China exported 289,000 tons of tea in 2007, a slight rise of 1 percent. However, the export value jumped 11 percent year on year to 610 million U.S. dollars. China exported 58,000 and 20,000 tons of tea to Morocco and the European Union in 2007 respectively, up 1.4 percent and 13.6 percent from the previous year. Its export to Japan was 25,000 tons, down 8.4 percent, said the administration. (Source: chinaview.cn)


ABN Amro, the Dutch bank bought by Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Banco Santander last year, said on Feb.21 that it was closing any portfolio investment accounts held by customers with a US passport within 30 days. It was said American passport holders would still be able to have checking and savings accounts but would have to close any investment accounts. (Source: nytimes.com)


Anthem National Accounts has launched a new suite of products for large employers designed to address the needs of early retirees. The new product line is designed to meet the needs of pre-65 retirees who are not eligible for Medicare and provide access to medical coverage while helping to reduce employers' overall health care costs. The products include consumer driven health plans along with traditional preferred provider organization options. (Source: banking-business-review.com)


Alistair Darling had planned to tax the rise in value of all non-domiciled residents’ British assets held in offshore trusts or companies. However, officials have now conceded that gains on existing assets should be exempt. This means, from April 6, only future rises in value remitted to the UK will qualify for capital gains taxation. But it was rejected in favor of simply letting British-born entrepreneurs earn £1m of capital gains during their lifetimes that would be taxed at 10pc rather than the new 18pc being introduced on April 6. (Source: telegraph.co.uk)


NBA star Yao Ming topped the Forbes new list of 100 Chinese celebrities for the fifth time with the most frequent media exposure and the highest pre-tax yearly income of $54.5 million. Liu Xiang followed Yao closely. Rising basketball player Yi Jianlian, ranked No. 4. Martial-arts superstar Jet Li, who failed to enter the top 100 last year, soared to No. 3. Actress Zhang Ziyi leads the female front-runners. Following her are actresses Fan Bingbing, Zhao Wei and Zhou Xun. (Source: bjreview.com.cn)


BVI Premier and Minister of Finance Ralph O’Neal, has announced the 2008 budget. While the 2008 budget was generally light on new initiatives concerning the business and offshore sectors, O'Neal announced that there would be new laws to counter money laundering, terrorism financing and deal with the proceeds from criminal activity. The BVI would have legislation to regulate the manner in which money is handled and distributed in the territory. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Deutsche Bank in Cayman made new appointments to expand its Financial Intermediaries team. Dan Peterson, the business manager, will provide senior level strategic support to the bank’s FI team. He will also assist the relationship management team in providing holistic solutions for clients. Billy King, relationship manager within the FI team, will work closely with the bank’s expanding intermediary client base. (Source: wealthbriefing.com)


The Confederation for Indian Industry (CII), in collaboration with the US Chamber of Commerce, the US India Business Council (USIBC), and the Indian Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, hosted the 2nd Annual Global Forum on Innovation, Creativity and Intellectual Property. The forum took place in Mumbai, on February 26th-27th. The event has attracted participation from 15 Countries across the World. (Source: LawAndTax-News.com)


Brilliance China Automotive Holdings has signed an agreement with two investors to begin exporting low-cost sedans to the US in 2009. Brilliance, having a China joint venture with BMW, signed a distribution agreement with Rocket Capital Investment Group, owned by Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander, and Red McCombs Automotive, the largest car dealership in Texas, that will include a US$100 million purchase a 10-15% stake in the Chinese company. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)


Canadian has proposed technical changes to extend the application of certain income tax rules which apply to capital gains and losses of a corporation on an acquisition of control, to also apply to capital gains and losses resulting from debt denominated in a foreign currency. They will apply to acquisitions of control occurred after Mar.7, 2008, other than one that occurs before 2009, where the persons acquiring control are obligated to acquire the control pursuant to the agreement in writing made by them on or before Mar.7. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Hong Kong plans to establish itself as a centre for the trading of fine wine alongside London and New York by abolishing duties on wine and beer. The tax move makes Hong Kong, which also does not have a sales tax, one of the few places in the world where wine is completely untaxed. It is also a complete turnround for Hong Kong's alcohol tax regime, which at the beginning of last year still imposed an 80 per cent duty on wine and beer. (Source: ftchinese.com)


Monaco's Prince Albert defended his country's banking system before a meeting with German Chancellor Merkel, as a tax-evasion probe into Liechtenstein bank accounts widened to at least 13 nations. German authorities said that at least 195 people confessed to tax evasion since their probe of Liechtenstein bank accounts began in the mid-Feb. (Source: bloomberg.com)


Russia’s Federal Financial Markets Service, is calling for the abolition of taxes on income from domestic securities. According to a draft document, the roadmap for the development of the Russian securities market to 2012 includes proposals to abolish profit tax for brokerages and banks, other than the above individual tax. Russia's stock market is currently the world's 12th largest, but the document calls for Russia to become the fifth-largest stock market by 2020. (Source: Tax-News.com)


Foreign direct investment in China jumped 38.31 percent in February, raising concerns that more cash from abroad may spur rising inflation even higher. Spending by overseas companies rose to $6.93 billion from a year earlier. Investment in the first two months climbed 75.19 percent to $18.13 billion. China's consumer price index rose 8.7 percent year-on-year in February, the biggest leap since May 1996. (Source: Shanghai Daily)


Ambac Financial has commenced a public offering of $1 billion worth of shares of its common stock at a par value $0.01 per share. In the proposed public offering, Ambac has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase from the company additional shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. Ambac has concurrently commenced a public offering of equity units, with a stated amount of $50 per unit for a total stated amount of $500 million. (Source: banking-business-review.com)


HMRC recently urged trust and company service providers (TCSPs) to register their businesses with it by April 1, 2008 under the new Money Laundering Regulations. At the same time, HMRC is alerting Accountancy Service Providers (ASPs) that they will be able to register from the same date. ASPs need to apply before July 1, 2008 to give HMRC sufficient time to process their application by the deadline. Businesses that apply late risk not being included on the register when it opens on October 1. (Source: Tax-News.com)


The Irish Finance Ministry confirmed that it had no plans to change its current non-dom rules even as the UK Treasury's plan to levy a £30,000 tax on non-doms unless they pay tax on overseas assets and income. The Irish department of enterprise, trade and employment said: "It is policy to continuously market Ireland as an attractive base for investment in industry." (Source: telegraph.co.uk)


Barclays Wealth negotiated on Mar.5 with client facing teams from its Gerrard operations in Nottingham and Edinburgh who have tendered their resignations. Up to 25 relationship managers from the Nottingham office are planning leave to join Brewin Dolphin and around 20 from Edinburgh may go to Evolution-owned Williams de Broe. (Source: wealthbriefing.com)


Several hedge funds with assets of more than $4 billion were on the brink of collapse on Mar.12 or had halted withdrawals, despite moves by the US Federal Reserve to ease America’s deteriorating credit crisis with a $200 billion collateral lending facility. The potential closure of six funds came as a leading private equity executive, who declined to be named, said that such funds were “snapping like twigs”, with one failing every day. (Source: timesonline.co.uk)


The US Treasury Department and the IRS have issued proposed regulations to clarify the treatment of expenditures incurred in selling, acquiring, producing or improving tangible assets. These regulations provide guidance on determing whether an expenditure must be capitalized as improvement cost. They require capitalization of expenditures that result in a betterment or restoration of the property. (Source: LawAndTax-News.com)


The EC announced that it has decided to launch an investigation into legislation in force in the US affecting foreign suppliers of internet gambling services, within the framework of its Trade Barriers Regulation. The European industry claims that the US should not be allowed to enforce gambling laws selectively against foreign suppliers with respect to services offered at a time when the US had WTO commitments permitting online gambling. (Source: LawAndTax-News.com)


Bank of China is one of three bidders being considered by Singapore's Temasek Holdings for the sale of its stake in Indonesia's sixth-largest bank. The other two bidders are unknown. The sale of PT Bank Internasional Indonesia stake could bring in more than US$800 million to Temasek. Temasek holds the stake in Bank International Indonesia through its 75% ownership in a holding company, Sorak Financial Holding, which holds a 55.85% stake in the Indonesian bank. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)


After Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to ensure the healthy and steady development of the country’s securities market, analysts believe an imminent measure could be taken is to the cut stamp duty on stock transactions to bolster investors’ confidence. This nine months after the tax was tripled to 0.3% from 0.1% in an attempt to cool speculation that had sent shares to record highs since the beginning of 2007. Government income from stamp taxes reached RMB200.5 billion in 2007. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)


Evergrande Real Estate Group, Donald Trump’s potential partner in a Shanghai office project, said that it plans to raise $2.1 billion in the world’s largest IPO by a real estate company since June. Evergrande plans to sell 2.85 billion new shares for $0.45 to $0.7 each. Existing owners will be offered 110.9 million more shares at the same price. The Guangzhou-based company may become the first Chinese developer to complete a Hong Kong initial public offering this year. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)


One in six Chinese textile companies lost money last year even though prices for the country's clothing exports increased 8 percent. Data compiled by the China National Textile and Apparel Council shows profit margins are being crunched by rising labor costs and a weaker US dollar. The profit margin for the industry averaged 3.9 percent. While, bottom two-thirds of companies recorded an average margin of just 0.74 percent. (Source: ftchinese.com)

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