GIFT CITY – India’s strategic hub for APAC treasury and finance
Date: 21 January 2026
Presenters: N.C. Hegde, Rajesh Gandhi, and Shefali Shah
From a tax perspective, GIFT City introduces a compelling new option in a region traditionally dominated by Hong Kong and Singapore for treasury and financing structures. IFSC entities benefit from concessional tax rates, exemptions on interest and capital gains for specified instruments, and a simplified withholding tax environment, making cross-border funding into India significantly more efficient. The framework also provides clearer transfer pricing alignment for loans, guarantees, cash-pooling and capital instruments, reducing uncertainty and potential controversy.
For APAC groups evaluating whether to diversify beyond existing hubs, GIFT City now stands as a competitive alternative for centralizing regional treasury functions, lowering financing costs, and enhancing operational flexibility with international-standard regulation.
2026 China VAT update
Date: 27 January 2026
Presenters: Candy Tang, Liqun Gao, and Janet Zhang
To ensure a smooth implementation of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) law on 1 January 2026, China’s Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration issued the Implementation Regulations on 30 December 2025. These regulations introduce several institutional innovations and make more operational adjustments to key policies, including the determination of “consumed in China” for cross-border supplies of services, a refined scope of deemed sales, and new VAT treatment for long-term assets, and anti-avoidance rules, etc. Some of these changes are significant to businesses and are expected to substantially increase financial and tax compliance requirements as well as the necessity of establishing more robust and sophisticated tax management systems. In this webcast, we will cover:
- The key points of the China VAT law and the newly issued Implementation Regulations
- The potential impacts on businesses operating in China
- Our recommendations
