information in our tutorial classes."

In addition to completing their qualification, the Griffin Plutus Family Office team also met with a range of Guernsey service providers, local government and industry trade associations. The visit culminated in a tour of Guernsey's Royal Court by the Deputy Bailiff of Guernsey, Richard McMahon.

Kate Clouston, Director of International Business Development at Guernsey Finance, said the course and visit had been arranged as a result of the desire of Mr Kuo and his colleagues to learn about Guernsey's position as a leading offshore jurisdiction for private wealth.

"We're delighted that someone with Antoine's background recognises that Guernsey boasts significant experience and expertise in this area and wants to learn from us in terms of how we establish and operate fiduciary structures for clients from around the world," said Miss Clouston.

"This is a significant development in Guernsey's relationship with China in bringing these influential contacts to the island and we are hopeful that future partnerships will develop as a result. We are already aware of enquiries that have taken place since the delegation's visit. The support of Guernsey firms over the course of the week was crucial to the success of the visit and affirms that mainland China is a key market for industry."

In addition to Mr Kuo, the other members of staff from Griffin Plutus Family Office who completed the qualification were: Jeorick Jun Xu, Managing Director; Isabel Rui Xu, Head of Legal and Compliance; Ryan Junyan Chen, Investment Management and Jason Jianquan Zhang, Paralegal.

For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.

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