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Photo By: Over Hong Kong By Courtesy of Lowtax.net On August 22, in Paris, Hong Kong signed tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) with six Nordic jurisdictions – namely, Denmark, the Faroes, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.Welcoming the agreements, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, said that the signing of the TIEAs demonstrated the city’s continued commitment to fulfill its international obligations on promoting tax transparency, along with its efforts to expand its network of comprehensive double taxation agreements (CDTAs) with its trading and investment partners. “Since the legal framework for entering into TIEAs...

NEWS 2020

Photo by: FT By Financial Times The British Virgin Islands has long attracted Chinese companies looking to incorporate offshore but the Caribbean haven is facing pressure in Hong Kong from a global push to tackle money laundering.HSBC and Standard Chartered, two international banks with a significant Hong Kong presence, have made it very difficult for BVI companies to open bank accounts in the Chinese territory over the past two years, according to lawyers involved in setting up companies in the offshore financial centre. “You are seeing stronger compliance and the banks themselves are being more risk-averse so they are making...

NEWS 2020

Photo by: gallaryhip By Courtesy of Lowtax.net At two events on September 11, 2014, in Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands' Premier and Minister of Finance, Orlando Smith spoke on the future for offshore financial centers in an address themed "Riding the Perfect Storm: Will Offshore and Midshore Jurisdictions Remain Viable?"In a visit to build upon the launch of BVI House Asia, the territory's representative office set up in September 2013, he told attendees: "BVI companies are used for a diverse range of purposes, such as listing vehicles, joint ventures, asset holding, and investment fund vehicles. They play a material role...

NEWS 2020

Photo by: SCMP By Courtesy of Mary Swire An agreement towards establishing Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHKSC), a ground-breaking securities trading and clearing links program, was signed on September 4, 2014.The agreement was signed by The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) and Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (HKEx), wholly-owned subsidiaries of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), and China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited (ChinaClear), which are jointly developing the program. Announced on April 10 this year, SHKSC will for the first time allow eligible Mainland Chinese investors to trade stocks...

NEWS 2020

Photo by: CNTV By Courtesy of Jason Gorringe Gibraltar's Minister with responsibility for Financial Services, Albert Isola, has concluded a week-long visit to Hong Kong during which he promoted the island's fund sector, attended various business meetings, and hosted a financial services luncheon.Isola led a delegation comprising financial services professionals with particular expertise in funds and asset management. The delegation included Finance Center Director James Tipping, Gibraltar Finance Senior Executive Philip Canessa, and Gibraltar's representative in Hong Kong, Jason Cruz. The delegation's visit coincided with the 17th Annual Hedge Funds Asia 2014 conference, between September 2-4, 2014, where Isola spoke...

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Photo by: YoungFinances By Courtesy of Mike Godfrey Dominica's Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, has outlined plans to expand the territory's efforts to promote its Citizenship by Investment Program.The Government has produced a list of initiatives to boost awareness of its program. It has entered into an agreement with a British firm, CS Global, to market the program overseas. Skerrit said that the Government will continue to ensure that the reputation of the program in the meantime is preserved. He said that a unit has been established within the Finance Ministry to deal exclusively with all aspects of the program.Dominica, is...

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Photo by: DIFC By Courtesy of Lowtax.net The Dubai International Financial Center, a free zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), recently sent a delegation to Beijing to reinforce and build upon its ties with China. The delegation highlighted the Center's role as a business and financial hub for the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region. It also set out to raise the DIFC's profile as offering a stable and transparent business environment that operates within its own jurisdiction with an internationally recognized regulatory and legislative framework. The benefits of doing business in the DIFC include permission for...

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Photo By: FATCA By Courtesy of Mike Godfrey Mauritius has confirmed that it will implement the Common Reporting Standard for automatic exchange of tax information between territories, based on the standards drawn up by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).The announcement comes after Mauritius became the first African country to implement a framework to facilitate compliance with the United States' Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act on December 27, 2013. The objective of the FATCA, enacted in the US in March 2010, is to identify US persons behind foreign financial holdings and for foreign financial institutions to communicate their corresponding...

NEWS 2020