A year of opportunities and challenges

With the rapid growth in the offshore bonds market in recent years (Defaqto reported that in 2006 new business increased by almost 50% to around £7.4bn), will 2007 show a similarly impressive increase? It has been a year of continued opportunity but one that has not been without its challenges. In the early part of 2007, the most high-profile offshore investment story was the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) 'amnesty' (or, perhaps more accurately, 'special offer') on the declaration of gains from offshore bank accounts. This could have been seen as an attack on offshore investing as a whole an...