Chinese shares have fallen with the prospect of slower economic growth. The IMF, in a report on China's outlook, highlighted their vulnerability to global demand and estimated Chinese growth could fall by as much as 4% in an extreme downside scenario. In light of this negative outlook, China is trying to attract more investment by changing its strategies with Yuan. E Fund Management, one of the China's largest asset managers, has given Hong Kong investors the option of investing Yuan directly in mainland stocks and options for the first time. Read more at the BBC.

Similarly Hong Kong is opening up as well with Chinese regulators accepting an application for an ETF (exchange traded fund) linked to Hong Kong shares. Full story at Market Watch.

Global growth concerns are having little impact on Indonesia, which grew by 6.5% in 2011, a 15 year high. Unlike other Asian economies, Indonesia is not heavily reliant on exports to the EU and US. Growth was driven by robust domestic consumption and increased investment. With strong growth and the recent upgrade of Indonesia's debt rating, a confident government is even considering a re-denomination of the local currency (rupiah). Indonesia company registration, which allows 100% foreign ownership, has potential for being an attractive strategy for entrepreneurs wanting to incorporate in Asia. Read more here.

Australia home loan holders would be disappointed after the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised the market by leaving rates unchanged at 4.25%. Part of the resulting effect was to cause the Australian dollar to climb to a 6-month high. Analysts had expected cut of 1/4% due to global growth concerns and a low inflation environment. Read more on ninemsn.

Unfortunately what most people see are stories in the media about cases in which these financial tools have been misused for things such as tax evasion and money laundering, and so the result is a perception that these strategies are not an option. Without international markets, the majority of businesses today would not exist. Globalisation and technology means international business operations are not just for large multinational companies. Entrepreneurs and small business can just as easily take advantage of offshore opportunities to maximise efficiencies.

Continue reading more about some of the reasons why investing offshore is often underutilized.....

In Singapore, strong year-on-year retail growth sales data in November saw markets make positive moves, despite the fact that growth did not meet expectations. Read more on Channel News Asia.

Much of the good news is due to the attention investors are paying to Greece’s debt restructuring. The country’s government is currently in talks with private creditors over potential write offs to Greek debt. The deal, aimed to swap current debt for new, lower obligations are part of the country’s current restructuring efforts. The deal is important as Greece’s seventh tranche of funds are dependant its success. Visit abcnews.com to learn more.

In other news, the war against illegitimate tax havens has reached new heights as the head of Britain’s Labour party, David Miliband, called for all tax loopholes to be closed. The Australian Taxation Office is also in the news, reporting that it would seek out tax evaders as the Australian government looks to recover growing amounts of tax debt. Previous calls over the last 10 years have revealed in excess of AUS$1 billion in withheld assets. These calls come on the heels of similar sentiments voiced last week by the US IRS. Such efforts have placed increasing pressure on governments around the world to co-operate in reigning in fraudulent assets. See relevant article in the Australian regarding this.

This is not the first fight against tax evasion waged by the UK and Australia governments. Neither are the initiatives by the OECD and the US tax department aimed at those using offshore banking and offshore companies as a means of engaging in illegal activities something new. Nevertheless, as we have outlined in other articles, the practice of setting up offshore bank accounts and offshore company registration is not illegal, if structured properly.

And finally, Hong Kong is still hailed as the world’s freest economy according to the latest edition of the Heritage Foundation’s doing business survey. The research praised the former British colony for handing excess tax revenue back to its citizens in the form of a rebate. Singapore was placed second on the list, while Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland rounded out the top five.

Hong Kong, however, continues to see property prices sliding. This week government officials withdrew a tender for a property development and also received less than the expected amount during a property auction. Rumors are abound that property prices will continue to drop, following the trend since 2009. Analysts cite increased borrowing costs and higher taxes as well as government land auctions for the drop in demand.
More information about offshore incorporation and offshore banking can be found on Healy Consultants website. Or send us an email with some details about your business and investments to see how our firm can assist.

On the previous occasions, the program yielded US$3.9 billion and US$1 billion, respectively, with more than 33,000 disclosures being made.

The program is part of the IRS’s ongoing efforts to reduce and prevent tax evasion. The government agency has also prosecuted clients of banks and financial institutions such as UBS and HSBC, and charged bankers and advisors who helped clients conceal their assets.

This program of fighting tax evasion is not new and is also a goal of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD promotes policies aimed at being universally recognized and implemented globally and hence contribute to improvements in fairness and social wellbeing of people around the world.

One such policy is related to the disclosure of financial and bank account information. The OECD has been successful in encouraging jurisdictions around the world to agree to implement the internationally recognized guidelines for disclosure of information related to financial accounts. Due to their efforts, there are now no jurisdictions on the OECD ‘black list’ that once included a number of traditional tax haven markets.

Despite the publicity gained through such initiatives by the OECD and the US government, illegal activity via the use of offshore banking and offshore companies is few and far between. The practice of setting up offshore bank accounts and offshore company registration is not illegal. If structured properly and all laws of the home jurisdiction as well as the jurisdiction where the account/company is set up are followed, offshore investment strategies can be an effective way to grow personal assets and expand business operations.

More information about offshore incorporation and offshore banking can be found on Healy Consultants website. Or send us an email with some details about your business and investments to see how our firm can assist.

Good news for Ireland as the EU/IMF praised the nation for reducing its budget targets despite a drop in revenues generated from sales tax.

Fiscal targets were met as the government reigned in expenditures, which dropped 1% below the budget.

Overall, the government’s budget shortfall actually increased to 24.9 billion Euros from 18.7 billion, but this was largely due to a 11 billion capital injection intended to boost a sagging domestic economy.

The IMF dictates that Ireland ought to shrink its deficit to 8.6% of GDP this year, but this is expected to be a challenge given the prospect of a looming European recession. Read more about Ireland’s budget results on reuters.com

While Ireland will face the challenges that the rest of the European region will face, this jurisdiction has some advantages for entrepreneurs wanting to set up a company in a tax efficient jurisdiction within Europe. Ireland has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the European Union (EU) at 12.5%. There are also tax exemptions based on meeting certain criteria.

Read more about the advantages of Ireland company formation