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Pew Releases Clean Energy Investment Report
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World Cup Could Create Property Boom In Brazil
Hosting the football World Cup, much like any other international sporting event, offers a whole host of various opportunities that can be beneficial to both a country’s culture and economy. The chance to flaunt itself on the world stage both on and off the pitch is one that, from a business point of view, is arguably too good don’t miss out on. Indeed, business stands to greatly benefit from the World Cup’s arrival, whether it is involved directly through means such as ticket management, or indirectly by way of hotels to accommodate supporters embarking on their once-in-a-lifetime trip. The idea appears to be to make Brazil a desirable brand, which everyone visiting will want a piece of. It is this idea alone that has whetted the appetite of property investors, who have already seen the tournament, and the Olympic Games two years later, as a unique chance to multiply profits and establish a firm financial foundation on which to build on for years to come. One only has to look at previous tournaments to see why there are is such excitement in the property sector. Past successes There were a number of successes being celebrated in the wake of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The number of tourists visiting the country during the tournament reached around 300,000, all of whom pumped millions into the economy thanks to spending money on meals, entertainment and accommodation. And it seems that many of those who visited liked what they saw, with the country seeing a significant rise in interest towards its property sector. The Times Live reported that the tournament had led to many celebrities considering South Africa for property investment. Many real estate agents noted a rise in viewings from high-profile figures during the month of the World Cup. Members of the elite and wealthy, and even politicians expressed interest in high-end properties in areas such as the desirable suburbs of Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard, many coming from countries such as the UK, US, Italy and France all expressed an interest. Even Qatar, which is not due to host the tournament until the year 2022 has seen its property market heat up in recent times, since the building work in Doha first got underway. According to a BBC report, much of the construction work has been for office spaces, which will be setup in order to accommodate the inevitable huge swathe of interest from businesses around the world. Demand driven by tourism Residential markets are also making positive strides, in order to accommodate the sheer numbers of people set to descend on the country and gain a piece of the financial benefits that come with the presence of international businesses. Demand in the real estate sector has been further strengthened due to strong economic performance and high energy prices, combined with significant government investment. And even if the World Cup fails to set Brazil’s property market alight, the country will have a unique second chance just two years later when the Olympic Games arrive. It is rare that two global sporting events are staged in the same country within such a short space of time, and the Olympic example is arguably just as glowing in terms of having a potentially positive effect on the country’s real estate sector. One only has to look at the effects from the fallout of the 2012 Games in London last summer to see that the Olympics could soon be just as effective in contributing to a prospective property boom. Indeed the period between 2012 and 2017 is expected to bring a total of 1.1 million visitors, bringing with them around £900 million, all as a direct result of the Games. There is no reason why the same effect cannot be recreated in Brazil over the next few years, with investment outliving the arrival of some of the world’s most prominent athletes. Rio itself is a city that is widely expected to set an example to the rest as to exactly what can be achieved when investors take advantage of the potential property boom. The city is already the most visited in the whole of the southern hemisphere, attracting more than 2.8 million tourists each year. According to the consulting firm Knight Frank, the R$30 billion being spent on infrastructure is certain to increase this number further, heightening the chances of investment in local property, as well as pumping millions into the economy. Knight Frank has also revealed that property prices in Brazil surged by 15.2 per cent during the third quarter of last year. Tim Morgan, chairman of the Leeds-based investment firm Emerging Real Estate, told the Yorkshire Post: “Forbes is forecasting that the World Cup will bring in around £36 billion into the Brazilian economy by 2014. “By 2012 Brazil had invested almost £7 billion in infrastructure projects such as stadiums, airports, improved roads and public transport, improving the lives of ordinary Brazilians and also making the country even more attractive to prospective investors.” Housing boom As well as attempting to attract investors and buyers from abroad, Brazil is also keen to address what many perceive to be a housing shortage for its own citizens, and the World Cup and Olympics have given developers the perfect reason to do so. One scheme to have emerged recently is the Minha Casa Minha Vida programme, which aims to build around three million homes over the course of five years. Mr Morgan added: “The initiative was designed to build and provide affordable housing for people on low to moderate incomes and harness investor funds to build the properties.” The potential boom is by no means limited to cities such as Rio either. Indeed there are some analysts who believe that the property markets in other areas of the country are set to be handed a chance to take advantage of the huge amount of tourism that will be witnessed during one of the most popular sporting showpieces on earth. A massive boost to tourism in the north east of Brazil is also set to ensure that international in interest in property is heightened to a level that has probably never been seen before. Like Rio, cities like Natal are already popular with many tourists, but organisers and developers are still keen to ensure that the city lives up to its full potential in terms of attracting investment. Some believe that one of the most popular areas will be the small beach town of Sao Miguel do Gostoso, which is widely regarded as the country’s capital for windsurfing and other water sports. Samantha Gore, sales manager of local real estate firm uv10, told Property Wire: “Sao Miguel do Gostoso has the perfect formula for water sports with year round wind and warm water temperatures, whilst being safe and quiet for families. The town is thriving with bags of character and boasts pretty bougainvillea draped multicoloured houses, a white sand beach dotted with fishing boats and coconut palms plus facilities such as a medical centre, day Spa, boutique hotels  and fresh seafood restaurants. “The property market shows a strong, healthy rate of growth with local and international demand. Little wonder Sao Miguel do Gostoso is regarded as one of the world’s best places to live.” It seems that the influence of the world’s greatest sporting spectacles are capable of reaching almost every corner of the country. Continue reading
Germany And France Back European Tax Deal
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bea8b704-a120-11e2-990c-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2QpLM98JN By Madison Marriage Germany and France have thrown their weight behind the adoption of a framework that would facilitate the automatic exchange of tax information across Europe. The two countries are expected to publish a common position on a proposal to adopt an EU version of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act as they attempt to fight tax evasion following high-profile scandals. This comes as Sven Giegold, the outspoken German MEP, plans to lobby the European Commission to adopt a directive that would bring a Fatca-style agreement into European law. Fatca, which will be implemented in 2014, will require asset managers and other European financial groups to pass details of US clients to tax authorities, resulting in higher reporting costs. German and French finance ministers have said they are ready to put in place similar measures. Pierre Moscovici, the French finance minister, and his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble issued statements on April 7 calling for greater tax information sharing across Europe in a move that would closely imitate Fatca. It followed an admission on April 2 by Jérôme Cahuzac, French budget minister, to lying repeatedly when he denied holding a secret Swiss bank account. Mr Cahuzac said he held €600,000 offshore, although reports in the Swiss press suggest the sum was as high as €15m. Mr Moscovici said in an interview with a French radio station that he proposed developing a “European Fatca” with automatic exchange of information. “In the next few days [France and Germany] will adopt a common stance to ensure we make real progress with this endeavour,” he said. Mr Schäuble also told the newspaper Saarbrücker Zeitung that Germany welcomes “every step towards” the automatic transfer of information. He added that the German government is collaborating with other countries on this. At the same time, Mr Giegold’s Green party will also propose a Fatca-style tax package to the Commission. The measures, including the automatic exchange of information between European member states, will be designed to curtail tax evasion by wealthy Europeans. The package will require non-EU financial institutions to provide European tax authorities with information on EU taxpayers’ earnings, which would “exert pressure on tax havens”, the Green party said in a statement. Mr Giegold, who won notoriety through his controversial bonus-cap proposal under Ucits V, says: “To ensure that our financial system respects national tax laws, we need a European Fatca now.” He believes Germany and France should take the initiative and lead a coalition of countries that are willing to take action. Florian van Megen, a tax policy researcher at the European Parliament and parliamentary assistant to Mr Giegold, says the Commission is already “seriously” considering adopting such an agreement. “The [Commission] has seen the US do it without waiting for anyone else – why not catch the same train?” he says. “If Fatca seems to work and compliance seems to be possible, it makes sense to have a similar international framework.” The proposed European tax package would go further than Fatca. Under Fatca, details of all US clients with assets over $50,000 must be passed to the US Internal Revenue Service. European groups in Fatca-partnering jurisdictions can meet their Fatca obligations with their local tax authorities. Several Fatca agreements have already been reached by European member states and the US, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Luxembourg is yet to broker a Fatca agreement with the US but it is said to be close to completing one. Luc Frieden, Luxembourg’s finance minister, recently said his country was ready to extend its collaboration with tax authorities abroad and would no longer reject the idea of an automatic exchange of information between countries. Keith Lawson, senior counsel in tax law at ICI Global, the international fund association, says it is unlikely a European Fatca-style agreement would increase costs for fund groups in Europe. He says: “If firms are already implementing procedures to identify the tax residency of investors under Fatca, it will be easy enough to [comply with a European equivalent]. “There would be no additional burden other than coding the account as UK, Spanish or German, as opposed to a US investor. “There may be some additional costs but these would not be overwhelming.” Last year the head of BNP Paribas’ investment solutions division said the cost of compliance with Fatca would reach €100m. This article first appeared in Ignites Europe, an FT publication Continue reading
