Italian Desk Spotlight: Helping Italian Businesses Operate in Asia

Our International Business Advisory Assistant Manager, Valeria Manunza, based in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and Head of the Italian Desk, Riccardo Benussi, based in Shanghai, are pleased to introduce our Italian Desk and how it enables Italian companies to set up and thrive in Asia.

What is Dezan Shira’s Italian Desk and What Does it do for SMEs?

Dezan Shira & Associates started its operations from Hong Kong and Shenzhen and has been growing for over 27 years into 23 offices across five major Asian countries. We are a truly Asian professional services firm, equipped to hand-hold clients in their legal, accounting, tax, HR, payroll and IT responsibilities with our 285 employees.

Most of our clients are SMEs, subsidiaries of listed companies, family-owned businesses and startups. Some of these are already well-known brands, other clients develop, produce and deliver niche products or services for specific B2B industries.

Our Italian Desk team have an international academic education, especially in Italy and China, which allow them to understand cultural differences in doing business and garner a solid understanding of regulatory differences. This is relevant for SMEs looking for clarification and support when investing in Asia.

The Desk is a six person team headed by our Managing Partner who has been living in Asia for more than 24 years. The rest of the team are strategically positioned in Vietnam (Hanoi), South China (Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong), and Italy (Milan, Treviso and Udine).  Having experienced people on the ground, with proven record in Asia, we are able to bridge the gap between the two countries, which is unusual for traditional firms who may not have operational liaison offices.

Does the Italian Desk Publish Materials for Italian Investors Operating in Asia?

The Italian Desk drafts and disseminates a variety of business intelligence for Italian companies interested in or operating in Asia, which include articles, podcasts, webinars and newsletters.

These can be downloaded from our websites for free and discovered via a number of our social media networks.

We regularly write and publish articles in both English and Italian. You may sign up for our monthly newsletter which covers regulatory updates, analysis, and commentary on issues concerning Italian investors in Asia.

As China and Italy have updated their bilateral double tax agreement (DTA), our Italian Desk has published the article “Italia e Cina firmano un nuovo accordo sulla doppia imposizione fiscale”, which in detail explains the key changes in this DTA and its effects.

The new agreement was in the making for a long time. The new agreement replaces the 20-year-old previous document and is intended to bolster cross-border investment and increase tax certainty between the two countries.

Among the new provisions, the new DTA states that beneficial owners who own at least 25 percent of the share capital of a given entity will be eligible for a lower five percent tax rate, as opposed to the standard 10 percent rate that applies under domestic Chinese.

This reduction of the tax rate on qualified holdings, intends to encourage the capitalization of Chinese enterprises from Italy through equity investments,

If you are an Italian investor and are interested in new business opportunities in Asia or have any inquiry about our Italian desk services, you can get in touch with us here.

Publications and Resources on Doing Business in Asia

To stay up-to-date with free Asia news and publications, please visit our Asia Briefing website and download our publications.

You can also subscribe to our investor resource library, Asiapedia, for related resources.

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