Special Features

Jurisdiction Special Focus: Cyprus

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, January 2012

Cyprus is an independent sovereign republic in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a population of 1.1m (July 2011 est), of whom the majority are ethnically Greek, living in the southern part of the island. More than 200,000 Turkish Cypriots and Turkish immigrants live in the northern part of the island, separated from the south by a UN-supervised buffer zone. The official languages in the two zones are Greek and Turkish, but many Cypriots speak English, which is extensively used in business and commerce.

Being An Expat In 2012 - A Financial Primer

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team

To believe the surveys, half the world is either already an expat, or planning to become one. Tens of millions of people work abroad, or have retired there, or have property in a foreign country.

Jurisdiction Special Focus: Malta

by the Investors Offshore editorial team, December, 2011

Malta is an independent nation, having split from the UK in 1964. The Maltese Islands are 100 km south of Sicily, with a population of 408,000; the climate is warm. Malta has a Westminster-style democracy, but has been politically fractious since independence. 15 years of post-colonial adolescent flirtation with Communism and the third world has however been succeeded by a more mature attitude.

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The EU Savings Tax Directive

by the Investors Offshore editorial team, December, 2011

The European Union Savings Tax Directive (STD), which went into effect on 1st July, 2005, in fact forms merely one part of a major tax reform package launched by the European Commission in 1997. As originally drafted, the STD aimed at a uniform 'information exchange' regime to apply across the Union, with all countries agreeing to report interest on savings paid to the citizens of other Member States to those States' tax authorities.

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Investors Offshore Special Reports: Gibraltar

by the Investors Offshore editorial team, December, 2011

Gibraltar is a small peninsula located on the southern coast of Spain. It covers a total area of 6.5 sq km and its coastline stretches for 12 km only; there is a 1.2km borderline with Spain. The Strait of Gibraltar links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Gibraltar enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate. Its highest point is the rock of Gibraltar which reaches 426m and is surrounded by narrow coastal lowland. The supply of fresh water is limited and there is no agriculture.

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QROPS - Qualified Recognized Overseas Pension Schemes

by the Investors Offshore editorial team, November, 2011

Pity the poor pensioners, in their 50s or 60s, approaching retirement. Annuity rates are falling so fast that anything but a really large pension pot will hardly deliver enough income to pay for the family car, never mind that cruise they had set their hearts on. And in many countries the tax authority will not allow you to cash in your pension pot on the grounds that it is tax-privileged money, plus a dose of nannying - if you take the money and spend it, goes the reasoning, you will fall back onto state support.

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International Property Investment - Are REITs Righting Themselves Again?

by Investors Offshore Editorial Team, November 2011

While many international investors choose to invest directly in their own homes (first, second or third, as the case may be!), one very interesting way of putting surplus funds into real estate is through a REIT.

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Jurisdiction Special Focus: JERSEY

by Investors Offshore Editorial Team, October 2011

The largest and most southerly of the Channel Islands between England and France, Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, with a population of around 94,000 (July 2011 est.) expatriates and residents. Despite being only 45 square miles, it is as bustling and active as offshore jurisdictions many times its size, and the moderate climate means that outdoor activities such as golf, swimming, water-sports and cycling are enjoyed by all its citizens.

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Emerging Market Investments - Into Calmer Waters?

by Carla Johnson, October 2011

Come rain or shine, as regards the global economy, the emerging markets, or developing nations (there is no consensus on what word to use) have consistently outperformed developed nations for a number of decades. Even in the depths of the financial crisis, the emerging economies posted overall GDP growth of 2.5% whereas the world economy as a whole shrank by 0.5%.

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International Offshore Banking

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, October 2011

In an increasingly globalised world, in which more and more of the population are becoming internationally mobile, there is a growing need for financial services which reflect people's circumstances, and consequently the market for offshore and international banking services is probably larger and more diverse now than it has ever been.

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Labuan

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, September 2011

When we think of the word 'offshore,' the names 'Bermuda', 'Cayman Islands', or perhaps 'Switzerland', are the ones that would probably come to mind before 'Labuan'. In a way that is unsurprising, as Labuan, situated a few miles off the northern coast of Borneo in Malaysia and just 60-odd square miles in size, is one of the newer additions to the list of the world's offshore jurisdictions.

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International Privacy and Security for 21st Century Global Citizens

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, September 2011

If you are an expat living in any of the world's favourite destinations such as Malta, Cyprus, the Bahamas or Mauritius and you should ever — heaven forbid! — enter a bar, you'll quickly hear scuttlebut about people returning home to, as it may be, Canada, the UK or Moscow, dissatisfied with the exchange rate, the lack of rainfall or the medical facilities. Well, don't believe everything you hear: although the debt crisis in 2009 did have some impact and may have hurt some people who had overstretched themselves financially, survey after survey continues to show that most expats are happy where they are, and that more and more people are planning to make the move abroad. The most recent such survey, in August 2011, showed that up to 90% of expats are planning to stay just where they are — abroad!

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Jurisdiction Special Focus: Antigua and Barbuda

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, Augsut 2011

In common with many of its Caribbean neighbours, Antigua & Barbuda, the subject of this Investors Offshore jurisdiction focus, is a location more synonymous with the upmarket end of the tourist trade than as a place in which to invest. Whilst tourism is indeed an important part of the nation's economy, a notable offshore financial industry has in fact been developed by government over the last two decades, helped along by some generous business and personal tax incentives, the major aspects of which we will attempt to cover here.

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Online Trading For Expats

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, Augsut 2011

For the domestic investor, the choice of online brokers seems almost endless; for the expat, whose somewhat unusual situation allows for a greater flexibility of investment choice and possible advantages in terms of taxation, the choice seems to be less broad, but is growing by the minute, as onshore brokerages recognise the potential of the expanding 'globetrotting' mass affluent market, and brokers in low-tax jurisdictions recognise the need to provide their clients with up-to-the-minute facilities.

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St Vincent & The Grenadines

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, July 2011

Whilst the Caribbean state of St Vincent and the Grenadines is probably best known as a tourist destination and hideaway for the well-heeled (Princess Margaret had a holiday home on Mustique for many years and Mick Jagger, who still has a home there, is a regular visitor), the former British colony is also emerging as a well governed and regulated financial jurisdiction to rival the more prominent offshore finance centres in the region.

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International Retirement Planning

by the InvestorsOffshore editorial team, July 2011

Survey after survey shows that ever-increasing numbers of people have active plans to leave their home countries either to work or to retire abroad. A survey carried out by Currency UK shortly before the May, 2010 election found that an astonishing 75% of people had considered or were considering a move abroad.

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Singapore - Another Hong Kong?

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, June 2011

Located in South East Asia, Singapore is a highly developed and successful free market economy which enjoys an open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, a low tax regime and a per capita GDP equal to that of most parts of Western Europe..

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House Prices: What Next?

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, June 2011

Four years ago, as the house price boom continued in many countries across the world, we asked whether the laws of economics had been repealed. Now, we can see that they remain as true as ever. The air leaked rapidly from the global housing bubble. Beginning with the US, as has been demonstrated time and again with deflating asset bubbles, a wave of price falls spread around the world, attacking in turn each of the countries which had seen particularly aggressive house price rises.

Barbados

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, May 2011

This feature focuses on the Caribbean island of Barbados. More famous for its beaches and as a destination for millions of tourists than as a location for offshore business, Barbados has nonetheless developed a well regulated financial services industry offering a surprisingly wide array of offshore products from banking to trusts to insurance. Whilst the island is not quite on a par with the higher profile offshore centres in the region, such as Bermuda or the Cayman Islands, for the investor, Barbados offers economic and political stability along with a number of tax and investment incentives, and close economic ties with the United States.

Personal Equity Investment In 2011 - Not Just For Expats?

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, May 2011

Under this particular heading of equity investment we will deal with direct, personal investment into publicly-quoted equities, other than through conventional stock exchanges, whether from an onshore or offshore base, and whether by an individual, or through a corporate vehicle or a trust. We will cover direct equity purchase through a dealer, spread betting, contracts for differences, and hedge funds insofar as they specialize in very directed equity investment.

Panama - Not Just A Pretty Canal!

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, April 2011

Ask most people around the world their thoughts on Panama and you would probably be met with the same one word reply: canal. However, after a small amount of further investigation you would find that this country at the gateway of Central and South America certainly isn't as one dimensional as that. Aided by more stable, pro-business governments using the invaluable canal as a catalyst, Panama's friendly tax and regulation system has helped to established the country as one of the most modern and respectable business and financial centres outside the established 'onshore' countries, and ranks as probably the most important trading and business hub in the region.

Alternative Investment: Non-Financial Alternative Investments

by InvestorsOffshore editorial staff, April 2011

The ideal tax shelter traditionally turned income into capital without taxation. Such mythical beasts used to exist in no-tax offshore jurisdictions, but they were not usually to be found in high-tax countries, and when sighted were rapidly hunted down by heavily armed tax inspectors.

Jurisdiction Special Focus: Hong Kong

by InvestorsOffshore editorial staff, March 2011

In geographical terms, the peninsula and collection of islands in south eastern China which make up the territory of Hong Kong are a little over 400 square miles in size, but in economic terms, the former British colony, which in 1997 was handed back to greater China, packs a serious punch on the world stage and can claim to be the globe’s third largest financial centre after New York and London, and the ninth largest economy in the world.

Living and Working Abroad?

by InvestorsOffshore editorial staff, March 2011

Whether you are still in the planning stages of expatriation, or have already made the move overseas, it is worth considering the benefits that offshore banking and investment could hold for you in what is, after all, a financially advantageous position. Continuing globalisation, and the increased use of electronic banking have meant that for you as an expatriate, a multitude of opportunities have opened up which would not have been available a few years ago - now the world is quite literally your oyster!

Jurisdiction Special Focus: Dubai - A Stately Business Dome Decreed

by InvestorsOffshore editorial staff, February 2011

For decades to come, people will point to Dubai's 200-storey, 828-metre Burj Khalifa tower, the tallest in the world, as representing both the peak and the nadir of the city-state's adventurous grasp for regional leadership in a startling range of sectors: real estate, shipping, commodities trading, equities, Islamic finance, e-commerce, air transport and banking.

Jurisdiction Special Focus: Hedge Funds: Into The Unknown

by Jeremy Hetherington-Gore, February, 2011

Hedge funds often boast that their investment strategies flatten out the more extreme gyrations of the markets. It remains to be seen, however, how investors and the hedge fund industry will respond to the challenges posed by the growing weight of regulation in the aftermath of the financial crisis. . .

Islamic Finance - The New Mainstream Alternative

by the Investors Offshore Editorial Team, August 2010

Although the Islamic finance sector suffered along with other investment sectors during the credit crunch of 2008 and 2009, its long-term future seems assured. Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Head of Islamic Finance at Thomson Reuters, told participants at the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENESA) Forum on ‘The Challenges Ahead for Islamic Finance’ in May that Islamic Finance is on a firm footing to become a USD2 trillion industry in the next half decade. “It took the Islamic Finance industry 40 years to become a USD1 trillion industry. It will take another two to five years to become a USD2 trillion industry,” he said.

Health & Life... Worldwide - Global Insurance For Expats

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore, January 2010

Insurance is one of those things that everyone hopes they'll never need, and as a result, a frightening number choose to bury their heads in the sand, hoping that their luck will hold. However, by far the most sensible solution for those not willing to trust to fate, is to take out some form of insurance, to protect themselves and their dependants should the worst happen.

Choosing Your Jurisdiction

by Caroline Maxwell and Jeremy Hetherington-Gore, January 2010

So you have decided that offshore is the way forward. The three most pressing concerns, then, are what type of investment you feel is right for you, where you choose to invest or bank, and how involved you are prepared to be in offshore life.

Part One - Types Of Offshore Investment Vehicle And The Main Jurisdictions

Part Two - Getting It And Keeping It. The How, Why, When And Where Of Offshore Investing.

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