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By Yao Lu Since first opening in September 2013, investors and businesses have flocked to the Shanghai FTZ. According to local media reports, more than 4,600 new companies, including 280 foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), were established in the Zone as of January 14, 2014. This surge can be attributed to the Zone relaxed requirements and streamlined approval procedures for company establishment, which we will further describe below. Relaxed Incorporation Requirements The Zone cancels out the minimum registration capital of RMB30,000 for limited liability companies, the RMB100,000 minimum for single shareholder companies, and the RMB5 million minimum for joint stock companies. Moreover,...

REPORTS 2020

By Robert W. Wood Many Chinese individuals and companies conduct business with the U.S., have U.S. investments, or U.S. relatives. Some encounter the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) because of U.S. withholding tax rules. Others find themselves answering IRS questions because of the increasing cooperation between the U.S. and foreign governments including China. However, many individuals and families in China are either U.S. citizens or permanent residents, even if they do not spend significant time in the U.S. That means their U.S. tax compliance may languish. This is a dangerous tendency, particularly at a time when the U.S. is enforcing its...

REPORTS 2020

By Asia Briefing For several years now, the United States has been preparing legislation under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a complex reporting and withholding regime intended to enable the U.S. to better access offshore accounts, investments and income of U.S. citizens who have failed to rigorously report these holdings. Despite several nations embrace of the FATCA, China has continued to delay negotiations with the U.S. Treasury over whether or not to allow Chinese financial institutions to report U.S. taxpayer or U.S. firm information to the United States Government. Under the FATCA, participating foreign financial institutions would be...

REPORTS 2020

By Courtesy of lowtax.net The lingering effects of the financial crisis, which continue to suppress economic dynamism in many parts of the world, have undoubtedly contributed to a dip in offshore company formations in the second half of 2012. However, as some recent studies and statistical reports show, certain jurisdictions are doing much better than others in attracting new investors, suggesting that certain other forces are at play here. According to legal services consultancy the Appleby Group, the majority of offshore jurisdictions experienced a decline in company incorporation activity in the second half of 2012 compared with the first half....

REPORTS 2020

By Rocky ChanThe intuitive description of private banking may be any banking, investment and financial services tailored for wealthy private investors. Private bank can be either an independent company or a division of retail bank, security firms and financial services institution. Historically, private banking had developed in Europe, known for managing assets of some royal families.  Nowadays, it is much more popular and demystified than before. It targets high net worth individuals (HNWI) for better and more customized services ranging from banking services (deposit taking and payments), discretionary asset management, brokerage, limited tax advisory services and some basic concierge-type services,...

REPORTS 2020

By Courtesy of Asia BriefingThe Shanghai Municipal Government released the "Interpretation of the Administrative Measures for the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the 'Interpretation')" on October 15, which clarifies several issues regarding the administrative measures for the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (Shanghai FTZ). Detailed information can be found below.Q: What is the background for introducing the "Administrative Measures for Shanghai Free Trade Zone"? A: With the view to regulate the daily operations of the Shanghai FTZ, the Shanghai Municipal Government released the "Administrative Measures for Shanghai Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as 'Measures')" on September 29,...

REPORTS 2020

By Leo Zhang In Asia, private businesses have been booming in the past few years, helping entrepreneurs in the region accumulate a massive amount of wealth. Nevertheless, the wealthy group is finding it increasingly difficult to manage assets in an efficient manner on their own as the economic scenario turns sophisticated and market volatility rises.The family office model, which has been widely accepted and utilized in Europe and North America, has been gradually expanded in Asia. Despite that the process could mean a generational shift, places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia may take the lead to benefit from the...

REPORTS 2020

By Leo ZhangFor a long time, Shanghai has been trailing behind regional financial centers like Hong Kong and Singapore in cross-border banking services due to strict regulatory control over capital flows imposed by mainland authorities.As a result, only a select batch of domestic banks was allowed to be engaged in offshore banking business while foreign lenders faced quite a few limits in terms of offering international banking services on the mainland. However, the industry landscape will likely be changed after the Chinese central government gives the green light to Shanghai, the country's financial capital, to start a new wave of...

REPORTS 2020