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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

By Leo Zhang. In a bold step to boost individuals' overseas investment scope and liberalize China's capital account, Beijing has announced a plan to ultimately offer rich mainland citizens direct access to foreign capital markets.The initiative, which are expected to officially unveiled in the second quarter of this year, will not only help wealthy individuals gain exposure to a wider range of securities to diversify their investment, but also provide business opportunities for professional brokerages and intermediaries in terms of trading and consultancy. The so-called Qualified Domestic Individual Investors program, dubbed as QDII2, is aimed at promoting cross-border trading in...

REPORTS 2020

By Baron Laudermilk. Last week the International Consortium of Investigated Journalist (ICIJ), based in Washington, D.C, released a report recently that highlighted in detail about the illegal activities that have been occurring on the islands for years. The report also revealed that offshore centers were holding over 120,000 offshore bank accounts, many being owned by decision makers in business and government. The files that ICIJ analyzed all the offshore bank accounts including emails and documents, by using high level data analytics and data crunchers to find trends in the information. Some of the type of companies that were part of...

REPORTS 2020

By Anas Almasri. For many in the finance world, London exemplifies what a 21st century financial services center should look like. Its stable well-regulated enviroment, highly experienced labor force and a host of innovative financial instruments have seen the city consistently placed at the top of the ladder in rankings of global financial centers. That, combined with London's strong presence in the currency exchange markets, has not only allowed it to garner increasing support and investments but also cemented its position as a world leader in international finance and business services. The United Kingdom's, and England's, capital has the fifth...

REPORTS 2020

By Tendai Musakwa Chinese entrepreneurs thinking of listing their companies abroad should carefully consider that decision in light of the increased scrutiny Chinese companies are getting in overseas markets, especially in the US.Fraud Allegations Turning Investors Against Chinese CompaniesShort sellers and US securities regulators increased probes into Chinese companies' accounting practices have fueled negative investor sentiment towards domestic firms that list in the US. Accusations of accounting fraud and profit warnings have led to sharp falls in Chinese companies' stock prices and dampened foreign investors' enthusiasm for the overseas IPOs of Chinese companies. US short seller Citron Research accused 21...

REPORTS 2020

By Tendai Musakwa Lower corporate profits, a slowing economy and a sharp drop in retail investment led to one of the worst performances of Chinese stock markets in history in the first half of this year.  Turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges fell 32 percent year-on-year from January to June. In addition, China's economy grew 7.8 percent during the first half of the year compared to 9.6 percent growth in the same period in 2011, marking the slowest growth rate recorded in more than three years. Further, only 360,000 retail broker accounts were opened in July, less than...

REPORTS 2020

By Baron Laudermilk. What are Catastrophe Bonds? Catastrophe Bonds, known in the insurance industry as "cat bonds", are considered to the riskiest yet most lucrative investment instruments next to hedge funds. The market is still small, standing at $4.2 billion, but it is growing rapidly every year. Catastrophe bonds have made people rich, but have also made thousands of people lose millions of dollars in one night. People who invest in catastrophe bonds are not able to predict their ups and downs as if one believes he or she can read the market, but instead hopes that nature graces them...

REPORTS 2020