NEWS

By Courtesy of Mary Swire. Legislation to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance and Stamp Duty Ordinance, and provide a comparable taxation framework in Hong Kong for some common types of Islamic bonds (sukuk) compared with conventional bonds, went into operation on July 19, 2013."The Amendment Ordinance represents the joint efforts of the Government andthe market to remove a previous impediment to developing a sukuk market in Hong Kong," said the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan. "This will help establish a conductive platform for the development of Islamic finance in Hong Kong, thereby diversifying the...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Stelios Americanos & Co. LLC The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Cyprus have announced on Tuesday 30th July 2013, that the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) has been fully recapitalized by the overall conversion of 47,5% of unsecured deposits into shares in the BoC. More significantly, it has been confirmed that this is the final stage of the Bank's resolution process and there will be no further measures under the Resolution Law. The Central Bank of Cyprus, in its capacity as the Resolution Authority, has notified BoC that the duties of the Board of Directors...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Government of British Virgin Islands As part of its strategy to boost ties with emerging markets in financial services and tourism, the BVI Government is forging ahead with plans to open a representative office in the Asia/ Pacific region in the coming months. In his 2013 Budget Address, Premier of the Virgin Islands Dr. the Honorable D. Orlando Smith, OBE announced the Government's plans to open an office in Hong Kong as the Territory's Asian regional hub. The Premier said, "We have long viewed the establishment of a Far East BVI Representative Office as a major component...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of iCommerce Registry The Republic of The Gambia has launched a new offshore/onshore business jurisdiction which offers the complete range of corporate structures such as IBCs, Trusts, Tax Resident companies as well as Gaming, Banking and Insurance Licenses. The registration of corporate structures can be achieved online in less than 30 Seconds. All administration of the companies is managed online via an online cloud portal managed by the iCommerce Registry Agency (www.icommerceregistry.com). The iCommerce Registry is the online portal of The Gambia established by the Business Enterprise Decree 2013. In addition to the Registry, the development of Global...

NEWS 2020

By Mary Swire The Singapore Business Formation Statistics Report, compiled quarterly by Janus Corporate Solutions, has shown that there was a 13.2 percent increase in business formations in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter, and a rise of almost 10.7 percent when compared to the second quarter of 2012. It was found that there were 16,027 businesses established in Singapore in the second quarter of 2013, registering a significant increase compared to the 14,156 businesses set up in the first quarter of the year, and the 14,481 recorded in the second quarter of last year. As...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Simon Rabinovitch Private equity funds looking to cut their tax bills have a new option some 3,600 meters above sea level at the foot of the Himalayas. The only catch is, they will be playing a role in China's strategy to tighten its grip on Tibet. The government of Shannan prefecture, which lies in Tibet between Lhasa and the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, has started offering generous tax breaks and other sweeteners in an attempt to make itself a home for private equity funds and investment companies. Cities across China regularly compete for investors, but lawyers and advisers...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Ulrika Lomas. Competition for Renminbi business is heating up between Switzerland and Luxembourg with both territories reporting details of their success in the area to date.A recent statement from Luxembourg's Minister for Finance Luc Frieden concerning Luxembourg's ambition to position itself as the leading international Renminbi center in the Euro area comes on the heels of a report from the Swiss Bankers Association discussing Switzerland's appeal for Renminbi-denominated wealth and asset management business. Frieden is confident that Luxembourg has firmly established itself as the market leader. He pointed out that Luxembourg is home to RMB40bn (USD6.5bn) in...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Yonhap News. South Korea and Hong Kong have signed a tentative deal to share information on those suspected of evading taxes, the finance ministry here said Sunday.The agreement was made last week during a meeting held in Hong Kong between tax officials of the two nations, according to the ministry. Under the deal, South Korea will have access to information held by financial agencies in Hong Kong on Korean nationals suspected of evading tax payment.The deal requires parliamentary approval and official signing to go into effect, the ministry said. The move comes as South Korea is stepping...

NEWS 2020