// 04 / SERVICE D — THE TREASURY DESK
Singapore SPV. Escrow. Withholding-tax optimisation across SEA. FX hedging at deposit date. One entity that holds every contract, every WHT filing and every bank account for your Southeast Asia live entertainment activity. Transparent pricing. Fourteen-day deployment.
Brief your routing →Singapore-resident · Pte. Ltd. UEN 202549936C · 150+ events
Capabilities
Pte. Ltd. incorporated, DBS / OCBC bank account live, escrow letter executable. 14-day deployment. The single entity that holds every artist, venue and vendor contract for your SEA activity.
Withholding-tax structuring across all six SEA jurisdictions plus the UAE. Treaty relief filed at source where available. Form-50bis (Thailand) and country equivalents issued to artists' managers for home-country credit.
Hold investor or sponsor deposits in segregated SG bank accounts under SROAST trustee instructions. Release on contractually defined triggers. Singapore-law SPA + escrow letter, executable on signing.
Forward contracts on artist-fee USD exposure at deposit date. THB / IDR / VND / PHP / SGD / MYR settlement rails. Monthly statements with a single ledger. Your CFO gets her weekends back.
The math
Scenario: an international promoter routes 4 shows across Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines in 12 months. Artist fees total $1.5 M. Production + venue spend totals $1.8 M. Numbers below are typical industry figures, not promises.
| Line item | Direct route | SROAST Treasury Desk | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax filings per year | 6 country returns | 1 (Singapore) | Single SG return |
| Bank accounts | 6+ accounts | 1 + multi-currency | One reconciliation |
| CFO admin time / year | ~120 hours | ~15 hours | 105 hrs back |
| WHT bleed (typical · $1.5M artist fees) | $225,000 | $120,000 | –$105,000 |
| Treaty relief captured at source | ~$15,000 | ~$35,000 | +$20,000 |
| FX bleed (4 settlements, $3.3M flow) | ~$40,000 | ~$15,000 | –$25,000 |
| Audit-trail / settlement risk | Fragmented | Single ledger | Audit-ready |
| CIS / RUB-origin compliant | No | Yes | New market unlocked |
| Total leakage | ~$250,000 | ~$100,000 | — |
| SROAST fees (subscription + per-deal + amortised setup) | — | $54,000 | — |
| Net annual saving | — | — | ~$96,000 |
~2.9% of gross flow recovered. Plus the audit-ready ledger, the clean bank story, the 105 CFO hours saved, and the path that unlocks CIS / RUB-origin activity that direct routing cannot service post-2022. The desk pays for itself in the first quarter.
Pricing — published
One-time
$12,000
one-time
Singapore Pte. Ltd. + DBS/OCBC bank account + escrow letter, deployed inside 14 days. Includes 12 months of corporate-secretarial filings.
Per deal
$5,000
per single-show deal · $15K per festival / multi-show
WHT analysis + treaty-relief filing + FX recommendation + artist-fee settlement + Form-50bis-equivalent certificates. Scoped per deal.
Subscription
$2,500
per month
Outsourced CFO function for active SEA operators. The page you read when you decide your touring company has outgrown ad-hoc structuring.
All fees billed by SROAST Entertainment Pte. Ltd. (Singapore UEN 202549936C). Singapore-billed, SGD or USD at client option. Quarterly invoicing for the Treasury Desk subscription.
WHT matrix · 2026
Foreign-performer fees attract withholding tax at source. Headline rates below. Treaty relief on entertainer fees is usually limited at source (most DTAAs follow OECD Model Article 17), but recoverable at home as a foreign-tax credit when the manager has the right paperwork. The treasury desk handles both ends.
| Country | Resident rate | Treaty‑applicable | Field notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TH Thailand | 15% | 15% (entertainer art.) | Form 50bis issued. Lead time 7 days. |
| ID Indonesia | 20% | 20% (PPh 26) | IMTA + tax registration required. |
| VN Vietnam | 20% | 20% (services) | Permit-bound. Repertoire pre-clearance. |
| PH Philippines | 25% | 25% (NRAETB) | AEP + AMVA required. 60–90 day lead. |
| SG Singapore | 15% | 15% / waived under FTA | Short-term performer exemption < 60 days. |
| MY Malaysia | 15% | 15% (PUSPAL-bound) | Content review (PUSPAL) before announcement. |
| AE UAE | 0% | 0% | No federal income tax on performance fees. |
All figures publication-date accurate. Updated quarterly. Last refresh: May 2026.
Process
Scoping call. Your shows, your countries, your artist fee load, your settlement cycle.
Within 72 hours: deployment memo with WHT estimates, FX exposure, treaty-relief positions, total annual leakage forecast.
SG Pte. Ltd. registered. Corporate-secretarial onboarded. ACRA filings live.
DBS or OCBC business account live (5–7 working days). Escrow letter signed.
You route all SEA activity through the SPV. We file WHT, settle artists, hedge FX, ship monthly statements.
Deliverables
Who it's for
Why this works
Frequently asked
Headline rates: Thailand 15%, Indonesia 20% (PPh 26), Vietnam 20%, Philippines 25% (NRAETB), Singapore 15% (with short-term performer exemption under 60 days), Malaysia 15%, UAE 0%. Treaty relief on entertainer fees is usually limited — most double-tax agreements follow OECD Model Article 17, which preserves source-country taxing rights at the headline rate. Treaty relief at home (foreign-tax credit) is where the artist actually recovers.
Three reasons: (1) Singapore has DTAAs with all SEA jurisdictions, simplifying cross-border tax administration; (2) Singapore banking infrastructure supports multi-currency settlement at near-zero friction; (3) for CIS-origin promoters, Singapore is the most defensible offshore vehicle for routing RUB-origin funds with clean provenance documentation. The SPV centralises every contract, every WHT filing and every bank account under one entity — turning a six-country tax burden into a single Singapore tax return.
Fourteen days end-to-end: ACRA registration (3–5 days), corporate-secretarial onboarding (2 days), bank-account opening (5–7 days). $12,000 flat, includes 12 months of corporate secretarial. We provide a Singapore-resident director, file ACRA returns and issue the escrow letter template.
Yes, with appropriate provenance documentation. Singapore is the most defensible offshore route for CIS-origin live-entertainment activity. Compliance involves source-of-funds documentation, KYC on the promoter, and (where applicable) sanctioned-party screening. We have moved CIS-origin funds successfully through this structure since 2022.
WHT settlement is the obligation of the Thai/Indonesian/etc payer to withhold tax at source on payments to non-residents. Treaty relief is the artist's ability to claim that withheld tax as a foreign-tax credit against home-country income tax, avoiding double taxation. The treasury desk handles both: we file the WHT correctly (which is the payer's obligation), and we issue the manager-ready certificate (Form 50bis equivalent) the artist needs to claim relief at home.
No, but we work with local counsel where required. SROAST has Thai-bar admitted partner relationships for opinion sign-off, and BOI consultants on retainer. For Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia we work through vetted local counsel networks. You contract with SROAST; we handle the local relationships.