HONG KONG

What are the advantages of the jurisdiction for Chinese investors? Hong Kong (HK) as a window to work with international companies. A lot of international firms like to set up office in HK in order to trade with Mainland China, therefore is easier to communicate with them in HK. HK has good reputation in the world; foreigners are more willing to trade with HK Company and build up good image for it. HK is an international finance centre with a wide range of financing channels, easy borrowing and financing. Funds parking in HK can increase the flexibility of its utilizing....

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY JURISDICTION 2020

Hong Kong has introduced a groundbreaking tax concession regime for Single Family Offices (SFOs) managing Family-owned Investment Holding Vehicles (FIHVs). The new regime aims to position Hong Kong as a premier hub for family offices and provides numerous benefits for high-net-worth individuals and their families.   Benefits of the New Tax Regime: Streamlined process: No pre-approval or application is required. A simple self-declaration suffices, reducing bureaucratic red tape. Exemption of investment profits: Qualified assets are exempt from Profits Tax, providing confidence and tax relief for high-net-worth families. Retrospective application: The tax regime applies from the assessment year 2022/23, ensuring previous...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2023

The two cities have set up new fund structures to lure wealth away from traditional offshore financial centres   In 2020, the pandemic halted travel and shut borders. But at the same time, two of Asia’s biggest financial hubs saw an opportunity to shift the global centre of gravity for hedge funds and the world’s wealthiest families. Singapore established the “variable capital company”, a fund structure that allows a wide range of potential users to shelter large pools of capital in discreet, lightly taxed wrappers domiciled in a well-regulated financial centre. Hong Kong made enhancements to the “open-ended fund company”,...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2023

Find out how Asia Outbound can introduce you to new intermediaries for your project or services.       By Prof. Dr. Amarendra Bhushan Dhiraj   Research by Astons, the international experts on real estate, residency, and citizenship through investment, has revealed the international makeup of the super-wealthy heading to the UK during the pandemic via the UK Tier 1 Investor visa.   The analysis shows that the number of main applicants for the program was down -20% in Q1 of 2021 when compared to their pre-pandemic level in Q4, 2019. With the number of dependents related to these main applicants also falling by...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2021

By Kok Xinghui   Singapore is popularly known as an Asian financial hub where companies set up regional headquarters and rich individuals park their wealth. In recent years, it has also been attracting another sort of investment through a vehicle that is just gaining popularity in the region: corporate entities called family offices that moneyed families use to structure the way they invest and preserve their riches.   From 2017 to 2019, the number of family offices in Singapore grew by five times as the region got wealthier. Some of these offices were set up by Singaporean families who want to manage their assets better,...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2020

By Fitch Wire   Fitch Ratings-Hong Kong-29 October 2020: Robust capital raising trends in Hong Kong so far this year and the imminent IPO of China’s Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group (A+/Stable), signal the territory’s continued standing as a major financial center, says Fitch Ratings. Hong Kong’s attractiveness to Chinese firms for raising international capital, as well as its sizeable external and fiscal buffers, will help to mitigate the credit impact of a recent erosion in perceptions of its governance standards and the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic.   Total fundraising in Hong Kong this year continues...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2020

By Li Yan   Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-Ngor said she has sought the central government's help in finding new growth engines and fortifying existing advantages to revive the special administrative region's battered economy.   Support has been sought mainly in four areas－financial services, innovation, and technology, the aviation sector, and projects to improve people's livelihoods, Lam said in a newspaper interview days before she is expected to visit Beijing to present her proposals to the central authorities.   The new policy initiatives are also expected to be the highlight of her annual policy address this year....

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2020

Experienced expats lacking language skills for mainland Chinese clients shut out HONG KONG -- In a sign of changing fortunes in Asia's financial hub, it took almost a year for one experienced foreign private banker in Hong Kong to land a job after he was let go by his previous employer in early 2019.   The reason: most employers said they preferred -- and were easily hiring -- Mandarin speakers for such positions.   The banker, who is originally from the U.K. and has more than a decade of experience in wealth management in Hong Kong, was stunned when companies...

PRIVATE & INTERNATIONAL BANKING NEWS 2020

Wealthy Hong Kong investors have moved as much as ten percent of physical gold holdings away from home, and to centers including Singapore and Switzerland, the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) reported on Friday, citing several gold specialists. The move follows a controversial Chinese security law for the territory last month, which has roiled finance as well.   «Many clients now perceive Hong Kong as riskier than other jurisdictions,» Joshua Rotbart, head of J Rotbart & Co, told the outlet. Based in Hong Kong, the company stores and trades gold. The precious metal recently rallied past $2,000 per ounce on pandemic and inflation fears and is...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2020