Having settled earlier this year on the UCITS framework as the regulatory template for its new fund regime, New Zealand has moved a step closer to receiving governmenPARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Having settled earlier this year on the UCITS framework as the regulatory template for its new fund regime, New Zealand has moved a step closer to receiving government approval as it prepares to submit a draft proposal by the end of the month, reported HFMWeek this week. Despite being clear in their intentions to become the leading hedge fund hub in Asia Pacific, work on the new regime has slowed recently due to bureaucratic delays in the Ministry of Economic Development (MED). So much so that New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key (pictured) has had to get involved to ensure the proposals are pushed through for the regime to be in place by no later than 1^st April 2011; one of the key measures being a zero per cent tax rate for foreign funds not invested in New Zealand. Key was said to have called MED’s approach to the new regime “absolute rubbish”. As well as becoming an administration hub, some commentators believe New Zealand could become Asia’s equivalent to Ireland, its low costs (compared to Singapore and Australia) making it an ideal jurisdiction for smaller hedge funds, of which Asia has many – an interesting thought, particularly in light of the Asian Fund Passport idea proposed by State Street Hong Kong, covered in last week’s newsletter. Stephen Abletshauser, a partner at London-headquartered Palladium Trust Services was quoted as saying that New Zealand was likely to take the same types and range of funds as Ireland, while some of the high-end structures aligned to large financial institutions would be “attracted to Singapore, much in the way that they are in Luxembourg”.