Offshore Company Setup - Need An Experienced Opinion

[ruolez]

Hey Everyone!

I am a newbie at this so I come to you guys for an advice. I am looking to setup a trading Offshore company to do business with China. Our business is warehouse based, simply buy and sell.

My questions are:

1. Which is a better country to locate the offshore company?

2. Which Offshore Bank would you choose to trade with China?

3. Which organization(s) do you find reliable and can trust to setup an offshore company/bank account?


Thank you!

 

[uk-male22]

Dear Sir,

Firstly let me introduce myself, my name is Papadopoulos and was a manager for 5 years at one of the top four accounting and auditing firms in Cyprus. I have also studied ACA in UK. Based on my experience i think that Cyprus is the best option for you. Cyprus is one of the best places to locate your offshore company. It offer many competitive advantages when compared with other offshore business centres that make them extremely attractive to serious potential investors that are looking for a stable tax planning regime and a way to minimise tax exposure. For example:
The Cyprus Offshore Company enjoys the lowest tax in the European Union. The standard corporate tax for a Cyprus Offshore Company is 10% (0% for shipping companies, 4.25% for maritime management companies). This should not be compared with other offshore companies in offshore jurisdictions like Belize, BVI or Seychelles because they are there for a different purpose. The corporate of a Cyprus Offshore Company should be compared with corporate tax in other European Union countries like Greece (40%), Germany (40%) , United Kingdom etc. The only comparable jurisdiction in the European Union is that of Ireland but Cyprus has so many other advantages that outnumber the low corporate tax of Ireland.
The tax system is planned in such a way to encourage foreign investment. So we are talking about an investor friendly tax regime which offers the Cyprus IBC the advantage to operate in stable and secure environment with no surprises, sudden changes in government economic policy etc.
The Cyprus Offshore Company pays no tax on profit from trading in securities. Thus if the company trades in the stock exchange of any country and makes profit, that profit is tax free.
The foreign beneficial owners of Cyprus Offshore Companies, Cyprus Branches and Partnerships are not liable to additional tax on dividends or profits over and above the amount paid or payable by the respective legal entities.
The profit made out of by a Cyprus Offshore Company outside Cyprus is not taxable. For example if a Cyprus Offshore Company operates in Russia and makes profit from its business that profit will not be taxed in Cyprus.

I surely do not advice you to contact the main audit firms and therefore my company since they are charging very high rates since they are a lot of requests for registrations from all over the world. However, if you are interested i may be able to suggest a friend of mine who is able to register such an offshore company and answer all your questions.

I am not looking to earn anything from this transaction, just networking.

I hope that above were enough for you. If you need any more information for the benefits of cyprus offshore companies or for the registration please send me a privare message.

Kind regards,

 

[ruolez]

Thank you for the reply!

I was recommended to open a company in Belize using an Offshore banking account in the Hong Kong bank, HSBC. This is to do trading (import/export) with China.

Do you guys have any opinions about this combination?

 

[mahutchinson]

Belize is a slightly dodgy jurisdiction compared to some but you get what you pay for. The cost varies greatly from a few thousand dollars to twenty thousand or more. I would have thought there are more reputable sounding places to base the company. I would make sure you have some good tax advice on the jurisdiction you choose and generally speaking offshore companies are not used for trading rather for investments and trusts. I would have thought you need a Hong Kong based company.

 

[Naughty Vend]

The bank in Belize is a large "yellowing" property behind security fences, armed guards and opposite a very run down residential estate which is reflective of the British Empire which left it many years ago..., keeping any large sum of money there would not be choice number one.

Remember that regardless of where your company is and the use of nominee directors and shareholders which cost circa £800 to £1200 per annum, plus your annual lodgement government fees normally fairly low at about £200 per annum you will be taxed upon your location. It's easy to say that you have no directorships or shareholding on your tax return as technically you do not but at some point you'll need to go get that money, if there is a paper trail you'll be caught and at some point you will probably have to break the law bearing in mind that most countries have a personal cash carrying allowance per person of 10000 currency units where any more must be declared. Yes it can be done, yes it is a little dodgy but if you want to draw a salary from this company without flying over there forget it... even your ATM transactions will be declared as for example Barclaycard is in Eire and that's how you would withdraw money from Barclays in the Seychelles for example. There is always a hidden link and HMCE know what to look for, lifestyle changes are one...

If you are going to trade and leave the money there building it up fair enough, you will need to get advice on how to exit that set-up when you choose to retire because any money no matter where earned is normally taxable in that jurisdiction. You could and am making no suggestion pay your offshore company a license fee every year, repay them an investment loan at high interest based upon your profit reports to that company which would remove your profits from the UK company to the offshore concern and / or pay them for professional services etc etc but would advise you to take a salary UK declared. When you are "all growed up" with about a million to play with you can borrow from the pension fund and forget to repay the loan, your accountant will tell you how that one works but it costs around £75k to set-up...

Just remember, are the benefits worth the risks and decide what's best but of all the offshore territories I would suggest either BVI or Seychelles. Good luck...

 

[Zeno]

If your business is warehouse based then presumably you are not actually going to locate this in Cyprus, Belize etc?

If not, where will it be?

 

[paul britton]

hi
warning: i am biased. we provide accounting and coprorate servcies from cyprus.

are you buying in China and selling in the UK?
i don't have much info from you, but you could set up an off shore trading co that will conduct "triangular" trading. for example: a cyprus company purchases the goods; the goods are shipped direct to the country of sale; the cyprus compnay issues and sales invoice to the company in the country of sale.
thus you reduce tax and increase profits

KR

Paul

 

[DickM]

hi
warning: i am biased. we provide accounting and coprorate servcies from cyprus.

are you buying in China and selling in the UK?
i don't have much info from you, but you could set up an off shore trading co that will conduct "triangular" trading. for example: a cyprus company purchases the goods; the goods are shipped direct to the country of sale; the cyprus compnay issues and sales invoice to the company in the country of sale.
thus you reduce tax and increase profits

KR

Paul

I hope Paul's spelling was not affected by NVI's sign-off

 

[evildesirez]

Hey Everyone!

I am a newbie at this so I come to you guys for an advice. I am looking to setup a trading Offshore company to do business with China. Our business is warehouse based, simply buy and sell.

My questions are:

1. Which is a better country to locate the offshore company?

2. Which Offshore Bank would you choose to trade with China?

3. Which organization(s) do you find reliable and can trust to setup an offshore company/bank account?


Thank you!

well i suggest you should establish your company at shenzhen which is the next best port right next to hongkong ,
u can register company quite easily there.
in shenzhen, there are many people doing such business.
if your clients are not eager to visit your office for contractual deals and sample prototype demonstration, then for cost cutting purpose, u can also rent one apartment and run ur company right from there.
chinese labor cost is low u can get a all in one , accountant/trader/representative in less than 400pounds a month
all it would take is registration of company, n there u go!
feel free to pm me.

 

[marlboroman]

Hi just wanted to share with you that I have used Companies Express to incorporate companies. Very fast, very polite and great service.

You can visit their site for more info www(dot)companiesexpress(dot)com

Thanks

Tom

 

[elaine@cheapaccounting]

Hi just wanted to share with you that I have used Companies Express to incorporate companies. Very fast, very polite and great service.

You can visit their site for more info www(dot)companiesexpress(dot)com

Thanks

Tom

thanks to the Newbie for the spam post

 

[Sanjay Kachhela]

Keep it simple unless the numbers are large enough to justify an off shore structure.

What is your expected profit? Many people just jump to the conclusion that offshore companies are the best thing since sliced bread but trust me, they have many cons as well as the pros. Running costs being one.

Once we know the level of profits we can have a better view.

 

[paul britton]

[FONT=&quot]One of the fundamentals of planning offshore structures is that they are cost-effective.
The annual costs associated with an offshore company will vary depending on the country where the company was incorporated and is tax resident. Government and agency fees and accounting/audit can be considerable, and should be identified and understood before commitment.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Belize[/FONT][FONT=&quot] is increasingly regarded as a value-for-money jurisdiction and the annual costs can be as little as a few hundred dollars. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Check out our website for more info.[/FONT]

 

[Lynxdry]

Finally A subject I can be of help to, what you are suggesting is something I did several moons ago when I worked as a consultant I had an offshore entity with a Bank account in Europe I did it as most of the folks I did work for lived outside of the EU and the money they paid me was TAX FREE.

But now am broke and in the process of setting up another offshore company for the same tax reductions reasons having folded previous company here is what I recomend.

The Island of Dominica not to be mistaken with the Dominican republic, you can set your self up with an IBC or LLC and have your name as the companies director, you are free to submit your annual accounts should you want to and all business this company does must be outside of Dominica which is great since your doing business in China, you can set one up for 800 pounds all in plus about 250 pounds annual for maintaining the company.

When it comes to Banking, I would recomend you go for a European Bank Cyprus or Latvia is what I used back then as there is one or two banks in those countries that tailor services to offshore company owners, set up costs about 250 pounds for these accounts which will include a credit card and online/phone/fax and personal banking.

Also Look at Dubai one of the Free zones I know that Jabal Ali Free zone have a company structure specifically for warehousing that goes the same for several of the free zones, all funds made are 100% no tax payment but the set up will cost you in excess of about 3000 pounds, but please under no circumstances do you open any bank account in Dubai its a pain in your behind as any transaction to be made above 10 000 dollars will take several days as it needs to first be cleared by the local bank and then sent to a central bank for a further clearance by this point you lose patience with it all this happened to me when i was expecting a payment from one guy in Dubai last year well I ended the deal right there and then which basically made me go broke.

Other areas to consider would also be the IOM and perhaps even a USA ARIZONA LLC it gives you legitimacy as its not based in a tax haven but you still get all the benefits of a US based company and tax releave and try opening an account with Bank of America they have A branch in China and will also allow you to seperate your account should you want to accept payment in a certain currency in your case Chinese funds, or US dollars but am not sure about Euro or Pounds never did ask them about that.

Hope the above helps you out if you need any specific feel free to get in touch, btw am out of the Job should you need a extra pair of hands

All the best
Lynx

 

[yorkshirejames]

Dear Sir,

Firstly let me introduce myself, my name is Papadopoulos

Is your name really Papadopoulous, or have you been watching too much Birds of a Feather http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_a_Feather ?

Getting money out of China needs specialist help - our organisation have some experience of it - how significant will the amounts be?