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By Josephine Moulds The Bank of England is close to signing a deal with the People's Bank of China that should help the City of London become a trading hub for the world's fastest-growing currency, the yuan, reported by The Guardian. The UK central bank expects to sign a three-year currency swap arrangement hortly which would allow it to supply yuan in exchange for other currencies if there were a sudden shortage in the London market. The yuan is not fully convertible, meaning there are rules and regulations making the process of conversion more cumbersome. That can hinder trade as...

NEWS 2020

By HM Treasury/John Yang The UK Government has recently (19 February) announced that it is close to agreeing an automatic tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with the Isle of Man and that a specific disclosure facility, similar to those operated in recent years, such as the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility, will operate from 6 April 2013 until September 2016. Although full details have not been released, the Treasury has stated that under the Isle of Man Disclosure Facility, liabilities arising from April 1999 onwards must be fully disclosed and there will be a guaranteed penalty rate of 10 per cent for...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Mary Swire/John Yang The Trust Law (Amendment) Bill 2013, gazetted on February 8, 2013, is aimed at modernizing trust law in Hong Kong by enhancing trustees' default powers while providing for appropriate checks and balances, thereby making trusts administration more effective. Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury, Prof. KC Chan, said Hong Kong must modernize its trust laws to enhance its status as an international asset-management center. he bill, if passed, will bolster the competitiveness of Hong Kong trust services industry and attract settlors to set up trusts in Hong Kong, he said. At the end...

NEWS 2020

By Frances Emery The arrival of the Year of the Snake has brought with it renewed optimism in China offshore yuan, as mainland China embarks on its next phase of renminbi internationalization. Researcher and financial specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peng Xingyun, called recent developments in the use of the renminbi in Taiwan, Singapore and London ery encouraging saying that they point to growing recognition of the currency worldwide. On February 6, Taiwan banks began accepting deposits and conducting trade between banks in yuan, two days after Chinese authorities named the Bank of China Taipei branch as...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of HKSAR Government Hong Kong The Chief Secretary for Administration (CS), Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Vice-Governor of Guangdong Province, Ms Zhao Yufang, co-chaired the 18th Working Meeting of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference in Guangzhou on March 15. Relevant officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and officials of the Guangdong Provincial Government attended the meeting. At the meeting the two governments reviewed the progress of implementation of the 2012 Work Plan of the Framework Agreement on Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation (Work Plan) and drew up the 2013 Work Plan. The 84 co-operation items...

NEWS 2020

By Courtesy of Zetland Fiduciary China pilot program of Business Tax ("BT") conversion to Value Added Tax ("VAT"), which started in Shanghai in January 2012, has now expanded to another 8 provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu Province, Anhui Province, Zhejiang Province (including Ningbo City), Fujian Province (including Xiamen City), Hubei Province, and Guangdong Province (including Shenzhen City). BT and VAT are two major indirect taxes in China. VAT is levied on the supply of goods, the provision of repair, processing and replacement services, and on imports at the standard rates of 13% or 17%, while BT is levied...

NEWS 2020

By Frances Emery The renminbi path to internationalization, its strength as a reserve currency, along with its use for global trade settlement are all experiencing a period of accelerated development as more and more countries around the world recognize its potential. According to SWIFT data, the renminbi is now the thirteenth most used currency for global payments. February, 2013 saw the enactment of a new cross strait currency clearing agreement between banks in Mainland China and Taiwan, with the Bank of China Taipei branch named the clearing bank for renminbi denominated businesses in Taiwan. According to Citibank Securities, the deal...

NEWS 2020

By Baron Laudermilk The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has stated that it is committed to launch a new consultation on new rules for inclusion in the 2014 Finance Bill, which would essentially ensure that offshore employment intermediaries pay the proper amount of tax and national insurance contributions (NICS) according to their employees and contactors on their records. By changing the payroll arrangements outside of the UK, employers operating via offshore intermediaries may be able to avoid paying tax and national insurance contributions in respect of UK workers remuneration. The government as estimated that around 100,000 UK workers have...

NEWS 2020