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INTERSHORES I New Bank in British Virgin Islands Targets Changing How People Bank
“Fintech is the future. The British Virgin Islands is the appropriate home for Bank of Asia because the BVI is at the forefront of delivering high quality technological and innovative offshore services. We are proud to be the first bank to be licensed by the BVI in more than two decades and we plan to change how people bank using innovative technology, products and better customer service, not only here in the BVI but also globally,” chairman Carson Wen said.
Bank of Asia wants to tap into the growing needs of offshore companies as the world’s first fully digital global cross-border bank and the first digital bank in the British Virgin Islands. It is using the BVI as...
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INTERSHORES I Best Practices In Hong Kong - Requirements For Accounting, Audit & Tax Filing
Under S379 Subdvision 3- Financial Statements of the Companies Ordinance Cap. 622, subsection (1) a company’s directors must prepare for each financial year statements. Subsection (4) further states that the director fails to take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with subsection (1), the director commits an offence and is liable to a fine of HK$300,000. The financial statements have to be audited and file together with the tax return for reporting to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
We certainly understand time is money for businessmen who may sometimes forget the statutory compliance and may be tempting to leave the accounting & auditing issues later. However,...
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INTERHORES I Offshore Bank Account in Seychelles - Keys Things to Know For Account Opening
Seychelles company formation with bank account is one of the rising popular options among various foreign investors. The island is located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean and the jurisdiction of Seychelles is often associated and commonly known to be popular tourist destinations, with its main economic activities revolving around tourism and fishing. In an effort to transit itself into a financial services hub, Seychelles maintained a pro-business stance and passed the Seychelles Investment Act which makes foreign investors who wish to incorporate in Seychelles possible but restrictions are placed upon industries that are active with local businesses such as taxi or...
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INTERSHORES I Creating Substance In Your Company
Having a virtual office in Hong Kong to operate overseas is used to be a preferable and popular arrangement of overseas clients. As time goes by, this model has to be modified with substance in light of the changing regulatory environment. Non-HK residents who do not want to relocate to Hong Kong for business but operate the company overseas should consider the following to claim offshore status:
1. Non-HK residents are free to be the sole directors and shareholders of a Hong Kong company but you should appoint a professional practice as their company's administrator to supervise its company’s affairs without making decision for the company.
2. You do not need to rent a...
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INTERSHORES I is Offshore Hong Kong Company Existed
We are always been asked, please set up an offshore Hong Kong company for me. The term “Offshore Hong Kong” is not a form of company available as Hong Kong is not a tax haven city. Form of companies available are sole proprietorship, partnership, private limited company, public company, listed company. There is no “offshore Hong Kong company” strictly speaking. However, businessmen choose to incorporate a private limited company in Hong Kong but operate out of Hong Kong i.e. its business activities are carried on outside of Hong Kong in order to take advantage of Hong Kong’s territorial taxation system which means that tax is charged on local income...
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INTERSHORES I CRS - What Does It Mean For You?
CRS (Common Reporting Standard), is a global standard for the exchange of financial account information to combat tax evasion and improve tax compliance around the globe. As of 20 May 2018 102 countries has committed for implementation. Under CRS, financial institutions in the participating countries must collect and analyze certain information in order to determine tax residency of account holders. The information collected at the particular country may be shared with its Revenue Administration. The local Revenue Administration then may report these information to other relevant CRS jurisdictions.
Which Countries are Within the Scope of CRS?
1. Committed Countries - Commenced...
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INTERSHORES i Be Specific in Your Business Nature
Before you start your business, you always think about your business model & activities and how to make money out of them. This is what is interested by the authority as well!
We used to say that you should keep your business nature very brief or so to speak sometimes vague limiting to “Corporation”, “Trading”, “Consulting”, “Holding” when you set up your Hong Kong company. You should now need to simply elaborate more on your business activities. For example, instead of “Trading”, you should report to the Business Registration Office as “Trading in Electronics” or “Consulting” to become “IT...
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INTERSHORES I Building The Future Through Asia - HK (Experience Sharing)
Design consultancy CallisonRTKL was formed in 2015, under the global engineering consultancy Arcadis. With 1,700 professionals working across 24 offices worldwide, CallisonRTKL specialises in architecture, interior design and urban design through four major practice groups – commercial, retail stores, healthcare and workplace.
Darryl J. Custer, Regional Practice Group Leader, South Asia, Commercial, sees Hong Kong as a market unto itself but also a bridge between Mainland China and Southeast Asia. “We have a long history in Asia and have been very successful in Mainland China, but we are seeing renewed activity throughout Southern China and Southeast Asia,” he said.
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INTERSHORES I Structuring Your Holding Vehicle For Your China Venture
When structuring your investment into China, it is not only important to consider different vehicles available in China (e.g. a representative office, a joint venture or a wholly foreign-owned enterprise) but also the jurisdiction through which the Chinese vehicles is held. You can use your existing company or set up a special purpose vehicle (“SPV”) to remove your venture risk. By SPV, you have a choice of using offshore jurisdictions (such as British Virgins Islands, Seychelles, Mauritius, Samoa or Labuan, etc.) or Hong Kong to hold the China investment. We would like to outline the differences between using offshore or Hong Kong companies as your China SPV:
Using...
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INTERSHORES I Bank Account Opening - Bank of China
Bank of China, Hong Kong is a commercial bank regularly used by businessmen. We would like to let you know what is the backbone that makes up its compliance and their usual documentation required.
Backbone for FI’s Compliance in Hong Kong
Effective from 1 April 2012, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance, Cap. 615 (“AMLO”) laid down the anti-money laundering backbone to financial institutions (FIs) in Hong Kong and imposes FIs’ customer due diligence (CDD) requirements. Summarized below AMLO and HKMA guidelines for FIs in Hong Kong :
AMLO Guidelines
Screen Out Undesirable Parties
The following...
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INTERSHORES I Income Tax in Singapore
Individual income tax in Singapore is currently based on the progressive tax system (for local residents and tax residents) with tax rate varied upto 22% since Year of Assessment (YA) 2017. YA is based on calendar year from 1 January to 31 December and is payable based on income earned in the preceding year.
Corporate income tax is based on the “source” principle, ie. where the income earned in Singapore, or those derived from overseas but received in Singapore, are taxable. Any income arising from sources outside Singapore and received in Singapore on or after 1 January 2004 by an individual (other than partners of a partnership) is exempted.
With effect from Year...
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INTERSHORES I Is R.A.K. the New B.V.I.?
The government of Ras Al Khaimah (R.A.K.) has launched an offshore facility, the second in the UAE, that is expected to lure investors looking for a new tax haven. The R.A.K. allows foreign investor to register offshore companies in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) without the need to establish a physical presence. It is hoped that foreign companies finds their offshore system more appealing than the Jebel Ali Offshore centre, which was established by Dubai in 2003 to position itself as a tax haven like the Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Liechtenstein.
The free zone has continued to attract new businesses in industries spanning IT, Consulting, Manufacturing and Trading. RAK FTZ...
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