While the measures would help maintain Singapore’s competitiveness, they are unlikely to create a significant or lasting advantage over Hong Kong, according to Ramkishen Rajan, an economist and Yong Pung How Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and its finance ministry on Wednesday announced the package, including a tax exemption for investment profits earned by managers of single-family offices and other qualifying funds.

The advantage Hong Kong possessed as a connection between capital from mainland China and the world was “extraordinary and probably irreproducible”, an advantage that Singapore should not attempt to replicate, said Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, the head of the Singapore Capital Markets Initiative and law professor at Singapore Management University.

“I would therefore be cautious about saying that these measures will give Singapore a decisive edge over Hong Kong,” he said.

One of the proposed measures is the expansion of Singapore’s Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass for investment professionals, under which a visa is valid for up to five years and allows a holder to work for multiple companies. More details are expected during next year’s budget.