Introduction to the Significant Investments Review Act (SIRA)

The Significant Investments Review Act 2024 of Singapore (“Act”; https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/SIRA2024)was passed by Parliament on 9 January 2024 and came into force on 28 March 2024. The Act sets out a new investment regime which will regulate significant investments – by both local and foreign investors – into designated entities critical to Singapore’s national security interests (“Designated Entities”).

The Act complements the existing suite of sectoral safeguards and introduces a new investment management regime:

(i) There will be ownership and control provisions over a handful of designated entities, to ensure the reliability of critical functions that they provide, as well as to safeguard Singapore’s national security interests. The Ministry has reached out to all entities being considered for designation.

(ii) There will also be powers that can be exercised against any entity that has acted against Singapore’s national security interests, regardless of whether they are designated or not.

An Office of Significant Investments Review (OSIR) has been set up under MTI to administer and operationalise the Act, as well as serve as a dedicated one-stop touchpoint with all stakeholders.

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Your point of contact in Singapore: Dr. Andreas Respondek

Respondek & Fan Pte Ltd

1 North Bridge Road
#16-03 High Street Centre
Singapore 179094

CELL      +65 9751 0757
TEL        +65 6324 0060
FAX        +65 6324 0223

www.rflegal.com
respondek@rflegal.com

New investment support for the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) industry

Thailand's Board of Investment (‘BOI’) has announced incentives for an expanded range of companies involved in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing. To support the potential massive relocation of manufacturing sites due to current global geopolitical pressures, especially in high-tech industries such as electronics, the BOI is expanding the scope of business activities eligible for investment support in the PCB sector to support companies in the supply chain, such as:

- Manufacturing of raw materials essential for PCB production, such as Copper Clad Laminate (CCL), Flexible Copper Clad Laminate (FCCL), and prepreg;

- PCB manufacturing support, including lamination, drilling, plating and routing; and

- Production of materials such as dry films, transfer films and reinforcement plates for use in PCB manufacturing.

A subsidised company operating these business areas is entitled to an exemption from corporation tax for up to eight years, an exemption from import duties on machinery, an exemption from import duties on raw materials used in production destined for export and other non-tax incentives. (https://www.boi.go.th/upload/content/sor4_2567EN.pdf)

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Your point of contact in Thailand: Dr. Andreas Respondek

Respondek & Fan Ltd

United Center, 39th Floor, Suite 3904 B
323 Silom Road
Bangkok 10500, Thailand

CELL     +66 89 896 4048
TEL       +66 2 635 5498
FAX       +66 2 635 5499

www.rflegal.com
respondek@rflegal.com

Tax exemptions for innovative start-ups in Ho Chi Minh City

With Resolution 98/2023/QH15, the Vietnamese National Assembly laid the foundation for special investment measures in Ho Chi Minh City last year: "young" and innovative companies located in Ho Chi Minh City shall benefit from corporate income tax exemptions for a period of five years. With Decree 11/2024/ND-CP, which came into force at the beginning of this year, the government has implemented the resolution. Though specification of sectors eligible for funding is reserved for the People's Committee Ho Chi Minh City.

The People’s Committee decided (Decision 20/2023/NQ-HDND) to promote the fields of e-commerce, financial technology, logistics, education technology, health care and services, high-tech agriculture, sustainable development, digital transformation, as well as cybersecurity, and consequently grants start-ups engaged in such sectors the opportunity to apply for stated tax exemption.

In order to take account of the typical early phase of a start-up, the five-year period does not start until a taxable profit has been made. If the company is already benefiting from corporate income tax relief for other reasons (e.g. due to the location of the company), alternatively, it may opt to apply the tax exemption referred here - as long as the five-year period has not yet expired.

This measure is intended to further strengthen the attractiveness of Ho Chi Minh City as an investment location. Enhanced marketing efforts for available tax incentives could help to achieve this objective more efficiently.

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Your point of contact in Vietnam: Christian Brendel

Brendel & Associates Law Co., Ltd.

D&D Tower, 10th Floor
458 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Ward 2, District 3
Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt, Vietnam

CELL     +84 98 978 4791
TEL       +84 28 3911 2008
FAX       +84 28 3911 2010

www.brendel-associates.com
info@brendel-associates.com