REPORTS

By Leo Zhang Sky Xue, a 33-year-old native Chinese from Wenzhou, has recently been stressed out by taking over a family business from his rich father. He did not know such an inheritance would turn out to be a headache, if not a nightmare. Xue's family runs a machinery-manufacturing factory in the city renowned for entrepreneurship in Zhejiang Province. Xue hoped his son would help him run the business, but they often argue or even quarrel on operation decisions. "My father doesn't think I can make the right choice," said little Xue, who had just obtained a Master degree on...

REPORTS 2020

By Adam Skuse. A jewel in the heart of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man is referred to as "the gem of God's Earth" in its national anthem. One of the six Celtic nations, the island - now a British Crown Dependency - has been inhabited since at least 6500BC, where its own language - Manx - developed as a branch of Gaelic.  With a modern-day population of some 80,000, the island retains a unique character, and is well known for among other things a breed of tailless cat, the international TT motorcycle racing event, and some of the...

REPORTS 2020

By Tendai Musakwa. Family limited partnerships continue to be attractive estate planning vehicles for high net worth individuals who wish to retain control over assets such as real estate, a family business, cash, while minimizing estate and gift taxation in the US, UK, Ireland and other jurisdiction.  The partners are members of the same family, but the partnership is created in such a manner that senior partners retainvoting control until the junior partners are ready to take on more responsibility. The personal assets of family members who are limited partners are not exposed to the partnership's liabilities. A family limited...

REPORTS 2020

By Mico M. Lysarian. For serious investors, understanding the currents of economy and finance has always been at the helm of any successful venture when navigating the global markets in search of new business opportunities and means to wealth. Investing in itself has always been considered the ability to foresee and actupon a change or discrepancy in an otherwise inconsistent market. These "changes" are comparatively like flickers of light emanating over a darkened sea for any vessel wise or close enough to recognize it, for it is this very light that beckons the bold to search new shores of possibilities...

REPORTS 2020

By Adam Skuse. While traditional offshore options such as the Cayman Islands hold more of an allure for many Chinese investors due to their reputation, there are many options in Europe that can be considered viable that often get left out of consideration. For Chinese business people, investors and corporations with strong interests in Europe, many of these are worth looking at, particularly if geographic proximity is of importance and trusted expert advice can be found. The economic tumult across the region in recent years also means that many jurisdictions are vying to attract investment, particularly from Asia. This is...

REPORTS 2020

By Tendai Musakwa. Charitable giving is often an integral part of a high-net-worth individual's overall financial and estate plan. Philanthropy increases name recognition, enables high-net-worth individuals to play a leadership role in social problems by funding long-term initiatives. Charitable foundations are charitable organizations established by high-net-worth individuals to serve their charitable purposes. They are an attractive form of charitable giving because they are multigenerational, such that members of junior generations within a family group can continue the charitable and community work originally begun by the senior generations. In considering whether or not to set up charitable foundations, it is useful...

REPORTS 2020

By Frances Emery. Many would call the fact that the British Virgin Islands was one of the first offshore jurisdictions to ever be promoted on the Mainland - during the early days of China's economic reform in the late nineties, when Hong Kong was still under British rule - somewhat lucky. Others would go far enough to regard it as tremendous good fortune. And, if you speak to almost anyone in China today,and discover just how synonymous the British Virgin Islands have become with offshore finance, you'd probably be far more likely to concur with the latter. Getting a head...

REPORTS 2020

By Baron Laudermilk Is Cyprus still a tax friendly business center and will it be in the near future? Cyprus's economy is broken and it is unlikely that investors will trust it for many years. The country's second largest bank is dissolving, the government has requested a major EU intervention, and Moody's, a credit agency, in March 2012 slashed Cyprus's credit rating to junk status. Most investors are rapidly pulling their capital out of the country. But risk-thirsty investors are baffled and confused about Cyprus' economic crisis. Is it a golden opportunity to invest in Cyprus or is it the...

REPORTS 2020