Media & News

SAVCA Newsletter | 20 March 2014

March 24, 2014

FSB signs EU Cooperation Agreements

SAVCA welcomes the news from the Financial Services Board (FSB) that it has taken steps at a financial supervisory level that will enable South African private equity fund managers to continue raising funds in Europe. The FSB announced last week that it had entered into cooperation agreements with twenty-five European Union jurisdictions, relating to entities that offer investment products covered by Europe’s Alternative Investment Management Directive (AIFMD). Once these Memoranda of Understanding are publicly available, they will be posted onto the SAVCA website.

Also on the regulatory front, SAVCA members are reminded once more to take note of their obligations to register for FATCA reporting – regardless of whether they have US investors. A note on this is included in this newsletter.

Private equity reporting, accounting and administration-systems gurus employed by fund managers will have the opportunity next month to join a peer-group workshop, where best practice in industry systems will be discussed. Further details are included below.

You can also encourage staff members to attend the SAVCA-GIBS Three-Day Foundation Programme in Private Equity, on 6-8 August 2014. They’ll benefit from the insights of local-industry stalwarts, covering the full spectrum of the private equity cycle.

Thank you for the hugely positive feedback that we received on the Private Equity in Southern Africa 2014 conference. Delegates who gave feedback using the response forms provided at Spier were promised that they could win a prize of search-engine optimisation (SEO) for their fund, generously donated by iShack Digital Consultancy. Clive Howell, Head: Nedbank Private Equity, is the winner of this prize.

Send us your news, including deal announcements, portfolio company exits, staffing changes and media mentions, and we’ll include these on the SAVCA website.

We wish you a meaningful South African Human Rights Day tomorrow.

Regards

Erika van der Merwe
CEO: SAVCA

SAVCA Events

SAVCA-GIBS Three-Day Foundation Programme in Private Equity
Dates: 6-8 August 2014
Venue: Gordon Institute of Business: 26 Melville Road, Illovo, Johannesburg
Cost: R8 500 for SAVCA members; R9 500 for non-members
Register here. Book soon to benefit from the early-bird rate of R7 500 (till 5 May)

SAVCA-Marsh: Transactional Risk Solutions on the Rise
Date: 1 April 2014
Venue: The Michelangelo Hotel, L’Incontro Ballroom (R level), 135 West Street, Sandton
This is an invitation-only event; more information is available via info@savca.co.za.

SAVCA-King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin: LP Breakfast
Date: 8 April 2014
Venue: The Saxon Hotel, 36 Saxon Road, Sandhurst, Johannesburg
This is an invitation-only event, exclusively for institutional investors into private equity funds; more information is available via info@savca.co.za.

SAVCA Member Workshop on Accounting, Reporting & Administration Systems
Date: 15 April 2014
Time: 8:30am to 12:30pm
Venue: Ethos, 35 Fricker Road, Illovo (Entrance from Harries Road)
RSVP: info@savca.co.za by 10 April
All SAVCA Full Members welcome; registration is essential

Regulation

FATCA:

SAVCA members are reminded that South African private equity firms are regarded as Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) under the US’s FATCA Regulations. The South African authorities are in the process of drawing up an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the IRS, which will govern South African entities’ compliance with this legislation. In the meantime, SAVCA members are urged to engage advice on their FATCA implementation obligations, including the process of registration on the FATCA portal, the on-boarding of new clients, and the development of a necessary reporting system to facilitate the reporting obligation imposed under the IGA. In terms of the advice which SAVCA elicited for its members from KPMG, members need to note the following:

1. All Reporting Financial Institutions must register on the IRS Portal by 25 April 2014 to ensure inclusion on the first FFI list to be published electronically by the IRS. Nevertheless, the IRS has given them until the end of 2014 to finally register.
2. All Reporting Financial Institutions must have implemented the client identification obligations and commence on-boarding of new individual clients and entity clients in line with the IGA requirements by 1 July 2014.
3. SAVCA is in discussions with SARS on the obligation to develop necessary reporting systems, and will be able to provide further feedback in the near future. However, we urge members to familiarise themselves with this onerous obligation.