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¡LO LOGRAMOS! Al iniciar un nuevo años escolar, los colaboradores de Mossack Fonseca se complacen en apoyar a la Fundación Pro Niños de Daríen en su recolecta de cuadernos de 200 páginas. La donación entregada de parte de los colaboradores de Mossack Fonseca y amigos fue de 783 cuadernos, 101 libros de actividades para colorear y 4 libros de figuritas. Confiamos que serán de gran ayuda en las comunidades donde serán entregados para contribuir con el desarrollo intelectual de nuestra niñez. Mossack Fonseca - El pasado 28 de enero, se celebró el primer KickOff Meeting de MFAG en el Hotel Zhongyou en Hong Kong.
La Lic. María Mercedes Sadowski, Directora Ejecutiva de MFAG, lideró exitosamente esta reunión presencial y además, realizó sesiones vía Skype con el resto de nuestras oficinas en Asia. De esta forma, continuamos paso a paso lograr nuestra meta: oficinas alineadas con los objetivos 2016. El pasado 15 de marzo, se llevó a cabo en el Centro de Educación Básica General El Valle ubicado en la provincia de Coclé, el acto protocolar en el cual se realizó la entrega formal de la obra desarrollada por Mossack Fonseca y MEDUCA. La misma formó parte del programa “Mi Escuela Primero” y consistió en un completo sistema de adecuaciones sanitarias para el beneficio de los 456 estudiantes que asisten a este centro educativo.
El Prof. Carlos Staff, Vice Ministro Académico del Ministerio de Educación, la (se pone así) Lic. Jisslena Vidales de Corro, Alcaldesa de Antón, la Lic. Susana Fonseca, Gerente de RSE en representación de Mossack Fonseca y la Sra. Aileen Varela de la Espriella, Líder del Programa Mi Escuela Primero, estuvieron presentes en el acto, así como también directivos y educadores que forman parte de este plantel y diversas autoridades del área. “Somos una empresa que cree en los niños y seguiremos apoyando la educación”, reafirmó la Lic. Susana Fonseca, durante su discurso de entrega. En varias ocasiones, sobre todo en los últimos tiempos, hemos visto con preocupación cómo se confunde la personalidad del agente residente con aquélla de las sociedades que incorporamos como parte de nuestro ejercicio profesional. Resulta ya hasta común encontrar titulares en los medios de comunicación que responsabilizan a los agentes residentes panameños por las investigaciones y procesos judiciales que contra sociedades panameñas se ventilan en otros países.
En ese momento, muy en lo personal me he percatado de que quizás hemos dado por sentado que quien recibe la información, procesa, investiga y difunde la noticia, tiene completamente claro cuál es el concepto y la función del agente residente en nuestro país. Lo realmente cierto es que quien recibe la noticia posiblemente tampoco lo tenga claro. Y cuando esta noticia, fundamentada en concepciones erradas o imperfectas alcanza la esfera internacional, el impacto que resulta es adverso a las gestiones de promoción que se realizan para la atracción de inversión extranjera hacia nuestro país y la consolidación de la reputación de nuestra plataforma de servicios a nivel internacional. De allí la importancia de que quienes actúan como fuentes calificadas de información, manejen a cabalidad estos conceptos. Qué es entonces la figura del Agente Residente? En nuestra legislación, la figura tiene su génesis en la Ley 32 de 1927, que hoy en día es la Ley que regula el tema de las sociedades anónimas en nuestro país. Dicha Ley, en su artículo 2, ordinal 7, establece que toda sociedad anónima debe tener un agente en la República de Panamá, el cual puede ser una “persona jurídica”. La norma tal como fue redactada dejaba abierta la posibilidad que cualquier persona, natural o jurídica, con independencia de su profesión u oficio, pudiese fungir como agente residente de una sociedad anónima. No fue sino hasta el año 1966, cuando mediante el Decreto 147 de 4 de mayo de ese año, que reglamentó la inscripción de ciertos documentos en el Registro Público, se especificó que únicamente podía ser agente de una sociedad anónima, “un abogado o una sociedad de abogados hábiles para ejercer la profesión”. La calificación introducida por este Decreto obedeció a que cuando quien representa a una persona jurídica, actúa en representación de ella ante las autoridades, esa representación no la hace en nombre propio sino en nombre y representación de una persona distinta, y este tipo de representación o actuación por ley está reservada a los abogados. Así quedamos entonces los abogados, en forma individual o colegiada, a través de las firmas de abogados, encargados de la protocolización e inscripción en el Registro Público, de los pactos sociales que dan vida jurídica a las sociedades anónimas, con independencia de que las mismas vayan a tener operaciones dentro o fuera de Panamá. Lo cierto es que la incorporación de sociedades ha sido siempre parte de nuestro ejercicio profesional y nuestra función como agentes residentes ha sido el servir de enlace entre las autoridades panameñas o terceros y nuestros clientes, sin que esto nos otorgue la capacidad para obligar y comprometer a la sociedad o la facultad para actuar en representación de ésta. Y es que la Corte Suprema de Justicia ha manifestado en varias ocasiones que los agentes residentes tenemos un deber de cooperación y colaboración con las autoridades competentes del Ministerio Público, para los fines de persecución de los delitos. Los abogados, como cualquier otra persona, estamos obligados a otorgar de oficio, cuantas notas, datos e informes nos soliciten los agentes del Ministerio Público cuando éstos actúen en defensa de los intereses públicos o como funcionarios de instrucción. Esta obligación está contenida en el Artículo 391 del Código Judicial. Pero esta labor de cooperación no debe confundirse con una vinculación del agente residente con las acciones o gestiones derivadas de las operaciones de las sociedades que incorporamos. Los agentes residentes no somos responsables por el actuar comercial de estas sociedades, por el solo hecho de fungir como tales. Entrevista realizada en el noticiero de TVN-2 Panamá al Lic. Ramón Fonseca Mora, aclarando ante los medios que Mossack Fonseca no ha sido demandada, ni acusada y hace docencia sobre los vehículos legales usados por nuestra industria.
Mossack Fonseca - Concluding the Centre’s participation at the 2016 G20 conferences held in China, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the global financial services hub connecting businesses and financial institutions with emerging markets across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), reaffirmed its commitment to supporting China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative and establishing a robust and supportive financial platform for Chinese institutions, to wit:
• Chinese banks in DIFC have doubled their balance sheet in the last 18 months • Representing 26% of total assets booked at DIFC, China’s top four state-owned banks have combined total assets of US$21.5 billion. • Dubai’s established framework for Islamic finance provides opportunities for Chinese firms. DIFC has seen exponential growth in the presence of Chinese financial firms and state-owned banks in recent years. According to the Centre’s 2015 full year Operating Review results, Chinese banks in DIFC have doubled their balance sheet in the last 18 months. Representing 26% of the total assets booked in DIFC, China’s top four state-owned banks – Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, ICBC and China Construction Bank – have combined total assets of US$21.5 billion. The four banks have additionally upgraded their licenses at DIFC to Category 1, expanding their presence from subsidiary to branch status. Engaging with financial leaders, officials and experts, the DIFC delegation met with China’s prominent capital markets, securities companies and non-financial services firms to discuss mutual interests and setup plans. Commenting on the growing importance of Chinese firms at the Centre, Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, said: “On our first visit to China this year, we are committed to building long-lasting partnerships with the emerging Chinese market. Contributing to a large portion of our business activity, we envisage an increasingly significant role for Chinese firms as we seek to become a leading global financial hub.” Asian firms continue to be an engine for growth accounting for 11% of the financial services companies within DIFC and 80% of the Centre’s incremental business activity. Arif Amiri said: “As China continues to invest in emerging economies across the MEASA region, DIFC’s conducive and supportive framework acts as a gateway for companies looking to expand their business interests and investments in these markets. Linking Asia to Africa and Latin America, Dubai is emerging as a crucial hub along China’s New Silk Road.” He added: “Dubai’s strategic location and its world class infrastructure becomes especially important as Chinese and African governments seek to double their two-way trade to US$400 billion by 2020. The emirate’s connectivity and solid legal and regulatory framework serve as important links in connecting Chinese companies with African markets and vice versa.” Further supporting Chinese business interests, DIFC’s 2024 growth strategy aims to position Dubai as a global hub for Islamic finance. Well on its way, Dubai with its established Islamic finance framework offers global visibility, streamlined listings, prompt responses to issuer needs, and wide access to investors―enabling a healthy Islamic finance network for Chinese firms looking to build their Islamic finance portfolio. In addition, Dubai’s exchange has successfully launched the Murabaha financing platform, which provides retail and corporate users with an efficient, fast and flexible alternative to traditional solutions, and a Sharia-compliant repurchasing platform for short-term financing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama announced that the Republic of Paraguay has removed Panamá from its list of countries and regimes of low or no taxation.
The Panamanian Foreign Ministry commented "According to the decree issued by Paraguayan authorities, we are being recognized for our efforts and commitment with regard to the transparency of our financial, business and trade systems, and our removal from the FATF "Gray List". The Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, said that she is sure that this will promote an increase in the economic and commercial relations between the two countries. The Minister of Foreign Affairs went on to say "Panama reiterates its commitment with the continuous modernization and updating of our financial services platform―this is done through the strengthening of legislation and collaboration with the international financial community to achieve the optimal economic development and maintain the defense of our international prestige". Mossack Fonseca & Co Head Office, 54th Street, Marbella Panama, Rep. of Panama Tel: (507) 205.5888 http://www.mossfon.com/ What is the ultimate goal of every company? Is it only about making money? The answer could be a “yes” or “no”. It actually depends on the company; and Mossack Fonseca Group’s answer to this is a big NO, because they’re also concerned about society’s welfare.
As a global company with a human touch, Mossack Fonseca & Co. established a Corporate Social Responsibility Program to provide necessary assistance to people in need every year. Corporate social responsibility is a company’s concern for society’s welfare wherein marketing managers are interested in long-term corporate interest as well as society’s well-being. There are two main ideas included in social responsibility for most people; they are sustainability and stakeholder theory. Sustainability includes a thought that if a company helps society through their business, then they will gain success. They could create products or services that can fulfill a need and help solve society’s problems; so people, in turn, can profit and provide help to the world. Another approach in which companies can incorporate social responsibility is through stakeholder theory. Its central focus is that social responsibility is really giving attention to every stakeholder in the entire company, including the employees, customers, owners, suppliers, management or the community. It’s more about taking care of all different stakeholders and expecting that this will bring about social responsibility. The following is how each stakeholder would view social responsibility within their company: - An employee wants to have a good and secure job as well as superb wages - The management wants happy workers and good profits - A customer wants excellent customer services and high-quality products - The community wants a company to pay their taxes, offer their citizens good wages and help support the environment - A supplier wants his/her business to remain profitable - A business-owner wants to have a financial return with excellent profit However, critics have a different view on social responsibility. They strongly believe that the sole purpose of a company behind social responsibility is just to make profit for their stakeholders. They state that taking care of the society and its concern is the job of nonprofit organizations, not for-profit organizations. Any company can run out of business because of the additional expenses caused by social responsibility. It could also lessen a company’s competitiveness worldwide. Expansion would also be impossible if there are lesser profits, and this struggle could happen to a company which is giving money away. Losing to a company that does not donate profits is also a strong possibility. There are also entities who support social responsibility. For them, companies should help the society improve for all their stakeholders. They believe that it is the companies’ responsibility to fix some of the society’s problems such as pollution, poor wages, and damaged cities since these issues were caused by them, in the first place. Furthermore, they add that companies have higher chances of success with social responsibility. There are a lot of companies that have proved this theory since they are able to provide quality products and services and make a good profit that helped better society. Are you curious about the names of the companies who found success in social responsibility? They’re really huge companies and there’s a bigger chance that you’re familiar with them. Ice-cream maker? Probably the first thing in your mind is Ben & Jerry’s. Well, don’t be surprised as they are on top of the list. They pride themselves in supporting charities and have been donating a full 7.5% of pretax profits to various charitable institutions. The next company is The Body Shop which works with Greenpeace and has helped gather 4 million signatures against animal testing. Coffee? Starbucks is popular in this category, and it’s the last example. It supports Ethos Water, which provided clean water to more than 420,000 people that don’t normally have access to it. Mossack Fonseca & Co. is highly motivated to contribute to the positive development of human beings. Since the firm is committed to helping communities, their legal experts are providing legal assistance to many organizations, including Rotary Club of Boquete (Panama), The British Aid Society, Aeroclub de Panama, Fundacion Del Club Canino, Fundacion Confederacion Canofila de Panama, and The World Bank. To remind themselves about their responsibility towards society, they’re giving their 100% in fostering change to where it is needed the most. In particular, The Mossack Fonseca Group works with Piero Rafael Martínez De La Hoz Foundation, Tomatis Therapy and Stimulation Foundation, Art in the Park Foundation, Saint Joseph Parish Foundation of Valle De Antón, Fundacion Soy Capaz, and Panamanian Institute for Family Education – IPEF. You don’t need to belong to a prestigious company to help society, as a concerned individual; you can actually do a lot of things. Being a volunteer to different community activities is one of your options. More damages to our environment could happen if we don’t work together to make the world a better place. There’s this belief that your success as an individual and the success of a company depends on Mother Nature, because without it, where can we find the basic ingredients to our products and services? Yes, money is a part of life; so is the natural world. The Mossack Fonseca Group is aware of their responsibility towards society, and they are continuing to do their best to improve the lives of numerous people in need. The health of society will reflect upon the health of a company’s future. d people
In order to maintain its competitive advantage, Mossack Fonseca & Co. ensures that the quality of its client portal will meet the interests of their clients. The firm made the client portal to give utmost confidence to their clients in using their exclusive online services. Keeping their clients' information 100% safe all the time is of greatly importance to them. In particular, the Mossack Fonseca Group offers a secure online account that allows you to access your corporate information 24/7 anywhere and everywhere. It gives simple, secured, and organized access to clients' key information. The Client Information Portal also offers real-time updates of your ongoing requests. Specifically, the firm's exclusive online portal offers amazing features to their clients, including finding updated information on your company formation requests through the case information service panel along with digital copies of corporate and legal paperwork; following up on your cases and receive notifications through email whenever one of your cases is updated; searching and reserving shelf companies online; viewing your price lists; paying your outstanding invoices; and requesting for certificates, reactivations and order forms. Wherever you are in the world, you can access all of the mentioned features above with a safe environment in real-time. You could see amazing applications within the client portal of Mossack Fonseca & Co., such as the Case Information Service (CIS), Online Payment System (OPS), Electronic Delivery Service (EDS), and Online Work Request (OWR). Case Information System (CIS) is a tool that monitors the progress of client requests and ongoing cases. It enables them to contact the firm's staff around the world, view digital copies of documents as soon as they are received in the firm's office, and receive automatic email notifications, which is optional, every time one of their cases is updated. With Mossack Fonseca & Co.'s Online Payment System (OPS), the clients can monitor all of their outstanding or paid invoices with the portal's complete account management system. It allows their clients to generate account statement with real-time information, pay their outstanding invoices online or by credit card, take advantage of the firm's debit account application, and choose its batch payment option that facilitates bank transfers and cheques for settlement of invoices. The Mossack Fonseca Group's Electronic Delivery System, or EDS, can eliminate delays due to the air-mail service. It ensures the most rapid and secures delivery system for clients' annual invoices and account statements. It also allows them to have more time to collect bills and send payments before deadlines. The firm's Online Work Request (OWR) can access documents easily and quickly, and all in one place. These documents include incumbency certificates, good standing certificates, reactivation of one or more companies, and order form. A client portal is no longer considered an accessory to a firm, it is now a necessity. Different firms worldwide, along with Mossack Fonseca Group, have seen its great benefit and efficiency, which results to a better and strong relationship with their clients. |
About USThe Mossack Fonseca Group is a leading international corporation which provides comprehensive legal, trust, technological and accounting services. With over 500 staff members in all continents, Mossack Fonseca provides personalized advice based on more than 36 years of experience in the market. They also offer world-class service through their exclusive online services which are available 24 hours a day. Archives
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