On 27 February 2013, the Financial Secretary, John Tsang Chun-wah, delivered his sixth Budget Speech to Hong Kong's Legislative Council. During the speech it was announced that the offshore funds exemption will be extended to include transactions in private companies incorporated or registered outside Hong Kong and which do not hold any Hong Kong properties or carry on business in Hong Kong.
In this newsletter we outlined our observations on this exemption and how it may impact managers of real estate funds using Hong Kong as a base for their fund management operations.