Biography
Istee is a partner in the Tax, Trade and Wealth Management Practice Group at Wong & Partners. Her key practice areas are wealth management and succession planning. Her Wealth Management practice was named the "Tax and Trusts Law Firm of the Year" by the Asian Legal Business Malaysia Law Awards in both 2020 and 2021, and is ranked as a Band 1 practice by the Chambers High Net Worth Guide for Private Wealth Law.
She is ranked Band 1 for Private Wealth Law by Chambers High Net Worth Guide, with clients describing her as "well-versed in this area" and commending her ability to provide "full advice and anticipate what we want". She is also recognised as a Promoted practitioner for Private Client by International Tax Review.
She has collaborated on several guides and publications, including LexisNexis Practical Guidance – Tax, where she co‑authored the Taxation in Malaysia: Overview, Taxation of Trustees and Trust Funds, Automatic Exchange of Information and Succession Laws in Malaysia articles.
Practice Focus
Istee's practice focuses on advising high-net worth individuals, financial institutions and intermediaries on the legal, regulatory and tax issues in setting up a succession planning structure. She has also assisted families and individuals with the actual implementation of such structures, which includes the setting up of Malaysian or offshore trust structures.
Her practice extends to advising on tax planning, corporate compliance and issues relating to investments and setting up of operations in Malaysia across multiple industries. She also manages corporate exercises, including cross border mergers and acquisitions. She is also experienced in matters involving restructurings, and post-acquisition integrations.
Representative Legal Matters
- Acted for a Forbes-listed founder and controlling shareholder of a Malaysian public-listed group on the establishment and implementation of a cross-border succession and wealth preservation structure.
- Advised a Forbes-listed Malaysian businessman on establishing and implementing a multijurisdictional wealth preservation and succession structure for a family-owned Bursa Malaysia-listed business.
- Advised a high-net-worth entrepreneur on the restructuring and succession planning of an international healthcare group, including the transfer of cross-border business and real estate assets into long-term wealth planning structures while navigating Malaysian, Singaporean, UK, and Irish tax considerations.
- Advised a high-net-worth entrepreneur on the tax and succession planning aspects of a luxury collectibles portfolio, including the characterization of disposal gains under Malaysian tax law.
- Advised a Japanese high-net-worth patriarch on his migration from Japan to Malaysia and the establishment of a succession planning structure for the passing on of his shipping empire to the next generation. Our advice included migration options, tax optimization in view of his tax residencies outside Malaysia, and structuring of a Labuan foundation.
- Advised an ultra-high net worth Malaysian family on multigenerational wealth and succession planning, with respect to diverse assets, including shares in listed companies, operating businesses, financial portfolios and real properties. Our advice included establishment of master trust, sub-trusts and Labuan foundations.
- Advised on the Malaysian legal and regulatory regime on establishing a structure for wealth management and succession planning for a prominent Malaysian family, whose assets include investment in a Malaysian-listed company. Our advice covered an array of legal and tax matters including securities law, company laws, Labuan company laws and tax laws to be able to comprehensively and holistically explore feasible structures to meet the family's needs.
- Advised a Japanese high-net-worth individual with the succession of the family's business operations following the demise of his father in Japan. Given the cross-border nature of the deceased's assets and business operations, we assisted with the succession of the management of the foreign businesses and continuity of the father's business and wealth legacy.
- Advised foreign trustees in connection with the substantial shareholding disclosure obligations pertaining to interests in Malaysian companies listed on the Malaysian exchange.
- Successfully advised on a stamp duty appeal in the High Court against the notice of assessment issued by the Inland Revenue Board, in respect of the transfer of company shares for the setting up of a wealth management structure. The stamp duty appeal is one of the first of its kind to be considered and litigated in the High Court.
Professional Honors
- Ranked Band 1 for Private Wealth Law by Chambers High Net Worth Guide
- Listed as Promoted for Private Client by International Tax Review
Professional Associations and Memberships
- The Bar of England and Wales
- The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn
- Malaysian Bar
- Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM) - Full Member
- Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
Admissions
Malaysia (2012)
England & Wales (2011)
Education
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LL.B (Hons)) (2010)
Languages
Bahasa Malaysia
English
Publications
- "LexisNexis Practical Guidance - Tax," LexisNexis, 2020
- "Legal Tax Developments in Malaysia," WealthBriefingAsia, 2019
- "Insight: Malaysia—Will Its New Tax Disclosure Program Work?" Bloomberg Tax, 2019