HONG KONG and SAINT HELIER, Jersey, March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Jersey Finance has welcomed the signing of a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between the Government of Jersey and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The agreement marks another key step in growing business between Hong Kong and Jersey.
Signed by Jersey's Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst and Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Professor K C Chan, the agreement reinforces the focus Jersey's finance industry has on building business in the region and supports Jersey Finance's strategy of maintaining a strong presence in Hong Kong. Jersey Finance has had a permanent office in Hong Kong since 2009 and facilitates visits for Members regularly, with the next visit due in the second half of the year.
As well as strengthening the ability to exchange requested tax information with Hong Kong, the agreement is expected to bring significant commercial benefits to intermediaries and investors in both Jersey and Hong Kong. The DTA minimizes the time and cost burden for commercial firms and private individuals doing business in the two centres and this agreement therefore will encourage more business to flow between Hong Kong and Jersey, particularly capital markets activity, to the benefit of both locations, It helps resolve issues relating to potential double taxation of both corporate and personal incomes, such as business profits, dividends, interest, royalties, income from employment and pensions.
Investment from Hong Kong and China in Jersey remains substantial, with nearly GBP 7 billion of banking deposits emanating from the region. The first Chinese owned company was registered in Jersey in 1994, whilst more recently a number of influential deals have come to market using Jersey companies following the approval in 2009 of Jersey holding companies to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These include Glencore, which in 2011 was the biggest flotation on the London Stock Exchange with a secondary listing in Hong Kong and Rusal Limited, the major commodities company which chose Hong Kong for its primary listing. In addition, a quarter of the Chinese companies that have listed in London have done so through Jersey.
Geoff Cook, Chief Executive, Jersey Finance said: "That China's GDP is expected to continue to grow at around 8% reaffirms that there are clear opportunities for Jersey to grow its private wealth management business through its specialist trust and foundation structures and popular expat banking services. Jersey's flexible company structures also continue to be attractive as capital market activity in Hong Kong accelerates. In all these areas, this DTA will add significantly to the reasons for investors and institutions to have confidence in and choose Jersey as their preferred European financial centre to invest in Western markets."
Jersey's Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst, said: "Jersey and Hong Kong are developing a strong business relationship and the signing of this agreement is further evidence of our commitment to this important gateway to Greater China. I hope to visit Hong Kong later this year so that I can continue our engagement at a political level."
Zhaoan Li, Jersey Finance's Head of Business Development Greater China, added: "The signing of the agreement comes at a time when a number of Jersey legal and financial services firms are opening offices in Hong Kong, which is fantastic news. Demonstrating a commitment like this to doing business is absolutely vital in the Hong Kong market, so this agreement is really important not just in a technical sense but also because it underpins Jersey's commercial relationship with Hong Kong too."
Notes to Editors
The Agreement was signed separately in each jurisdiction.
The DTA provides for the avoidance of double taxation in respect of both corporate and personal incomes including business profits, dividends, interest, royalties, income from employment and pensions. The DTA also provides for the exchange of information on requests equivalent to that provided for in the Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) that Jersey has signed.
The DTA with Hong Kong is the third full DTA that Jersey has signed that complies with the OECD Model Agreement. The other two DTAs in force are with Malta and Estonia.
About Jersey
Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the English Channel. Its largest industry is financial services, with over 25% of the population employed in the sector. 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Jersey's modern financial services industry.
Jersey Finance is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes Jersey as an International Finance Centre and has representative offices in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, and dedicated representatives in London and India.
Jersey, which provides a tax neutral environment, has earned a reputation as a leading, well regulated financial services centre by:
For more information on Jersey's finance industry visit www.jerseyfinance.je or www.jerseyfinance.hk
To arrange an interview with Zhaoan Li, Jersey Finance's Head of Business Development Greater China please contact directly:
Jersey Finance Hong Kong Office
Room 5, 20th Floor, Central Tower
28 Queen's Road Central
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2159 9652
F: +852 2159 9688
E: zhaoan.li@jerseyfinance.je
W: www.jerseyfinance.hk
For further information, please contact:
Hill + Knowlton Strategies
Rico Ngai
T: +852 2894 6204
E: rico.ngai@hkstrategies.com
Kevin Law
T: +852 2894 6219
E: kevin.law@hkstrategies.com
