On a humid afternoon here in Singapore, as most afternoons tend to be, I sat across from a fund manager who had built a successful business across Asia but was hesitating about Europe. He was not skeptical. He was curious. He listened carefully as Luxembourg’s regulatory framework was explained to him, page by page, directive by directive. When the presentation ended, he paused and asked a question that cut through everything that had just been said.
“What happens when something goes wrong?”
It was not a legal question. It was a human one.
That moment came back to mind last week when the Luxembourg government announced its intention to further strengthen its diplomatic and economic presence abroad, including through a stronger focus on financial expertise within its international network. It is a welcome and timely move. Because promoting Luxembourg as a financial center is not about sales. It is about translation.
Luxembourg does not lack strengths. On paper, it is one of the most robust and respected financial centers in the world. Its fund industry rests on clear rules, strong supervision, and decades of institutional experience. Yet in Asia, those qualities do not always speak for themselves. They need context.
When Luxembourg speaks about regulation, Asian managers sometimes hear rigidity.
Asian decision-makers often approach jurisdictions differently from their European counterparts. They are less interested in regulatory architecture and more interested in behavior. They want to understand how systems respond under pressure, how accessible institutions are when something unexpected happens, and whether judgment exists alongside rules.
When Luxembourg speaks about regulation, Asian managers sometimes hear rigidity. When it speaks about supervision, they worry about speed. When governance is emphasized, they wonder how flexible the system will be in real market situations.
The task is not to soften Luxembourg’s message, but to translate it. Regulation becomes predictability. Supervision becomes credibility. Governance becomes long-term protection of reputation and capital. Once framed this way, Luxembourg’s value proposition resonates far more clearly.
Singapore offers a useful lens. It is a market that deeply respects rules, but only when rules are paired with pragmatism. Decision-makers here value continuity, responsiveness, and presence. One-off delegations raise awareness, but they rarely create confidence. Confidence grows when expertise is embedded locally and when conversations can move beyond formal presentations to real-world experience.
Having lived and worked across Asia for more than twelve years, I have seen how trust is built in practice. It accumulates through repeated interactions, consistency, and follow-up. This is why strengthening Luxembourg’s on-the-ground financial expertise abroad is such a positive step. It acknowledges that promotion today is not episodic. It is relational.
Asian general partners choosing a European domicile are not making a technical choice. They are making a reputational one.
This matters most for the fund industry, which remains Luxembourg’s most important financial export. Asian general partners choosing a European domicile are not making a technical choice. They are making a reputational one. They want assurance that their European platform will support them not just at launch, but as they grow, scale, and face inevitable complexity.
From a public policy perspective, promoting Luxembourg is therefore not about pushing structures or competing on incentives. It is about building understanding. It is about explaining why a smaller jurisdiction can offer exceptional stability, why predictability often outweighs speed, and why disciplined governance ultimately creates flexibility.
Translation also flows in the opposite direction. Asian perspectives should inform how Luxembourg evolves and how it presents itself internationally. A strong presence abroad does not only export Luxembourg’s strengths. It brings valuable feedback home.
In a world crowded with financial centers trying to sell themselves, Luxembourg’s decision to invest in expertise, presence, and understanding is the right one. Promotion, done well, is not persuasion. It is interpretation.
Here in Asia, that difference matters. Translation is what turns interest into trust, and trust into long-term commitment.
Christophe Santer is a columnist for Investment Officer. He is a director at private market services firm Bunch and serves as a consultant at Mangis Bay.