SINGLE family offices (SFOs) that have applied for and have been awarded tax incentives in Singapore employ about 1,400 Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs), about two-thirds of whom are paid more than S$5,000 per month, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Thursday (Jul 6).

In a written parliamentary reply, he said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) does not have data on all SFOs in Singapore, since they do not need to be licensed by the authority. This is because they do not manage third-party assets.

MAS does however have data on SFOs that have applied for and have been award tax incentives under Section 13O and 13U of the Income Tax Act.

Among the 1,400 locals employed by these SFOs, about 900 had jobs that were created in just the last three years, said Tharman, adding that these are “generally well-paying jobs”.

Two-thirds of these locals earn more than S$5,000 monthly, while more than 400 earn between S$2,000 and S$5,000. Fewer than 50 are paid S$2,000 per month.

Tharman, who is the outgoing chairman of MAS, was responding to questions on the contributions of family offices to the Singapore economy.

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He said SFOs contribute in two key ways: they create jobs directly, and they also generate revenue and help create jobs for external service providers such as banks and law firms.

As for SFO’s contributions in the form of revenue generation in other businesses and being a source of capital, Tharman said MAS does not currently have the data but intends to conduct surveys to obtain a better understanding of these contributions.

Mariam Jaafar, Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, had also asked if a study has been done to quantify the contributions of the family offices set up in the past three years and how they compare to other groups, including citizens and foreigners holding employment passes.

Tharman clarified that Sections 13O and 13U tax incentive schemes do not accord PR or citizenship status to foreign owners setting up SFOs in Singapore. The conditions that award recipients are subject to do not differ by the residency status of the SFO owners, he added.

“Accordingly, MAS does not collect such data,” he said. “What MAS will do is to continue to review the Sections 13O and 13U tax incentive schemes for SFOs to ensure they continue to make meaningful contributions to Singapore.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will take over from Tharman as MAS chairman on Jul 8.