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| PANAMA
INVESTMENT
Investments There are
a variety of viable offshore investment options available to international
investors offered through our recommended international banks
and brokerage/investment firms. Our recommended
international brokers and investment firms offer our clients a
variety of investment opportunities in Initial Public Offerings
(IPO's) on various securities exchanges around the globe. Due to insider trading regulations, and the sensitivity of government approvals for IPO's on international markets, only established clients of POSI, Inc. are permitted to invest in these opportunities. Hence, prior to entering into an IPO investment offering through POSI, Inc., every investor must become a registered client either by purchasing an entity through our services, or by simply registering as a member of our newsletter. We market these exclusive IPO investment opportunities through our periodic newsletters. In addition, our newsletter provides a wealth of information about offshore techniques for asset protection, tax minimization, investment diversification, estate planning, and much more. - Offshore mutual funds provide several key advantages: - Tax Free
Dividends Our recommended brokerage firm is currently offering a unique opportunity for our clients to invest in what we consider to be the best offshore mutual fund available today. This particular fund offers the following advantages: · Principal
investment is 100% guaranteed and insured, - Offshore Bank Deposits (Certificates of Deposit - CD's) Offshore bank deposits (certificates of deposit, or "CD's") are one of the most widely chosen offshore investments because they offer fixed, guaranteed, monthly income to the investor. How a CD Works A certificate of deposit (CD) from a reputable offshore bank is the most secure offshore investment available. An investor signs a deposit contract with the bank, in which the bank guarantees the investor a fixed annual interest rate (normally the interest is paid on a monthly pro-rated basis) in return for the use of a specified sum of the investors money for a specified time period. Once that time period expires, the investor has the option to either renew the deposit contract, or take the money back. Advantages of Offshore Bank CD's 1. Higher Interest Rates: Interest rates for offshore CD's are normally higher than the interest rates offered by domestic banks (in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, etc.) because offshore banks are less regulated and are more free to do offer credit and invest as they wish. Domestic banks are highly regulated, and are restricted from certain types of credit policies, or investing in certain types of funds, currencies, etc. 2. No Interest Income Taxes: Offshore banks in most offshore jurisdictions do not with-hold any of the interest paid to the depositor as domestic banks do. Domestic banks in most high taxed countries are forced by their respective governments to with-hold a certain percentage (normally about 30%) of your interest payments for interest income taxes. Offshore banks in tax havens (such as Panama, Antigua, St. Vincent, etc.) do not tax investors on interest income because their governments do not impose interest income taxes. 3. Asset Protection: In an offshore bank, your funds are more secure from an asset protection standpoint. Offshore banks are forced to adhere to strict banking secrecy laws, therefore making it virtually impossible for any creditor, ex-spouse, or anyone trying to attack your assets, to locate your offshore funds. Plus, even if they did manage to locate your offshore funds, it would be impossible for them to sequester (freeze) those funds because they are in an entirely different country that is not under the jurisdiction of the courts of your domestic country. Interest Rates Interest rates of offshore bank CD's range depending on the jurisdiction, the specific bank, the deposit term, and the deposit amount. Currently, depending on the specific recommended bank, we are able to obtain up to 9.32% (rates chart) annual interest rates for offshore bank CD's with our recommended banks. Please note that our recommended banks require a minimum of US$10,000 for CD investments. *Quoted rates may change without notice, vary depending on the LIBOR (London InterBank Offering Rate), and be subject to minimum deposits and/or minimum balance requirements and/or certain terms for CD's.
For investments in CD's, we generally recommend banks in Panama for the following reasons: 1. Panama banks pay the highest interest, 2. Panama banks are the most stable, and offer the most security, 3. Panama banks deal in USD (it is the circulating currency). More About Panama Banking Security Panama banks can pay higher interest on bank deposits for the following reasons: Panama is home to the second largest international trade zone in the world (Colon Free Trade Zone) and the Panama Canal. Here, businesses from all over the world buy, sell and ship goods, and therefore these same companies constantly need letters of credit, loans, etc. from banks in Panama to manage their ongoing business transactions. Therefore, banks in Panama receive a wide range of international clientelle and charge them higher rates for loans, letters of credit, etc. Panama's banking infrastructure is of the best in world, being home to the second largest banking center in the world next to Switzerland. In some offshore jurisdictions, such as Cayman Islands, Bahamas, ST. Vincent, Vanuatu, Nevis, ST. Kitts, etc., one can establish an offshore bank with as little as US$100,000. Unlike banks in other offshore jurisdictions, Panama has high banking standards requiring a minimum of US$15 million dollars in capitalization in order to establish a banking license. Panamanian banks do not carry FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insurance as banks in the United States do. However, Panama has a similar banking insurance program through a banking division of the government of Panama called the Superintendencia de Bancos, which is operated through the central clearing bank of Panama, (BNP/Banco Nacional de Panama). All banks in Panama are required to hold a reserve account of a certain percentage of the entire banks deposits (varies according to the size of the bank) with the government bank of Panama (BNP - Banco Nacional de Panama). As the banks receive deposits on a monthly basis, they must submit a report to the BNP and adjust the deposit balance accordingly. The BNP also monitors each banks credit policies to ensure that no irregularities exist, and that depositors funds are not being misappropriated. Each bank has compliance officers that monitor the banks activities on a daily basis. In addition, most banks maintain a private insurance policy, through large international insurance companies, protecting depositors funds for additional amounts over what the BNP protects. If you are interested in establishing an offshore bank account or investing in an offshore bank CD, please contact us for the most up to date information about the banks we are recommending, current interest rates, and set up procedures. - Offshore Private Placements Please note
that we are not investment advisors, so all clients who purchase
investments through any of our recommended financial institutions
are strictly at their own risk with no responsibility to our firm.
Definition of a Private Placement Investment Private Placements are investments in companies that are privately owned. In other words, they are companies that are not traded on a public stock exchange (such as the NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, etc.). Advantage of Private Placement Investments The main advantage that most investors seek when investing in privately held companies, is that one can normally buy shares of the company for very low prices while it is still a privately held company. The ideal investment in a privately held company is to buy shares just before the company goes public. Once a company begins trading its shares on a public stock exchange, stock prices tend to rise dramatically, enabling the Private Placement investor to sell his/her stock at much higher prices. In some cases, private placements are not meant to go public. The investor purchases shares of a privately held company that has no intention of going public mainly because its business model does not require public capital. These are generally real estate developments for construction of office buildings, condos, apartment buildings, malls, airports, ports, or any other type of development. The investor invests in a share of the project, and when the project is sold (generally over several years), then the investor receives his investment back, plus a percentage of the profits of the development project. The Risk Factors Privately held companies can sometimes be very good, solid, and fruitful investments. However, there are high risks associated with investing in privately held companies (private placement investments). The main risk factor is the "uncertainty" of whether or not the company will actually "go public" (be traded on a major public stock exchange). There are a number of issues that can affect, delay, or even deny a privately held company from going public: Many privately held companies are family business that have grown beyond the "mom and pop business" stage, and have become major players in their respective markets. However, it is often difficult for the owners of these privately held companies to release control, which is what happens when the majority of the company shares are sold on a public exchange. Therefore, in many cases, the underwriters (the brokerage firm responsible for arranging the public offering on the public stock exchange) run into major difficulties with the original owners of the companies in taking the company public because there may be conflicts of interest, conflicts in decision making, etc. This factor generally creates major delays in taking a company public. Another issue that can affect a company going public is if the company's financial health, accounting records, or tax declarations are not in order. A company must submit a wide range of documentation to the regulating body of the stock exchange in order to obtain permission to trade its stock on the public stock exchange. If the companys financial health is not up to par, if its books are not in order, or if there are any discrepancies, this can also create delays or even deny a company from going public. Another risk factor that investors should beware of are "selling restrictions". In many cases, private placement offerings carry certain selling restrictions, in which the private placement investor is restricted from selling (all or a portion of) their shares of stock, once the company goes public. Sometimes they impose selling restrictions for a certain number of days, or even up to years after the company goes public. The risk in this case is that if the company goes public, the stock may go up (when most of the non-restricted stock owners sell), and by the time you are able to sell your restricted stock, the price may have fallen even below the price that you bought it for (or possibly it could have gone up). Finally, if the private placement is in a company that has no intention of going public (a develpment project, etc.), then the risk is mainly associated with the development projects success. Summary In conclusion, private placement investments can be a very solid, fruitful investment, or they can be a gamble. The wise investor will do extensive research on both the company's product/service, ownership, management, market, and overall business strategy, as well as its underwriters strategy for taking the company public. If you are interested in Private Placement Investments, or any other type of offshore investment, please contact us for updates on the latest available offshore investment opportunities being offered by our recommended investment firms.  |
