China Postal Group has applied to start offering insurance services, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing state media. It is an indication of the efforts being made by China to develop a financial industry through the country's postal network, which is the principal bank for million living in rural areas. According to the application made to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Postal Group will run the business on its own, which means it could emerge as a potential rival to the existing insurance joint venture the postal authority has with Paris-based CNP Assurances. (Source: Chinaeconomicreview)


The Nanyang Commercial Bank has become the first Chinese bank in three months to receive a foreign currency quota for overseas investment, ending a three-month suspension of quota offers. Under the revision released by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), QDIIs can invest up to 50 percent of their overseas investment in stocks, with a single holding capped at five percent of a product's asset value. Stock investment, however, is still restricted to Hong Kong. Many banks have started to design new products targeting domestic investors in line with the new measures. (Source: www.chinaview.cn)


The Hong Kong securities regulator is poised to relax an important licensing requirement for international hedge fund managers in a move that could help the territory fend off challenges from Singapore and other lightly regulated financial centres. The rule change, unveiled on the 18 May in a closed-door meeting of hedge fund services providers, marks an important policy shift for Hong Kong, which has been locked in a struggle for international investment talent amid rapidly growing demand for Asian hedge funds. Under rules introduced four years ago, new hedge funds are required to have two “responsible officers” who have to demonstrate their regulatory knowledge in a tough local exam. (Source: us.ft.com)


The Blackstone Group, the U.S. second largest private equity investment company, has confirmed that the soon-to-be-established China's State Investment Company agreed to make a 3 billion dollars investment in the company. The State Investment Company in China and the Blackstone Group L.P. announced on 20th, May that the State Investment Company has agreed to make a 3 billion dollars investment in Blackstone in the form of non-voting common units, said Blackstone in a news release. The State Investment Company has agreed to hold its investment in Blackstone for at least four years. (Source: www.chinaview.cn)


New Zealand Finance Minister Michael Cullen has announced a 3% cut in the country's rate of corporate income tax along with a series of other measures designed to improve the nation's international business competitiveness. A number of other business-friendly tax provisions were also introduced. These include changes to the compliance and penalties regime and measures to address a number of technical issues with the Portfolio Investment Entity rules. Later this year a Limited Partnerships Bill will be introduced which the government hopes will assist new technology and venture capital companies. The government will also release a discussion document exploring further potential measures for simplifying tax compliance, focusing in particular on small to medium sized businesses. (Source: Tax-News.com)


HSBC, the bank which has already big presence in China through its investment in Chinese banks and insurance company, is to focus its attention on the global trade rather than other services in China. HSBC will concentrate on such products like financial service for the international trade in China. China, with its increasingly big shares in world trade market, will have a greater need in financial service by HSBC, a bank group which claims to have the biggest commercial bank network in the world. (Source: Xinhua)


The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) announced on 11th, May that the investment scope for offshore wealth management services provided by commercial banks on mainland China will be expanded to include equity investments, subject to certain conditions. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) welcomed the expansion and the CBRC’s decision to use the Hong Kong market and Hong Kong authorised and regulated financial products and intermediaries to implement it. (Source: Tax-news.com)


A foreign exchange trader Akihiko Kodama, 64, was arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office after being accused of concealing 760 million yen (US$6.3 million) over two years up to 2005. He is the second individual forex margin trader to have been subject to such charges in recent weeks. Kodama is alleged to have set up two bank accounts in Singapore; one in his own name and the other in the name of a paper company registered in the British Virgin Islands. He then used both accounts to deposit an inheritance, and invested it by trading foreign exchange and oil futures contracts. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Malta and Cyprus have won approval from the European Commission to adopt the euro next year. The two Mediterranean countries have achieved a high degree of sustainable economic convergence with the euro zone member states and met the necessary conditions to adopt the euro, the European Union's executive arm said in its convergence reports. (Source: Xinhua)


China securities regulator has unveiled management rules that give green lights to the establishment of representative offices of overseas stock exchanges in the country. The rules will come into effect on July 1. To be eligible, the stock exchanges should be in operation for more than 20 years and have fine financial records, according to the rules. Meanwhile, their home country should have signed memorandum of understanding on supervision cooperation with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The representative offices can only do non-operating activities including liaison, promotion and research, the rules stated. (Source: Xinhua)


Zhang Xiaoqiang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, expressed at the Transnational Investment Seminar for Chinese Enterprises that the Chinese Government would render support to domestic enterprises for their overseas investment in resources relating to manufacturing facilities, infrastructure, trade distribution, banking, electronic information and logistics. Within the framework of WTO principles, related enterprises will receive helpful support in areas of diplomacy, foreign exchange, taxation, custom, credit, insurance and multilateral cooperation. (Source: Chinese Business News)


The National Bank of Egypt, the country's biggest commercial bank, is expecting to turn its Shanghai representative office into a branch by the end of 2007, a senior executive of the bank said. The new branch will be responsible for the NBE's business in Asia. Currently, the NBE has two foreign branches in both London and New York and two representative offices in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Shanghai. The African Economic Outlook predicts that China could replace the United States as Egypt's main trading partner in five or six years. (Xinhua)


Foreign investors are being encouraged to invest in six specific industries in an effort to boost the development of the country's western regions, a senior economy planner has said. The six industries are: energy and chemicals; finance; mining; production of agricultural by-products, including diary and sugar; manufacturing; hi-tech; and tourism. Wang said that although the region has made progress over the past six years, it remains vulnerable due to a lack of foreign investment and a sound industry structure. Foreign investment in the region accounts for just 3 percent of the total for the nation as a whole, he said. (Source: China Daily)


The central government of the Netherland Antilles has received a request from the United Kingdom government to initiate negotiations that would lead to the introduction of a tax agreement between the two jurisdictions. According to a report by Caribbean Net News, the agreement would take the form of a "mini" tax treaty, combining elements of a Tax Information and Exchange Agreement (TIEA) and a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). (Source: Tax-News.com)


The Hong Kong Companies Ordinance (Amendment of 8th Schedule) Order 2007, which amends the fees concerning overseas companies in the 8th Schedule to the Companies Ordinance, has been gazetted. It restructures the filing fees for overseas companies, introduces a new fee for the issue of registration certificates, and amends Part V of the 8th Schedule insofar as it relates to the renaming of 'overseas' companies as 'non-Hong Kong' companies. (Source: Tax-News.com)


DIFC Investments, the investment arm of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has acquired a 2.2% stake in Deutsche Bank, making it the largest external shareholder in the global investment bank. The announcement seemingly continues the trend of Middle Eastern investors building up stakes in western financial institutions. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has announced a new initiative to crack down on companies that he says are shifting the tax burden unfairly to small taxpayers by using offshore corporate structures to evade Canadian taxes. The new rules are being designed to prevent multinational corporations from using tax havens and other tax avoidance structures to generate two expense deductions for only one investment, so-called 'double dipping.' To bed in the new rules, Flaherty said there would be a transition period to 2012, after the planned reductions to the federal statutory corporate tax rate are fully phased-in and the rate has been reduced to 18.5%. (Source: LawAndTax-News.com)


The UK is targeting the fast-growing Gulf as a priority for trade development along with India and China, the chief executive of UK Trade Investment said yesterday. Andrew Cahn was in Dubai to launch a specialist trade hub at the British embassy to help UK companies do business in the region, from Morocco to Iran. Gordon Brown, Britain's chancellor, has asked the trade promotion body to devote resources to developing closer trade and corporate links with these “priority” high-growth areas, Mr Cahn said. (Source: FT.com)


Switzerland has concluded an agreement with Syria on the promotion and mutual protection of investments. The investment protection agreement is intended to improve the legal status of investors from Switzerland and Syria and create a more favourable climate for investment. The most important provisions concern the treatment of foreign investment by the host country, the transfer of capital and revenues, compensation in the event of expropriation and the settlement of disputes. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Malaysia's stock exchange has entered the global beauty pageant of bourses hoping to tempt Chinese listings, its chief executive told the Financial Times lately. Bursa Malaysia has joined the Nasdaq, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, London's Aim and Singapore Exchange in vying for Chinese companies' attention. The exchange has attracted one Chinese company already – Sino Hua'an, an independent coke and chemical producer based in eastern Shandong province – through a backdoor listing in which it bought a distressed Malaysian company and acquired its publicly traded status. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Jersey and the Isle of Man have signed new constitutional agreements with the UK. The aim of these arrangements is to recognise the independent identity of both jurisdictions. The accords will boost promotion of the two offshore centres in international markets with the full endorsement of the UK. Guernsey has failed to secure a similar deal because the British Department of Constitutional Affairs has yet to be satisfied over issues related to Alderney and Sark. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Aetos Capital Asia managing director Kenny Tse Chiu-ping is of the opinion that foreign investors believe the sector has undergone consolidation leading to an opportunity to invest. The huge potential market, driven by the enormous demand for housing in the mainland, has attracted more foreign funds and private equity investors. He believes the consolidation process in China has urged property developers to seek funds abroad. He said, ‘This is one of the reasons why foreign funds are flocking to invest in mainland property.’ (Source: The Standard Finance)


Legislative amendments to allow for the formation of Private Trust Companies have been introduced in the Bahamas. Currently, the government is consulting with relevant stakeholders, including the Association of International Banks and Trust Companies, the Bahamas Financial Services Board, the Society of Trust and Estate Planners, the Financial Services Consultative Forum, the Central Bank of The Bahamas, various members of law firms, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Labour and Financial Services. (Source: offshorenet.com)


According to a statement for the first quarter of this year released by the Ministry of Commerce of China, in the period between Jan. and Mar. 2007, mainland's use of foreign investment capital totaled 15.893 billion U.S. dollars, which is an 11.56% increase from the last year. The leader of in the list of top ten sources of the investment is Hong Kong, it is followed by the British Virgin Islands, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United States, Cayman Islands, Samoa, Taiwan and Mauritius. The amount of foreign capital invested by these ten countries and regions made up 86.02% of actually used foreign capital in China. (Source: bvioffshoreibc.blogspot.com)


Italian number one and number three banks has illustrated to the financial community details of their planned merger which will create Europe's second biggest bank and the largest in the euro zone with a market capitalization of some 100 billion euros, Italian news agency ANSA reported. The incorporation is expected to become operational on October 1, after shareholder meetings of the two banks approve the merger and market regulators give their green lights. The new bank will be called UniCredit Group with UniCredit Chairman Dieter Rampl holding onto his post as well as Unicredit CEO Alessandro Profumo. (Source: Xinhua News)