LTIP case study: Rolling out an Employee Stock Purchase Plan in Singapore

The client already had an equity plan for their senior executives but wanted to roll out an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) in Singapore for all of their employees. The client wanted to roll out an ESPP for their Singapore employees and had previously worked with Grant Thornton on reviewing their senior executive equity plan to provide cross border tax advice for their expats, assistance with reporting obligations arising from their senior executive equity plan, and assistance with rolling out a Company Share Option Plan in the UK.

Grant Thornton assisted the client in three stages:

1. Design: Grant Thornton worked with local legal counsel to draft a plan to the US company's satisfaction and outlining the employer and employee implications of setting up such a plan.

2. Drafting/Implementation: Grant Thornton worked with the lawyer and the client to ensure that the plan was drafted and approved by the US board. They subsequently drafted and coordinated appropriate communications for distribution to Singapore employees along with hosting a webinar workshop to roll out the plan and answer any questions.

3. Tax advice and compliance: Grant Thornton provided tax advice on the plan and provide ongoing tax reporting obligations arising from the Singapore ESPP.

The services provided included tax advisory, coordination of the ESPP set up, communications and tax reporting.

The Group was able to roll out an ESPP in Singapore for their local employees. The Singapore take up of the ESPP was higher than in the equivalent plans in the US and the UK.