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Asia Business Insights Handelsblatt 2019 shows that economic relations between Germany and the Asia are intensifying with increasing speed

When the German business magazine Handelsblatt invites to its annual Asia Business Insight Conference, an illustrious circle of economic figures gets together. This years conference in Düsseldorf begun with a powerful speech of Helen Wong, Chief Executive Greater China HSBC, by stating that the economic bond between China and Germany is stronger than before. China and Germany both embrace their economical relationship, and they move ahead slowly by ‚crossing the river and feeling the stones.’ The scale of German companies is seen as an opportunity by China rather than a risk. Above all, I see German cars on the streets. In the shops there are products of German brands, a large part of the medicine comes from German pharmaceutical manufacturers. German talent has helped us to prosper,’says Wong.

The economic relations between Germany and the Asian region are intensifying with increasing speed. But skepticism about China remains.The West has long insisted that China’s economic opening would also mean political change.

But today’s reality looks different: while China has opened up for imports and investments, political freedom in the country is becoming increasingly smaller. And the great geopolitical will to power, which China has identified with the Silk Road project, causes concern in Europe.

Sustainability and Urbanization
Meanwhile the middle class in China is growing. With the prosperity also the demands on the quality of the consumer goods rise. This changes the market conditions. The best market opportunities are now on environmental protection and sustainability, which the government has committed itself to.

Covestro boss Markus Steilemann explained how the increasing urbanization Covestro brings new sales opportunities. The German plastics manufacturer an plastic recycling company has been active in China since 1996 and has adapted to the conditions of the market.

Markus Steilemann stated that everything is made from plastic, so everything can also be built from plastic. Social problems like the environment or urbanization can be helped by using plastic for example for building houses out of plastic. Two main problems in China could be tackled by one solution: these problems are nutrition and poverty. More than 200 million people suffer from hunger because fresh food does not reach the customer due to logistic problems, and farmers do not have the resources to build on their harvest). Mr Steilemann presented solar lights as the answer: food can be dried and easily preserved, which makes it easier to transport food for longer days.

Innovations and Startups in Asia
All over Asia you find a big group of young entrepreneurs. There are many startup companies in India for example. The entrepreneurial environment is very big and companies are supported b the Indian government. Difference between Germany and India is that the Indian customers are very keen on fast results whereas the German customer is very hesitant but a customer for life. In India there is a fear of failing, whereas Germans do not fear failure and know that they can grow from failing.

Trade documenting gets easier with Blockchain
Another trend that was presented at the Asia Business Insights was the digitalization of trade documenting: a fast and also safe way for the trade documenting process. First it took 5 to 15 days for a trade document to be fully processed, because of the long travels it had to make. But thanks to blockchain, a software that runs on multiple databases instead of one, the trade documenting process is safe, fast and easy to use. Especially for instances that do not want to share their data, the blockchain will prevent the data sharing and process the documenting in a fast way.

Other topics at Asia Business Insights Handelsblatt 2019 were success strategies for Asia, will Asia overtake us in the most important future markets, economic outlook on Asia, current situation geopolitics and world economy such as protectionism and new trade agreement, tectonic shifts in world trade and update to the Silk Road Project.

Welcome to Global Connect Admin’s Tax Workshop in Amsterdam!

Workshop presentation in Chinese mandarin, while English, Dutch and Japanese are available for questions and ideas.

Date:

05 March 2019

Location: 

Holiday Inn, Station Bijlmer Arena, Hoogoorddreef 66a, 1101 BE, Amsterdam

Language:

Workshop presentation in Chinese mandarin, while English, Dutch and Japanese are available for questions and ideas.

Event schedule:

18:30    Welcoming session

19:00    Start of the Workshop

20:00    Networking, snacks and drinks

20:30    End of the event

Topics covered:

Tax advantages for a Dutch company

1. Low corporate tax rate, which is still decreasing in recent years.
2. No withholding taxes for interests and royalties
3. Withholding tax for dividends as low as 15% (To Chinese residents is 10%)
4. Possible participation exemption

News in tax regulations in 2019

1. Dividend tax remains
2. Corporate tax rate is decreasing, respectively 19% and 25% in 2019
3. Substantial interests tax will increase, which is 25% in 2019.
4. Limitation for forward loss settlement, which is 6 years forward and 1 year backward in 2019.
5. Wealth tax rate has dropped insignificantly.
6. Lower VAT rate has increased to 9% in 2019.
7. Expat settlement has been shortened to 6 years in 2019.

Invoice compliance requirements

1. Date of the invoice issued
2. Names and the addresses of both parties
3. VAT number of your company
4. Number registered at the Chamber of Commerce of your company
5. Invoice sequence number
6. The nature, quantity and/or the size of the product
7. The date of delivery, or the date of prepayment
8. Prices charged without VAT
9. VAT rates and the amount
10. Final price charged

We warmly welcome you to register here:

https://www.dutchcn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=21159

or contact yqiu@globalconnectadmin.com.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the event!

We zijn op de Asia Business Insights van het Handelsblatt. Interessante discussies en informatie over samenwerking met Azië.

De conferentie richt zich op de kansen en uitdagingen van de toekomstige Aziatische markt. Topsprekers uit het bedrijfsleven, wetenschap, media, cultuur en politiek leveren nuttige informatie en openen nieuwe perspectieven. De jaarlijkse conferentie richt zich op de huidige trends in de Aziatische groeiregio.

Graag informeren we u dat we vanaf 1 maart op een nieuwe locatie gevestigd zijn.

Ons nieuwe adres vanaf 1 maart is:

Global Connect Admin B.V.
Ridderspoorweg 61
1032 LL Amsterdam
Nederland

We verwelkomen u graag in ons nieuwe pand na 1 maart voor een kopje koffie of thee.

Discussions about Brexit are plunging the British government into crisis

Yesterday, a few days after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced a new move towards a soft Brexit including a customs union with the EU following a marathon session, the responsible Minister David Davis resigned from office with immediate effect.

Symbolbild Brexit. Pixabay/ Tero Vesalainen

He cited the new position of the British government as justification and complained that Britain was thereby negotiating a weak bargaining position. Davis is regarded as the champion of a tough Brexit and had already threatened to resign in recent months if the government doesn’t make a clear break with Brussels. A few hours after Davis’ departure, in a dispute with the Prime Minister, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also threw in the towel about the direction the Brexit is taking.

In the light of current developments, experts are wondering if there will be any point to Theresa May’s victory over the hardliners in the Cabinet in the coming weeks. Many of them suspect that the Brexit rollercoaster ride of the past few months is going to continue for the time being.

Planning remains difficult for international companies, so it’s advisable to prepare for all sorts of scenarios.
 

Possible scenarios for Brexit

A free trade agreement based on the Canadian model
Britain and the EU conclude a free-trade agreement. Duty-free trade between the UK and the EU would be possible.

Great Britain becomes a member of the European Economic Area (Norwegian model)  
Britain retains partial access to the European internal market, for instance the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital.

Bilateral integration contract along the lines of the Swiss model
Britain retains access to some areas of the internal market and must comply with EU social, labour and product regulations.

Hard Brexit without access arrangements
Brexit hardliners would certainly welcome this variant. Free of all EU rules, the UK could conclude trade agreements with countries worldwide and trade with the EU through the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, the British administration would be completely overwhelmed by the exorbitantly increasing customs clearances.

No Brexit
Many Britons want the Brexit to be reversed. However, this variant is unlikely, since the leadership of both Tories and Labour are essentially sticking to the EU exit, even with all their differences of opinion on how the Brexit should be done.
 

Possible legal, tax and personnel policy consequences

Depending on what concrete form Brexit negotiations between Great Britain and the EU take, different scenarios with different legal, personnel and fiscal consequences are conceivable. Regardless of the specific scenario, we expect complex changes that companies will need to be well prepared for.

Customs activities and administrative processes are likely to become more complex after Brexit, and the cost of goods exchange between EU countries and the UK is likely to increase. For example, following Brexit, the UK is no longer bound by European VAT regulations in Europe, which increases the risk of double taxation.

Cross-border restructurings of cross-EU corporate groups such as legal mergers, unbundling or cross-border implementation are based on common EU law. Many countries within the EU don’t provide for legal mergers with legal entities outside the EU in their own corporate legislation. It’s completely unclear what legal status EU cross-company groups will have in the future.

Intellectual property rights are also under pressure after Brexit. It may be useful and necessary to have property rights registered not only in the EU but also in the UK.

The Brexit has consequences for the labour market. One of the main motivations for Brexit was the British government’s goal of stopping the free movement of people to Britain. While the UK emphasises that access should be granted to students and highly educated immigrant workers, we advise companies to analyse the potential impact on their workforce, work and residence permits and their hiring of new employees.
 

Time is running out

On 28 March 2019, the transition period for the UK expires. Time is running out for an agreement and new regulation of relations between the UK and Brussels. Otherwise, from then on, the UK will only have the same rights as any other third country. An extension of the transitional period is only possible if Great Britain applies to the EU and all 27 remaining member states agree to it.

Make sure that your company is prepared for all possible variants of Brexit. We would be happy to meet you and tell you what we can do for you during a non-binding session.