Revised Section 13O and 13U conditions; philanthropy incentive introduced

What changed?

MAS again revised the Section 13O and Section 13U qualifying conditions for single family office funds, effective for applications from 5 July 2023. Minimum fund sizes of SGD 20 million (Section 13O) and SGD 50 million (Section 13U) must now be met at application and maintained throughout the incentive period, the capital deployment requirement was expanded, and a new Philanthropy Tax Incentive Scheme was introduced.

Why it matters for fund managers

These conditions shape the economics of family-office VCC structures. The maintain-throughout requirement in particular changed planning: a fund that dips below the minimum mid-incentive now has a compliance problem, not just an application hurdle.