Bank of Singapore Ltd. plans to expand its family office business to capitalize on increased demand from investors looking to manage family wealth, Bloomberg News reported, citing CEO Bahren Shaari.
The bank's business will focus on rich families, particularly from China, Europe and the Middle East, who are looking to invest in Singapore. Shaari said that investors will be attracted to invest in funds managed by family offices in Singapore, as the government offers tax incentives for those funds, meaning that the offices will not pay Singapore tax on most of their investment gains.
The bank is aiming to increase its AUM to US$500 million per banker over the next three to four years, Shaari added. It does not plan to substantially increase its number of relationship managers.
Meanwhile, Bank of Singapore also plans to open a new Taiwan unit to take advantage of parent Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd.'s presence on the island.
