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By Anas Almasri Hedge fund industry representatives and private equity firms have voiced their support to recently proposed tax reforms launched by the Special Administrative Region government that aim to attract more hedge funds to set up in Hong Kong. The ongoing internationalization of the Yuan is also seen as one of the city strengths in this sector. Philip Tye, Chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the Alternative Investment Management Association a hedge fund lobby group praised Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah proposal to revamp the industry laws. In a media interview, Tye said he expected more fund managers...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Mike Godfrey The Canadian Government has announced the introduction of tougher foreign income declaration requirements, as part of its crackdown on international tax evasion and so-called "aggressive tax avoidance. Under plans announced in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty latest Budget, Canadians holding overseas property costing over CAD100,000 (USD95,220) will have to provide additional information to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Starting from the 2013 taxation year, they must use a revised Foreign Income Verification Statement (Form T1135) to state which foreign institution or entity holds funds for them outside of Canada. They must additionally hand over details of...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Vanessa Houlder. Plans for a global crackdown on tax arbitrage that marks "the end of a golden era" for multinationals that minimize their tax bills were unveiled on Friday (July 19th)at the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Moscow.The proposals for tackling multinational tax avoidance drawn up in response to criticism of the low tax rates paid by companies such as Google were hailed by ministersas a significant step towards re-establishing confidence in the tax system.Pierre Moscovici, the French finance minister said: "It is a major breakthrough and is at the heart of the social contract." George...

NEWS 2020

By courtesy of Asia Briefing. Singapore is now planning to market itself as a fast-growing hub for offshore RMB exchange after it recently started dealing in the Chinese currency this past May. The Chinese government also just recently cleared the Singapore branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for such transactions. Prior to such approval, RMBclearing services outside of China were only supplied by banks in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Singapore currently has access to RMB 100 billion (US$16.3 billion), but the country's central bank hopes to increase this number in an attempt to improve liquidity for offshore...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Lorys Charalambous. The Dubai Multi-Commodities Center Authority is set to become the largest free zone in the United Arab Emirates, having registered 1,270 new member companies in the first six months of 2013, bringing the total to more than 6,890. About 95 percent of the newly registered companies in the first half of 2013 were newcomers to Dubai,indicating that the free zone is highly attractive to foreign investors. About one-third of those companies were from other parts of the Middle East, while South Asia, the Americas and the UK accounted for 28 percent, 14 percent and 14...

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By Courtesy of Jason Gorringe. The governments of Malta and Macau recently signed an agreement to work together to prevent tax evasion and tax avoidance.The agreement was signed by Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam Pak Yuen, and Malta's ambassador to China, Joseph Cassar, on May 30. The treaty, expected to enter into force in January 2014, will enable the tax authorities in the two jurisdictions to share information about their citizens relevant to "the determination, assessment and collection of taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation or prosecution of tax matters." Under the...

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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...

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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