Despite reservations from some, India will benefit from the liberalisation of its legal market. By Alex Pease We have all read newspaper reports that speak confidently of political moves to achieve liberalisation of the Indian legal market before the country’s general election in two years’ time. Whether these predictions turn out to be true or […]
Corporate scandals have triggered a rethink in Japan’s approach to compliance as business looks to learn from its global counterparts. By Peter Godwin The past five years have seen unsurprising yet significant changes in the regulatory environment in Japan. Where previously compliance departments were – outside perhaps of the financial services industry – almost unknown, […]
Some offshore financial centres have a reputation as being havens of financial irregularities, but these accusations are unfair, say Christian Hay and Gareth Bell Offshore financial centres (OFCs) are regularly subject to criticism from around the world for various reasons, with accusations ranging from aiding money laundering to tax evasion. Indeed, OFCs have historically often […]
A firm but fair regulatory environment is attracting investors into Mauritius. By Malcolm Moller Mauritius is increasingly gaining international attention for investing into India and China due to its flexible and conducive regime for offshore business and the tax planning opportunities that can be obtained. The local financial industry is regulated by the Financial Services […]
The BVI’s new Companies Act has altered the rules for businesses based on the islands and directors must be aware of the changes. By Duncan Smith There is a good level of comfort with the new British Virgin Islands Business Companies Act 2004 (BCA), principally because, since 1 January 2006, users have been able to […]
The BVI is regarded as one of the world’s leading offshore jurisdictions, with derivatieves being a particular strength. By Peter Tarn and Russel Willings Termination and close-out netting together constitute the single most important technique for reducing credit risk in the derivatives markets. A typical derivatives contract provides for the termination of all transactions on […]
Recent laws have altered the make-up of insurance legislation in Bermuda to allow the government greater assessment of the market. By Rod Attride-Stirling and Franki Ganter Bermuda has a reputation as a blue-chip offshore jurisdiction. Among other things, it is one of the top reinsurance centres in the world and continues to expand annually. Eighty […]
Following the success of its commercial yacht registry, the Isle of Man is hoping to attract jets to the island with its new aircraft registry. By Faye Moffett The Isle of Man Aircraft Registry opened for business on 1 May. Within two days of the register becoming operational, three Cessna Citation jets had been registered. […]
Ireland has boosted its appeal as a financial centre by making it quicker and easier to gain authorisation for qualifying investor funds. By Brian McDermott and Nollaig Greene Promoters of Irish-domiciled investment funds can now have a qualifying investor fund (QIF) authorised on the day after the fund documentation is filed with the Irish Financial […]
Cayman is the first offshore jurisdiction to offer digital hedge fund regulation. Mark Lewis reports on the many benefits of e-reporting The Cayman Islands have long been recognised as a leading jurisdiction for offshore hedge funds. In March 2007 Cayman introduced another innovation to the hedge fund industry. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (Cima) went […]
The ability of special-purpose acquisition companies to raise capital very early on in their lifetimes has opened up new opportunities that investors are keen to take advantage of. By Kevin Butler and Richard Fear The private equity markets have seen the development of an interesting investment vehicle that, after a relatively slow start, now appears […]
Gibraltar is not only a member of the EU, but the phasing out of its tax-exempt company regime means it now enjoys access to the European Subsidiary Directive. By James Lasry Recent reforms in tax and fund legislation have made Gibraltar a particularly attractive jurisdiction for the incorporation of European private equity and property funds. […]