Category: Financial markets

MiFID 2: implications for BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey firms

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (“MiFID”) is a European Union law that aims to harmonise the regulation of investment services across the member states of the European Economic Area and came into effect from 1 November 2007. Following the 2008 financial crisis, amendments to MiFID became the focus of… – Continue reading

City’s offshore yuan pool under threat from trade discount

Weak inflows and expanding channels for renminbi outflows are adding to challenges faced by Hong Kong banks in keeping offshore yuan Hong Kong’s offshore yuan pool risks drying up as offshore paper trades at its widest discount in more than two years, prompting mainland importers to avoid coming to Hong… – Continue reading

THE CHATTER: Protests raise fears for Hong Kong banking sector

PEERING down from their gleaming tower blocks at pro-democracy activists on the streets, Hong Kong’s bankers and traders cannot help but worry that the island’s financial community will pay a heavy price if the city further infuriates Beijing. Hong Kong lives with the threat that its crucial role as China’s… – Continue reading

Disgorgement Remedy Based on Unpaid Taxes From Wylys’ Securities Trading Profits

Sept. 29 — Samuel Wyly and the estate of Charles Wyly must pay a total of $188 million plus prejudgment interest based on taxes they would have paid on profits from offshore trusts (SEC v. Wyly, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:10-cv-05760, 2014 BL 267268, 9/25/14). Judge Shira A. Scheindlin issued an order… – Continue reading

GoCoin CEO Steve Beauregard: “The Isle of Man Offers Many Competitive Advantages Over the US, UK, Luxembourg and Singapore”

Nearly 200 entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, private sector representatives and governmental officials were convened last week for the Crypto Valley Summit 2014 in the Isle of Man to share their points of views on numerous topics involving digital currencies and discuss the opportunities and challenges that is facing the industry. The two-day… – Continue reading

OECD: tax avoidance rules must avoid “collateral damage” on fund management industry

The fund management industry could be exempted from new global rules intended to combat tax avoidance by multinational companies if further work finds that they may “hamper legitimate transactions”, according to the Office for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).26 Sep 2014 Corporate Tax Corporate tax Tax Disputes and Investigations Investment… – Continue reading

Belize brokers arrested after 2-year FBI stock manipulation probe

After an almost two year investigation into offshore stock entities in Belize, things moved quickly on Sept. 9. The indictment in Brooklyn was unsealed and at 11:45 a.m. Robert Bandfield was arrested in Miami on stock fraud charges. By 1 p.m., FBI agents and Belize police were on the fourth… – Continue reading

ICBC to clear RMB business in Luxembourg

BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — The Luxembourg branch of China’s largest lender, ICBC, has been appointed as a clearing bank for renminbi business in the European country, the Chinese central bank said on Tuesday. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) made the decision in accordance with a memorandum of understanding… – Continue reading

Gibraltar finalises, publishes insurance-linked securities (ILS) guidelines

Gibraltar’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has finalized and published its guidelines for insurance-linked securities (ILS) following a consultation process with input from ILS experts from around the world. Gibraltar, like many other domiciles, is readying its regulatory environment to be able to act as a domicile and… – Continue reading

BNY Mellon backs London to lead European race for offshore RMB

London and Singapore are fast closing the gap on Hong Kong in the race to become centres for offshore renminbi business and capitalise on Beijing’s ambition to make the RMB a global currency. Fred DiCocco, Asia-Pacific head of sales & relationship management for BNY Mellon’s Treasury Services business, says London… – Continue reading

Firms issuing offshore bonds hit a company law hurdle

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 11:   Indian companies looking to raise money abroad through offshore bond issuances to overseas investors are in a bind, thanks to the new company law requirement around private placement of securities. They are now looking up to the Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) to provide clarity on whether… – Continue reading

Six Corporate Executives and Six Corporate Entities Indicted for Orchestrating a $500 Million Offshore Asset Protection, Securities Fraud, and Money Laundering Scheme Defendants Created Three Brokerage Firms in Belize to Assist U.S. Citizens in Fraudulent Manipulation Schemes of Publicly Traded Companies, Including Cannabis-Rx Inc. (CANA)]

A multi-count indictment was unsealed this morning in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, against six individual defendants: Robert Bandfield, a U.S. citizen; Andrew Godfrey, a citizen of Belize; Kelvin Leach, a citizen of the Bahamas; Rohn Knowles, a citizen of the Bahamas; Brian De Wit, a citizen of Canada;… – Continue reading

SEC charges Belize ‘neighbors’ of summer market sensation Cynk

On Tuesday, the SEC and the Justice Department charged several companies claiming to be located on the same floor of an office building in Belize City with fraud and conspiracy. We may not have heard the last from Cynk Technology. On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department… – Continue reading

CFTC Concerned Over Big Banks Transferring Trading Operations Offshore

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is wary of banks invoking guarantees on foreign swap deals, and is taking steps to scrutinize such activity. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is wary of US banks shifting their trading activities offshore and has urged other regulators to scrutinize banks involved in… – Continue reading

An offshore bond could be the key to a better return on your money

Such bonds have advantages for expats who are moving from a low-tax to a high-tax environment, explains Charlotte Beugge Interest rates on savings accounts are at such low levels that many expats will be looking for an alternative home for their money. Currently, the best rate expat savers can get… – Continue reading

Using British Virgin Islands Companies for International Listings

The British Virgin Islands’ (BVI) corporate statute is ideally suited for international listings. BVI companies have been used widely for listings on international stock exchanges in New York, London, Singapore and Oslo. They have been especially popular for listings on the world’s most successful growth market, the LSE’s Alternative Investment… – Continue reading

Luxembourg first country to issue sovereign Sukuk in the Eurozone

On 9 July 2014, Luxembourg Parliament voted a law aimed at allowing the issuance of the first Luxembourg sovereign Sukuk in response to the recent surge in investor demand for Sharia-compliant instruments. In a nutshell, the law authorizes a sale and buy-back transaction of real estate assets to a Special… – Continue reading

Malta halves EU property residency requirement

Malta’s High Net Worth Individual Rules for EU, which carried a minimum property investment of €400,000, has been replaced by the Global Residence Programme, with an entry point as low as €220,000 Malta has announced a new residency programme for EU nationals – and has halved the minimum property purchase… – Continue reading

Fake reception prompts probe

A political candidate has sparked the Reserve Bank and the Financial Markets Authority to visit a foreign-owned company offering “secret” offshore accounts. Grace Haden, an independent standing for election in Epsom, raised concerns with the regulators about Breder Suasso, which is referred to on overseas websites as a New Zealand… – Continue reading

Gibbons: New companies trend show Bermuda ‘moving in right direction’

Education and Economic Development Minister Grant Gibbons said yesterday the Registrar of Companies’ data on new company incorporations for the second quarter of 2014 continues to show a strong positive trend in the number of new company registrations. Results following the close of the quarter in June showed that the… – Continue reading

Is offshore equity attractive?

JOHANNESBURG – While numerous asset managers have indicated that global equities currently offer better longer-term investment opportunities than local stocks, some investors are concerned that the rand could strengthen and dilute their offshore gains. Last year, investors with exposure to specific offshore unit trust funds benefited from gains in international… – Continue reading

10 Facts About FATCA, America’s Manifest Destiny Law Changing Banking Worldwide

Never heard of FATCA? You will. FATCA—the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act—is America’s global tax law. It was quietly enacted in 2010, and after a four-year ramp up, it’s finally in effect. What is most amazing is not its impact on Americans—although that is considerable—but its impact on the world…. – Continue reading

Small Cap Insider Buying: Hercules Offshore (NASDAQ:HERO), Merrimack Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MACK), Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ:OMER), Insys (NASDAQ:INSY), New Mountain Finance (NYSE:NMFC)

Hercules Offshore Inc (NASDAQ:HERO) Director Thomas R. Bates, Jr. purchased 20,000 shares of the stock on the open market in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.93 per share, for a total transaction of $78,600.00. Following the completion of… – Continue reading

Half trillion dollars cash offshore as 14 US tech & pharma groups cut foreign tax rate to 10%

The Financial Times says today that 14 US tech & pharma groups, including  Microsoft, Google and Johnson & Johnson, have cut their average tax rate by a quarter over the past eight years as they parked more cash offshore than all other US companies combined. Almost a half trillion dollars… – Continue reading

Singapore Is Expected To Overtake Switzerland as the World’s Epicentre of Wealth Management

AsiaOne Business News released an article on the expectation of Singapore to dislodge Switzerland as the world’s wealth management capital (Business AsiaOne, 5/12/14) last week. AsiaBiz Services, Singapore’s leading company formation consultancy, affirmed that the main reasons for the country’s acquisition of its enormous share of global offshore wealth are attributed to… – Continue reading

Russian banks will be able to provide information under FATCA statute

MOSCOW, May 14 (RAPSI) – The Russian government has approved a bill to allow Russian financial institutions to provide information about US taxpayers and to oblige foreign financial institutions to report Russian taxpayers to Russia’s Federal Tax Service, reads a statement on the government’s website. The bill has been submitted to… – Continue reading

New Jersey Backs Off $3.2 Billion Emerging-Markets Bet

No other U.S. pension, endowment or foundation manager has invested as heavily in emerging-market ETFs as the New Jersey Pension Fund, a $3.2 billion gamble at its height. Now the state’s reversing course. The $76.8 billion fund, the 12th largest public pension manager in the U.S., has cut its holding of developing-nation exchange-traded funds… – Continue reading

New Russian Forex Bill: Offshore Regulation To Be Banned

The schedule of the Russian parliament has been updated yet again and it appears that forex dealing regulation is coming back to the fray. According to recent reports by Russian media there might be some key amendments aimed to limit the participation of brokers residing in offshore financial centres (OFCs)…. – Continue reading

Luxembourg lining up for yuan quota

Luxembourg is lobbying Beijing for equal treatment with London, which was granted an investment quota last year allowing investors based there to invest their offshore yuan directly in the mainland’s securities markets. In an effort to capture a larger share of Europe’s offshore yuan business, top officials from the grand… – Continue reading