Background:
The Ministry of Finance announced in the 2018 Singapore Budget Statement that a VCC would be treated as a company and a single entity for tax purposes. On 10 September 2018, a draft bill for the VCC was presented for the first reading in the parliament, and the bill was subsequently passed in the parliament on 1 October 2018. The VCC Act will come into effect in end of 2019.
Originally it was named as Open-End Investment Company (OEIC), it came to be known as Singapore Variable Capital Company (“S-VACC”). Now, it has been renamed again, as the Variable Capital Company.
The VCC framework incorporates several key features of open-ended/flexible capital vehicles that are already available in jurisdictions such as Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK, and the USA and allows for investment funds to issue shares and debt instruments.
What is the Variable Capital Company?
A Variable Capital Company is an alternative form of corporate vehicle that will soon become available for Collective Investment Schemes (CIS). Presently, the organisational structures available to CIS are the company, limited partnerships, and the unit trust structures. The VCC can be used for both open-ended and closed-ended alternative and traditional fund strategies. As a corporate vehicle with flexible capital, shares are created when investments are made, and the shares are readily redeemable by the shareholders. This kind of flexibility was lacking in the existing vehicle of corporations available under The Companies Act that has several restrictions when it comes to capital reduction and dividend distribution. This new vehicle, exclusively designed for the fund management industry, will strengthen Singapore’s position as a fund management hub in the region.
What are the Benefits of Variable Capital Company?
- Solvency Test and Resolutions – There is no need for solvency tests and corporate resolutions for issue and redemption of shares. Relief from such conditions ensures seamless movement of capital.
- Easy entry and exit for Shareholders – Shareholders have greater freedom and flexibility to enter and exit a fund through easy subscription and redemption of shares. Such fluidity and flexibility are very critical for the efficiency of investment funds.
- Distribution of Dividends – the Company under the Companies Act that requires dividends to be distributed from the profits only, VCCs can distribute dividends from the capital itself.
- Register of Members – Although VCCs are required to maintain a register of shareholders, they need not disclose the register publicly.
- Umbrella Fund – The VCCs can be constituted as umbrella funds with several sub-funds that have different investment objectives, investors, and asset classes. The sub-funds could share a board of directors and have the same fund manager, custodian, auditor and administrative agent.
- Financial Statements – The Financial statements are not required to be made public.
- Variety of Investment – The VCC can be used for different types of investment strategies namely – traditional, hedge funds, private equity, and real estate funds
Basic Requirements of Variable Capital Company
- Capital of VCC – The capital of a VCC will always be equal to its net assets, thereby providing flexibility in the distribution and reduction of capital.
- Licenses Fund Managers – It will require a Singapore based licensed or regulated fund manager (unless exempted under the regulations)
- Securities and Futures Act – The VCCs are required to follow Securities and Futures Act (SFA) requirements for investment funds.
- Directorship – It must have at least one Singapore resident director for non-authorised schemes and at least three directors for authorised schemes.
- Secretary and Registered Office Address – It must have its registered office in Singapore and must appoint a Singapore based company secretary.
- Auditors – It must be subject to audit by a Singapore-based auditor and must present its financial statements as per IFRS, Singapore FRS, or US GAAP.
Entities | Variable Capital Company | Company |
| Legal Form |
| A business form which is a legal entity separate and distinct from its shareholders and directors |
| Legislative Framework |
| Companies Act, Chapter 50 |
| Administering authority |
| Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) |
| Owned By | The subscribers to the constitution of the VCC and every other person who agrees to become a member of the VCC and whose name is entered in the register of members. |
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| Legal Status | For VCC, a sub-fund of an umbrella VCC is not a legal person separate from the VCC, but the VCC may sue or be sued in respect of a sub-fund. The property of a sub-fund is subject to orders of a court as it would have been if the sub-fund were a separate legal person. | It is a separate legal entity from its members and directors, entity can sue or be sued in own name and also own property in own name. |
| Liability |
| Members of the Companies have limited liability. |
| Yearly statutory obligations | Annual returns must be filed after its AGM and within 7 months after the end of its financial year | Annual returns must be filed after its AGM (a) in the case of a listed company, within 5 months after the end of its financial year; and (b) in any other case, within 7 months after the end of its financial year |
| Accounting and governance | The wider scope of accounting standards to be used in preparing a VCC’s financial statements thus allowing more flexibility in financial reporting:
| Singapore accounting standards and recommended accounting principles for companies which are consistent with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards |
| Re-domiciliation |
| Foreign corporate entity can re-domicile to Singapore and become a Singapore entity (provided the host country recognises or authorises re-domiciliation) |
| Appointment of company secretary and auditors | Company Secretary: Must appoint at least 1 company secretary within 6 months of incorporation. Auditor: Must appoint an auditor within 3 months after incorporation, unless the company is exempt from audit requirements | |
| Requirement for fund manager |
| No such requirement for fund manager. |
| Number of Shareholders | At least one shareholder. (Note: s16 and s17 VCC Act states that any person may incorporate a VCC and the subscribers to the constitution of a VCC are considered to have agreed to become members of the VCC) | At least one shareholder |
| Number of Directors |
| Must have at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore |
| Registration requirements | The registering party must submit to ACRA:
| The registering party shall submit to ACRA:
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| Taxes |
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| Continuity in law | A VCC has perpetual succession until it is wound up | A company has perpetual succession until it is wound up or struck off |
| Closing the business |
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Variable Capital Company can be used Standalone Fund or Umbrella Fund
Umbrella Fund
- Standalone Fund comprises of single investment portfolio.
- The tax treatment of a stand-alone VCC will remain the same as that of a Singapore company.
- The Enhanced Tier Fund (“ETF”) Scheme and Singapore Resident Fund (“SRF”) Scheme under the Income Tax Act will apply to a stand-alone VCC similar to how it would apply to a Singapore company
Stand Alone Fund
- An umbrella fund consist of multiple sub-funds;
- All sub-funds can share the same directors and service providers;
- Each sub-funds acts as a separate legal entity;
- If need be, each sub-fund should be wounded up seperatly to ensure ring-fencing of each fund’s assests and liabilities
