Latest tax and investment news

Global interest emerging in dual listings with London

Despite a difficult economic year in 2009, it appears there is plenty of interest in dual listings in London emanating from across the world, from various kinds of organisations.

For instance, Dutch automotive company Spyker, which recently took control of Saab Automobile, has shown an interest in dual listings in London.

Following a recent Spyker shareholders extraordinary general meeting in Zeewolde, the company's chief executive officer Victor Muller commented: "We are currently investigating the possibilities of listing Spyker at the London Stock Exchange by means of a dual listing and possibly in the future in Stockholm."

If this was the case then Spyker's listing in Amsterdam would have to be terminated at some point in the future, Mr Muller noted. He stressed, however, that they were only investigating the possibility of the dual listing and no definite decision has been made as yet.

The news came just after the European Investment Bank approved a loan to Saab Automobile for €400 million (£346.7 million), a development that Mr Muller described as "a crucial component in enabling the acquisition of Saab to proceed". Perhaps some of the Spyker shareholders believe a dual listing on the London Stock Exchange would help the automotive brand develop further.

Meanwhile, DP World recently announced that it is seeking a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange while maintaining the existing primary listing on Nasdaq Dubai. It came to the decision after reviewing its situation with advisers and discussing with shareholders.

The company, which is one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, expects to start looking for admission for listing in the second quarter of 2010.

Back in 2009, DP World's board said it would be looking into all available options to address its continuing disappointment with the markets valuation of the company and it appears dual listing is the answer it came to.

"The board remains committed to our shareholders in the region and believe that they will also benefit from this move," DP World stated.

Interest in dual listings in London also appears to be coming from Mongolia. Indeed, the Mongolian government is currently looking at upgrading its stock exchange to support dual listings.

Mongolian prime minister Sukhbaatar Batbold has said he would be keen to see dual listings of Mongolian assets with companies simultaneously staying on the Mongolian Stock Exchange while offering shares on global exchanges such as London or Hong Kong.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a number of state-managed companies are likely to be listed, including Erdenes MGL, which owns licenses for the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine and other mineral deposits. Erdenet Mining Corporation and national carrier Mongolian Airlines have also been lined up for listing.

However, Mr Batbold told the newspaper that initial public offerings of the country's state-owned mineral assets may take longer than initially thought.

He commented: "We'd prefer to list [companies] in Mongolia first, but it may take more time than we expected to list on the local exchange because things are not running properly in terms of infrastructure and management and real time functions.

"It's getting there but needs more improvements."

Alisher Ali Sjumanov, chief executive officer of Eurasia Capital, also spoke to the publication about the Mongolian economy. He suggested that there is "a big discrepancy" between the Mongolian stock exchange, which lists around 200 businesses with an overall market capitalisation of about $450 million (£287.2 million), and firms that list abroad.

"Even if just a few companies [of those listed abroad] list, this will be a big boost to local capital," he added.

Australia's government has become to latest to offer its residents an amnesty on tax liabilities, which may be of interest to those working in offshore tax planning.

Tax commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo announced yesterday (November 30th) that as part of the Australian Tax Office's tightening of restrictions on tax havens, the authority is declaring a new offer for those who have not declared all income.

"People can now approach us anonymously for an indication of whether we would initiate an investigation to determine whether there is a potential breach of the criminal law," he commented.

The offer also increases the shortfall penalty of 2007 to ten per cent where a person's additional income from offshore activities totals more than AUD$20,000 (£11,000) a year.

Additionally, businesses in Australia were this year offered a 50 per cent tax deduction when they buy or improve certain assets, which has been extended until December 31st.