‘Can’t afford 6 more months of silence’: Singapore could gain edge over HK with asset management push

[SINGAPORE] Singapore could gain an edge over Hong Kong in the race to become the region’s leading asset management hub, in the wake of the Republic’s unveiling of a broader set of measures that complement efforts to narrow the tax gap between the two markets, industry observers said.

The new measures are timely and send a “strong signal” of Singapore’s commitment to grow the sector, especially amid growing concern that the Republic risks losing investment talent and fund-management mandates to competing hubs, they added.

“The timing of the announcement is a nice surprise,” said Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin, chief executive of fund manager Quantedge Capital. “The industry cannot afford a further six months of silence, so an earlier announcement (ahead of details) is the correct decision.”