Zimbabwe's property investors have resorted to accepting petrol coupons in lieu of cash for rental payments. The escalating inflation rate has meant some investors have had to return to the barter system in order to receive some sort of payment for letting their properties. In Harare you can rent office space for a litre of petrol per square meter per month. There are four listed property counters on Zimbabwe's stock exchange with a total market capitalization of $40m. The counters trade at a 75%-90% discount on replacement cost. (Source: businessday.co.za)

A Shanghai court found that Blueblood (Shanghai) Wine Co copied the bottle design and packaging of Diageo's popular Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky. The company was ordered to pay Diageo Rmb1.25m ($183,000). The ruling does signal the Chinese authorities are taking counterfeiting much more seriously. In this case, the company copied packaging rather than any registered patent, copyright or trademark, and the guilty verdict signaled a greater level of sophistication from the courts than most previous rulings. (Source: ft.com)

Sony has been ordered to pay Agere Systems, now part of LSI Electronics, $18.4 million for infringing on an Agere patent. Agere alleged Sony infringed on eight of its patents, although Sony was found not to be infringing on seven of the patents through a licensing arrangement with Agere's previous owner, Lucent Technologies. However, on the eighth patent, the jury found that Sony had engaged in "willfull" infringement in its PlayStation Portable, mylo Personal Communicator, and Network Walkmans. (Source: digitaltrends.com)

Inter-digital alleged that Samsung violated its patent rights by importing and selling its 2G and 3G phones throughout the US. While, recently, they have settled the dispute in a deal estimated to cost USD500m. Inter-Digital has agreed to grant Samsung a license covering Samsung's sale of all 3G products until 2012. The agreement has also ended payment disputes regarding Samsung's royalty obligations on sales of 2G products. (Source: Tax-News.com)

Chinese government is determined to launch the real estate investment trusts (REITs) in a bid to spur the sagging housing market. But the government did not specify a timetable for the introduction. Some controversial issues need to be solved before the formal launch. As for the possible pilot units of the REITs it's reported that the properties in Tianjin Binhai New Area and Shanghai Pudong New Area are likely to be in the first batch and listed on the bourses in Shenzhen and Shanghai, respectively. (Source: chinadaily.com)

A proposal buried in the government's pre-budget report will see the rate of taxation on trusts increased in 2011, a move which is likely to further erode their usefulness as an estate planning tool. The dividend trust rate will increase to 37.5% from 32.5%, and the trust tax rate is to increase to 45% from 40%, effective from April 6, 2011. The change means that most trusts will be treated for tax purposes as though they were the highest rate taxpayers, notwithstanding the actual amount of trust income or dividends received. (Source: Tax-News.com)

Legislation gives the Revenue Commission new powers to investigate those suspected of avoiding tax on capital gains earned in offshore trusts. Provisions are being introduced to require the production on certain information in relation to Offshore Discretionary Trusts and the ability to inspect certain documentation. A new section which provides for delivery of information by a third party was inserted into the Act. The Revenue will have powers to demand information on accounts held by Irish citizens in offshore trusts, and the trusts will have to comply with its request within a six-month period. (Source: investorsoffshore.com)

Islamic finance has become popular with investors as the financial crisis prompted some to rethink the merits of conventional banking. Sharia bonds and stocks have met with approval as financial market participants trade high returns for greater security. But regulators and bankers warn that Islamic finance will take a hit as the global economy tips into a severe downturn. Islamic investing has to conform to the sharia, which dictates that venture partners share profits and losses and investments should be ethical and avoid excessive risk. (Source: reuters.com)

Assets under management among China's mutual-fund companies is expected to drop by 16% to Rmb1.4 trillion ($204 billion) by the end of 2009. Fund managers face "Catch-22" because even if equity markets reverse, there is a high chance that many investors will use the opportunity to redeem rather than to participate in the market. The best-case scenario for the industry next year is to see AUM rise to Rmb1.7 trillion. The worst-case is at Rmb900 billion, meaning more than 50% of fund companies will be unprofitable. (Source: asianinvestor.net)

The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal has settled certain questions on the suspension of redemption. The decision has clarified the meaning of redemption in an investment fund context and when a member is actually out of an investment fund. The court found that redemption was not completed until the member's name was removed from the register of members and the member's shares were available for re-issue. This decision is important given the present tidal wave of redemption requests. (Source: wealthbriefing.com)

The Constitutional Court has abolished the rule of African customary law which prevented women from owning immovable property in a customary marriage. The rule provides that customary marriages entered into before the commencement of the Customary Marriages Act continue to be governed by customary law. Customary marriages entered into after the act was promulgated marriages in community of property. Women are now afforded protection because their marriages were governed by customary law. (Source: businessday.co.za)

Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to L'Oreal, handed out almost $2.2bn to a photographer. Mrs. Bettencourt and her late husband have long been patrons of him. But her daughter is now taking her to court, claiming that she was not in full command of her senses when she parted with the money. The gift, in the form of life insurance, has done little to dent the bank balance of Mrs. Bettencourt, who has a 27.5 per cent principal shareholding in L'Oreal. Her personal fortune is estimated at $33 billion. (Source: theage.com)

Companies may not be able to reclaim tax on foreign dividend payments from the Treasury after a High Court ruling on 'double tax' rules failed to clarify how far claims can be backdated. The High Court ruled that the UK's system of taxing company dividend payments in the EU twice was unlawful. Under current EU rules, companies can claim tax rebates for the past six years, but the High Court has referred a final decision on this matter to the ECJ. (Source: accountancyage.com)

China's screw and fastener exporters face anti-dumping duties of up to 87 percent over the next five years in the EU and might impose internal price controls to avert European action. Anti-dumping moves in the EU would aggregate the plight of the Chinese exporters, whose orders have fallen amid the global financial turmoil. China's firms have offered to impose strict price controls, with domestic exporters to observe a price level agreed with the European Commission. (Source: xinhua.com)

China's $75 billion national pension fund was exempted from taxation on interest and capital gains from bank deposits and other investments to help boost returns. Gains from private equity and trust investments by the pension fund itself, and asset managers it appointed, was also exempted from Jan.1. Management fees were still subject to a 25 percent corporate tax. China's pension fund is seeking higher returns to help extend coverage to more people. (Source: bloomberg.com)

A new regulation has been introduced in Guernsey to prevent money laundering, which restricts the sale or purchase in the course of certain businesses of precious metals, precious stones or jewellery, where the payment is made in cash and exceeds GBP10, 000. These regulations were proposed to extend the Bailiwick's anti-money laundering regime. Any person who commits an offence is liable to a fine of up to twice the value of the cash involved. Dealers should report any attempted transactions in excess of GBP10, 000. (Source: Tax-News.com)

Since the US terrorist attacks in 2001, social and geopolitical troubles have had little effect on financial returns. But there are two reasons that period of blissful ignorance could be about to end. First, the credit crunch is making investors more averse to all sorts of risks. Second, financial affairs are becoming increasing politicized. Political tension could easily turn into investment pain. The combination of a protracted recession with weak and investor-unfriendly governments may change the ignorance. (Source: telegraph.co.uk)

A credit system will be set up in Shanghai to help Taiwan businesses with financing. The system will be jointly established by the office, financial institutions and local government, providing credit reports for Taiwan companies in case they need a loan. Mainland banks are always very cautious about approving loans to Taiwanese companies because they have difficulty in obtaining enough information about them. More than 500,000 people from Taiwan now reside in the delta region, investing $80b yuan in more than 350,000 projects. (Source: chinadaily.com)

Lawyers, notaries, real estate agents and gold dealers may find themselves in the ambit of Prevention of Money Laundering Act. With a view to make compliance and reporting regime under the law more broad-based and comprehensive, the government consider expanding the ambit of law by covering such designated entities and activities causing suspicion. The government will be able to become a full-fledged member after it amends the PMLA in line with FATF recommendations. (Source: indiatimes.com)

General Motors has gained access to extra dollars in US Government assistance when the Federal Reserve approved an application for GMAC to become a bank holding company. GMAC will have access to the $700bn banks bailout, plus the ability to take out emergency loans with the Fed and to issue Government-guaranteed debt. In return, GM and Cerberus Capital Management will be forced to reduce their holdings in the company. The change would give GMAC expanded opportunities for funding and access to capital. (Source: timesonline.co.uk)

Bank of China has opened two subsidiaries in Switzerland, becoming the first Chinese banking group to establish a presence in the country. The Bank of China (Suisse) SA will offer private banking services to Chinese as well as international clients. BOC (Suisse) Fund Management SA will offer institutional asset management services to Chinese, Swiss and international institutions. It will also manage funds in both Chinese and global financial markets. (Source: china.org.cn)

Indonesia's central bank plans to introduce new rules covering the sale of financial products to the public. It plans to issue more specific guidelines for banks that sell financial products, forcing them to spell out the investment risks. The decision follows complaints about the sale of risky financial products which have led to financial losses among middle-class and high net worth investors. (Source: yahoo.com)

French competition authorities fined 11 steel trading companies a record €575 million for running a cartel that carved up the sector between its members over long lunches. The cartel had cost the French economy hundreds of millions of euros between 1999 and 2004. The French Federation of Metal Distributors was also fined €124,500. Imposing a virtual monopoly on the industry, the companies had set prices, divided up contracts between them, blocked exterior rivals and punished "deviant" merchants who failed to obey their orders. (Source: timesonline.co.uk)

Sina would pay about $1bn in stock to acquire a large piece of Focus Media, one of the leading Chinese advertising and digital media companies. The deal pushes Sina into the business of outdoor and in-store advertising on liquid crystal display monitors. Sina will issue about 47 million shares to Focus Media shareholders to acquire. Sina is expected to acquire most of the core holdings of Focus Media which together would amount to over 100,000 advertising monitors around the country. (Source: iht.com)

3G mobile telecom licenses are to be issued to Chinese operators at the beginning of 2009. China Mobile will receive a license for TD-SCDMA, China's homegrown 3G standard. China Unicom and China Telecom will receive licenses for WCDMA and CDMA2000 respectively. The firms would have to reach an agreement on infrastructure sharing before the licenses could be awarded. The move is expected to generate US$29.1b in investments from the three operators. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)

【Chief Editors: Lillian & Cynthia 】

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