Englund

On paper, according to the official numbers, Malta plays a remarkable role in the world economy. It’s a huge investment destination: There are only a bit over 500,000 people on the island. But it has attracted more than $500 billion in foreign direct investment.  At the same time, Maltese companies have invested about the same amount overseas. That’s about a million dollars per man, woman, and child in each direction. Of course, it’s all fake. What we’re actually seeing is a proliferation of shell companies that are used by companies elsewhere as ways to launder, transfer their profits so that they pop up in Malta, which has a basically zero tax rate on corporate profits. This is a combination of tax avoidance and tax evasion. Avoidance is when it’slegal, although it probably shouldn’t be. Evasion is when it isn’t. There’s some of both going on in Malta.  There’s quitea lot of actual money laundering and sheer criminal activity. Famously, an investigative journalist from the i...

They worry the crackdown “is just the tip of the iceberg, and that more restrictive policies or enforcement concerning cross-border capital flows could be coming,” At stake is hundreds of billions of dollars of mainland wealth that has bolstered everything from luxury spending and real estate to the stock market. Bloomberg 23 June 2026  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-06-23/china-s-offshore-capital-outflow-crackdown-hits-hong-kong-wealth-boom Cayman Islands. A Sunny Place for a Shady Online Business https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-sunny-place-for-shady-online-business.html Hong Kong Overtakes Switzerland as Top Offshore Wealth Hub https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2026/04/mbaer-merchant-bank-liquidation-us.html

Hong Kong Overtakes Switzerland as Top Offshore Wealth Hub Offshore assets booked in the Asian financial city in 2025 rose  to $2.9 trillion, according to Boston Consulting Group. Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, has said the government plans to extend tax concessions to more asset classes, noting a distinct rise in Middle Eastern attendees at the city’s recent wealth summits. Bloomberg 27 May 2026 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-27/hong-kong-overtakes-switzerland-as-top-offshore-wealth-hub Michael Bär great-grandson of Julius Baer’s founder grew up during the heyday of Swiss private banking “Section 311 is not used a lot but when it is, it is the kiss of death,” said Tom Keatinge, director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security at the Royal United Services Institute.  US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent in February said: “MBaer has funnelled over a hundred million dollars through the US financial system on behalf of i...

Eden Island, an artificial island Mahé, Seychelles. Sun, Sand and ‘Unlimited’ Leverage Offshore havens like the Seychelles are enabling online trading firms to offer high-risk bets to retail investors. Officials are leaving the country’s key appeal — the complete absence of leverage limits — untouched,  defying a global effort to protect retail investors and enabling brokers to provide risky wagers they’d be forbidden to offer if they were based in places like the US or European Union. Seychelles-based firms offering these amplified trades say they’re simply responding to investor demand. The country’s finance minister and central bank governor say that authorities are continuously improving the nation’s “robust” financial framework. Similar booms unfolding in other offshore destinations like Mauritius, Vanuatu and Belize. In the past two decades, under international pressure and increased scrutiny from anti-money laundering bodies, it has gradually tightened its rules to bett...

A stagnant economy at home and America’s use of financial sanctions is pushing some to diversify their holdings.  Many private investors are looking beyond Singapore, long favoured by China’s rich-listers, in search of another sunny, safe and low-tax jurisdiction.   According to China’s own estimates, 370,000 of its citizens live in the UAE. More than 15,000 of its firms operate there. Both figures have roughly doubled since 2019. For globetrotting Chinese the lesson is clear: nowhere is entirely safe from Western sanctions, but Dubai is a safer place than most. The Economist February 15, 2026  https://www.economist.com/china/2026/02/15/dubais-crazy-rich-chinese Almost 20 per cent of banks’ cross-border dollar funding is now supplied by entities based in the Cayman Islands https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-sunny-place-for-shady-online-business.html

Apollo Global Management, med tillgångar på över 900 miljarder dollar, stormsäkrar nu genom att bygga upp sin kassa, minska belåningen och sälja av riskfyllda tillgångar.  ”Det som händer nu är att man flyttar verksamheten offshore till Cayman, där det finns färre regler och lägre kapitalkrav. Vi har redan sett tre konkurser i Cayman. Vi kommer att se fler. Jag tror inte att Cayman kommer att vara en hållbar amerikansk jurisdiktion om 24 månader”, säger Rowan till FT. ”Vår balansräkning är i riskreduceringsläge”, säger vd:n Marc Rowan till Financial Times.  DI 22 december 2025 https://www.di.se/live/riskkapitalbjasse-bygger-kassa-raknar-med-skakiga-borstider/ “CLO spreads have completely and totally compressed,” said Rowan at the Goldman conference, referring to bundles of low-rated loans used to finance private equity takeovers. https://www.ft.com/content/b315e80e-9e8a-4693-b860-bf87574cfa36 What the heck is happening in the Cayman Islands? Almost 20 per cent of banks’ cross-...

  Expert (Maria Landeborn): Börsrekorden haglar – då lönar det sig att vara kvar Danske Banks seniora strateg, Maria Landeborn, varnar för att sälja bara för att börsen står på ”all time high”.  Hon förklarar också varför man ska vara investerad i USA – och i Sverige. ”När börsen står på 'all time high' och många rubriker samtidigt handlar om risker – krig, tullar, geopolitik. Då är det lätt att vilja ta hem en del av vinsten.  Men efter att en ny topp satts tenderar marknaden att fortsätta uppåt. Den som säljer för tidigt riskerar att missa en fortsatt uppgång.” Med en amerikansk ekonomi som fortfarande växer, bolagsvinster i tvåsiffriga tal och en centralbank som sänker räntan, tror hon på fler rekord innan året är slut. ”Efter finanskrisen har centralbanker och regeringar varit snabbare att agera med räntesänkningar och stödpaket. Det gör att nedgångarna blivit kortare och att marknaden snabbare har hämtat sig.” DI 6 oktober 2025, 14:59 https://www.di.se/nyheter/expert...

  Some wealthy Europeans attracted to low-tax destinations such as Monaco are facing exit taxes.Photographer: Jeremy Suyker/Bloomberg The wealthy are exiting the UK in droves for tax havens such as Monaco, Switzerland and Dubai. The rising departures of monied residents are prompting an increasing number of European nations to tax their assets before they leave. High-tax nations across the continent are seeking to slow the departure of rich residents by hitting them with a levy on the value of their assets when they depart. Known as exit taxes, the idea is to make them think twice before leaving — or pay their fair share if they do. Germany, Norway and Belgium have all expanded exit taxes in recent months or are weighing proposals to do so And in the UK, Keir Starmer’s Labour administration has faced calls to impose a similar levy to help stem a flood of wealthy residents from the country. Within Europe, Norway and Germany are two of the strongest proponents of exit taxes. Norway l...

  Big multinational firms have found this damp corner of Europe a good place to book profits made from their globe-spanning operations.  Tech giants like Apple or Microsoft transfer intellectual-property rights—some of the most valuable in the world—to Irish subsidiaries, which use them to collect royalties from higher-tax jurisdictions beyond both Ireland and America.  Pharma groups use a similar trick Through a web of royalties and licensing fees, accountants as versed in the arts of surreal creativity as James Joyce can magic away profits to Ireland, which taxes them at just 12.5% a year, one of the world’s lowest rates. The Economist 12 June 2025 https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/06/12/how-ireland-became-the-saudi-arabia-of-siphoned-off-global-profits Pfizer in 2019 sold $20 billion of drugs in the U.S. Its federal tax bill? Zero https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2025/04/pfizer-in-2019-sold-20-billion-of-drugs.html Almost 20 per cent of banks’ cross-border dollar ...

Italy’s financial capital Milan is proving an early winner in the race to attract wealthy investors after the UK’s non-dom program ended last month. Milan — once seen as a second-tier financial center — is building on its success as a post-Brexit banking hub to offer a tax-friendly home to former non-doms and other monied UK residents seeking an alternative foothold in Europe.  They can opt to pay a flat tax rate of €200,000  (bara 2 miljoner kr) to avoid Italian levies on overseas earnings under a system similar to what the UK had offered for more than two centuries.  That fiscal perk, along with proximity to London and a sunnier, easier-going family lifestyle, are all adding to Milan’s allure. “It’s never tax alone that drives these changes but also whether the spouse and children are happy too.” Italy introduced its own non-dom regime in 2017 and had already attracted partners at private equity and investment firms and other wealthy individuals.  Now, there’s fres...

The European Court of Justice earlier this month struck down Malta’s citizenship-by-investment programme — and by extension EU citizenship  Malta has been in the passport-selling business since 2014 https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2024/12/malta-has-been-in-passport-selling.html Malta A Sunny Place for a Shady Online Business Almost 20 per cent of banks’ cross-border dollar funding is now supplied by entities based in the Cayman Islands  Gillian Tett https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-sunny-place-for-shady-online-business.html      It was a blow to Henley and the whole global investment immigration industry  “The demand is expanding, but also the supply,” Kälin said, citing the $5mn US “gold card” announced this year by US President Donald Trump.  “We put St Kitts on the global map,” said Kälin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Kitts The passports-for-cash industry began with Pacific and eastern Caribbean microstates in the 1980s, includin...

Trump has already singled out pharma companies and countries like Ireland that reap the benefits of tax-avoidance moves.  Despite its small size, Ireland ran an $87 billion trade surplus with the U.S. last year—larger than any country except China, Mexico and Vietnam. https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/how-trumps-tariffs-could-upend-pharmas-overseas-tax-strategy-5b8ca758 Is Ireland vulnerable again as the world’s vast shadow banking system starts to crack? Shadow banking is the dog that has not barked during the latest global spasm of financial stress. This is very fortunate, especially for small countries such as Ireland that have bet the farm on this industry. https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2023/04/is-ireland-vulnerable-again-as-worlds.html Cayman Islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayman_Islands What the heck is happening in the Cayman Islands? A Sunny Place for a Shady Online Business https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-sunny-place-for-shady-online-business.html Ti...

  What we are seeing is a shift to a multipolar world — not necessarily towards deglobalisation. Capital flows at the same level in late 2023 as in 2008, the last peak. Not all globalisation reflects good or genuine integration. One factor boosting indices, for instance, is the growing use of offshore tax havens, as the economist Brad Setser has noted. https://www.economicstrategygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Setser-Exec-Summary.pdf Gillian Tett Financial Times 22 November 2024 https://www.ft.com/content/1cfa6b3e-16c2-41e9-a1f6-fc90afaa7a98 Gillian Tett - en av mina Gurus https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2020/07/gillian-tett-en-av-mina-gurus.html What the heck is happening in the Cayman Islands? https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2019/10/what-heck-is-happening-in-cayman-islands.html The U.S. government and the European Union spent the past decade changing laws and pressuring big multinationals not to book profits in offshore jurisdictions, such as the Cayman Islands, where t...

 tether the cryptocurrency has grown into an important cog in the global financial system, with as much as $190 billion changing hands daily. In essence, tether is a digital U.S. dollar—though one privately controlled in the British Virgin Islands by a secretive crew of owners, with its activities largely hidden from governments.  Known as a stablecoin for its 1:1 peg to the dollar, tether gained early use among crypto aficionados.  But it has spread deep into the financial underworld, enabling a parallel economy that operates beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. Wall Street Journal 10 September 2024 https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/tether-crypto-us-dollar-sanctions-52f85459 Forget the Cayman Islands, the United States is now the place https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2023/08/forget-cayman-islands-united-states-is.html  

Monaco riskerar att hamna på den mellanstatliga organisationen Financial Action Task Forces (FATF) ”grå lista”.  Det utgör en betydande risk för Monacos banksektor som enligt Bloomberg hade omkring 160 miljarder euro under förvaltning i slutet av 2023 – motsvarande ungefär 20 gånger landets BNP. Di 21 juni 2024 https://www.di.se/nyheter/miljonarsparadiset-nara-att-hamna-pa-gra-lista/ Monaco Expected to Join Dirty Money ‘Gray List’ United Arab Emirates was added to the gray list in March 2022. That move seen as among the most significant steps in FATF’s history, given the country’s position as the main financial hub of the Middle East. The Gulf state was removed in February after Emirati officials made it a political priority to escape the designation, tightening scrutiny on various nationalities and paving the way for high-profile extraditions of individuals accused of white-collar crimes. The principality faces scrutiny not just from the FATF but also from the Group of States Agai...

 Jersey är ett självstyrande brittiskt territorium som tillsammans med grannön Guernsey blivit kända för sina stora finansiella industrier.  Ön har i regel en företagsskatt på noll procent, med några få undantag, och likaledes beskattas inte kapitalvinster över huvud taget. Sverige och många andra länder har ett avtal med Jersey om att dela information gällande till exempel medel på bankkonton, inkomster, transaktioner och ägaruppgifter.  ”De var tidigt ute att träffa avtal med Sverige. På många sätt har Jersey varit ett föredöme för många andra länder, informationsutbytet har fungerat över förväntan” DI 26 mars 024 https://www.di.se/digital/klarnas-flyttplan-startar-bolag-pa-kanalon-jersey/ Artificiell intelligens, AI, hjälper nu Klarna i jakten att vända fjolårets stora förlust på 10,4 miljarder kronor till vinst. https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2023/10/artificiell-intelligens-ai-hjalper-nu.html A Sunny Place for a Shady Online Business https://englundmacro.blogspot.c...

  Back   -  Next  -  Book Home  -  Climate Change Ska vi behålla den svenska kronan,  I studion: Anders Borg, fd finansminister, Leif Östling, näringslivsprofil, och Alexandra Stråberg, chefsekonom Länsförsäkringar.  Ekonomibyrån SvT 20 oktober 2023 Englund: ECB’s €5 Trillion Problem (englundmacro.blogspot.com) Did they really think there would be no financial consequences to keeping interest rates at or near zero for more than a decade?  Englund: Major central banks’ balance sheets have more than tripled since 2008 (englundmacro.blogspot.com) ChatGPT parent OpenAI seeks $86bn valuation Planned stock sale would make the chatbot maker one of the world’s most valuable private companies Financial Times 20 October 2023 https://www.ft.com/content/e4ab95c9-5b45-4996-a69e-46075d6428e5 "First North-index har tappat nästan 20 procent under 2023"  OBS även fallet under 2022 DI 23 oktober 2023 https://www.di.se/nyheter/ett-halvt-decennium-utra...