Sivakumar Saravan
Director of Tax and Advisory
Siva has more than 12 years of experience in tax compliance and tax consultancy work for individuals as well as local corporations, multinationals and financial institutions.
The industries that he had extensive experience in tax consultancy work include banking, fund management, manufacturing, trading, healthcare, e-commerce, shipping and high technology related industry. He is familiar with transfer pricing issues associated with global trading and other related party transactions.
Siva is the chairman of Horwath's Asia Pacific Tax Committee and he has conducted several seminars on international tax to Horwath tax specialists in the Asia Pacificregion as well as to members of the public. He is the consultant editor of CCH's Singapore Master Tax Guide manual as well as one of the authors of the International Tax Planning manual.
Prior to joining Horwath First Trust, Siva worked in Andersen and Ernst & Young in Singapore.
Highlights of Siva's experience include the following:
- Planning optimal cross-border tax structures for financial products and services taking into account withholding tax issues, tax treaty benefits, etc. including developing tax matrices
- Advised clients on tax implications of cross-border management fee charges in the various countries in the region including China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand
- Planned appropriate holding company structures for multinational 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, Approved International Trader, etc
- Assisted in the structuring of acquisitions of banks and other companies
- Assisted a multi-national company in developing transfer pricing documentation
Qualifications:
- Degree in Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons), Nanyang Technological University
- Member of The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore
- Associate Wealth Planner
- Member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators