A common-law node, east of the Indus.

Singapore is the principal financial centre of Southeast Asia, with a deep concentration of international banks, asset managers, and family-office counterparties — regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on standards comparable to those of London or Zurich. The legal system is English common-law in origin, with English as the language of business, contract, and the courts. Corporate counterparties around the world treat a Singapore vehicle as legally legible from first read.

Singapore’s tax regime is territorial in character — income from sources outside Singapore is generally not taxed, capital gains are not taxed, and there is no withholding on dividends. The corporate income-tax rate is among the lowest in the developed common-law world, and Singapore maintains an extensive network of double-taxation treaties. The combination supports the use of Singapore vehicles as both holding companies and operational seats without producing the friction that less-thoughtful jurisdictions impose on cross-border flows.

Our Singapore office serves clients whose structures call for an Asian common-law domicile with a credible regulatory and banking environment, including those whose holdings or counterparties sit elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The office complements the firm’s Hong Kong presence by widening the jurisdictional and regulatory choices available to a client without forcing them out of the eastern time zone.