(CNS): After 10 years domiciled in the Cayman Islands, Seagate Technology, the world’s largest hard-drive maker by sales has moved to Ireland while Frontier Mining plans to re-domicile its company from Delaware in the US to Cayman. Seagate said it expects to minimize its tax burden and benefit from the "extensive network of tax treaties" in Ireland. While Frontier’s board said incorporation in Delaware is no longer efficient from a commercial or financial perspective and now, as it shifts focus to mining in Kazakhstan, it believes the Cayman Islands to be the most suitable place to incorporate its new company.
Last month, the company began the construction of the open pit mine at its Benkala copper project in Kazakhstan, where initial production is targeted for the first half of 2011. Frontier said in a release that when it initially incorporated the company in Delaware, in 1998, it planned to make acquisitions and establish operations in the United States, as well as the greater C.I.S. region. However, it has since refocused its strategy and now intends to develop by expanding its operations in Kazakhstan.
The company said being incorporated in Delaware it share dealing in London is restricted which could potentially limit access to future opportunities.
“The board has carefully considered several options and believes the Cayman Islands to be the most suitable place to domicile the group’s holding company together with the enhanced tax efficiency resulting from the incorporation of intermediate holding companies in the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands,” it said.
The change will be effected via a merger, involving a share exchange with a new Cayman Islands company. The new Cayman Island incorporated company will subsequently be admitted to trading on AIM.
