Date: For Parliament Sitting on 8 September 2026
Names and Constituencies of Members of Parliament
Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis, Sengkang GRC
Mr Yip Hon Weng, Yio Chu Kang SMC
Questions
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of China’s recent tightening of tax enforcement on offshore trusts and wealth structures on Singapore’s wealth management and related professional services sectors including any likely effects on tax revenues, investment flows and employment; and (b) what measures are being taken to maintain Singapore’s attractiveness as a trusted wealth management centre.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what is the MAS's assessment of the impact of China's new tax rules for offshore trusts on Singapore's financial industry and trust industry; and (b) whether Common Reporting Standard (CRS) exchanges with China are confined to financial account information or also capture underlying real estate and immovable property holdings.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how China’s new tax rules for offshore trusts may affect Singapore’s family office and trust management sector; (b) how MAS and IRAS will ensure relevant institutions manage tax compliance risks and meet Singapore’s tax transparency and anti-money laundering requirements; and (c) how Singapore will preserve its legitimate competitiveness in light of these rules.
Answer by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade), and Chairman of MAS:
1. Mr Speaker, my response will cover the question raised by Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Louis Chua in today’s Order Paper, as well as the question filed by Mr Yip Hon Weng for 10 September’s Sitting.
2. Key banks in the wealth management industry have told MAS that they have not observed significant impact from China’s tax rules thus far, and clients are assessing the implications of China’s new measures and the steps needed to meet their tax obligations.
3. Wealth owners choose Singapore for many key reasons, including our high standards of regulation, strong rule of law, and comprehensive ecosystem of wealth managers and professional service providers. These wealth owners also come from a diverse range of jurisdictions. Singapore’s wealth and broader asset management sector continues to see strong growth, with assets under management rising by 10.1% year on year to S$6.7 trillion in 2025.
4. We make continual efforts to strengthen the value proposition and competitiveness of our financial sector. To better support the family office ecosystem, MAS has recently enhanced the fund tax schemes to provide greater flexibility, reduce compliance costs, and expand the types of investments eligible under these schemes. Earlier in the year, we also shared that MAS and the industry were working to make account opening more efficient, and the industry aims to bring the median time needed for account opening down to within one month.
5. To the question about the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), it has been implemented by over 100 jurisdictions worldwide, including major financial centres. The CRS applies to financial account information, and not real estate and immovable property holdings.
***