Singapore Weighs Hedge Fund Tax Cuts as Wealthy Europeans Turn to Hong Kong

Singapore is considering tax cuts for hedge funds to keep pace with Hong Kong, worried that portfolio managers are relocating to the Chinese territory, the Financial Times reported. The move underscores how sharply the two centers are competing to attract mobile pools of capital and the professionals who manage them.

From the Hong Kong side, BNP Paribas said a growing number of wealthy European clients are seeking to establish family offices there to take advantage of regional opportunities, according to the South China Morning Post. Both accounts describe the same flow of private wealth toward Asian hubs and a contest between two jurisdictions to capture it.

The competition is being waged with tax policy and regulation, the tools that determine where fund managers domicile and where private fortunes are structured.