The Glanmore Property Fund
US, UK rankings decline as
low-tax states gain favour
BY HELEN BURGGRAF
Offshore jurisdictions such
as Singapore, Dubai and
Qatar are becoming more
important in global financial
circles, a survey
has found.
Although London tops
the list, ahead of secondplaced
New York, the jostling
for position beneath
these two was telling.
The latest edition of
London-based Z/Yen
Group’s Global Financial
Centres Index (GFCI)
showed that the continuing
emergence of Asia and the
Middle East is combining
with tax crackdowns in the
US and the UK to bring
about small but perceptible
changes in the attitudes of
the financial services professionals
interviewed.
The ‘offshore’ countries of
Singapore, Liechtenstein
and Panama, as well as the
OECD states of Switzerland,
Luxembourg and Austria,
have been singled out as
impeding moves toward
greater international tax
transparency.
‘Tax Co-operations:
Towards a Level Playing
Field’, a report by the
OECD, found that financial
centres in general remained
resistant to exchanges of
52
www.glanmore.com
Dubai headed a list of
centres in which respondents
said they were most
likely to open new offices
in the next few years, followed
by Geneva.
“Lower tax offshore
centres are coming up in
Key rankings
Financial GFC Index Change over Score and
centre rank past 6 months change
London 1 0 791 (down 4)
New York 2 0 774 (down 12)
Singapore 3 +1 701 (up 26)
Frankfurt 9 -3 636 (down 6)
Jersey 14 +2 622 (up 15)
Luxembourg 15 +2 622 (up 17)
Guernsey 16 +3 622 (up 19)
Dubai 23 +1 597 (up 12)
Bahrain 43 -4 529 (up 15)
Qatar 45 +2 525 (up 34)
Source: Z/Yen Global Financial Centres Index
Offshore jurisdictions accused by OECD
of holding up global fiscal transparency
information about tax
issues. Offshore jurisdictions
in particular were singled
out for failing to extend
their networks of exchange
of information agreements.
An exemption was the
Isle of Man, which was
praised for “leading the
way” among offshore centres
in tax transparency,
having signed 11 information
sharing agreements.
The report, the third by
the OECD’s Global Forum
www.international-adviser.com
the index because tax is
becoming a more important
issue for investors,”
said Mark Yeandle, one of
the authors of the survey.
Although New York and
London retained their rankings,
both lost points.
on Taxation, which reviews
the penetration of the
organisation’s transparency
standards in 83 member
and non-member states,
found that 11 countries had
no agreements at all in
place governing the sharing
of tax information.
Some offshore centres
that had committed to
implement OECD standards
of transparency had failed
to carry these through, the
report noted.
Tried and tested performance in the world of commercial property funds
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7491 4662 Email: michelle.uberti@tilney.com
The Glanmore Property Fund and The British Real Estate Fund are authorised and regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
Issued by Tilney Investment management Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Head Office: Royal Liver Building, Pier Head, Liverpool L3 1NY
INTERNATIONAL ADVISER [www.international-adviser.com] OCTOBER 2008
OPINION
Respect for local culture
makes world of difference
Over recent months I have
been working to expand
the reach of Axa Isle of
Man to UK expatriates
around the world, particularly
in Europe, the Middle
East and the Far East.
On my travels, what has
amazed me are the subtle
but important differences
in how business is conducted
in each country. In
particular, what it is that
people look for when they
first meet you, and remembering
you do not get a
second chance to make a
good first impression.
Dress code is also interesting.
Sometimes smart
designer clothes will be
noted with approval, other
times not; in certain places
it is inappropriate (even
illegal) for foreigners to
wear local garb.
In some countries
it is customary to make
appointments for times of
the day rather than precise
hours, and you are
expected to be punctual.
But do not expect your
host to be; that is deemed
very acceptable.
Greetings are interesting
as well. Who should you
The British Real Estate Fund
www.britishrealestate.com
Kevin Dean, managing
director of Axa Isle
of Man, discovers that
the best way to do your
business is to ensure
you know how the
locals conduct theirs
greet first when surrounded
by a number of people?
The handshake: do you use
one or two hands? How do
you make sure you use the
correct greeting to address
people? If you are going to
use a local greeting phrase,
you need to make sure you
pronounce it correctly and
know the response.
“
On my travels,
what has amazed
me are the subtle but
important differences
in how business
is conducted in
each country
Axa Isle of Man is on
schedule with the development
of products for a
range of markets and we
have considered all the
product design, tax efficiency
and documentation
requirements and more.
But we should never
forget that how we relate
to people and respect
their cultures is just as
important.
“
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