ENGARDE Senior Partner Andriy Vyshnevsky and Counsel Roman Ognevyuk, on February 10, 2010, were called in to answer the questions of the On-line conference “International Holding Structures for Ukrainian Business” on the LIGA:ZAKON portal.

Over the course of the conference its participants considered such issues as specifics of establishing holding companies, including the necessity of obtaining merger clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine; advantages and disadvantages of holding companies; the most favorable jurisdictions for setting holdings; and identification of the legal form of a holding company depending on the goals of its creation. The experts also provided elaborate answers to some questions regarding the stance of the Ukrainian legislation on holdings; the residency status of international holdings; confidentiality of holding ownership; and management models for holding companies.

As Andriy Vyshnevsky commented, the urgency of the subject was proved by the high activity of the conference’s participants, as well as by the practical application of the raised questions. The participants were interested in all the aspects – from the general procedure of creating international holdings to the specifics of forming the equity capital of a subsidiary company to receive tax preferences in different jurisdictions, and distribution instruments of financial flows. Some queries touched the suitability of the national legislation for creating holdings. “The Ukrainian legislation on holdings is currently on the initial stage of its development and doesn’t provide those benefits and preferences which can be received by building international holding companies. Consequently, the conference was dedicated exclusively to the role of international holding companies in the national business,” said Mr. Vyshnevsky.