Sivakumar Saravan
Director of Corporate Services - Singapore Head Office
Siva is the founder of First Trust Corporate Services. Siva has 14 years of experience in tax compliance and tax consultancy work for individuals as well as local corporations, multi-nationals and financial institutions.
The industries that Siva has extensive experience in tax consultancy work include fund management, bio-technology, manufacturing, trading, healthcare, e-commerce and international shipping. Siva also has experience in handling transfer pricing issues associated with global trading, shared service centre operations and other related party transactions.
Siva has conducted several seminars on international tax to tax specialists in the Asia Pacific region as well as to members of the public. Siva is the consultant editor of CCH's Singapore Master Tax Guide manual as well as one of the authors of the Worldwide Business Tax Guide published by CCH.
Prior to founding First Trust Corporate Services, Siva worked in Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young in Singapore.
Highlights of Siva's experience include the following:
- Tax advisor to several companies during their initial public offering (on the Singapore Exchange) exercise.
- Planning optimal cross-border tax structures for financial products and services taking into account withholding tax issues, tax treaty benefits, etc.
- Advised clients on tax implications of cross-border management fee charges in the various countries in the region including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
- Planned appropriate holding company structures for multi-national companies based in Singapore for their outbound investments into Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
- Advised several funds and fund managers on the structuring of investment funds and fund management activities in Singapore and the region.
- Assisted multi-national as well as local companies in obtaining tax incentives such as Operational Headquarters, Pioneer Status and Approved International Trader.
- Provided tax transactional support and tax due-diligence for mergers and acquisitions in the Asia Pacific region.
- Advised and assisted Singapore based multi-national companies in developing transfer pricing documentation.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Member of The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore
- Associate Wealth Planner
- Member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators