Top 10 Corporate/Company Law Headlines from Offshore The recent decision of In the Matter of Stanford International Bank Limited and Others [2009] EWHC 1441 (CH) raises important considerations for liquidators of offshore investment vehicles who seek recognition and assistance from the English Courts pursuant to the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 (the “2006 Regulation”). On 26 June 2008 the Liechtenstein Parliament passed the new foundation law. The new Foundation Act (hereafter referred to as the StiG), together with the amendments to the Law on Persons and Companies (PGR), was published on 26 August 2008 in the Liechtenstein Law Gazette No. 220/2008. As of March 1, 2009, the laws of the Cayman Islands dealing with corporate insolvency were updated by the implementation of amendments to the Cayman Islands Companies Law that were originally enacted in 2007 but lay dormant pending the promulgation of three new sets of procedural rules governing the conduct of insolvency matters and an amendment to the rules of the Cayman Islands Grand Court. The giving of financial assistanceby a company for the purchase of its own shares was introduced intoMaltese law by the Companies Act in 1995, which replaced theCommercial Partnerships Ordinance originally promulgated in1962. Over the last five years, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has introduced new provisions that will be of particular interest to corporate groups worldwide that contain one or more of the hundreds of thousands of BVI companies in existence. Malta’s economic policy is quite simply to create wealth and to have wealth permeate all levels of society – real wealth, generated from profitable commercial activities. Making the country richer means ensuring that it has an attractive business environment that encourages and rewards local and international investors. The social, political and economic changes worldwide have raised new questions as well as expectations about governance and social responsibilities. Recent years have witnessed an escalating importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’), especially as concerns about climate change are becoming mainstream. It might surprise, and it should worry, the average businessman to see the impressive variety of different jurisdiction clauses in a typical multi-contractual relationship. This a high level overview of the issues that should be considered and addressed when establishing and running a scheme pursuant to which shares in a certain company will end up in the hands of either the employees or directors of a company or both. Suppose Spanish exporter (a) sells to Hong Kong importer (b) at $100. And suppose the exporter is running a very profitable business. His taxes in Spain will be very high.In order to reduce the amount he would need to pay in taxes, the exporter could make the profit in Gibraltar rather than in Spain. | 
