Asset managers flock to Singapore’s new corporate structure

Singapore’s central bank said on Wednesday that more than 400 variable capital companies (VCCs) have been set up or re-domiciled in the city-state in less than two years since the new corporate structure was launched to cement its position as a financial hub.

The framework gives fund managers more flexibility in share issuance and dividend payment, and allows them to set up multiple funds in a single VCC to reduce costs.

VCCs can be used to set up a corporate structure for a stand-alone fund or for an umbrella fund with multiple sub-funds. They can be used for both traditional and alternative investment funds. Hong Kong also provides a similar structure.

About 300 Singapore-based global and regional asset managers had incorporated or re-domiciled more than 400 of these companies by mid-October, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in an asset management survey.