Singapore Touts Tax Cuts for Hedge Funds in Bid to Outflank Hong Kong

Singapore's financial regulator is negotiating tax cuts for hedge funds and asset managers in an effort to attract more institutional capital, including crypto-native funds, to the city-state.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is discussing measures that would expand eligibility for carried-interest treatment at a 0% tax rate and reduce rates from the current 10% under existing incentive schemes.

The proposed changes center on two levers: broadening which investment profits qualify as carried interest, and taxing those at zero percent, as well as lowering the rates under Singapore's existing special incentive programs from their current 10% threshold.

Singapore's Budget 2026 already introduced a 40% corporate income tax rebate and committed S$1.5 billion to the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP), which is designed to boost liquidity in local markets. The hedge fund tax talks represent another front in the same campaign.