PE industry rattled by HK tax issues

An estimated fourfold rise in the number of tax audits of alternative asset managers in Hong Kong last year has raised worries among industry participants. This comes at a time when some private equity firms are moving parts of their operations to Singapore from the territory, driven at least partly by the lack of clarity on tax rules, say sources. “Some Hong Kong-based firms have quietly shifted some of their administration and structural things down to Singapore,” says one ind…