 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Newsletter | Articles   FOCUS ON BELIZEThis small Central American country is located on the Caribbean coast, bordered by Mexico to the North and Guatemala to the West. Until approximately AD 1500 it was home to a highly sophisticated Mayan civilisation of as many as 2 million people spread across impressive templed cities and small agricultural villages. The civilisation finally fell apart for reasons not agreed on by historians and the country was next inhabited by British settlers in the 16th century. For several centuries its coastline was the scene of much bloodshed between British and Spanish pioneers and pirates looking to exploit Belize's natural resources, such as gold and timber. In the 1840's the country became the colony of British Honduras but finally regained its independence in 1981, taking on the name of Belize after its capital city. The country's chief industries are agriculture, light manufacturing and services - including tourism and financial services. In fact Belize is a major eco-tourism attraction with the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere and the highest percentage of forests in reserves in the Americas. Nearly 40% of the country is under protected status of some type. In 1990 Belize passed the International Business Companies Act and has since added and amended legislation to maintain a modern, safe and clean financial services industry. This sector has matured over the years and today has some of the most modern instruments for asset protection, investment banking, trusts, insurance and mutual funds. Anti-money-laundering legislation, a professional Central Bank staff, a Financial Services Commission and a pro-active Government combine efforts for efficiency, service and the necessary prudence and diligence. These attributes, combined with a well-educated English/Spanish speaking population and excellent telecommunications, have attracted related industries such as international data-processing operations. The growing offshore financial services industry has so far attracted over 25,000 international business companies. Ship-registration, trust activities and offshore banking also offer opportunities to investors. However, the emphasis is on financial services in its widest sense rather than just banking facilities. Belize maintains close supervision over offshore banking because its Government's primary concern is to retain its high reputation for integrity and fair dealing. The chief investment vehicle is the International Business Company which can be incorporated through the Belize Registry in as little as one hour with a minimum of one director (which can be a corporation). Annual Government fees are as low as $100 and the IBC is exempt from income tax, capital gains and transaction tax. It is also possible to form the usual array of LLCs, LLPs and trusts. For more information or to order a Belize company, please contact David Ashton for further details. Jurisdiction information: BELIZE DATASHEET  |