Singapore is emerging as the most popular Asian location for hedge fund start-ups according to data compiled by Eurekahedge, with the financ...

Singapore is emerging as the most popular Asian location for hedge fund start-ups according to data compiled by Eurekahedge, with the financial centre seeing more new fund registrations (19) than either Hong Kong or Australia (both with 13) last year. However, in terms of assets under management and average fund size, Hong Kong remains considerably larger than Singapore. At the end of 2004 there was $9.3 billion in assets under management in Hong Kong compared to $2.8 billion in Singapore. Average fund size in Hong Kong was $114 million compared to Singapore's $46 million. The reason for Singapore’s growth is the relatively short time taken to register a fund in the city-state, an issue identified by hedge fund managers as the most crucial. In Singapore this usually takes around two weeks, whereas in Hong Kong it can take several months. As a result, Singapore has managed to attract interest from some major America funds including Tudor, Everest and Moon Capital. Singapore's tax system was amended in this year’s budget to allow start-up fund managers to benefit from a 12-month grace period to meet the requirement that 80 per cent of share capital must come from foreign investors to qualify for a 10 per cent tax rate on fee income. This has also encouraged the global hedge fund community to use the jurisdiction.