Sunshinebob's Blog , The SunshineBlog…

Fun In the sun , where to go & what to do

  • Have you ever wondered how to get paid for traveling? What if I could tell you that by documenting your travels on film, you could get paid for it? It’s not as hard as you may imagine… so let’s get started.


    Most people would imagine selling their videos to The Travel Channel or to The Discovery Channel, that is not the method you’re going to take. Those are sometimes well-paid jobs, but they don’t meet our criteria of getting paid quickly and allowing us to travel wherever we desire.


    So how do you use travel videos to get paid? The answer is simple: By using your videos to drive traffic to third party websites who give you money for doing so.


    Here is how it’s done:


    Unless you’ve lived in a cave, you have probably heard of YouTube (actually, even people in caves have heard of it). It is not uncommon for basic, elementary videos to get 10’s and 100’s of thousands of views. Even videos with millions of views are becoming more common by the day. So how do you drive traffic to a third party site with these videos?


    When you post a video to YouTube, you are allowed to make a description of your video. To drive traffic, put a hyperlink in the description to your affiliate link of your third party site. Simply format the address you want to send people to with ‘http://YourAffiliateLink.com’ and it will become a live link within YouTube’s description.


    So where do you send people to? There are thousands of affiliate programs out there, but the easiest way to get started is to search Clickbank for products that are related to your video. For example, if you recently went to an Italian Vineyard, you could direct people to a product that teaches “wine tasting” or “how to create your own wine.”


    You will make a commission on each sale that is made. So, if 10,000 people watch your video over the next year, and 10% of them click your link, you send 1,000 visitors to the site. If 10% of those visitors buy, you make 100 sales. Oftentimes that’s at $20-$50 dollars per sale, so based on this model, you can make $2000 to $5000 dollars for that video!


    You are probably getting excited now. That’s for only ONE video! If you have 10 videos out there, you’re now making $20,000 to $50,000 dollars per year just for having some silly videos on the web.


    To be entirely realistic, it can be difficult to get that many views for that many videos… but it’s NOT impossible. Many people are doing it, so there’s no reason you can’t do it as well. You just need to know what you’re doing!


    Here are some last minute keys: First, make videos people are going to share with their friends. They should be instructional, funny, or amazing. Second, consider putting your link ON the video itself. That way, people type the address into their browser if they like your video, and if people embed your video, you’ll still drive traffic. Third, find GOOD affiliate programs that ‘convert’ well… meaning they sell a lot of their stuff.


    Using this model, and with a little more training, you’ll be off to the races, traveling the world while you make money for filming your adventures!

    **Attention Readers**


    To get your copy of our free step-by-step guide showing you how to make money as you travel without ever holding a ?job,? visit http://www.moneyfortraveling.com. The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com

    have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world and will show you how to do the same.

    Technorati Tags: , ,

    Comments Off
  • The Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the oldest institutions in the country; it was founded in the year 1884 to promote the sport of horse racing. It catered largely to the colonial British administrators during its period of inception. Today it is a non-profit organization that provides horse racing, sporting and betting entertainment to the people of Hong Kong. It has been the largest tax payer as well as the largest charity contributor in Hong Kong of recent times, as well as proving recreational and socializing events to its 20,000 odd members.

    At the beginning the Hong Kong Jockey Club was composed largely of upper class British expatriates and only a handful of Chinese members. The club changed its status from amateur to professional in 1971 and is involved organizing annual horse races during the Chinese New Year. Following Queen Elizabeth’s royal patronage in 1959 the club changed its name to the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club.

    The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club conducts over 700 horse races annually at its two tracks at Happy Valley and Sha Tin. Following the transfer of sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China the volume of bets and the number of horse races declined marginally. But many believe that equestrian events are enjoying a renaissance in Hong Kong with records crowd since 2007.

    The Hong Kong Jockey Club was also instrumental in organizing the equestrian events of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The world class racing track of the club at Sha Tin was utilized for the purpose and also hosted the events for the Paralympic Games. Located close to the Hong Kong Jockey Club is a hotel in Hong Kong known as the Cosmo Hotel. This is an excellent choice for racing enthusiasts as it provides excellent transportation links to the country’s race courses as well.

    Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing agency that offers integrated Internet marketing solutions and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry. (http://www.emarketingeye.com/ )

    Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

    Comments Off
  • Incite Dance Floor Wishes On Your Tango Travel

    Your tango travel is just the starting point of a passion that can last all your life, so, if you really want to go on practicing the tango and master the movements, it is fundamental that you inspire good dancers to ask you to dance. Even if you are not a good dancer, expert dancers will be asking you to the dance floor if you can communicate the correct message.

    Every tango travel is a perfect venture to grasp some of the “leads” to prompt passion, since you will be seeing professionals and directed by instructors to use these.

    It is indispensable that you learn to follow gracefully from one movement to the next, from form to form. It is a delight to dance with whom permits and likes to be led.

    Be flirtatious. Even if you are not a proficient dancer, yet you are playful, good dancers will lead you to the dance floor. Tango has everything to do with laughs and coquetry also; a gorgeous smile and personality denote lots of energy.

    A thing you will recognize during your tango travel, is the necessity to permanently improve your abilities. It is pleasing when you surprise other performers with better steps.

    In tango, it is essential that you show your physical attributes to attract adept partners. Inspire the imagination and passion while dancing and you will dance the night away.

    Seek friendship with the good dancers. The tango is a social activity, it is required that you talk to the dancers if you wish to dance all night. Think of stimulating themes to laugh about and feel at ease.

    An aspect of the character of the tango is being audacious. On your tango travel, you will watch women and men asking others to the dance floor. Hence, ask! If your attitude is receptive, fun and one of control, you will unquestionably dance a lot.

    As you will validate on your tango travel, passionate tango performers dance until sunrise. Come late and leave last and you will have the best executioners at your feet.

    Even good performers were unskilled at one point. If you identify a novice with possibilities and make friends with them, they will positively recall you when they are on top and will permanently seek you to dance, since you helped them when they were insecure and novices to tango. Likewise, skilled executers are exceptional at welcoming beginners by inviting them to the dance floor a lot. It is their way of giving back to everyone who helped them when they tripped and even bruised their partners.

    You will sense it on your Tango Travel; performers feel more stimulated once they met you after having class jointly. During class, you express your desires and sensitivity, and they see what kind of follower you are.

    The most crucial truth to grasp to be invited to dance on your tango travel is that proficient dancers are are aroused by tango, so, demonstrate your unique version of this love, be yourself and savor the experience of your life.

    tango travel,tango tour,tour of tango,dance tango,attitude for tango,tango lovers,passion for tango,tango tours,tango trip,learn tango,buenos aires tango tours

    Technorati Tags: ,

    Comments Off
  • The Hong Kong Coliseum is one of the largest indoor arenas in the South East Asian region, it can comfortably seat up to 12,500 persons and plays host to a number of different events through out the year. Opened on the 27th of April 1983, the Hong Kong Coliseum is a symbol of national pride.

    One of the most striking features of this building is its architecture; the inverted pyramid design is imposing and creates a sense of grandeur in the minds of visitors. The design also has a more practical purpose as well, it allows for an unobstructed view of the arena as pillars have not been used. The facility which is currently being managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong government is the second largest such indoor arena in Hong Kong behind the newly built AsiaWorld Arena.

    The major attraction of the coliseum is of course the indoor arena; a number of events are held here each year ranging from, sporting competitions to musical and dance performances. The additional facilities available at the Hong Kong Coliseum include a VIP lounge and three conference rooms. These are usually used to hold press conferences, meetings and other allied activities connected with what’s going on in the arena.

    As one of the largest indoor arenas in Hong Kong it plays host to a cross section of different musicians and artists. Among those that have performed here are Elton John, Jackie Chan, Ricky Martin, Air Supply and Andy Lau. Large scale events such as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performances, the Miss Hong Kong pageant, the Hong Kong Film Awards and Flamingo Domingo were also held here.

    The Hong Kong Coliseum is easily accessible by road and rail networks and a Hong Kong Island hotel can be found easily nearby. One such hotel in Hong Kong is Hotel Jen which offers great accommodation options for travelers.

    Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing agency that offers integrated Internet marketing solutions and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry. (http://www.emarketingeye.com/ )

    Technorati Tags: , , ,

    Comments Off
  • Barbados is an self-governing island nation set around the western Atlantic Ocean, just to the east of the Caribbean Sea, detected at roughly 13° north of the Equator and 59° west of the Prime Meridian. settled comparatively closely to South America the nation of Barbados is Around 434.5 kilometres (270 miles) northeast of the South American nation of Venezuela.

    The closest island neighbours to Barbados could be Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines both located to the west, along sustaining Barbados those islands are all considered a a portion of the Caribbean region’s Lesser Antilles.

    Barbados possesses a land area of around 430 square kilometres, (166 sq. mi), and is mainly low-lying, by owning a few higher regions in the island’s interior. The organic composing of Barbados is considered to be of non-volcanic origin & is predominantly compiled of limestone-coral.

    The island’s standard atmosphere is sub-tropical with never-ending trade winds off the Atlantic Ocean & some unexploited domains contain marshes & mangrove swamps. other parts of the island’s national contributing the island’s agricultural sector are dotted utilizing large sugarcane estates & wide gently sloping pastures with several good views down to the sea.

    Barbados has one of the highest standards of living & literacy rates in the developing world &, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Barbados is currently the No. 4 to the highest degree developed of all developing countries in the world. The island is also a huge tourist destination.

    The influence of the English on Barbados is further detectable than on extra islands inside the West Indies. A serious example of this is the island’s national sport: cricket. Barbados has brought forth several awesome cricket players, including Garfield Sobers & Frank Worrell.

    Citizens could be formally called Barbadian, still residents of Barbados colloquially name to themselves or even the products of the country as “Bajan”. The term “Bajan”, could have come from a localized pronunciation of the word Barbadian which at times can sound more like “Bar-bajan”. The condition Barbadian is used less frequently than is “Bajan”.

    The biggest Carnival cultural event which takes place in Barbados will be the Crop Over Festival as acknowledge internationally.

    As will be the case in numbers of of the additional Caribbean & Latin American countries, Crop Over is an important event for numbers of people on the island, as well as the thousands of tourists that flock to the island to enter in the annual events.

    The Crop Over festival which lets in several musical competitions, and more traditional activities commonly kicks into high gear from the start of July, and ends in its totality by using the dressed up parade on Kadooment Day, made on the first Monday of August.

    Technorati Tags: ,

    Comments Off
  • Memoirs of the De, Kothari and Bharadwaj Family Vacation/Cruise on the Norwegian Pearl over X’Mas 2009 across the Eastern Caribbean – Samana (Dominican Republic), St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), Tortola (British Virgin Islands) and Great Stirrup Cay (The Bahamas), with a tour of Miami to round off this fantastic voyage!

    Duration : 0:6:14

    Read the rest of this entry »

    Technorati Tags: , , , ,

    Comments Off
  • Here’s the rare ‘Ski Mask Way’ music video – produced by Disco D (www.discod.com), this song was critically acclaimed as the hottest street record on 50’s 5 times platinum ‘The Massacre’ album

    Duration : 0:3:10

    Read the rest of this entry »

    Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    25 Comments
  • Usability refers to the level of ease with which a user can interact with the graphic user interface of an application, website or web development solution. Conducting a usability study on your recent website project is especially important in the competitive environment of web development in London The study of usability promotes methods of improving efficiency and ease of use during the design process.

    There are many attributes that are measured to establish whether usability has been successfully implemented. These include learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, utility and satisfaction.
    Learnability - refers to the level of ease with which first time users can interact with the interface and how easily they find it to perform basic tasks.
    Efficiency - is measured in the speed at which users who are familiar with the interface can perform tasks.
    Memorability – refers to how quickly a user who hasn’t been in contact with the interface for a while can re-establish competence.
    Errors - relates to the amount of errors users make and how easily they can recover from these errors.
    Utility - refers to the functionality of the design.
    Satisfaction - is measured in the pleasure experienced with interfacing with a good website design.

    These are just fancy theories for considering who the intended users are, what they know, what they want or need to know, how fast can they learn, etc. A website designed with usability in mind, is known to have a user-centred design, making the website user friendly. A user friendly designed website or application will assist in reaching the proposed target audience, ensuring that the purpose of the website isn achieved.

    Usability is imperative from a user’s perspective as it determines their ability to perform tasks accurately and efficiently and enjoying the procedure at the same time. Usability also determines the success of the website or web development application. It also determines the productivity of a workforce in the case of internal applications. What this boils down to is that effective implementation of usability saves time, effort and money and increases revenue and user efficiency. All of these elements are vital to remain competitive in the Web Development environment of London.

    The key principle for improving usability is to implement evaluation phases from the early stages of design. This provides the web designers in London with user and client feedback at an early stage, which can then be implemented and refined as the project progresses, resulting in a more user-centred design.

    Usability testing should preferably be done with the actual users of the website or application; however there are many other ways of doing it. Testing with the actual users ensures more realistic feedback, which can then be knowledgeably applied to the design. A common mistake at this stage would be to listen to what the users say, instead of researching their reaction. Usability experts should bear in mind that users are not designers; however designers may possibly be users. Users have no insight on the best web design practices that should be applied for the specific type of application. Schedules and budgets can make it seem difficult or unnecessary to consider usability, however it should then be considered that effective implementation of usability saves time, effort and money and increases revenue and user efficiency.

    Robert London is an employee at Lilo, a Web Development and Design company based in London. Lilo also specialises in Web Development London, Website Design and Branding, -marketing, E-commerce, and Multimedia, Web Applications as well as SEO in London. Lilo has offices in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and elbourne Australia.

    Technorati Tags: , , , ,

    Comments Off
  • ROUND TRIPPING

     

     

    Introduction:

     

    Round Tripping refers to the capital belonging to a country, which leaves the country and is then reinvested into the country in the form of FDI.

    This route attracts a lot of incentives, which are:

    Firstly, enterprises set up through FDI enjoy

    tax benefits,

    administrative support,

    easier access to financial services.

    Secondly, citizens’ from countries with weak property laws prefer to remove profits from their country and invest abroad to enjoy property rights rather than reinvesting their profits.

    Thirdly, Round Tripping is often used as an avenue for laundering one’s illegitimate money.

     

    It is due to these reasons that tax havens like Mauritius, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus etc. are used. These places are of immense advantage as money routed through them is exempt from capital gains tax.

     

     

    Methodology:

     

    Analysis of case studies.

    Internet web pages and legal websites.

    Legal journals, reports and opinions.

     

     

    Limitations:

     

    Round Tripping in itself is a very unregulated and ambiguous phenomenon so the literature available is extremely rare and deficient; therefore this report has drawn inferences from the available material to draw out a viable overview of the entire scenario.

     

    Literature Reviewed/ Bibliography:

     

    The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992

    Articles published in The Hindu newspaper

    Articles published in The Economic Times newspaper

    The Law lexicon

     

    Theoretical Framework:

     

    The tussle between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Revenue Department

     

    Lately it has been observed that the RBI is leaning towards legitimizing certain types of Round Tripping.

    The RBI’s view on the subject is that money reinvested in India through a foreign subsidiary of an Indian company should be considered foreign direct investment and that in many parts of the world such as China these aspects have already been legitimized. It feels that doing so would boost the FDI count of the country and render it a more attractive destination for foreign investment.

     

    However, the Revenue Department looking from a microeconomic point of view feels that round tripping should not be allowed as Indian companies may use it to evade tax by routing their money through the tax havens.

    Although in such cases FDI might increase but the country would not benefit in terms of revenue.

     

    The RBI disagreeing with the revenue department’s assessment, cites the Chinese example arguing that where subsidiaries of foreign companies are levied a lower corporate tax, the incidence of round tripping is extremely high i.e. more than 25-30 per cent. However, in India where the corporate tax rates are the same for all companies the incidence of Round Tripping is only 2-3 per cent.

    It is pertinent to note that the RBI stand is with regard to legitimizing Round Tripping within the sphere of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) definition of FDI only and does not intend to accommodate Round Tripping as a means of escaping tax or laundering ill-legitimate gains. In pursuance of this, recently the RBI has set forth directives with regards to Participatory Notes and tighter Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

     

    Instances where permission has been refused

     

    1. Bharti Share Transfer case

     

    In 2001, the Government i.e. the FIPB on the advice of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) rejected two proposals from the Bharti Group for transferring shares held by UK-based Bharti Global Ltd in favour of Indian Continent Investment Ltd, Mauritius, due to the negative impact of Round Tripping of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the long run, particularly from the taxation angle.

    The DEA had itself acted upon the opinion of the Revenue Department and its views on tax implications of the transfer but interestingly the proposal had enjoyed the support of the Department of Telecommunications, which was the administrative authority in the case.

     

    2. Chambal Agritech Plan

     

    The Birla Group’s plan to transfer ownership of Chambal Agritech Ltd (CAL) from India to Singapore was refused permission by the DEA, which categorically stated that in the absence of capital account convertibility for Indian entities, the transfer would amount to Round Tripping.

     

    The Chinese Myth

     

    The China-FDI story has been in the limelight for some time now. The bucketful of billions that the world seems to be pouring down the country definitely makes good copy. No other country attracts as much foreign direct investment (FDI) as China does. Recently approximately USD 60 billion poured in which is about twelve times the amount that has flowed into India. Between the years 1979 (the first year of the China Economic system reform) and 2004, China has absorbed a total of about USD 560 billion in FDI whereas India, the next most popular destination for foreign investment in manufacturing received almost USD 200 billion less in FDI than China.

    However, it is important to note that the Chinese FDI statistics are bloated up from Round Tripping whereas India’s figures are understated.

     

    Before delving further we have to comprehend the IMF definition of FDI.

    The IMF definition of FDI includes as many as twelve different elements, namely:

    equity capital

    reinvested earnings of foreign companies

    inter-company debt transactions

    short-term and long-term loans

    financial leasing

    trade credits

    grants

    bonds

    non-cash acquisition of equity

    investment made by foreign venture capital investors

    earnings data of indirectly held FDI enterprises and control premium

    non-competition fee

     

    However, with the singular exception of equity capital reported on the basis of issue or transfer of equity/ preference shares to foreign direct investors, India’s current definition of FDI does not include any of the other above elements, whereas the Chinese definition includes them all. In addition to this China also classifies imported equipment as FDI while India captures these as imports in the trade data.

    A study undertaken by the International Finance Corporation (FE, 5/6/02) shows that if comparable definitions of FDI are used by India and China, then FDI would constitute around 1.7% of India’s GDP as compared to 2.0% for China.

    Besides this China’s FDI numbers include a substantial amount of Round-Tripping where large amounts of Chinese black money is recycled through Hong Kong and sent back to the mainland as FDI. Round-tripping in fact accounts for one-half of China’s FDI inflows, which has practically reduced the reported levels from USD 40 billion to USD 20 billion in the year 2000. In contrast, India’s figures of USD 2-3 billion do not conform to the standards of the IMF (as per the definition mentioned above) because it excludes reinvested earnings, subordinated debt and overseas commercial borrowings which are included in FDI numbers of other countries.

    According to the “Round-Tripping” hypothesis, Chinese firms illegally transfer funds to neighbouring countries (like Taipei, Hong Kong and Macau) which in turn gets reinvested in mainland China as FDI.

    However, since round-tripping is essentially clandestine, accurate data is practically impossible to obtain but estimates suggest that round-tripped FDI accounts for one-fourth of China’s total FDI count whereas on the hand it is an established fact India is relatively low on Round Tripping as compared to China.

     

    The Mauritius Story

     

    Pursuant to the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) signed between India and Mauritius in 1983, any capital gain made on the sale of shares of Indian companies by investors resident in Mauritius would be taxed only in Mauritius and not in India. For the first ten years the treaty existed only on paper as FIIs were not allowed to invest in Indian stock markets. However all that changed in 1992 when FIIs were allowed into India and with the passing of the Offshore Business Activities Act, 1992 by Mauritius, foreign companies were allowed to register in the island nation for investing abroad.

    There are two aspects which render Mauritius into a tax haven:

    Firstly, a body corporate registered under the laws of Mauritius is a resident of Mauritius and thus will be subject to taxation as a resident.

    Secondly, the Income Tax Act of Mauritius provides that offshore companies are liable to pay zero percent tax.

    Therefore by bringing an offshore company within the definition of “resident”, both the benefits of being an offshore company as well as that of residency allowed under DTAA are bestowed upon it. In effect, the whole exercise of avoidance of double taxation turned out to be avoidance of taxation altogether.

     

    The advantages of registering a company in Mauritius are:

    total exemption from capital gains tax,

    quick incorporation,

    total business secrecy, and

    a completely convertible currency.

    Therefore the financial entities setting up companies in Mauritius do so without almost any establishment costs.

     

    The economic importance of Mauritius to India can be clearly understood by the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India v. Azadi Bachao Andolan1, where the entire Mauritius treaty was questioned. The Supreme Court’s decision clearly reflected the underlying policy of the Government to attract FDI into the country at any cost despite the known fact that the treaty is depriving the Indian Exchequer of millions of dollars due to Round Tripping and tax evasion.

    The policy in itself has become a catch-22 situation for the Government as any stringent norms with regard to Mauritius might result in future FII investment being targeted away from India and working out for the benefit of South East Asian countries or FIIs looking at alternate options like Cyprus and Singapore to invest into India.

    One has to understand that in a growing economy much in need of FDI any scenario decreasing FDI inflow is unfeasible and therefore Round Tripping, a side effect has to be accommodated with.

     

    Recently as of September 15, 2007, Mauritius has started getting tough on Round Tripping. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius, the regulator supervising the non-banking financial services sector & global businesses, has carried out reforms in the Financial Services Act and improved the framework of the tax resident certificate.

    In pursuance of this it has been decided that all resident corporations proposing to conduct business outside Mauritius would have to compulsorily apply to the FSC for a global business license. Even though there are no restrictions on any business activity, the FSA now specifically mentions that a license will not be granted, or would be revoked, if found that the activity “is unlawful and causes serious prejudice to the good repute of Mauritius as a financial services centre.”

    The salient features of the reforms are:

    Global Business Companies (GBC) would now have to compulsorily hold board meetings in Mauritius,

    appoint at least two resident directors in Mauritius, (big deterrent as it would now make these directors liable for any unscrupulous activities)

    maintain there principal bank accounts in Mauritius, and

    carry out their auditing in Mauritius.

    All GBCs have to get a certificate from the auditors stating that all requisite conditions have been complied with.

    Moreover in the same month it was announced that the DTAA with Mauritius would be brought under the same umbrella as that with Singapore, which contains exclusive clauses to check Round Tripping of Investments.

     

    OCB Investment Ban

     

    In 2003 the RBI imposed a blanket ban on Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCBs) investment in the stock market sector. The move was primarily intended to restrict Round Tripping of money by Indian residents through their NRI counterparts overseas.

    Conversely this move also resulted in a substantial amount of genuine FDI being curtailed as the RBI circular in this regard seemed to take away the special status given to genuine NRI businessmen who were looking at doing business in India.

    It is to be noted that one of the main avenues for FDI in China is courtesy of Non-Resident Chinese individuals present in regions like Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei.

    In contrast, foreign companies can invest in the country even if they have their base in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands. So basically the Automatic route for FDI is open to foreign owned companies whereas there is a blanket prohibition in case of OCBs with NRI ownership.

     

    The PN predicament

     

    Lately Participatory Notes (PNs) have come under the scanner for their alleged role in Round Tripping. The RBI as well as SEBI has shown their concern about the inflow of money coming into the country through PNs.

    PNs are instruments issued by registered FII brokerages in India to foreign funds or investors who are not registered with SEBI, but are interested in trading in Indian securities. FII brokers buy and sell securities on behalf of their clients on their proprietary account and issue such notes in favour of such foreign investors. PNs are mostly used by entities that are not welcome by SEBI as well as by non-resident Indians who do not want to directly invest in Indian securities. SEBI’s worry is that the ultimate owner or beneficiary of PNs is not known as these PNs are transferable. On a similar track, RBI feels that the non-transparent nature of these instruments make them ideal money-laundering vehicles. The unstated fear of the regulators is that money belonging to Indian residents is being “round-tripped” through the PN route.

     

    However as of 2007, SEBI has banned PNs in the off-shore Derivative Segment (to be applicable within a period of 18 months). It has cited the reason as a security measure and as a means of curtailing Round Tripping.

     

     

    Conclusion/ Recommendations:

     

    The laws present today dealing with Round Tripping are adequate, however the emphasis has to be on enforcing them rather than curtailing the route itself. The trick lies in essentially enforcing laws that are there to prevent round-tripping and encouraging foreign money including NRI and OCB money. Merely because a company is owned by an NRI, one should not discriminate against it investing and the solution lies in either abolishing what remains of capital gains tax, or in taxing foreigners’ profits made in Indian markets. Both would inevitably reduce instances of Round Tripping by rendering it less viable.

    1 (2004) 10 SCC 1 : (2003)132 TAXMAN 373

     

    law student

    Technorati Tags: , ,

    Comments Off
  • Situated at No.10 Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Museum of Art is one of the important landmarks of Hong Kong. Established in 1962 at the City Hall by the urban council and moved to the present location in 1991, this museum features some of the rare pieces of Chinese cultural heritage. Presently this museum is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong Government.

    The mission of the Hong Kong Museum of Art is to preserve the cultural heritage of China and promote the art with a local focus. The collection at the museum now exceeds 15000 art objects such as Chinese paintings and calligraphy works, antique Chinese treasures and works of the local artists.

    Various exhibitions are organized from the Hong Kong Museum of Art to promote its art among the international audience. Exhibitions such as selected calligraphy works from the museum collection and Gems of the Chinese ceramics are permanent exhibitions which are open throughout the year. Special exhibitions are also organized by the museum in various seasons of the year in special themes to attract the local and foreign tourists.

    The Chinese antique collection in the museum is a diverse one. It includes some of the fines pieces of traditional art such as ceramics from Guangdong and South East Asia, works of the decorative arts such as bronze, jade, glassware and carved bamboo and ivory ornaments. Historical Pictures collection in the Museum of Art depicts the life, customs and landscapes of the China centuries ago. Calligraphy collection includes the works of the Wu School, Songjiang School, The Four Monks and other significant schools of Ming and Qing Dynasties.

    Hong Kong Museum of Art is also gifted with a branch museum namely The Museum of Tea Ware situated at the Cotton Tea Drive inside the Hong Kong Park. This branch museum is specialized in collection, study and display of tea ware and its collection includes fine examples of Yixing teapots other renowned traditional tea ware.

    The museum is also in the process of organizing various educational programs in line with the exhibitions to educate the visitors about the aesthetic significance of China and South East Asia and to enhance the interest of artistic creations of various cultures.

    Renowned as one of the premier hotels in Hong Kong, The Langham hotel, Hong Kong provides a fantastic service and fulfils each and every need of the guests who come to visit Hong Kong Museum of Art which in minutes away from this Kowloon Hotel.

    Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing company that offers PPC Management and SEO services and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry. (http://www.emarketingeye.com/ )

    Technorati Tags: , , , ,

    Comments Off
 

Some other cool travel sites to check out

Life in Africa   life in America   Life in Antarctica   Life in Asia   Life in Auckland   Life in USA   Life in Australia   Life in Bangkok   Life in Beijing   Life in Brazil
Life in California   Life in Canada   Life in Chicago   Life in China   Life in Dubai   Life in England   Life in Europe   Life in Florida   Life in Germany   Life in Hong Kong
Life in India   Life in Ireland   Life in Italy   Life in Japan  : Life in Korea   Life in LA   Life in Las Vegas life in London   Life in Mexico   Life in Moscow
Life in New York   Life in Paris   Life in Scotland   Life in Shanghai   Life in South America   Life in Spain   Life in Sydney   Life in Tokyo   Life in US   Life in Washington