Search

Photo By: XPhotos Cyprus has announced that it has now lifted capital controls introduced in 2013 to prevent bank depositors moving large sums of money out of the country. The capital controls were imposed in March 2013 to prevent a run on the banks. Subsequently, the Government temporarily proposed a one-off levy on bank depositors. The restrictions were eased in January and have now been fully removed. The measure involved a EUR20,000 (USD21,700) monthly limit on transfers from Cypriot accounts to foreign banks. According to a BBC report, Cyprus's President, Nicos Anastasiades, described the removal as "a vote of confidence...

NEWS 2020

Photo By: GettyImages China and Hong Kong have signed a fourth Protocol to their existing double taxation agreement (DTA), with amendments to support the administration of tax arrangements for cross-border equity investments and investment funds. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan, who signed the fourth Protocol on behalf of Hong Kong, said the deal "clarifies the conditions under which an investment fund would be qualified for Hong Kong resident status, thus giving certainty to investment funds' application of their tax arrangements." He added that this "will be conducive to the actively promoted asset management businesses...

NEWS 2020

Photo By: CIRC The Isle of Man Insurance and Pensions Authority (IPA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to foster co-operation on insurance matters. Isle of Man Chief Minister Allan Bell, who is this week (April 21) heading an Isle of Man delegation to China, presented the signed document on behalf of the IPA to Chen Wen Hui in Beijing, who is the Vice Chairman of CIRC. The delegates said that the MoU is an explicit recognition of the intention of both organizations to provide mutual assistance and information to ensure coordinated...

NEWS 2020

Photo By: Caixin Recent months have seen a number of regulations by the Chinese government aimed to ease some of the restrictions that are part of China’s currency control system. The latest of these changes is the announcement by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on March 30, 2015, stating that foreign-invested companies may now convert RMB to and from foreign currency in the capital account. The Chinese currency control system distinguishes between transactions under the current account and the capital account, and requires foreign investors to open separate bank accounts for both. Current account foreign currency transactions include...

NEWS 2020

Photo By: MegaCity Hong Kong Hong Kong is now facing the same ageing population crises as Mainland China. It is estimated that by 2040, about one in three Hong Kong residents will be over the age of 65. In order to help alleviate concerns about this, the Immigration Department has recently announced that a set of new enhanced measures to its immigration policy will be implemented by the second quarter of 2015. Essentially, these new measures are expected to build up “human capital” in Hong Kong by supporting the local workforce with foreign professionals and talents. The new measures include:...

NEWS 2020

Photo By: Boetie Conseil The British Virgin Islands (BVI) Government has told financial institutions that the deadline for registration under its newly launched Financial Account Reporting System (BVIFARS) to facilitate FATCA compliance is June 1, 2015. Financial institutions required to submit information to the Government under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the BVI and the US must register to use BVIFARS. The FATCA requires financial institutions outside the US to report information on financial accounts held by their US customers to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The reporting deadline for this information from...

NEWS 2020

Photo By: GBTimes Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan, believes that there are tremendous opportunities ahead for Hong Kong's financial center as China continues to liberalize its currency, the renminbi (RMB). In remarks at a seminar held by the London Business School, Chan observed that Hong Kong has already been playing a "key role" in the RMB liberalization process, noting that the offshore RMB market was effectively born in Hong Kong in 2003. "The combined value of deposits and certificates of deposits in Hong Kong is about RMB1.1 trillion (USD180bn) at the end of...

NEWS 2020

Photo By: KingWorld News China is close to its goal of making the renminbi convertible for investment purposes, a senior Chinese central banker has said, highlighting Beijing’s view that strict controls on cross-border capital flows are consistent with convertibility.  China is actively seeking the International Monetary Fund’s endorsement of the renminbi as an official reserve currency, a designation that requires a currency to be “freely usable”. Yet the comments by Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, highlight how China’s vision of convertibility falls well short of the unfettered trading that many foreign investors and deregulation enthusiasts...

NEWS 2020