Hong Kong · Asia-Pacific
CTP · Practicing Solicitor, Hong Kong · Founder, eTrust Ventures
Forty years at the intersection of technology, institutional finance, and law — rooted in Asia, practising in Hong Kong, and building the infrastructure for the next generation of private wealth governance.
Biography
Dr. Matthew Au is a senior Hong Kong practicing solicitor, Certified Trust Practitioner (CTP), with over 40 years of interdisciplinary experience spanning global technology development, elite institutional finance, and sophisticated corporate law. His career traces a rare arc — from early work at the frontier of computer science and communications technology in Canada, through executive leadership roles at Bank of America and Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong and London, to over two decades of legal practice in Hong Kong.
He began in technology. At Bell Canada (Ottawa) and IBM Canada (Toronto), he contributed to the development of early electronic mail systems, database technologies, and first-generation smart phone research — foundational work that would later inform his approach to financial systems and, ultimately, legal platform design.
Joining Bank of America in Hong Kong, he began in the IT department as head of the Electronic Fund Transfer System group, representing that function on the bank's global banking system migration team across Asia. He subsequently moved to the Global Payment Services business unit, progressing from Senior Product Manager to Consulting Product Manager, delivering the bank's payment services and corporate treasury solutions to major corporations across the Asia-Pacific region — before joining Goldman Sachs as Executive Director. At Goldman, he held a sequence of leadership roles across nearly a decade: heading Asian Treasury Operations across Hong Kong and Singapore, then leading Asian Private Client Services, before serving as Head of Client Risk Management within the newly merged Private Wealth Management Department (Asia). During this period he participated in landmark IPOs for PetroChina, China Mobile, Southern Airlines, and Bank of China (HK), and was seconded to the firm's London offices to participate in the Euro currency conversion and Y2K remediation programmes.
He returned to academia briefly as Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, teaching Trade and Investment Law of the PRC, before entering legal practice in Hong Kong in 2005. His boutique practice covers company law, trust law, commercial transactions, and technology law — with active work in Limited Partnership Funds (LPFs), corporate and fintech trust structures, and cross-border advisory for US, Hong Kong, and Mainland China clients.
Computer Communication Group · Electronic mail systems, early smart phone research, international technology transfer
IBM Laboratory · R&D in relational database technologies; performance evaluation of enterprise database systems
IT Department: Head of Electronic Fund Transfer System Group · Global banking system migration across HK, Japan, Korea & Singapore · Global Payment Services (Business Unit): Senior Product Manager, promoted to Consulting Product Manager · Payment services and treasury solutions to corporations across Asia-Pacific
Executive Director · Head of Asian Treasury Operations · Head of Asian Private Client Services · Head of Client Risk Management, Private Wealth Management Department (Asia) · IPOs for PetroChina, China Mobile, Southern Airlines, Bank of China (HK) · Seconded to London for Euro conversion and Y2K remediation
Adjunct Professor · Law 337: Trade and Investment Law of the PRC
Practicing Solicitor (company, trust, commercial & technology law) · CTP · Founder, eTrust group
Areas of Practice
A practice built on 40 years of interdisciplinary depth — across fund architecture, fintech trust structures, cross-border compliance, and private wealth governance.
Structuring and drafting constitutional documents for Limited Partnership Funds (Cap. 637). General Partner liability, regulatory perimeters, fund onboarding protocols, and governance design between GP and LP.
Corporate trustee wrappers for marketplace lending platforms, multi-funder networks, and automated digital finance engines. Isolating operational risk from investor capital. Trade finance and cross-border mortgage custody structures.
BVI and Hong Kong trust frameworks — discretionary structures, Anti-Bartlett provisions, reserved powers, fiduciary duty exclusions, and VISTA. Family office architecture and multi-generational succession planning.
Institutional-grade internal controls, systemic capital risk management, and multi-jurisdictional compliance frameworks — informed by direct leadership of Asian Treasury Operations and Client Risk Management within Goldman Sachs.
Advising US, Hong Kong, and Mainland China corporate clients on inbound and outbound direct investment, KYC/AML fiduciary compliance, Sino-foreign joint ventures, legal due diligence, and SFC licensing perimeters.
Technology transactions, platform governance, and the regulatory intersection of financial technology and legal infrastructure — drawing on foundational experience in computer science and enterprise systems development.
Recent Work
A cross-section of active engagements spanning fund structuring, trust design, platform development, and academic research — illustrating the breadth of the practice.
Design and documentation of a BVI-law discretionary trust holding a Hong Kong limited partnership interest, with detailed Anti-Bartlett exclusion framework, statutory duty exclusions under BVI Trustee Act 2003 s.86, and contractual governance provisions distinguishing trustee passivity from active default.
Acting as designated corporate trustee for a fintech marketplace platform matching international funders with commercial borrowers. Structuring trust arrangements to isolate investor capital pre-allocation, hold collateral including bills of lading, receivables and offshore property mortgages, and ensure clean segregation from the platform's operating balance sheet.
Advising asset managers and corporate sponsors on LPF formation, constitutional document drafting, GP/LP governance protocols, and regulatory perimeter management under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. Mandates spanning US, Hong Kong, and Mainland China clients.
Founder and architect of a proprietary five-module platform (Registry, Compliance, Documents, Billing, Submission) purpose-built for TCSP-licensed corporate secretarial practice in Hong Kong. Deployed at aip.etrust.global; integrating automated Companies Registry workflows and e-signature infrastructure.
eTrust Ventures
The eTrust group is not a single firm — it is a connected set of initiatives, each addressing a distinct gap in the private wealth and governance ecosystem. Built incrementally, designed to last.
Each domain serves a distinct audience and purpose — together representing a coherent architecture for professional practice in the Asia-Pacific region.
TCSP-licensed professional services firm in Hong Kong (MKA Nominee Limited) — company secretarial, corporate services, trust & escrow, IP advisory, and AIP platform licensing
Proprietary company secretarial and compliance platform — registry, billing, and document management
Education and professional development — trust law, governance, and private wealth for Asia-Pacific practitioners
Private — family office and institutional advisory. By introduction.
Credentials
Community
Engagement with the wider governance, legal, and business community across Hong Kong and the region — through associations, civic roles, and professional networks reflecting a commitment to the standards of the profession and the development of the field.
Civic boards and additional community roles — to be updated.
Community boards, civic roles, and further professional associations will be listed here.
Beyond the Office
The person behind the practice — hobbies, travel, and the things that make the work worth doing.
Personal interests and pursuits to be added.
Places visited, regions explored, journeys taken — across Asia and beyond.
Further personal projects and interests to be added.
Connect
For professional enquiries, introductions, or collaboration — the preferred channel is LinkedIn. For content and commentary, follow on YouTube and X.
New client work is accepted by introduction only through the eTrust network.