While many real estate asset management professionals were based in Hong Kong, it was a notable feature of the Asian investment landscape that most funds and other holding vehicles were not. The fund itself and the underlying holding companies were much more likely to be in Cayman, Singapore, or Luxembourg than in Hong Kong.

One of the reasons for this had been the perceived greater certainty of tax outcomes in the other locations. Still, proposed changes to the Hong Kong tax system provided much greater certainty that many disposals of equity interests could be achieved tax-free. It meant that it was no longer automatically beneficial to undertake transactions outside Hong Kong.

In the presentation, Ivor Morris, Partner at KPMG, explored the extent to which the changes should have prompted fund managers to re-evaluate how they structured their investments.

The event concluded with networking drinks, offering a fantastic opportunity to mingle, connect, and celebrate the achievements of the past year with fellow professionals in the ANREV community.

We would like to extend our thanks to KPMG for sponsoring this event.

Sponsored by