Ultimate Beneficial Ownership: Special Report
Mercator Focus: Q2 2024 Foreword
Welcome to the latest edition of the Mercator Focus newsletter – and what a truly international edition it is with news and updates from Singapore, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Switzerland!
Those who follow us on social media would have also seen that the Mercator by Citco (Mercator) team have been busy attending some of the latest and greatest industry events around the world. Highlights include the annual CLOC Global Institute in Las Vegas, LACCA Live’s Regional São Paulo Meeting and the Chartered Governance Institute’s Governance Ireland 2024.
Robert-Jan Kokshoorn, Head of Business Development, and myself also visited some of our key operational locations – including, Manila and Singapore – meeting with our local teams on the ground to discuss how we can improve and strengthen our services for clients. One area that was brought to our immediate attention was the challenges foreign professionals in Singapore face when taking up secondary directorships. We dedicate an article in this newsletter to give an overview on the process.
We also commenced our annual client Steering Committee Meetings, with Jurate Kiseliene, Head of Client Services, visiting clients in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Such time spent in-person is invaluable and we greatly look forward to these meetings. Not only do they provide an opportunity for us to catch up and discuss general developments but they drive continued collaboration and partnership with our clients.
In other news, we have recently launched the much-anticipated Mercator Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) report – charting the cost and time it takes to complete UBO-related tasks around the world. There are now 106 jurisdictions around the world with some kind of UBO reporting requirements, and it is increasingly important for in-house teams to remain up to date and compliant. You can read a summary of the key findings from the report in this newsletter.
In this newsletter we also feature an article summarising the key considerations for in-house teams managing entities in the UAE. Whilst the UAE continues to be a major strategic hub for many international businesses, its decentralized governance model and complex regulatory environment can be unfamiliar and challenging to navigate. It is, therefore, perhaps unsurprising that the jurisdiction also ranks as one of the most costly and complex jurisdictions for UBO maintenance and management.
Finally, we include an article looking at the new Swiss Code of Provision and the changes to company laws coming into force in Switzerland in January 2025.
Looking ahead, we’ll soon be kicking off our Entica® Masterclass Webinar Series – giving you chance to participate and ask questions of our Entica user experts. We’ll be running these on a regular basis, with different sessions dedicated to key modules and functionalities, including Entica’s latest addition – our interactive and fully customizable Ownership Charts. Keep an eye out for an invitation in your inboxes.
Our team will also be on the ground at the Society for Corporate Governance National Conference in Maryland next month – where we hope to see many familiar faces, and welcome meeting new ones. If you’re also attending, please do reach out to Robert-Jan in advance.
Kariem Abdellatif
Head of Mercator by Citco, Citco C&T Holdings (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l
