Seychelles comprises 115 islands occupying a land area of 455 km² and an Exclusive Economic Zone of 1.4 million km² in the western Indian Ocean. It represents an archipelago that extends from between 4 and 10 degrees south of the equator and which lies between 480km and 1,600km from the east coast of Africa. Seychelles is renowned for its pristine, natural environment. Several of Seychelles beaches are consistently voted as among the best in the world!
The official languages of the Seychelles are English French and Creole. Seychelles has a population of 83,000 of mixed ethnicity comprising of Indian, European, African and Chinese origins. The weather is pleasant all year round with mild to hot temperatures. Seychelles has two seasons made up of a dry season (February to November) and a rainy season (November to February).
History and Government
The Seychelles were first settled by the French in 1770. The islands remained in French hands until they were ceded to Britain under the treaty of Paris in 1814. The Seychelles gained independence from the British in 1976 and is hence an independent Republic. The country has good political stability with a democratically elected Government and is a member of the Commonwealth. The Head of State is the President, and a National Assembly of elected Members comprises the legislative arm of Government.
The Seychelles economy is primarily comprised of tourism, commercial fishing and a thriving offshore financial services industry. Encouraged by favourable tax policies, inward investment has increased significantly over recent years, especially in the financial services sector, the hotel and resort industry and in luxury real estate developments.
Legal System
Seychelles has a hybrid legal system composing of both civil law and common law functioning under an independent Judiciary. Seychelles has comprehensive and modern international financial services laws, most of which are common law based. The Seychelles Court of Appeal is the ultimate appellate court.
Due Diligence Requirements
The Seychelles Anti-Money Laundering Act 2006 imposes due diligence obligations upon all financial intermediaries requiring evidence of identity, residence and source of funds prior to entering into business relationships. Seychelles Corporate Service Providers are licensed and regulated under the International Corporate Service Providers Act, 2003 which imposes a range of compliance requirements, including due diligence.
International Financial Services Centre
The Seychelles Government is committed to developing the country as an international financial services centre and to that end has enacted legislation facilitating the setting up of various offshore products and services. These include:
The Securities and Financial Markets Division within the Central Bank of Seychelles acts as a one-stop regulator in respect of offshore insurance, mutual and hedge funds and securities-related activities.
Seychelles also has a growing network of double taxation avoidance agreements (DTA), which, used in conjunction with Seychelles tax resident "CSLs" (Company Special Licence), enable tax-efficient investment in DTA partner countries. In particular, given favourable tax relief available under the Seychelles / Indonesia DTA and the Seychelles / China DTA, Seychelles CSLs are increasingly being used as intermediary holding companies for investments into Indonesia and China. In light of the recent tax reforms in China (which increase China tax for most foreign investors), a Seychelles CSL structure provides, among other benefits, a solution to reduce Chinese withholding tax exposure (the Seychelles / China DTA caps Chinese withholding tax on dividends at 5%).
Portcullis TrustNet (Seychelles) Ltd is well positioned to access the full range of professional services for its clients as and when required at competitive rates.
