Speaker(s)

• Mr Leon Mao, Head of Advisory and Managing Director, North Asia, Vistra
• Mr Edmond Chiu FCG HKFCG(PE), Council Member, HKCGI; Head of Corporate & Fund Services, Vistra Corporate Services (HK) Limited
• Mr Mohan Datwani FCG HKFCG(PE), Deputy Chief Executive, The Hong Kong Chartered Governance Institute (Chair)

Description

British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman Islands are two popular offshore jurisdictions, which continue to be widely used in corporate projects and structuring, regardless of the economic climate.

• BVI companies are a popular choice for offshore entity set-ups; and have been a common feature in all corporate governance portfolios in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Asia since the 1990s.
• Cayman Islands is the jurisdiction of choice for listed company and funds work.

There are also fresh updates on regulatory changes which affect Bahamas (economic substance) and overseas entities involved in property holding in the United Kingdom; and are subject to Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) obligations.

The regulatory space in each of these jurisdictions is in a state of change and further refinement, during the course of 2023, and into 2024. In this hybrid seminar, a corporate governance perspective will be applied to review the key changes, assess required actions and forward planning which governance professionals, as well as other compliance officers and administrators, should be planning for now, towards ensuring that there is full compliance going forward.

Seasoned speakers from Vistra, one of the leading global firms when it comes to offshore services and regulatory compliance, will give a practical overview on the regulatory changes (as stated below), recommended best practice, and where applicable identify solutions:

BVI

• Annual returns – format and process for 1 January 2024
• Financial records and accounts obligations
• Alignment of financial year-end periods
• Economic Substance  - system updates and new requirements
• AEOI
• Updates on corporate changes including public register of persons with significant control, administrative restoration, and court registration

 Cayman Islands

• Revisions to record maintenance processes in Cayman
• New Rules and Statement of Guidance  - Cayman Islands  
• Experience- sharing on regulator audits

Bahamas

• New economic substance regulations and systems in place
• Regulatory review updates
• Experience- sharing on regulator audits

United Kingdom

• Register of Overseas Entities (ROE)
• Year 1 experience, and ongoing compliance obligations
• New regulations and processes

(Recorded in October 2023)

Level: Intermediate

Speakers' and Chair's bio:
Mr Leon Mao
Mr Edmond Chiu
Mr Mohan Datwani