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After a temporary setback in 2009, Dubai has reclaimed its integral role in regional and global business. Its special financial centers and free trade zones are registering healthy growth and hold the key to ensuring the city's future success. By Anas Almasri. Dubai has worked tirelessly to reach the position it holds today as one of the most recognizable cities in the business industry worldwide.  Its undeniable contribution to international trade, regional and global investments, and business related services has granted Dubai its status as the business hub of the Middle East, connecting the whole region with the rest of...

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The United Arab Emirates has successfully transformed itself from a desert to a state of the art international business center in just over 50 years. By Anas Almasri.Known for its ample resources as well as its extravagant and futuristic construction projects, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has much more to offer than energy resources and tourism attractions, awe inspiring as they may be.  Over the years the country has seen great economic progress and today boasts one of the most developed economies in West Asia. Its name is derived from its seven constituent emirates, which are each ruled by an...

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Cavalier PRC Corporations Suffer Under US Market Scrutiny. By James Zhang. With the successful offshore initial public offerings (IPO) of the Big Four Chinese state-owned commercial banks and other influential colossal organizations, a reckoning comes into existence that the best companies in China don't bother to offer their shares at the mainland's two premature pandemonium bourses. The momentum for Chinese listings in the US over the past few years has been overwhelming. An awful lot of companies went public through reverse mergers, at which a private company goes public by merging with a public shell company. That allows firms to...

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For Asian high net worth individuals (HNWI) the 2008 financial crisis ended up being more of a hiccup than a full blown crisis. HNW wealth topped US$9.7 trillion, surpassing the pre-crisis level of US$9.5 trillion after bouncing back from a loss of over 20% in2008. Due to a robust regional economy,surging real estate prices, and a rally inthe stock market, Asian HNW's did farbetter than those in North America andEurope, who at the end of 2009, still hadlosses in excess of US$1.0 trillion and US$1.2 trillion, respectively, from 2007 levels, representing a reduction of wealthof roughly 10% for both regions....

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Recent figures indicate that China currently has more than 500,000 high net worth individuals(HNWI's) with a combined wealth of over US$2.5 trillion. Some of the big name Chinese banks and foreign banks have been growing their private banking divisions to cater to this massive growth in new millionaires; aiming to furnish these new millionaires with a more personal service than they would otherwise find in a consumer bank. An institution's private banking division will provide a variety of service such as wealth management, savings, inheritance and tax planning as well as day to day banking for their clients. aPersonal advisors...

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Last year the Chinese government unveiled a series of measures designed to create conditions for the RMB to become an international currency. The two most important being the RMB Trade Settlement Scheme introduced by The People Bank of China (PBoC), which allows trade transactions from anywhere to be settled in RMB, and the revised Settlement Agreement on the Clearing of Renminbi signed by PBoC and Bank of China Hong Kong (BOCHK) which expands the scope of RMB business in Hong Kong and increases flexibility for financial institutions, to conduct RMB business Furthert to these changes , an expansion of the...

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In 1488, when Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, he opened the Indian Ocean to western Europe's merchant ships and, in the process, ushered in a new era in global trade. The period, which reached its zenith when this vast stretch of water was nicknamed - with more than a little hubris - a British lake, saw the rise of free ports like Singapore, which were able to punch way above their weight. Now, with the emergence of China and to a lesser extent India, the Indian Ocean's trade routes are again going through an era...

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Second citizenship programs offer flexibility and convenience to Chinese investors overseas Economic citizenship can mean anything from a simple tax break to ensuring your kids can get an education in the country of your choice. For those who can afford it, it can mean financial privacy, freer travel and a greater sense of asset security. But the idea of changing citizenship is understandably seen by many as an exceedingly bold move, especially for citizens of countries like China, where the government does not permit dual citizenship.  In order to partake in second citizenship programs, Chinese citizens have to deal with...

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