International Offshore Financial Center-About International Offshore Financial Center:
International Offshore Financial Center - Overview
International offshore financial centers in some countries and regions, especially in the Caribbean and the South Pacific island developing countries with limited resources, through legislative means to cultivate and develop some special economic zones, allowing international natural or legal person in its territory from engaging in a variety of shore operations, and rely mainly on low-tax or tax-free offshore financial sector to develop policies to attract the purpose of evading their taxes and other foreign capital to develop their economies. Good number of the current development of offshore financial centers is the British Virgin Islands (British Virgin Islands, BVI), Panama, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, China's Macao Special Administrative Region, also in October 31, 1999 promulgated the " Offshore Act ", and was formally implemented in 2000, hoping to take advantage of an international financial center of Hong Kong, Macau, mainland production base and tax preferential policies to promote Macao's development and the Greater Pearl River Delta region's economic integration.
International is an offshore financial center, national financial institutions engaged only in local currency deposit and loan business, but after World War II, the world's financial institutions engage in currency other than foreign currency deposit and loan business has gradually emerged, some of the country's financial institutions thus become the world center of foreign currency deposits and loans, which specializes in foreign currency deposits and loans of financial activity referred to as offshore (offshore finance). That is, any national, regional and city, where the main transactions in foreign currency (or savings and loan) subject to non-residents for the transaction object, its local and foreign banks formed by the banking system, can be referred to as offshore financial center.
International Offshore Financial Centre (Offshore Financial Center, referred to as OFC), including the International Finance Centre (IFC), a regional financial center (RFC) and bookkeeping center (Paper company or Shellbranch).
The Eurodollar market, for example, it is a very typical offshore financial centers, it is a free trade, free from the control of international financial markets. Offshore financial services are wholesale banking business, large amounts of deposits and loans, trading banks and multinational corporations often, the business usually bring in foreign capital, then the funds to lend to foreign countries. Individual investors can also invest through institutions.
Offshore financial centers - Classification
Theoretically major offshore financial center can be divided into three categories:
1, the London representative of the London-based offshore financial center. It features: business currency is foreign currency, market participants can operate offshore financial services, they can operate free market business. There are no restrictions on the management and operation of offshore businesses do not have the financial authorities for approval.
2, New York, New York, represented by offshore financial center, offshore business operations of domestic banks and foreign banks must apply to the financial authorities. Offshore offshore financial services business can be exempt from reserve requirements, deposit insurance discount, interest withholding tax, and enjoy immunity from local taxes. Offshore business can be operated outside the currency of money, it can be its own currency, but the offshore business and traditional business must be separately set up an account.
3, tax-based offshore financial centers, generally located in the scenic islands and ports, political stability, tax incentives, there is no financial control. This is the sense we usually referred to offshore financial centers.
In recent years, some countries and regions such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and so have resorted to legal means to try to figure out and cultivate some of the special economic zone loose, allowing the international community was established on its territory an international business company, these areas are generally known as an offshore jurisdiction or offshore jurisdictions. The so-called offshore companies in offshore jurisdictions that refers established a limited liability company or international business companies.
The relatively well-known offshore financial center of the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Bermuda, Western Samoa, Anguilla Islands and so on.
Limited offshore companies and the general differences:
Compared with the general Ltd. offshore companies, the main difference in tax. And commonly used turnover or profit the practice of tax, offshore jurisdictions charge the Government only to the offshore company annual management fee, in addition, not all taxes. In addition to tax incentives, almost all offshore jurisdictions expressly provides: information on the company's shareholders, equity ratio, earnings, etc., have the right to confidentiality, such as shareholders or not, can not be disclosed. Another advantage is that almost all the major international banks have recognized these companies, such as the United States, Chase Manhattan Bank, HSBC in Hong Kong, Singapore Development Bank, France's Credit Agricole Bank. "Offshore" companies can open bank accounts in the financial operation is extremely easy.
General type of "offshore" regions and countries and developed countries have good trade relations. Therefore, the offshore company with many large multinational companies and high worth individuals often use financial instruments.
