Amicorp Group’s board and management team from across the globe met in Malta recently to discuss strategy for the coming year.
Amicorp is a Hong Kong based group of companies, established in 1992, with over 900 professionals in more than 30 countries. It provides a broad range of services across the globe, including administrative, legal, corporate, financial and business solutions as well as support services to a wide range of clients such as funds, trusts, corporates and high-net-worth clients.
Clint Chetcuti, one of the managing directors for the Amicorp companies in Malta, said that since 2010 business has grown substantially in Malta.
We are experiencing continued interest both in corporate structuring and also in the funds business
“Our business has grown. We are experiencing continued interest both in corporate structuring and also in the funds business. Trusts and foundations are also attractive to both local and foreign investors as these can be used for a variety of commercial purposes such as a security trust, collective investment schemes, securitisation and pension schemes.
“The fact that Maltese law allows a trust to choose to be governed by the laws of another jurisdiction, provided this is specified in the trust deed, makes it even more attractive. In addition, there are more niche areas that are delivering growth. For instance, Malta recently introduced an Individual Investor Programme, a citizenship-by-investment programme approved by the European Commission, and this is attracting significant interest from high-net-worth clients,” he said.
On the question of the global tax environment, Mario Buttigieg, another managing director for Amicorp in Malta, said that the fiscal environment is changing at a very fast pace, with countries demanding more tax transparency.
“Recently we organised a seminar on Common Reporting Standards, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and Base Erosion and Profit Sharing, in which we shared our knowledge and experience with other service providers and clients in Malta. This event included a number of fiscal and legal presentations as well as our recommendations to address this regulatory tsunami in an efficient and effective way.
“We also expressed Amicorp’s views on some of the necessary actions that firms need to take to comply with this changing environment. I believe that more importance will be put on the substance of these structures and that in the long term, if these requisites are not met, they would need to either restructure or possibly cease to operate. Some of the new requirements are not simple to implement and might be administratively challenging. Through our global network and local expertise, Amicorp is in an ideal position to offer the necessary assistance, including that on corporate restructuring,” he said.
Toine Knipping, Amicorp Group CEO, said the company is committed to creating opportunities for people to help themselves by delivering vocational and life skills training and focus on increasing environmental consciousness. “This is achieved through a combination of ways, including the allocation of our one per cent top revenue figure as well as the necessary time and efforts directed towards management of corporate social responsibility projects. Amicorp’s donations together with those received from other parties go directly to those in need without deductions for management and administrative costs. This is providing both me and the Amicorp team a lot of satisfaction,” he said.