Singapore continues to attract new family offices with around 200 applicants queued to set up in the city-state.
Currently, there are about 200 single-family office (SFO) tax incentive applicants awaiting approval, according to a statement by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, senior minister and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chairman.
Similar to other major jurisdictions such as the US, UK, Europe, Switzerland and Hong Kong, SFOs in Singapore are not subject to licensing. The majority apply to MAS for tax incentives on income derived from their investments managed in the city-state.
In contrast, multi-family offices (MFO) are regulated by the MAS like other fund managers under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) and Singapore currently sees only one pending license application.
Growing Hub
Singapore continues to realize its ambitions of becoming a global family office hub. According to government estimates, it is currently home to about 700 family offices, up from 400 in end-2020.
«To safeguard against money laundering risks and ensure that Singapore reaps the benefits of hosting these SFOs, MAS and banks take care to ensure that these evaluation processes are conducted properly and are not rushed,» Shanmugaratnam said in the response to parliamentary questions.
