NEWS

Four Chinese tycoons transferred more than $17 billion of their wealth into family trusts late last year, underscoring how the rich are scrambling to protect their fortunes from the nation’s newly toughened tax regime. The latest example came from billionaire Sun Hongbin, chairman of real-estate developer Sunac China Holdings Ltd., who disclosed in a filing in Hong Kong on Jan. 12 that he shifted most of his stake in the company to South Dakota Trust Co. on Dec. 31. Longfor Group Holdings Ltd.Chairwoman Wu Yajun, one of China’s richest women, made a similar move in recent weeks, as did the wealthy magnates behind food distributors Dali Foods Group Co. and Zhou...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2019

China’s plan to cut taxes in 2019 for the masses has the nation’s super-rich running for cover on concern the government will make up the shortfall by going after the wealthy. Changes to the tax regime as of Jan. 1 mean authorities will be paying closer attention to assets and investment holdings. In a nation where personal wealth is estimated to have climbed to a record $24 trillion in 2018 -- $1 trillion of which is held abroad -- that potentially offers rich pickings. Anxiety over how the new rules will be enforced has already triggered a flood of Chinese clients seeking...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2019

Income tax planning is a year-round and continuous evaluation for your clients. Although their tax returns are not due until April 15, without extensions, it is important to make sure you assist them throughout the year. A little extra help will save you hours of work and time spent on last-minute explanations. It will alleviate your clients’ tax burden, too. There are several things you can review with your client to make sure they are making the most efficient use of their investable assets. First, look at investment accounts that can provide a tax deduction. It is easy to see...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2019

According to several offshore trust service providers, one of the important reasons that an increasing number of rich people from mainland China plan to set up offshore family trust funds is that they are afraid of the increasing investment risks brought by the drastic fluctuation of global financial market to their family wealth at present. The latest statistical data of HSBC show that in the past year, only 16 of the 450 hedge funds tracked by HSBC achieved positive profits, accounting for less than 4%. Among others, some hedge funds designed to create excess return for rich families all over...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2019

Insurance trust is drawing attention from high net-worth individuals. The so-called insurance trust means that while signing an insurance contract with an insurance company, the insured signs another trust contract with a trust institution at the same time. Therefore, when the claims conditions come into existence, the insurance company will deliver the insurance compensation to the trust institution, which will open a special trust account for the beneficiary, manage and use such trust property in accordance with the trust contract, and deliver the benefits of trust to the beneficiary upon the expiration of the trust. Such combination of “insurance +...

INSURANCE NEWS 2019

The European Union adopted a new list of 12 countries and 11 jurisdictions, including American Samoa, to reduce the scope of money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Banks and other entities covered by EU anti-money laundering rules will be required to increase their efforts in due diligence when dealing with customers and financial institutions from the listed countries and jurisdictions. American Samoa was already included in a separate EU blacklist of low tax jurisdictions. The list has been adopted by the Commission in the way of Delegated Regulation and will be submitted to The European Parliament and Council for approval within a month, with the...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2019

By Adam Skuse The new Renminbi Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (RQFLP) program is now being piloted in Shanghai, offering a channel for offshore yuan-denominated funds to be used in private equity investments on the Chinese mainland.It is an extension of the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) program, which was introduced in 2011 to allow offshore foreign-currency funds to make contributions to yuan-denominated funds on the mainland. It is open to all overseas investors that have significant RMB deposits, with one of its major aims being to absorb the large amount of RMB funds amounting across the globe from the rapid...

NEWS 2020

By Adam Skuse Barbados and Sweden entered into a double taxation agreement (DTA) towards the end of 2012, the Barbados Ministry of International Business and International Transport confirmed in a recent statement. The Protocol to Amend the Convention for Double Taxation Agreement between the two countries entered into force on December 12 last year, in accordance with Article III.2 of the Protocol, after being signed on November 3, 2011. The statement said the entry into force of the Protocol to the DTA represented Barbados' firm strides to expand its treaty network, and also signaled the country's willingness to foster closer...

NEWS 2020