The article below was originally published in Q Bytes, our free newsletter. If you are not yet on the distribution list, please click here to sign up.

One of the questions we often receive from readers is “What country does not have a tax information exchange treaty (TIEA) with Country X?”

In other words, many people have been rather freaked out by recent developments such as Swiss and Panamanian banking information exchange agreements with the US and the UK. They are naturally looking for the best offshore banks in jurisdictions that have still not signed any information exchange treaties with major countries.

My standard response is that, while there are some of these countries (Andorra, for example, has not signed up to any information exchange with the US or the UK and doesn’t show any sign of doing so in the short term), jumping from bank to bank, jurisdiction to jurisdiction as rules change is becoming an ever more hopeless task. Yes, you can move once or twice – but the trend is definitely away from secrecy. Each time you change bank, you also put your privacy at risk. It’s much better to adapt your strategy and live within the system, while choosing a private, offshore bank that has its wits about it and values its international clientele.

The news is not all bad. There are still lots of ways to keep your affairs under the radar within the system. Most people I talk to these days, while they are committed to the idea of privacy as a fundamental principle, are much more concerned about asset protection and diversifying their investments. These are the themes we cover in The Q Wealth Report members’ area. Why go offshore? Tax evasion, as I’ve often stated, is not a good reason to go offshore today.

There’s one country I know of, however, that is really off the radar when it comes to offshore banking. You can open multi currency bank accounts here, and get full internet banking – including of course the chance to send multi-currency international bank wires online. US citizens are very welcome. And everything can be set up by mail, with no need to travel there.

This country, I should warn you, is in Africa. Some people lose interest right there, but I think that is a mistake. This is actually an important gold producing nation, so not surprisingly, it’s doing well at the moment. If you think gold will keep going up in dollar terms (I do) then this country will continue to prosper. The bank I recommend there, to consulting clients, is actually based in Europe and owns a gold refinery.

The country I’m talking about is Tanzania. Here are some of the reasons I like it as a private banking haven:

• The Chinese and Indians certainly have no hesitations about Africa and have been pouring billions in here. It’s a matter of following the smart money.

• Since 2000, production of gold on an industrial scale has increased, especially from the Geita (AngloGold/Ashanti) and Bulyanhulu (Barrick) mines. The future of Tanzania looks bright.

• The Tanzanian government recently abolished a number of taxes, including Capital Gains Tax. And passed a new mining act. There is absolutely no tax on foreign bank accounts held by non-resident individuals or companies.

• Double taxation treaties have been signed with Canada, Denmark, Finland, India, Italy, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, and Zambia. Tanzania is also in the process of negotiating treaties with other countries including Belgium, Burundi, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritius, Pakistan, Rwanda.

• The Tanzanian Central Bank was heavily criticized for excessively restrictive precautionary banking regulations during the last decade. The result is that the Tanzanian banking sector is strong and healthy today.

A typical structure I might recommend to consulting clients, depending on their circumstances of course, would be a Nevis LLC with a bank account in Tanzania. As I said, that can easily be set up within a few weeks, with no need to leave home. The bank account can also be used as a platform for buying and selling stocks and investments internationally, though it should not be compared to an international online brokerage account.

More information on this and many other private banking and offshore wealth protection matters can be found in the Members Area here at Q Wealth Report. If you haven’t yet signed up, click here to see a list of the membership benefits.

Editor’s note: the following is an extract from this weekend’s Q Bytes newsletter. If you would like a free, no-obligation, no-spam subscription to Q Bytes, please click here.

This morning I got up bright and early to write Q Bytes, only to be hit by computer problems and spend the next two hours trying in vain to fix a video driver issue. Of course I have my secure laptop – mainly used for e-mail – as backup, but when writing I like to use my big monitor, the one on which I cannot now fix the resolution.

This problem reinforced the extent to which we rely on technology in our day-to-day lives. The vulnerability. The world we live in is all interconnected, at many levels… We all know that technology is not foolproof. And even more ominously, we all know that technology includes an on-off switch that somebody controls.

For example: What if the networks used for ATM machines and credit/debit card payments went down, even for a day or two? Can you imagine the panic? I think the chances of this actually happening sometime in the not too distant future are pretty high, all things considered. It may be due to technical problems, or a cyber attack… or it may simply be a conscious decision by those with access to the on-off button.

I remember a few years ago when Northern Rock Bank collapsed in the UK, millions of pounds were transferred out via internet banking during the night by desperate account holders until the system ‘mysteriously collapsed.’ This was one bank, very small in the global scheme of things. I wonder how that would pan out on a bigger scale… like a run on the dollar, if China decided to stop supporting Bernanke’s printing press?

Financial markets are particularly at risk. After the events of September 11, 2001, financial markets were shut down for several days. If a catastrophe of similar proportions, natural or man made, were to hit the USA, it’s a safe bet that the same thing would happen again – a so-called ‘bank holiday.’  Even a purely electronic catastrophe could hit the financial markets. Brokerage accounts would of course be blocked. Where would that leave all those people who have bought gold through the stock markets as a ‘safe haven’?

And for those who worry about how to avoid gold confiscation, similar to what happened in the 1930s… if you were the government, would it be easier to go round door-to-door hunting down physical gold for confiscation… or would you just switch off the stock exchange and seize something like the SPDR GLD ETF? There’s $58 billion dollars right there in just one company…

A seizure of financial assets would be politically unpopular. An “emergency equities sales tax,” however, presented as a windfall tax on evil speculators who have brought the country to its knees, might be more palatable for the masses. Forcing people to put their retirement funds into government bonds or state pension plans (empty promises) for ‘security reasons’ would be seen as protection for the masses. We’ve already seen this exact technique used in France, Hungary and Argentina.

Going back to the technology, our systems are so delicate these days because they rely on the internet. Even a decade ago this was not the case. Now, everything from your TV and home heating system, to the checkout at your local store could stop functioning if there was no internet. I consider all this interconnection a huge risk. The world is getting more fragile all the time. We are living in strange times where anything could happen.

You might think I am very pessimistic. But that’s not the case. I just like to analyze risks, do my best to minimize them, then carry on with enjoying the good things in life. That is where we at Q Wealth differ from conspiracy theorists, survivalists or ‘preppers.’

Preppers might want to build a backup internet system using ham radio data transmissions. They might fill up their basements with canned and dried foods. That’s a perfectly valid option, but I would be more inclined to make sure if there was a major catastrophe, I could be sure of getting quickly to a second home in another country with a well-stocked wine cellar, from where I could safely manage my investments in farmland and physical precious metals that don’t depend on stock markets or internet.

Knowing that I have my family taken care of, enough assets protected in the best offshore banks, the right residencies and second citizenships in place, rather than leaving any of this to chance or conventional wisdom, allows me to sleep soundly at night.

Beyond that, and more excitingly, we are investors and speculators at heart – we know how to manage risk. That is what we do best. And all this uncertainty going on in the world is actually a  fantastic opportunity – probably a once-in-lifetime chance to generate real, long term wealth. As long as you understand the risks, you can not only prepare for them, but turn things around to your financial benefit.

This is our philosophy at Q Wealth. Security – with an investing and financial focus. If you’d like to hear more, the first thing to do is become a full member. The second thing you should do, once you are a member, is interact with our office. We have some great people who have access to little-known practical solutions to protect and grow your wealth in a secure offshore environment. A lot of it’s written up, but even more is in our heads, and everyone at Q Wealth can point you in the right directions.

HONG KONG EVENT EARLY BIRD SIGN-UP

This leads me right in to our next point, the Q Wealth Symposium, taking place in Hong Kong this October. We had a couple of very successful conference calls on this topic this past week, and many astute readers have already signed up, taking advantage of our early bird bonus.

However, if you missed the calls for any reason, don’t worry, you still have a chance…

You should plan to be in Hong Kong for three days: October 21 and 22 will be ‘classroom’ style presentations and discussions, whereas on the 23rd the presenters and others will be available for informal meetings. For example, we will have bank representatives from our best offshore banks on the spot, so if you bring the right documents with you you’ll be able to get your offshore bank account number then and there. This will be your opportunity to open a multi currency account or a non-dollar-denominated private bank account. You will be able to meet international private bankers at the event.

We’ll be covering topics like banking and secure investing, gold and silver purchase and storage (including gold storage in the Singapore free zone), and second residencies and passports, in a lot of detail. You’ll have a chance to meet the presenters as well as other like-minded individuals to exchange ideas. You can expect to leave this event having joined the dots… in other words, with a detailed road-map of where you want to get to and the specific practical steps you need to take to get there.

If you’re looking for information on how to protect assets in your retirement nest-egg, pass on value using trusts and foundations to the next generation, start a new international business, or take advantage of offshore investment opportunities in the new economy, this event is for you.

There’s a good reason why we have chosen to hold this event in Hong Kong, the obvious platform for investing in China. You’ll learn about how to buy or invest in Chinese currency, yuan renminbi, for example. But it’s not a Hong Kong centric event. We’ll also be talking about practical banking, investing and residence opportunities in places like Switzerland and Singapore, Panama and Latin America.

Until the end of May we are offering a substantial early bird discount, and I would encourage you to sign up now as places are limited. If you have any specific questions, please email Fredrick on events@qwealthreport.com – or to sign up go to our Events Page.

Peter Macfarlane, offshore asset protection consultant and joint editor of The Q Wealth Report, has recently been visiting bankers in Singapore. Want to know how to open an offshore private bank account in Singapore? Or how to set up a brokerage account in Singapore with online trading, even if you are a US citizen? Here is a brief trip report. More information will be available in forthcoming issues of The Q Wealth Report, and at our Q Wealth Symposium in Hong Kong this October.

Singapore’s investor-friendly climate has consistently earned high scores in global and regional rankings. And it’s getting better.

I was not disappointed on my latest trip this April, as our local partner gave me a detailed explanation of the latest tax incentives over a cup of Chai tea, from his home office with a fantastic panorama of the city. The tax system in Singapore has been designed not so much to collect revenue as to encourage responsible investment. Investment in things like training and IT. Tax deductions of up to 400% are possible on such expenditures, meaning that a company can easily earn millions and legally pay no tax… but it equally means that a company that’s incapable of earning profits doesn’t get any handouts. Our local partner, for example, is just buying iPads for all his staff to claim the deductions.

After a successful trip, including a visit to the Shorex conference at which I had the chance to meet and network with a number of offshore professionals from around the world, I boarded my flight to Frankfurt. On boarding, I was handed a copy of that day’s FT Asia, with the headline: “America Lacks Credibility on Debt, Says IMF.”

We see news like this every day now. And that’s even somebody like me, who doesn’t watch much TV. Another example: US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says borrowing more from China to finance tax cuts for the most affluent Americans would be irresponsible. But even mainstream Bloomberg says Geithner has got it the wrong way around: “The real question is whether Beijing is willing to double down on a nation whose balance sheet makes Italy look good. Holding $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt is a fast-growing risk to China.” This Bloomberg article was widely reported in media across Asia, though it seems less so in the US!

Richard and I have been writing for years about the rise of the east, but now the east truly has risen. Singapore is the financial hub at the heart of this. It’s a well managed place where people are happy and business can flourish. Of course, you need to be a certain type of person to live in a place, and Singapore would probably not be my first choice for a residence flag… but as a business base it’s just great and getting better!

I guess most people reading this blog already know why they want to get their money out of places like the USA and the west, and they are looking for practical information on how to achieve this. In other words, how to go about opening a foreign bank account, or a bank account in non-US currency… Here at Q Wealth we specialize in practical ‘how-to’ information, of the kind you can only obtain through on-the-ground reporting of this type.If this is your first visit here, feel free to browse our site for information on lots of different jurisdictions.

The good news is that if you just want to get part of your assets into Singapore and Asia, you don’t have to understand the complexities of the Singapore tax system, or worry about making deductions or the annual filing requirements. Here’s a hot tip: The easiest thing to do is just take a pure tax-free offshore company and open a bank account with it in Singapore. This is very easy to do. Singapore does not tax non-residents bank accounts. As long as you have no local Singapore income, you are tax free and can gain the full benefits of participation in the Singapore banking system, including excellent multi-currency banking facilities and access to precious metals like gold and silver.

A Nevis LLC, for example, is ideal for this purpose. I talked to banks in Singapore about this structure and the answer was universally “no problem, sir!” You might say as a company formation agent I am biased, but I personally do all my business and banking through corporations. I never hold any serious assets in my personal name. Some people have particular reasons for opening a personal offshore bank account, but I just wouldn’t feel comfortable thinking of my name being passed from bank to bank around the world every time I send or receive money. Much better to do it in a corporate name.

The great thing about LLCs is that they keep things simple – tax transparency* means that an LLC need not have any impact on your tax situation. By using an LLC you won’t be paying more or less tax, but for the few thousand dollars it will cost you, you will receive a substantial degree of privacy and asset protection. (Of course I am only talking generally here… different countries have different tax systems, so check with your advisors) If you are interested in learning more about Nevis LLCs, check out my free report Untouchable Wealth that covers them in detail.

For Americans, there is a special additional benefit to using an offshore LLC for banking in Singapore: and that is access to ‘forbidden’ investment markets. Very few international brokerages these days will accept US clients. The ones we work with in Switzerland, for example, won’t accept US citizens or residents, even if they are operating through offshore companies. We have one brokerage in Panama that accepts American beneficial owners, but they are – frankly – expensive, and they can no longer guarantee client confidentiality since Panama signed its tax information exchange agreement with the USA. Good news: in Singapore, it is possible for US citizens to control brokerage accounts. You cannot open a brokerage account in Singapore directly in your name as a US citizen, but an offshore LLC solves this problem rapidly and simply. We won’t name specific banks here because we don’t want to draw undue attention to the banks and brokerages that offer this, but if you are a Q Wealth member please feel free to contact the office for referrals to our recommended service providers who can help you out, or contact the office of Peter Macfarlane and Associates. Remember, provided you are a Q Wealth member we do not charge a penny for referrals.

So what about the practicalities of opening a bank or online brokerage account in Singapore? I wrote more than a year ago an article on How to Open an Offshore Bank Account in Singapore. Since then, things have moved on a bit, but read it for background info if you haven’t already. The constant is that you do still have to visit Singapore to get your account set up. Thereafter, of course, you can control it via highly sophisticated internet banking. I did hear that some banks are making moves towards opening accounts via video-conferencing, as the small Swiss private bank we work with now does, but this has not been fully implemented yet. HSBC seem the most advanced on this, perhaps unsurprisingly: they already have plenty of branches around the world equipped with video-confercing facilities.

The best offshore banks in Singapore for westerners are probably the ones with more of an Asian focus. In particular we like DBS Bank, formerly the development Bank of Singapore, set up in 1968 by the Singapore government but now present all over Asia. There are Chinese banks like OCBC if you are bullish on China. If you are more European in your investment outlook, you could choose the Singapore office of one of the Swiss banks. And then there are always the global banks with an international outlook such as HSBC and Standard Chartered. South Africa’s Standard Bank would also fit into this category.

I’ll be publishing more information on Singapore banking, including direct contacts, in the newsletter over the next few months. Remember you can either sign up for our free weekly Q Bytes newsletter, or go straight for the premium paid subscription that costs only $87: check out the list of benefits and order form here.

* What is a tax transparent entity? It’s an entity which is not taxed either in representative capacity or in its own capacity as a tax paying entity, but the tax is levied on the participants in the entity based on their share of income in the entity.

It’s almost a year since I wrote the original article How to Open an Offshore Bank Account in Singapore, and it has consistently been the most popular article on the blog archives almost since day one. I have been thinking for a while, therefore, that it was time to revisit the subject of Singapore offshore bank accounts. Then finally I was stirred into action by my friend Simon Black, who is in Singapore at the moment. Simon wrote an article this week on Why Singapore is the ‘Easiest Place to be an Entrepreneur.’

Do you want to open a bank account in Singapore? How can you do so as a non-resident? Do you need to go there or can you open your multi-currency account by mail? These are some of the questions I’ll be answering in this article.

The city-state of Singapore has developed in recent years into one of the best private banking jurisdictions. But besides targeting their traditional but fast growing market of wealthy Asian business people, the best offshore banks in Singapore today are also developing products and services tailored specifically for North Americans, Europeans and Aussies. Despite the big time zone differences, Singapore’s business culture and use of the English language makes this easier.

While in most of the world opening a bank account seems to be getting harder and harder, in Singapore it is actually getting easier!

Ask anyone in Singapore what the easiest way is to open a bank account as a non-resident, and they will almost certainly point you in the direction of one of the foreign banks. Citibank, for example, is a major player in Singapore and you can contact them via their site. They will return calls to wherever you are in the world.

I’ve always liked Citibank. Citibank is culturally very different from most American banks, having a much more international outlook. Back in 1897 they were the first US bank to establish international banking operations. Whereas most US banks don’t even allow you to send an international wire transfer online, today nearly half of Citibank’s branches and offices are outside the USA. Wherever they go they settle into local banking culture and generally offer excellent internet banking, credit cards, 24 hour call centers and the like. They are completely comfortable doing business in multiple currencies – something essential in Singapore’s business and banking environment.

Citibank, like other international banks that are big in Singapore – HSBC, ANZ or the British emerging markets bank Standard Chartered for example -  would be ideal for those who cannot travel to open an account. The process would be first to contact the Singapore offices, then ask about procedures for certifying documents in an overseas branch or affiliate that is located near to wherever you are. Big international banks can generally arrange this – even more so if your investment is substantial enough to qualify for a premium service like Citigold ($1 million minimum in Singapore) or HSBC Premier.

However, if you are looking at banking offshore for privacy reasons, you’ll probably want to avoid American banks. Citibank will, for example, require a social security number from US citizens or a National Insurance number from British citizens, and will likely make you sign a waiver of Singapore banking secrecy law, allowing them to make reports to your home country authorities, as a condition of opening the bank account.

Whilst I hope none of you would be unsophisticated enough, given all the how-to info on this site, to rely on banking secrecy to hide or fail to report a personal account… I still think it’s undesirable that you should have to waive legal rights that are there for your protection, if it’s not absolutely necessary.

One international player that might be less subject to pressure from foreign governments in Standard Bank, a South African bank that has established a significant presence in emerging markets from China to South America. Standard Bank should not be confused with Standard Chartered Bank by the way – they are different institutions.

Ultimately, however, the best confidentiality is to be found with local or Asian market banks. OCBC Bank for example (Overseas China Banking Corp) would be a good place to start. They also have an excellent online trading portal, iOCBC. Last time I asked, they did still accept offshore brokerage accounts for US citizens, though given the provisions of the HIRE Act, who knows how long this will last.

During the coming year I’ll be focusing more on Singapore banking. I’m looking forward first to Simon Black’s Sovereign Man workshop in Panama in February, which is a chance for those from the American continent to meet Singapore bankers in person without flying right around the world. Then, I’ll likely be attending the Shorex Singapore event for offshore professionals in April. If you are going to be in the area, let’s meet up.

If you are not yet a subscriber to our free weekly Q Bytes newsletter, be sure to sign up here right now, and I’ll inform you via the newsletter as soon as our updated Singapore report is available. In the meantime, paid up Q Wealth members are welcome to contact our offices for referrals to more discreet private offshore banks that wouldn’t want their names publicized here. We also now have a great provider for opening accounts in Hong Kong and we can make referrals on request.

The following article by Peter Macfarlane appeared in this week’s Q Bytes, our free newsletter dedicated to international asset protection, offshore wealth creation, investing and private banking. We are republishing it here on the Q WEalth blog as we feel it is of general interest. If you would like to receive future editions of Q Bytes free of charge, be sure to sign up here.

Hardly a week seems to go by at the moment without Gold being a hot topic here at Q Wealth. But this last week has been an especially rough ride, with gold ‘pulling back’ quite substantially. Is this cause to start crying, or is it an opportunity to stock up on gold?

I thought this week I would briefly discuss some divergent opinions and strategies on gold, and propose a couple of solutions that I believe will put readers into profit.

A reader from California recently wrote me:

“Thank you, Mr. Macfarlane, for accepting my divergent opinion in good spirits….” he begins. Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion and as I always say, I may be wrong! I may be way off track. Maybe Bernanke and Obama will save the world shortly and we’ll all live happily ever after. I doubt it, but anyway I am one of the biggest believers in the world in free speech and liberty of expression.

May I add an additional comment related to gold ownership in ones portfolio?” continues our reader. “When the market price increases from one day to the next, the purveyors of gold advise purchasing the metal for its price is only heading higher. When the price declines from one day to the next, the decline is characterized as a ‘buying opportunity’. One thing is consistent among the purveyors of gold though, they never – repeat, never – issue a “_sell_” recommendation? It’s always buy, buy, buy.

And, least I forget, if one truly believes that the market price of gold is headed higher, why not purchase a gold futures on contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange? – which can be rolled over for a distant contract indefinitely. The CME affords the trader enormous leverage on such futures contracts, and there’s no applicable interest charge for the market price that exceed the initial “earnest money” deposit. And the traders’ earnest funds can be in the form of Treasury bills, which are segregated from the funds of the futures merchants account.

Well, I guess we are coming at this equation from polar opposite perspectives. This reader is clearly valuing his gold holdings in US dollars. I do the opposite – my base currency is gold, and dollars are a forex speculation for me, just like euros or yuan or Paraguayan guarani.

My reasoning behind this is that gold is the stronger currency, that has been around infinitely longer than the dollar. The dollar is ‘fiat’ money (see for example these earlier articles) that is created, figuratively speaking, by a printing press currently controlled by Bernanke and partners. The dollar can come and go, but gold won’t. The purchasing power of an ounce of gold has been pretty much constant for generations – whereas the same can certainly not be said for the dollar.

What is the dollar backed by?

One of the better arguments for the backing of the dollar that I’ve heard recently, is that it is backed by the work and entrepreneurialism of the American people. There’s some truth in that. Basically if they keep working hard and handing over the fruits of their labour to the government, there is something of value backing the dollar.

I’m just not sure that those hard-working American people really agreed to have their futures – and that of their sons and daughters and grandchildren – mortgaged in this way by a small subset of politicians and banksters. Maybe it was like the sub-prime mortgage borrowers who didn’t really understand what they were getting into. Cheap and plentiful short term money trumped long term prudence. And we all know how that ended up. Now we are just seeing a much expanded version of it.

I’m far from convinced that investing in the dollar is good business. If it were a case of supporting a stock of a company where the management were borrowing to the hilt for short term fun, while treating stakeholders reprehensibly and not giving a damn about the future, there would also be an ethical argument against getting involved. And I don’t see why governments should be treated any differently than companies. Abuse of the American people is not something I want to get involved in, any more than I would support abuse of cheap labour in Asian shoe factories.

Now I know this may be hard to swallow for people who have valued everything in one reference currency – be it dollars, or pounds or something else – for their entire lives. It is quite a leap of thinking. But it’s totally possible. You need to become a Sovereign Individual, not reliant on any particular country or currency. You need to think in different currencies and look at all currencies, including the one in common circulation in your home country, from the perspective of an outsider. If you were from another country, would you be investing in that currency right now?

Of course, I am not talking about day-to-day expenses. You certainly need some local currency on hand to buy the groceries. Multi-currency credit cards per se don’t exist, but you can easily, for example, obtain a regular credit card billed against a multi-currency bank account. You can sign charges in any currency you like, converting only what you need at that moment. You’ll find information on this, including how to open a foreign multi currency bank account in some of the world’s safest and best offshore banks, in the Practical Offshore Banking Guide 2010

The Dollar Bear Market Continutes

With that in perspective (that I value currencies against gold, not the other way around) let’s get back to the reader’s question. I don’t see so much of a gold bull market right now, as a dollar and euro bear market. My personal view (and there’s no substitute for taking professional advice here) is that this situation will continue as is for the foreseeable future.

Wild swings are caused by day to day speculations, but don’t affect the overall trend. So to turn it around, I believe the price of gold valued in fiat money will continue to rise, and will do so significantly. The more Quantitative Easing that takes place, the less the dollar will be worth. This is what I have written about in the past: stealth devaluation. If there’s more of something, it’s worth less. This logic is hard to argue with.

After all I’ve said above, you can probably figure that US Treasury Bills are the last thing in the world I would want to sink my money into. For me, that would be like buying bonds in a company that I know is about to go bankrupt. Unfortunately, as Ron Holland has explained in the report Are You Ready for the Coming Obama Retiement Trap (available in the Q Wealth Members’ Area) that is exactly what US retirement funds are being encouraged, even forced, to do. This is a seriously scary prospect.

As for buying contracts on the CME, well why not… I’m all in favour of speculation. There are lots of ways you can obtain leverage through brokerage accounts within the system. I keep a large portion of my personal wealth in physical gold, safely outside the financial system. I also keep a ‘play money’ account that I leverage to the hilt and buy financial contracts like this with. It’s doing rather well at the moment. But it’s money I know I might have to lose, for example if a sudden catastrophe hits and the financial markets are closed down. I would put the odds of something like that happening in the foreseeable future at perhaps 15% – 25%. Not a huge risk, but definitely not one I would bet my entire net worth on.

The fact that you can roll over CME contracts indefinitely is part of the problem, of course. It’s extremely likely that the counterparties would be completely unable to fulfill their obligations if everybody wanted to exercise their right to physical gold at once. The whole system relies on punters rolling over.

So, why I don’t like the idea of buying gold futures using T-bonds as earnest money? Because you are using one form of promise to buy another form of promise, when nobody – not even the people involved, I am sure, if you could talk to them and get a straight answer – would really earnestly claim that the promises are backed by anything of value. That is just unsustainable in my view. You might make short term paper profits, yes. Fine… I have nothing against speculation, just as I have nothing against casino gambling – but when I go to casinos I just enjoy the ambience, I don’t gamble.

If you want to use leverage to speculate on the price of gold, here’s what I would do. Get yourself a regular brokerage account that allows you to trade on margin. Get yourself a subscription to Casey’s International Speculator – they even have a 25% discount offer running at the moment. Casey’s International Speculator is one of the longest-running, most respected newsletter services of its kind anywhere, so it’s got a track record. It was founded by Doug Casey, self made international man.I have a subscription and consult it frequently. Then go speculate. That way you’re investing in companies that actually have intrinsic value, rather than pure promises.

At the end of the day, it’s big picture against small picture, short term against long term. We live in interesting times. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Peter Macfarlane is just back from a Caribbean trip taking in St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica, the only two countries in the world that still offer Economic Citizenship programs. Things have changed a lot down there in the last few years. Here’s what he found out…

More and more people are looking for second passports. And most of those people these days are US citizens looking to renounce their citizenship. There are only two economic citizenship programs left in the world today, both in small Caribbean nations. I wanted to see what was really going on with these programs and to get some on-the-ground intel that you can’t always gather from the internet. So, I booked a flight into Antigua and got some connections on LIAT, the Caribbean airline.

Although (unlike many others) this publication was launched in England, has a worldwide readership and was never originally aimed at Americans, it’s easy to see that the USA accounts for most of our new subscriptions these days. I believe these are people who value our international outlook.

An increasing number of Americans, it is clear, have simply had enough of taxation, attacks on their civil liberties, Obamacare and most recently the dastardly HIRE Act – perhaps the biggest attack ever on those who have worked hard to build up assets and savings. And who can blame them?

I had imagined that the HIRE Act would have some deterrent effect, making Americans more scared to go offshore. In fact, I am seeing people scrambling to set up offshore structures before the deadline next year and place assets in the best offshore banks that are not likely to co-operate in what is a back door currency control system.

Many Americans are looking for second citizenships these days. A decade ago we saw Russians looking for second passports, then came the Chinese… since Obama’s election, the offshore banking countries catering to those seeking economic citizenship (St Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica) are seeing a wave of Americans.

Americans are a patriotic people, but more and more are realizing that their government has been conning them for a long time – trying to confuse patriotism with support for the government. In fact, it’s the American government that is unpatriotic… constantly fighting to undermine the American ideals of freedom, liberty and prosperity. The USA is the only country in the world that expects its citizens to pay taxes even if they don’t live there.

You might already know this, but to expatriate from the USA and renounce American citizenship – thereby breaking free of your US tax obligations provided you don’t intend to live there any longer – you must first have another citizenship. There are basically three ways you can do this:

• Through birth: for example if you are lucky enough to have close family from Europe, you may be able to obtain a European passport
• Through naturalization: this requires a period of residence, sometimes as short as three years (Paraguay and Dominican Republic) but typically five to ten years.
• If you don’t have family connections and you don’t want to wait years, you can basically buy a new citizenship by developing a connection with a foreign country by making a substantial investment: this is what is called Economic Citizenship.

On this recent trip I visited both the Federation of St Kitts (St Christopher) and Nevis; and the Commonwealth of Dominica, both small Caribbean countries that offer you the chance to acquire a new citizenship for you and your family within a few short months, by making an investment. By the way, don’t confuse the Commonwealth of Dominica, a small English speaking island nation, with the much larger Dominican Republic which is hundreds of miles away. (Editor’s note: Dominican Republic citizenship might also be an attractive option, but is outside the scope of this article as it is not an economic citizenship program. You can read more about that here: Joe Gonzalez article on Dominican Republic citizenship)

I had visited both of these nations some years ago, but things have changed – drastically. While you can do a certain amount of research on the internet, there’s no substitute for spending a few days on the ground talking to government officials and well-connected local lawyers who know the score. Most of what you read on the internet is written by foreign promoters of citizenship programs, who will naturally have a certain bias and may never even have visited the islands. In the case of St Kitts, most of the promoters also have a vested interest in selling over-priced real estate.

These two economic citizenship programs are the remnants of what used to be quite a little industry in the region. Countries like Belize, Grenada, Guyana and Suriname have offered economic citizenship programs in the past, but they are long gone. That doesn’t stop unscrupulous promoters from still offering them.

I’ll be writing up a more detailed report on this in a forthcoming issue of Q Wealth Report (available only to members) but I can give you the bottom line now. Dominica is in my view a beautiful country, full of opportunity for tourism development and the like, but that might have to wait for the economic upswing that will be a long time coming. Dominica’s citizenship program is definitely going downhill since I last visited in 2006. I would not be surprised to see it coming to an end soon. While St Kitts and Nevis is doing well, attracting quality, heading further upscale. Here is a little of my reasoning:

• St Kitts and Nevis recently signed an agreement with the European Union allowing visa-free travel for all their passport holders, including economic citizens. This is an important coup that shows major western governments have confidence in the St Kitts program. Dominica does not have this benefit.
• Very importantly in my view, St Kitts and Nevis has refocused its program in recent years away from the idea that it is selling passports. This shows political savvy that seems to be working to their benefit. Naturalization implies a connection with the new country that is not merely financial. That is exactly what they are promoting, by strongly encouraging investors to purchase property in the country. St Kitts and Nevis are both pleasant places to stay, with great golfing and yachting, serious investments by groups like Marriott and Four Seasons, and more and more direct flight connections coming in. And the political savvy has extended to getting the twin island federation not just off the OECD’s blacklist but on to the whitelist… without changing much.
• St Kitts and Nevis enshrined economic citizenship in its constitution back in 1984. It is a well established program. They have maintained the price high and kept out the riff-raff which has negatively impacted other, less well regulated economic citizenship programs. Applications are processed efficiently and according to deadlines.
• Dominica, on the other hand, seems to have lost its direction with regard to economic citizenship, and is caving in to demands from the OECD and wealthier countries. There is greater domestic opposition to economic citizenship, and politicians are arguing over how to spend the money while keeping applications languishing for months without approval. The government seems to be heading more in the direction of accepting aid from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, which is admittedly probably easier money in the short term and less controversial than selling passports. While I was there, in fact, the Dominican government signed a new Memorandum of Understanding whereby Chavez will give them a new coffee processing plant.

So at this time, although the options for economic citizenship in St Kitts and Nevis are definitely much more expensive that those in Dominica in terms of cash you have to put down on the table, I would consider the difference in cash outlay money well spent. Another good thing is that with the St Kitts investment option, you can buy attractive Caribbean real estate which you can enjoy in the meantime and will be free to sell after five years.

We’ll shortly be releasing a more detailed report on St Kitts and Nevis. If you would like to receive it, please go here: Free Nevis Offshore Report

Otherwise be sure to check out my upcoming article in Q Wealth Report, and you can be sure that this will be a hot topic for discussion at our next Q Wealth event in Cork, Ireland this September. See you there!

The $64,000 question now, is whether the powers that be can continue to play out the hard ball scenario to protect the dollar that we recently wrote about here: What they Don’t Want You to Know about the Euro Crisis. Whilst a reasonable analyst would conclude that they cannot – meaning that the US dollar is doomed long term – it’s looking like they can support it for a while yet. Germany, France, the UK and Switzerland are playing along.

Expect to see attacks on other currencies, particularly the yen. And, for the many readers whom I know like the Aussie dollar (AUD), I am none too confident in its future. I can tell you I wouldn’t put my money on a currency controlled by a government that just decided to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, by proposing a stiff extra tax on its mining industry.

• So you might want to keep short term funds in US dollars, always being aware that there will be ever more restrictions on what you can do with them. (In the wake of the HIRE Act, several countries, most notably Mexico, have introduced further restrictions on the use of US dollars in their banking systems)

• You definitely need a multi currency bank account, in a neutral private bank in a neutral country which is not likely to introduce exchange controls. A multi-currency account gives you flexibility to switch currencies quickly when the need arises, as it definitely will. You’ll find plenty more of information on some of the best offshore private banks within our Members Area. US citizens in particular should be aware that there are numerous signs of further restrictions on export of capital from the USA. So act now rather than later.

• You should keep substantial wealth in gold… physical gold bullion that is. Again, if you need independent advice on how to invest from people who know what they are talking about, Q Wealth is your source of information. Gold bullion is a non-reportable asset.

• And if your right to privacy is a concern to you – as it should be – hold all your assets through corporate entities like LLCs, corporations (IBCs), offshore trusts or foundations. There are good, inexpensive options out there that can keep your assets one step removed from you and anyone who wants to take them away from you, whilst allowing you to retain control, completely legally of course. Reporting requirements depend on your country of residence and citizenship.

• Finally, we live in turbulent times, and if you like what you read in Q Wealth, there is no substitute for coming to one of our live events. This will give you a chance to meet experts like Peter Macfarlane, Frank Suess, Richard Cawte and Thomas Bolther. For further details on upcoming events, visit our Offshore Events page.

Our next event will be in Ireland in late September. There is just time to get in on the early bird bonuses, enabling you to attend for well under $1000. For this event we are offering several different modules, depending on your level of existing knowledge, and the amount of wealth you manage. VIP Mastermind members receive a 50% discount on the event fees, so there’s another thing to consider.

What if you are not yet a member of Q Wealth? At just $87 for a year’s membership that gives you all these benefits, we think it is well worth your while join today. We will help you sort the wheat from the chaff by introducing you to the best offshore banks and international private bankers who can help you achieve your asset protection goals.

However, if you don’t have $87 to invest in a membership, there’s also a free option: try our five part Secrets of the Super Rich course absolutely free and without obligation.

Whatever you do, as the title of this article suggests, RIGHT NOW is the time to start protecting your assets internationally if you haven’t already done so. Don’t put it off!

One of the things that went relatively unnoticed last week was the revaluation of the Singapore dollar. But as a global or offshore investor, you should certainly be concerned about this. It has significant implications for both the US dollar, the euro and the global economy, as well as practical implications for those of you who are interested in offshore banking in Singapore. More on that below.

Note that here we are not talking about devaluation – that’s what’s going on with the dollar, euro and sterling. We are talking about an upward revaluation, because the markets demand it. At the risk of oversimplifying, I’ve often said that a country’s currency is rather like shares in its overall economy. Singapore is going up, while the ‘developed’ world is in a dreadful downward spiral, leading to ever more desperate measures such as currency controls.

By the way, to sidetrack for a moment, a few people have sent me for comment pieces by other writers disagreeing with my recent articles interpreting the HIRE Act’s provisions as capital or currency controls – including some opinions by highly respected analysts. It seems to me these analysts don’t get my point: Yes I know these don’t look like currency controls! They are certainly not typical old-fashioned exchange controls. The Obama administration may be stupid and arrogant enough to believe they can control foreign banks, but they are not so stupid as to try to introduce Venezuelan style currency controls. No my friends…. these are stealth or back door currency controls specifically hidden under other justifications.

A dictionary definition of capital is: wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value. ‘Control’ I don’t think needs much definition. In my book, anything that seeks to control your free and unrestricted use of your capital, is a capital control. Doesn’t matter an iota if it doubles as a measure to increase tax compliance or catch criminals. To give you another example, AML (anti money laundering) laws are also a form of capital control. The HIRE Act’s provisions in my opinion place major obstacles in the way of free movement of capital. Hence, they are, logically, capital controls. My full analysis is in QWR 54. Ignorance and denial is bliss. ‘Nuff said.

Back to Singapore… Consider the context. There’s been a lot of political haggling about the status of the Chinese Yuan. Singapore is Asia’s major money hub. Serious commentators are suggesting that Singapore allowing its currency to float upwards is a precursor to China doing the same thing. Indeed, Singapore’s Prime Minster Lee Hsien Loong himself has suggested that is what should happen next.

Many commentators have been focused on the Yuan as a purely geopolitical issue, as if the Chinese had full control over the matter… and assuming that it’s in China’s interests to keep the Yuan artificially low in order to export its products cheaply. They forget that China is also a huge importer of resources and raw materials, that are typically paid for in US dollars. After a plunge in the value of commodities, many are racing up again.

The fact is the Chinese no more control the global economy than the Americans do. They can try hard to manipulate currency values in the marketplace, but doing so is a losing battle, besides being very costly.

The upward revaluation of the Singapore dollar, therefore, could well be the beginning of a trend involving other Asian currencies… and another nail in the coffin of the US dollar. Oil and coal producers, for example, will only be too delighted to set their prices based on Asian demand, accumulating those newly strengthened currencies in the process.

This can only serve to strengthen Singapore as a regional international banking centre. We’ve seen a huge upsurge in interest from our readers for offshore bank accounts in Singapore of late. Singapore banks have traditionally targeted the Asian and Australian markets, but increasingly they are looking to attract deposits from Europe and North American clients. The attraction is plain: a stable, English speaking economy with strong banks and an international outlook.

Less obvious, perhaps, but an equally good reason to invest in Singapore is the level of access to Chinese banks. As a foreigner  you cannot open accounts directly in China – and you probably wouldn’t want to. But Singapore offers a lot of the Chinese upside, without the control-freak-government downside.

One of the reasons North American and European clients have not done more banking business in Singapore in the past is simply the distance, and the fact that Singapore banks have traditionally insisted on a face-to-face meeting with clients.

This is changing. As the best offshore banks are taking multi-jurisdictional approaches, it is more likely that your banker can be sitting in an office in your time zone, not too far away for a visit, while managing your account on the other side of the world. We are seeing more and more banks deliberately adopting this diversification strategy. Such banks also have contingency plans in place to shift your account to a different jurisdiction, within the same bank, at very short notice, if a particular jurisdiction should become unfavorable for any reason. This is the ultimate protection for your assets against all forms of currency controls – stealth or otherwise.

I’ll be writing more about this, and Singapore, in an upcoming issue of the Q Wealth Report, as well as summaries in Q Bytes. If you are not yet on the Q Bytes list, be sure to sign up here. It’s free, without obligation, and we respect your privacy.

by Peter Macfarlane

Peter Macfarlane reports on Offshore Banking, Offshore Investing and Asset Protection for Q Wealth Report.

The FDIC yesterday shut down seven more banks in five US states, bringing to 37 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year, on top of the 140 that collapsed in 2009. The news was particularly bad for depositors of Advanta Bank in Utah, as regulators were unable to find another bank to take it over. Therefore anyone with deposits exceeding the FDIC insurance level of $250,000 loses the excess.

These Friday afternoon bank raids have become commonplace by now. What’s interesting, however, is that regulators, quoted by AP, are now saying that “The pace of bank seizures this year is likely to accelerate in coming months, as losses mount on loans made for commercial property and development.”

It was not many months ago here in Q Bytes that we warned you about the coming US commercial property bust, which will make the residential/sub-prime crisis look tiny in comparison.

The FDIC is planning to spend about $100 billion bailing out banks over the next four years. But  get this: they will only deal in future with smaller bank failures. Legislation now in the senate proposes to set up a completely different system to cover failures of big, complex financial institutions. Besides, for reasons we’ve written about frequently including in the latest Q Wealth Report, we believe $100 billion will be nowhere near enough. The government printing presses will soon be rolling again, leading to further devaluations.

Our intention here at Q Wealth is not to scare you. In fact, we have always said that with careful planning and a little thought, there are numerous ways you can profit from the crisis… turn the crisis to your advantage.

First of all, our advice is to reduce dollar exposure. If you have savings, the first thing you need is a simple multi-currency bank account that allows you to switch currencies online. That way you maintain flexibility and privacy. Very few if any US banks offer multi currency accounts, so you’ll probably need to go to an offshore bank. While we do believe FDIC insurance will protect the dollar amounts in US bank accounts, what is the value of having the same amount of dollars in five years, if you can only buy half as much with those dollars?

Fortunately, the best offshore banks are a much safer place to stash your money. If your know how to choose an offshore bank carefully, you can avoid exposure to risky business practices which are bringing down so many US banks. And whilst a million will get you better service in a different class of bank, offshore banking is not just for millionaires. There are good offshore banks out there where you can test the waters by opening foreign currency accounts with $500 or less. Another myth, also untrue, is that US citizens cannot open offshore accounts. Full details of some of these recommended banks, including  our list of offshore banks and contact information, can be found in our free Practical Offshore Banking Guide 2010 available to members.

The last laugh, however, is with the real estate speculators – whom many blame for causing the crisis. No matter what happens to financial markets, people will always need a place to live. When there is ‘blood in the streets’ there are bargains around. Our Q Wealth Expert and Real Estate Guru Thomas Bolther has recently said he believes it’s time to BUY US real estate. Real estate investors who have followed Thomas’s advice from past Q Wealth events and stayed liquid are now set to make a killing. Thomas will be writing more about this on his own blog over coming weeks, at bolther.com He’s also confirmed as a scheduled speaker at our event in Ireland in September (see below)

by Peter Macfarlane

There’s a lot of misconceptions out there about offshore banking and investing. Newer readers especially may believe a few of the myths exploded below! Even if you’re an old hand at offshore banking, I thought you might enjoy this brief list of some of the most common offshore banking myths…

1. Offshore banking is illegal. The Facts: Granted there are a few countries in the world that outright prohibit their citizens from holding accounts abroad. But very few – even those with strict controls like South Africa, Venezuela and Russia don’t ban their citizens outright from holding offshore bank accounts. Most countries do however have laws insisting that you report your offshore bank accounts to the tax authorities. You can easily verify these requirements with a local professional.  For sure there are some illicit funds deposited in offshore banking havens, but they constitute a small percentage of total criminal proceeds held in banks within high-tax jurisdictions. Bank secrecy laws these days definitely do not protect criminals. The idea of associating offshore banking with crime is all about trying to persuade people to leave their funds where their governments can get their hands on them!
2. Offshore banking is only for tax evasion. The facts: Recent campaigns by major governments and left-wing think tanks try to tar everybody with the same brush. Most people who bank offshore these days are not evading taxes. They are looking for legal tax planning and asset protection strategies – for example: currency diversification, and protection against political risk factors.
3. To have a bank account offshore you need lots of money. The facts: Yes, there are many obscure but very good private banks that won’t be interested in a relationship under a million or two. But there are also plenty of banks, large and small, that are still interested in the regular middle class customer.  At some of the best offshore banks in the best offshore banking countries, you can easily open a bank account with a deposit of $500 or less. There are plenty of options and you will find details in the Q Wealth Practical Offshore Banking Guide.
4. Offshore banks are situated in remote corners of the world or obscure islands, thereby making it difficult to manage the account. The facts: While many offshore jurisdictions are indeed small islands, they are all connected by fiber optic cables! Today, the physical location of the bank is not really important. You can deposit funds electronically and manage them over a secure internet connection. For withdrawals you can wire money out using the internet banking, or you can have an internationally recognised debit or credit card like Visa, Mastercard or American Express.
5. You have to travel to the bank personally to open an account. The facts: The best offshore banks do not require this. They have procedures in place to open accounts either entirely by mail, using copies of documents certified locally, or you can open accounts through other representatives or offices that may be closer to you. Often, if you pay the travel expenses or you are investing a larger amount, you can even have a bank officer travel to visit you.
6. Offshore banking is tax-free. The facts: In most cases you don’t have to pay taxes in the bank’s jurisdiction. The notable exception is Switzerland, which does charge Swiss withholding taxes on the income of foreign account holders. What you do have to remember is that many high tax countries tax the worldwide income of their residents, and one – the United States of America – taxes the worldwide income of their citizens even if they are not resident.
7. Offshore banks open anonymous numbered accounts. The facts: It is still possible in some banks to open numbered bank accounts. Most Swiss banks, for example, offer this facility for a small annual charge. A numbered account is where your name does not appear on the title of the account. However, they are not technically anonymous, since the bank will still need to know who you are. Normally your real identity will only be accessible to a few high-ranking bank officers, and your passport copy will be held in a paper file in the bank’s vault, rather than on a computer where a data or identity thief could potentially download it. So whatever account name or number you are assigned, you will not remain fully anonymous to the bank. It is also no longer permitted to send or receive wire transfers without fully identifying the legal account holder.

Further resources:

For further reading you might enjoy learning about the best offshore banks. If you would like to know more about offshore banking and more generally how to protect assets through international investing, check out our free five part ‘Secrets of the Super Rich’ course. We will be happy to send it to you free and with no obligation whatsoever. We also guarantee not to spam you – we hate spam as much as you do. To receive your free course, sign up here right now: Free Secrets of the Super Rich course