Cyprus continues to take steps to try and maintain its success
as an international business centre by bolstering its network of
double tax treaties and favourable offshore tax regime.
Over the last year the government and central bank have brought
in new regulations enabling the formation of International
Collective Investment Schemes (ICISs). The International Collective
Investment Schemes Law, No. 47(I)/99, (the Law) came into force in
May 1999 but additional regulations were passed in December and
further amendments to the law were passed in May of this year.
The Law enables foreign investors to place their funds in an
ICIS, which is normally managed by a manager and a trustee, for the
purpose of investing these funds in foreign countries, especially
in the emerging markets of Russia and eastern Europe.
Legal forms of ICISs
The original May 1999 law defines an ICIS as:
an international fixed capital company or...