Offshore Banking

Ras Al Khaimah’s growing reputation as key business and tourist destination extends to Scandinavian markets

2009-10-12T01:33:00.000-07:00

RAKIA inaugurates new charter flights from Copenhagen to Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) has announced that global interest in the business and tourism potential of Ras Al Khaimah has further intensified with the increasing number of European visitors arriving in the emirate. RAKIA revealed that a charter flight from Copenhagen arrived on (Friday, October 9, 2009) in Ras Al Khaimah to mark the opening of regular charter services offered by Atlantis Rejser, a leading independent Danish tour operator.

RAKIA revealed that H.H. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, has implemented key infrastructure development projects to enhance the airport facilities and several tourist amenities, which have helped make the emirate a highly attractive destination for international tourists. His Highness has also collaborated with Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK Civil Aviation Department, in initiating programs to boost the service level of the emirate’s airport as well as the sea ports and other access points to the emirate.

Hilary McCormack, Manager, RAK Tourism said, “This is an important achievement in our mission to reach out to high-potential niche markets in Europe. The new charter flights open a new avenue for European travellers to enjoy Ras Al Khaimah’s world-class hospitality and experience the emirate’s unique culture. We intend to build on this important milestone to further strengthen Ras Al Khaimah’s growing status as an international business and tourist destination.”

The agreement to open new charter flights between Copenhagen and Ras Al Khaimah was sealed during RAKIA’s participation at the ITB 09 exhibition in Berlin wherein Dr. Khater Massaad, CEO of RAKIA, explored various tourism and hospitality business prospects with leading industry players from Europe.

“Ras Al Khaimah is attracting several of the leading tourism firms in Europe that are looking to explore more interesting destinations for European tourists. The recent groundbreaking achievements of the emirate, including the widely publicised successful bid to host the America’s Cup 2010, have definitely contributed in making Ras Al Khaimah a major tourist hotspot and a new target for investors and business organisations worldwide,” added McCormack.

RAKIA also revealed that the new charter flight has been realised in conjunction with the Hamra Hotels & Resorts Sales Team, which has been targeting and campaigning in niche markets with high-revenue potential. The Hamra Hotels & Resorts Sales Team has been collaborating with RAK’s major ports facilities to offer value-added services to tourists arriving in the emirate as part of an ongoing thrust to attract more tourists into Ras Al Khaimah.

Atlantis Rejser has been a leading player in the MENA tourism industry as it is responsible for bringing the largest volume of visitors from the Scandinavian market to Egypt. The company, which boasts of an 80 per cent retention of repeat clients, has revealed that Ras Al Khaimah will play a key role in its expansion program as the emirate offers an authentic cultural experience and provides a variety of world-class tourist facilities.

Ras Al Khaimah will be hosting the prestigious 33rd America's Cup sailing competition in February of 2010, marking the first time that the race will be held in the Middle East. The competition will be held in Al Hamra Village, where a 22-hectare island within Al Hamra Village lagoon will serve as the base for the sailing event. The island will accommodate the team bases and facilities for the media, the sponsors and the viewing public.

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UAE Offshore differentiating parameters

2009-09-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

So what is the difference?
Other jurisdictions around the globe have become ‘tax havens’ by design.
Over the years governments have allowed various locations within their sovereignty to offer ‘tax havens,’ as a form of ‘shelter,’ therefore offering a facility for wealthy individuals or corporate clients to ‘move’ their finances away from tax authorities. An army of pin striped, suited lawyers or city accountants would work to protect their clients from the payment of taxes, by moving their interests to ‘tax havens,’ designed for this purpose.

Choose your NEW jurisdiction with care...

Always be mindful when choosing your new ‘tax haven,’ as many jurisdictions have now been ‘redesigned’ and do not offer the security that they once provided.

Safety and security.
In the G20 Summit held in February 2009, there has been a crackdown on non – cooperative tax havens, forcing major companies to look for safer, yet more pragmatic locations to carry out their future business operations. It is important to note that, in accordance with the latest international best business practices, the UAE is NOT black or gray listed from any international organization such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF.)

The UAE - business hub of the future offshore companies

2009-09-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Since the inception of offshore company formations in early 2003, the UAE has rapidly emerged as the business hub of choice in the Middle East region and is proving itself to be well placed to being one of the most dynamic and fastest growing business and International Financial Centers worldwide.

Given the UAE’s continued stance on ZERO tax’s and duty exemptions, there is little wonder why more and more individuals and International Companies are now choosing the Emirates as, not only their business head quarters, but also in many cases their primary choice of residence too.

In early 2003, Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA,) Dubai’s foreign ownership Free Trade Zone, became the first location in the UAE to provide offshore company formations. In February 2007 Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA,) located in the most Northerly region of the Emirates, expanded their already thriving Free Zone to include offshore business formations, often known as International Business Companies (IBC’s.) Due to the excellent operational service methods adapted by RAKOFFSHORE, the offshore incorporation division of RAKIA, coupled with the clear documentation process and lower incorporation fees, RAKOFFSHORE has stepped into the driving seat of offshore formation within the UAE.

:: Why choose The Emirates?
There is a very significant difference between the ‘safe haven’ of The Emirates and other worldwide ‘tax shelters.’ The Emirates and other GCC countries of The Middle East are ‘tax free’ jurisdictions by nature and NOT by design.
So what does this mean?
The Emirates, in its very nature, has always been a ‘tax free’ country; A jurisdiction that has NO TAX.
NO corporation taxes.
NO capital gains taxes.
NO VAT.
NO personal taxes.
NO death duty taxes.
In short; it is, and has always been, a country WITHOUT tax!!

:: So what is the difference?
Other jurisdictions around the globe have become ‘tax havens’ by design.
Over the years governments have allowed various locations within their sovereignty to offer ‘tax havens,’ as a form of ‘shelter,’ therefore offering a facility for wealthy individuals or corporate clients to ‘move’ their finances away from tax authorities. An army of pin striped, suited lawyers or city accountants would work to protect their clients from the payment of taxes, by moving their interests to ‘tax havens,’ designed for this purpose.

Choose your NEW jurisdiction with care...

Always be mindful when choosing your new ‘tax haven,’ as many jurisdictions have now been ‘redesigned’ and do not offer the security that they once provided.

The UAE - business hub of the future

2009-09-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Free Zones in the UAE

2009-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

Free Trade Zones have been set up with the specific purpose of facilitating investment. The procedures for investing in the zones are relatively simple.

The Companies operating in the Free Zones are treated as being offshore, or outside the UAE for legal purposes.

The free zones are suitable for companies intending to use UAE as a regional manufacturing or distribution base, with the bulk of their business outside the UAE.

Free Zone Incentives

100% foreign ownership
Exemption from all import duties
100% repatriation of capital and profits
Freedom from corporate taxation for 50 year
Inexpensive energy
Efficient recruitment procedures ensuring the availability of a skilled and experienced workforce
A high level of administrative support.

How to register rak offshore company

2009-09-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Simplicity of Operation
Apart from certain types of business – such as: Financial Services companies banking which are internationally regulated, the Emirates make it very simple and highly attractive for Offshore Companies to operate with a varity of activities.

Holding Companies
Offshore Holding companies can handle dividend receipts from a spread of subsidiaries. This allows a group to centralize its resources and maximize tax benefits. Careful use of tax treaties is necessary to obtain the best results. Offshore Holding Companies can be used, whereby the holding company can fund subsidiaries in a tax-efficient manner. Legal fees are often significantly reduced and publicity can be avoided for high-profile individuals and families.

Investment Companies
An Offshore Company is often used to make Investments and accumulate wealth. Just as an onshore company can invest in stocks, shares, property or commodities. The major difference is that the offshore company does NOT have to pay tax on its profits, nor does it have to pay inheritance tax when it is passed on to heirs. In many jurisdictions, withholding Tax is levied on income remitted out of the jurisdiction, but the careful use of double-tax treaties can reduce or even eliminate tax on the investment income.

This may enable the Investor to make investments in high-tax countries from an Offshore base with minimal tax liability. Most importantly, the use of an Offshore Company also protects the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner. Anonymity comes automatically with Offshore Companies, and is respected by the law in the Offshore world.

Offshore Bank Requirements

2009-09-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

FIRST Offshore is able to assist you with the opening of an Offshore account. Offshore accounts combine several advantages, the most important one is the reduction of taxes.

Tax offices for example will tax all funds as soon as they run through a local bank account. The authorities do not mind whether the money is intended for a local or a foreign company nor whether the taxes are already paid in another country.

You can avoid all this trouble by simple opening an offshore checking account. The Offshore account also provides the highest level of service, phone banking, internet banking, cheques, ATM- and Credit cards. There is no check on your credit history. Offshore banks offer the highest level of privacy protection and are tax free.

Facilities available when opening a corporate bank account.
When establishing a corporate account you will be able to obtain the following facilities;

Corporate debit cards.
i banking facilities.
Fax and telephone banking.
Cheque book.

Expect to have to complete an application form supplying your offshore company details. This process takes longer then the incorporation it’s self but due to our relationship with several banks it has become streamlined.

In most cases a bank account can take approximately 3 days to open and 7 further days to obtain corporate debit cards and i banking information.

More about RAK (Ras Al Khaimah)

2009-09-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

History
The city was historically known as Julfar. Sources say that Julfar was inhabited by the Azd (They were a branch of the Kahlan tribe, which was one of the two branches of Qahtan (the aboriginal Arabs), the other being Himyar.) during the eighth and ninth centuries AD, and that the houses of the Azd were built of wood.

In the early 18th century the Qawasim clan (Huwayla tribe) established itself in Ras al-Khaimah.
After British occupation (18 December 1819 - July 1821), Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi signed in 1822 the General Maritime Treaty with Britain, accepting a protectorate to keep the Ottoman Turks out. Like Ajman, Dubai, Umm al-Qaiwain and Sharjah, its position on the route to India made it important enough to be recognized as a salute state (though of the lowest class: only 3 guns).

In 1869 Ras al-Khaimah became fully independent from Sharjah. However from September 1900 to 7 July 1921 it was re-incorporated into Sharjah, its neighbour; the last governor became its next independent ruler.

On 11 February 1972, Sheikh Saqr bin Muhammad al-Qasimi joined the United Arab Emirates.
Its rulers were:
17?? - 17?? Sheikh Rahman al-Qasimi
17?? - 174? Sheikh Matar bin Rahman al-Qasimi
174? - 1777 Sheikh Rashid bin Matar al-Qasimi
1777 - 1803 Sheikh Saqr bin Rashid al-Qasimi
1803 - 1808 Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi (d. 1866) (1st time)
1808 - 1814 Sheikh al-Husayn bin `Ali al-Qasimi (acting)
1814 - 1820 Sheikh al-Hasan bin Rahman al-Qasimi (acting)
1820 - 1866 Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi (2nd time)
1866 - May 1867 Sheikh Ibrahim bin Sultan al-Qasimi
May 1867 - 14 April 1868 Sheikh Khalid bin Sultan al-Qasimi (d. 1868)
14 April 1868 - 1869 Sheikh Salim bin Sultan al-Qasimi (b. 18.. - d. 1919)
1869 - August 1900 Sheikh Humayd bin Abdullah al-Qasimi (d. 1900)

Sharjah then appointed governors:
September 1900 - 1909 Currently Unknown
1909 - August 1919 Sheikh Salim bin Sultan al-Qasimi (s.a.)
August 1919 - 10 July 1921 Sheikh Sultan bin Salim al-Qasimi (b. 1891 - d. 19..), who stayed on the first of its own rulers:
10 July 1921 - Feb 1948 Sheikh Sultan bin Salim al-Qasimi (s.a.)
17 July 1948 - present Sheikh Saqr bin Muhammad al-Qasimi (b. 1918) Population

Exact population figures are difficult to come by, but a government census in 2005 calculated that the total population of the UAE was 4.3m. Many suspect that the actual figure is closer to 5m due to the large numbers of expatriate workers residing in the UAE, some of which may have been unaccounted for in the census. RAK is estimated to have a total population of 250,000.

While UAE citizens officially make up less than 20% of the population in the UAE, this figure is higher in RAK. Emiratis are thought to make up at least 50% of the emirate’s population. The official language of the UAE is Arabic, although English is widely used in business circles. A significant portion of the expatriate population also speaks Hindi,Urdu,Bengali,Persian and other languages of the subcontinent.

Economy
As the emirate will never be a major oil producer, RAK has instead had to concentrate on developing its industrial sector. It opened the UAE's first cement company in the early 1970s and is now the UAE's largest producer of cement. In the 1980s, the emirate formed RAK Ceramics, which has become the world's largest ceramics producer, and Julphar, the Persian Gulf region's first pharmaceuticals company.

Transportation
Within Ras Al Khaimah:
Metered taxis are the main mode of transport within Ras Al Khaimah. Public buses also operate only on long-haul routes and they cater mainly to people residing in far-flung towns, viz. Sha`am, Rams, Jazeerah-al-Hamra etc.

Emirate-to-Emirate:
Ras Al Khaimah is connected to emirates like Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah by taxis which often embark from the taxi-stand located south of Al Dhaid town near the new RAK Police Headquarters. The fare per head is AED 20. Engaged taxis are available on request for Dhs 100 to 150 to Dubai and Dhs 200 to 250 to Abu Dhabi.
Cars are available for rent from various Rent-A-Cars at negotiable prices starting at Dhs 80.

Highways:
Three free-flowing dual-carriageways link Ras Al Khaimah with the other emirates and beyond. One follows the coast with beaches on one side and stretches of desert on the other; the other, new route runs out towards the airport in the direction of Khatt, Masafi, Fujairah and Dhaid and further onto Oman.

The newly constructed 'Emirates Road (E311 Highway)' traverses the emirates of Umm Al Quwain, Ajman (60km) and Sharjah (71km) to finally end up in Dubai (87km). The new highway allows journeys from Ras Al Khaimah to Dubai in under 45 minutes.

Seaport:
Saqr Port, located in the industrial area of Khor Khuwair, is the Emirate's main port, providing bulk and container services. It has eight deep water berths, each 200 m long, is dredged to 12.2 m and has two ro-ro ramps plus specialised berths for handling bulk cement and aggregate. Other services include ship handling, crew changes and 40,000 m2 of covered storage together with a vast open storage area. It is also the closest port in the UAE to Bandar Abbas in Iran.

Airport:
The Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is currently undergoing an upgrade. It operates cargo and passenger services to a variety of destinations covering the Middle East, North & East Africa, Central Asia, India and the Far East. In total 27 airlines including RAK Airways, Gulf Air, Egypt Air, Indian Airlines, Aeroflot, Pakistan International Airlines and many other airlines operate scheduled and non-scheduled flights. Open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, the airport has an open skies policy with no restrictions on frequencies and time of arrival / departure; offers competitive tariffs and storage facilities; is not congested, and has a full offering of duty-free goods, among other services.

Why RAK offshore?

2009-09-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK)

Ras Al Khaimah is fast becoming one of the world’s foremost providers of tax free, confidential business formations. Uniquely positioned at the most Northerly point of the United Arab Emirates, Ras Al Khaimah ‘RAK’ offers a combination of both OFFSHORE and ONSHORE, free zone solutions.

In 2007, FIRST Offshore was pleased to be one of the FIRST licensed government service providers of the Emirate.

Ras Al-Khaymah, literally "The Top of the Tent" is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It covers an area of 656 square miles (1700 km²). Ras Al Khaimah is in the northern part of the Persian Gulf.

The emirate is ruled by Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi. It is in the northern part of the UAE bordering Oman. The emirate has a population of about 250,000 inhabitants.

The city has a population of 246,167 as of 2009.[1] It is served by the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport in Al Jazirah Al Hamra.

The city has two main sections, Old Ras Al Khaimah and Nakheel, on either side of the creek which flows through Ras Al Khaimah.