The Malta Financial Services Authority has published guidelines regarding the redomiciliation of offshore funds to Malta under the Companies Act, Continuation of Companies Regulations, 2002.

The guidelines specify the documentation required from fund promoters and outline the way the process is handled by the authorisation unit and the registry of companies at the MFSA.

They are available for downloading from the MFSA’s website (www.mfsa.com.mt) under the heading Securities/Guide to Regulation.

Companies including insurance and securities firms have been using Malta’s redomiciliation legislation since it came into force in 2002 largely because the process allows companies to retain the same legal personality.

However, the need has arisen for the publication of guidelines for funds due to an increase in the number of managers enquiring about the redomiciliation procedures in recent months. The Malta funds regime allows funds to have external administrators and custodians in contrast to other jurisdictions which require the service providers to be present in the domicile.