1. Industry research suggests that China will soon rank first in the world as a source of clients. Have you experienced an increase in demand for your company incorporation services from this region?
Yes
2. What is the single most important advantage your jurisdiction provides for Chinese clients?
There is no requirement for filing any details about the company with the Registrar, and therefore information is not publicly available.
3. What is the main reason a Chinese client would consider using a shelf company in your jurisdiction?
The “long” time frame for delivery of company documents to China (a courier from Seychelles may take at least 4-5 days to reach China) is the main reason for a Chinese client to use shelf companies. Service providers would therefore keep a batch of shelf companies at their China or Hong Kong office so that they may allocate them to clients immediately.
Also, when the BVI was previously more popular than Seychelles with Chinese clients, agents used to propose shelf companies to Chinese clients for the same reason as mentioned above. Now, due to the time difference, name checks and incorporation time (which is longer in the BVI), Chinese clients find Seychelles shelf companies to be a very good alternative.
4. What is your jurisdiction’s unique selling point in setting up offshore companies for Chinese clients?
Efficient same day incorporation.
5. It has been suggested that price remains a major factor for consideration for Chinese clients. Do you agree with this statement, and how do you think this will change in the years to come? Are you noticing a shift in emphasis on price to an emphasis on the quality of offshore structures?
Yes, price remains a major factor. It is quite difficult to see a change in the years to come due to the high competition in the market. And there is no real emphasis on quality. Price remains the main factor.
6. Opening a bank account for newly set-up companies has been a challenge for some jurisdictions in the past few years. Is this the case in your jurisdiction? How quickly can a company in your jurisdiction have their bank account set up?
Yes. The Seychelles banking sector is suffering from the same challenges and more. Currently, it is almost impossible to set up a bank account for an offshore company in Seychelles. The major banks (BMI Offshore Bank and Barclays Bank) are undergoing remediation processes and are not taking on new customers until further notice. The other banks are either not opening bank accounts for offshore companies, or require face-to-face meetings. The timeframe to open a bank account in Seychelles would vary from bank to bank as they each have their own requirements. We could open a bank account within approximately three weeks for a non-Chinese client.
For Chinese clients, one major problem is when it comes to providing the due diligence in the required format.
Source: CKLB Corporate Services (Hong Kong) Ltd.
