CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY

Samoa’s international finance industry, administered and supervised by Samoa International Finance Authority (SIFA), was established in 2005 to provide international financial services in an innovative and meaningful manner, in order to ensure that the greatest consideration is afforded to clients seeking a jurisdiction that provides the most sensible, accessible, modern, optimum and appropriate wealth management solutions. This article provides an insight into Samoa’s offshore solutions, particularly its newly-enacted Trustee Companies Act 2014 as well as its Trusts Act 2014 and Foundations Act 2016. Its compliance culture — through active participation in the work of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY EXPERT INSIGHTS 2020

Trust is a legal contract. The settlor transfers the assets to the trustee, and the trustee needs to hold and manage the assets for the beneficiary according to the wishes of the settlor and the trustee can arrange the property effectively to the designated beneficiary. Set up Trust is becoming more and more popular, and the cost of setting up is becoming democratized. The banks can also set up a simple trust structure for its customers. Family Trust Can Give Full Play to Different Guarantees Family trust is often misunderstood as the asset allocation agreement set up for the family...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY EXPERT INSIGHTS 2020

Challenges and opportunities for new things are often the same. It's like going to a continent that never wears shoes. It's hard to convince the local people to wear shoes, but if you convince them, the market is really huge. Overseas trust is somewhat like this kind of market, after about 10 years of cultivation, in the Asian market, especially in China, most people do not gain much, they just return home, but some are still persisting in. As we all know, American trust is rising quietly because of the promotion of CRS. I would like to use the practical...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY EXPERT INSIGHTS 2020

1. What is the single most important advantage your jurisdiction provides for Chinese clients? Curaçao is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so it is a very transparent jurisdiction with a modern tax code that is similar to the Dutch tax code. Curaçao is not only a logistical gateway to Latin America with its natural harbor – with one of the largest container terminals in the Caribbean, a refinery and a large modern shipyard – but it can be considered a financial gateway to Latin America too. Curaçaohas an excellent financial sector, extremely favorable tax trading regimes, and modern holding...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY Q&A - COMPANY FORMATION 2015

Property in the UK, particularly London, has always been popular for Chinese Investors. Within the last year, however, the UK Tax authorities have changed their stance and all investors are now exposed to new taxes. Historically, foreign investors would use structures to reduce their exposure to taxes. Typically, it would be purchased using structures such as trusts, special purpose vehicles, private investment companies, or similar offshore corporate entities. This was the preferred method to purchase UK property because of the generous tax benefits. Even when ATED (annual tax on enveloped dwellings) taxation was introduced, it had little impact until what...

INSURANCE SPONSORED CONTENT 2019

The Cayman Islands International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Law, 2018 (the “Economic Substance Law”), which is part of the OECD's global Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative, was passed on 17 December 2018 and came into effect on 1 January 2019. The Economic Substance Law will be implemented, including by further regulations and guidance to be provided, by the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (“TIA”). All international offshore financial centres (including Bermuda, BVI, Jersey, Guernsey and Hong Kong) already have or will implement similar legislation. To whom does the new Economic Substance Law apply? All companies incorporated under the...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY SPONSORED CONTENT 2019

Country:                                            Cyprus Region:                                               Europe Currency:                                          Euro (EUR) (€) Languages:                            Greek, English Time Zone:                             UTC +2 Phone Code:                          +357 Communications:                  Good Cyprus is an independent democratic republic, and a member of the Commonwealth. It is prosperous: GDP US$23,500 (2017) per head. The economy is dominated by services, with tourism particularly important. Unemployment is low. The Cyprus Government worked hard to create a favorable offshore tax regime while at the same time maintaining a normal-looking domestic economy, albeit with rates of taxation that are low by international standards. The success of this programme is attested...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2019

By Tendai Musakwa. China and Cyprus established diplomatic relations on December 12, 1971 and the two countries have developed ever-closer economic ties since then. The volume of trade between China and Cyprus increased from 150 million in 2004 to 1 billion in 2010, with an average annual growth rate of almost 40 percent. In the first half of 2012,the bilateral trade volume amounted to 400 million, rising by 1.4 percent compared with the same period of last year. Underlying the robust trade relations between the two countries is a set of bilateral agreements that make it worthwhile for investors from...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY JURISDICTION 2020