Compliance & Regulation

Noah Singapore granted Capital Markets Services licence

Noah Holdings Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Noah Holdings, has announced that it has been granted a Capital Markets Services ("CMS") licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

With the CMS licence, Noah Singapore can deal in capital markets products that are securities and units in a collective investment scheme, and provide custodial services, according to the press release by Noah. It will also allow the firm to provide financial advisory on capital markets products that are securities, units in a collective investment scheme and life policies, as well as arranging of contracts of insurance in respect of life policies, other than contracts of reinsurance.

Thomas Wu Tao, CEO, Noah Singapore, said “Singapore plays a strategic role in Noah's overall expansion in servicing our clients' overall wealth management needs. With the issuance of the CMS licence, Noah will continue to draw on our strengths to serve Noah's high net worth clients with an expanded suite of investment and wealth management solutions in Singapore.”

Wu, according to the press release, brings nearly three decades of experiences in financial services. He served as Chief Financial Officer of Noah from 2010 to 2013. Prior to re-joining Noah, Wu was Asia Pacific chief strategy officer of Bank Julius Baer. Wu has also held key executive positions with JPMorgan, Alliance Bernstein, and Moody's Investors Services in New York, Singapore, and San Francisco.

According to 2019 fourth-quarter annual report results released by Noah, as stated in a press release by the firm, Noah has a cumulative allocation scale of RMB686.7 billion (over USD96 billion) and a total of 293,760 high-net-worth clients.

The firm states that it is actively expanding its global footprint and has established a strong presence with offices in Hong Kong, Jersey, New York, Silicon Valley, Vancouver, Melbourne, and now Singapore. Noah manages businesses in diversified products such as private equity investments, real estate fund investments, open market investments, family wealth and discretionary businesses.

Noah Singapore was first established in 2018, and provides Chinese high net worth individuals, families and enterprises with a holistic and comprehensive range of global asset allocation, wealth management and other bespoke financial services. Noah Singapore plays an important role of the group's internationalisation strategy.

The issuance of the CMS licence to Noah Singapore has further expanded and enhanced Noah's overseas footprint, according to the firm. Beyond the Group’s Singapore operations, Noah Hong Kong was approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in Q1 2020 for Type 1, Type 4 and Type 9 activities. In 2016, Ark Trust (Jersey) obtained the Jersey Trust Licence, and in 2017, Noah America officially obtained the California Insurance Licence.

Noah additionally notes the authority obtained for its Australian and Canadian operations to offer services in their respective jurisdictions.