Hong Kong 2020-21 Budget proposal highlights for HK Companies

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, outlined his budget for 2020-21 in his Budget Address on 26 February 2020. Following the HKD30 billion coronavirus relief package two weeks ago by Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, Chan’s budget offers additional relief with generous measures for business.

New registration requirements for Cayman investment funds

In line with other offshore jurisdictions and in order to comply with commitments to the EU, the Cayman Islands Government has introduced new registration requirements on both private funds and exempted funds via the Private Funds Law 2020 and the Mutual Funds (Amendment) Law (2020 Revision) which were both enacted on 7 February 2020. This update provides a summary of the key changes and features of the new legislation.

Economic Substance Requirements in the BVI

The Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 came into force on 1 January 2019 requiring British Virgin Islands companies and limited partnerships that are tax resident and carrying out ‘Relevant Activities’ to demonstrate economic substance. The new legislation, which applies to existing and new BVI entities, was introduced to address the concerns of the EU Code of Conduct Group and the OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices regarding economic substance.

This summary replaces our original release of 11 January 2019 and updates from 31 May 2019 and 16 July 2019 (respectively) to provide a consolidated overview of the key aspects of the legislation and guidance.