SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Lee Woon Shiu and Catherine Cheung, DBS Private Bank
• trusts and corporations wholly owned by, and for the sole benefit of, the family; or • qualifying charitable entities funded solely by that family. For regulatory compliance, “family” is broadly yet clearly defined to span up to five generations of lineal descendants from a common ancestor, including cur - rent and former spouses, adopted children, stepchil - dren, siblings-in-law and parents-in-law. To allow families to attract and retain elite global investment talent, the 2026 framework permits key non-family employees of the SFO (such as the execu - tive directors, CEO, CFO and investment profession - als) to hold up to a 10% equity stake in the total assets under management (AUM) within the structure. The SFO must be incorporated in Singapore. Crucial - ly, both the SFO corporate entity and its Singapore incorporated fund vehicle must each establish and maintain a bank account with a MAS-licensed bank. If the fund vehicle is foreign-incorporated, it may alter - natively open and maintain an account with a regu - lated bank in a jurisdiction that complies with Anti- Money Laundering (AML)/Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements consistent with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. All new SFOs must file a formal Notice of Commence - ment of Business with MAS within 14 days of com - mencing operations. Existing SFOs already operating in Singapore under previous individual exemptions are granted a strict one-year transitional grace period. These existing entities must structurally align, open the necessary bank channels, and file their statutory notifications by 15 June 2027. MAS has explicitly leveraged this 2026 framework to strengthen Singapore’s defence against illicit financial flows. By requiring every SFO to have an active rela - tionship with a MAS-licensed bank in order to qualify for a licensing exemption, the regulator has effectively shifted onboarding AML/KYC scrutiny directly to local bank compliance desks. The 2026 revised SFO framework also brings about a practical operational change in the turnaround time
for corporate bank account openings. While account set-up historically represented a three to four-month operational bottleneck, major Singaporean banks have deployed dedicated SFO onboarding desks in response to the June 2026 regulations. Under these optimised compliance channels, well-prepared files are now clearing KYC and source-of-funds validation within a few weeks instead of months. The Economic Development Board (EDB) and Enterprise Singapore Trade Initiatives Complementing the Schemes administered by MAS, the EDB and Enterprise Singapore have extended and optimised key corporate and treasury incentives to further solidify Singapore as a commercial hub. Global Trader Programme (GTP) Administered by Enterprise Singapore, the GTP has been extended to 31 December 2031, and offers a concessionary corporate tax rate of 5% or 10% on qualifying offshore trading income. Notably, the scope of qualifying commodities has been expanded to include Environmental Attribute Certificates, mirror - ing the global shift toward carbon trading and green energy markets. Global Founder Programme (GFP) This initiative, launched in April 2025, is engineered specifically to attract successful, elite international entrepreneurs and technology founders seeking to embed themselves within Singapore’s innovation ecosystem. The GFP offers seamless integration into Singapore’s start-up ecosystem, access to a compre - hensive suite of resources, and support for business set-up and hiring. Approved founders receive stream - lined regulatory pathways for corporate set-up and access to the Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Pass – a high-level, five-year multi-use employment and residence pass. Finance and Treasury Centre (FTC) incentive Extended to 31 December 2031, the FTC incentive provides a concessionary tax rate of 8% or 10%, alongside strategic withholding tax exemptions on qualifying income, positioning Singapore as the default regional hub for centralised corporate treasury operations.
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