Opening a bank account is usually one of the first items on a new company’s to do list, however, the process of establishing a corporate bank account in Hong Kong can present significant challenges, and is often more complicated than a company incorporation due to strict regulatory requirements and high compliance standards imposed on banks. […]

Background to the Register of Members and Register of Directors Updates Recent legislative amendments to the Business Companies Act, effective 2 January 2025, have introduced several changes to the filing requirements and deadlines for companies within the BVI. Key updates include amendments to the Register of Members and the Register of Directors, alongside changes to […]

Background to the beneficial ownership updates Recent amendments to the Business Companies Act have introduced several new requirements to align with international compliance standards. The Business Companies and Limited Partnerships (Beneficial Ownership) Regulations (the BO Regulations) aim to enhance transparency by mandating certain obligations for companies. The first of these changes is set to commence […]

The purpose of this update is to provide summary information around adjustments to the annual maintenance fees for Cayman entities, effective in 2025. A) Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) – Licence fees adjustment for 2025  The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) confirmed on 11 December 2024 that they will impose the proposed increases to its 2025 licence fees. These […]

Recent amendments to the Companies Act and regulatory framework that may impact your business operations in Bermuda Bermuda has undergone significant enhancements in its commercial (re)insurance supervision and regulatory regime, driven by industry consultations and market testing led by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). These enhancements particularly impact commercial (re)insurers in the long-term space, resulting […]

Recent amendments to the BVI Companies Act (Revised) have introduced significant changes to the strike off regime and restoration process. We outline the process and implications around strike off and dissolution of BVI companies under the new regime and the temporary transitional period which is currently in force.

The Seychelles BTAA has updated the Business Tax Act to comply with the European Union’s Economic Substance requirements. Previously, Seychelles operated under a territorial tax regime, meaning only income sourced within the country was subject to taxation. Foreign-sourced income was exempt from Seychelles taxation. However, pursuant to the BTAA updates, exemptions for foreign sourced income have been specified.

The Seychelles BO regime has since been further enhanced through the related Seychelles Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Regulations enacted on 28 April 2023.

We summarise the key amendments to the BO Regulations in our updater here.

The BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act introduced changes to the strike off regime and restoration process that may impact your BVI company. Specifically, these changes affect BVI companies that were struck off after 1 July 2016 and before 1 January 2023, and that have not yet been dissolved.

If you have any such existing struck off companies that you may need to restore, it is recommended that you take action now to avoid the costly, complicated, and potentially lengthy process of restoration through a Court application.

The Companies Ordinance (Cap 622) (CO) introduced a company-led court-free process for reduction of share capital in 2014.  This followed in the wake of the removal of the requirement for companies to have an authorised capital, which in turn followed a trend globally of removing restrictions in the handling of company capital that has swept up major common law countries such as the UK and Australia.