However, if foreign enterprises wished to register in the UK itself, it would be an extremely difficult undertaking, and they would not be able to enjoy the same privileges as domestically registered UK companies. Thus, it was virtually an impossibility.
This, however, was in relation to the UK's mainland. For the Cayman Islands, the situation was entirely different.
As previously mentioned, in its effort to shed the Cayman Islands as a burden and let it fend for itself, the UK had granted the islands significant autonomy. This loophole was then discovered by the Governor of the Cayman Islands.
Consequently, the Governor of the Cayman Islands introduced a series of new policies, the main points of which were as follows:
1. Any person aged 18 or over, regardless of nationality, could register.
2. The registered share capital was a mere $50,000, with no need for capital verification.
3. It adopted British common law, and the company structure was that of an exempted company, meaning it was exempt from local taxation.
4. Shareholder information was kept absolutely confidential, with no requirement for shareholder registration.
5. Annual general meetings of shareholders were not required to be held in the Cayman Islands.
6. Only one shareholder and one director were needed to establish a company, and the shareholder could also be the director.
7. Any word could be chosen for the company name (though trusts, reinsurance, etc., required applications). Names like 'University,' 'Institute,' and restricted words such as 'Global' or 'Federal' could be used.
8. Company purposes were unrestricted, except for sectors requiring application, such as banking, insurance, and military.
With the release of these eight policies, virtually all restrictions imposed by normal countries and governments on company registration were lifted. As long as one possessed $50,000, they could register a company in the Cayman Islands. This company could do anything they wished and take any name they desired, representing the ultimate dream for companies worldwide.
In addition to these astonishing company policies, the Cayman Islands also announced complementary taxation policies.
These tax policies effectively abolished 90% of the world's corporate taxes, leaving only import duties, business registration fees, and tourist taxes as simple levies. Furthermore, it guaranteed the non-collection of personal income tax, corporate income tax, capital gains tax, property tax, and so forth.
The Cayman Islands could no longer be described as a tax haven; it was a veritable tax-free paradise. Even for a colossal enterprise with an annual revenue exceeding hundreds of billions of dollars, as long as no goods were imported into the Cayman Islands, the annual tax burden would only be a few tens of thousands of dollars, virtually indistinguishable from paying no tax at all.
Upon the announcement of these policies, companies and enterprises from around the world immediately flocked to the Cayman Islands for registration.
As previously stated, companies registered in the Cayman Islands were considered British enterprises and enjoyed all of Britain's international benefits. Such a favorable company structure, with minimal restrictions and a registration cost of only $50,000, coupled with negligible taxes, offered immense tax savings.
Naturally, no company could resist such an allure. Overnight, tens of thousands of companies were established in the Cayman Islands. Relying solely on business registration fees, the Cayman Islands' monthly revenue reached an astonishing $200 million, achieving a myth of overnight prosperity.
Consequently, the British government soon discovered this "bug." However, they were powerless against the Cayman Islands because these policies had been enacted by the British government itself. Reversing them would involve immense legal procedures and risks, coupled with strong opposition from the electorate. Thus, they chose to feign ignorance.
While other countries were highly displeased with the Cayman Islands' actions, which led to significant tax losses, they could not possibly go to war with Britain over the Cayman Islands.
Therefore, governments worldwide could only hastily implement "patches" to prevent companies registered in the Cayman Islands from evading too much tax. They also tacitly accepted the existence of the Cayman Islands.
Now, let us shift our focus back to Huang He.
Huang He's primary objective in registering a company in the Cayman Islands was not tax evasion, nor was it to leverage the advantages of a foreign-invested enterprise to gain policy benefits upon returning to China.
On the contrary, he intended for this company, named "America First," to operate in the United States. Since "America First" was effectively a British company, it would face virtually no policy hurdles or legal restrictions, allowing it to engage in any business Huang He desired.
Of course, some might question whether Americans were fools and unable to discover that a company named "America First" was actually a Chinese enterprise.
Believe it or not, they truly couldn't. At the very least, they couldn't find a complete chain of evidence proving that this company belonged to Huang He.
This was the second reason Huang He chose to register in the Cayman Islands: companies registered in the Cayman Islands were not required to disclose any shareholder information.
Under normal circumstances, when registering a company in any country, one would need to list the names, nationalities, and shareholdings of the company's shareholders in the relevant corporate documents.
Even in countries that kept such information confidential and inaccessible to the public, if a government wished to investigate, it could instantly uncover the company's origins and dealings.
The Cayman Islands, however, were different. Official corporate documents filed in the Cayman Islands did not require the disclosure of any company owner's name. Their documents only retained a uniquely marked certificate of ownership.
Anyone possessing the corresponding, uniquely marked documentation could prove their ownership of the company. This way, even the Cayman Islands government was unaware of the company's actual controller.
Thus, as long as Huang He held the company's certificate of ownership, he could secretly control the company and carry out any actions he wished. No government or institution could trace the company's shareholders back to him, Huang He, because even the Cayman Islands government didn't know who that person was.
The only entity that might have known was the staff member who handled Huang He's registration process, as their name would have been recorded during the creation of the relevant documentation.
However, this staff member would have memorized it, not recorded it on any paper documents. With the Cayman Islands staff registering thousands of companies annually, it was impossible for them to remember the owner's name and identity for each company they handled.
Tragically, a year later, the white man driving the car was involved in a fatal accident. When the police found him, he had been reduced to a bloody pulp.
This incident was not orchestrated by Huang He, but by another prominent figure who had registered a company in secret and wished to conceal their identity. Their intention was to hide their existence, but they inadvertently helped Huang He eliminate the only Westerner in the world who knew who the ultimate owner of "America First" was.
As a result, when this magnate later attempted to investigate "America First," they found no information, which could be considered a case of lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot.
Returning to the main narrative, after completing the registration of "America First," Huang He's next step was to find an agent in the United States to serve as the CEO of "America First" and manage the company on his behalf.
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On February 26, 2002, an astonishing piece of news suddenly erupted online: Microsoft China announced its acquisition of all QQ operations, stating that QQ would become a subsidiary of the Microsoft Group.
This announcement sent shockwaves not only across the internet but also among prominent Chinese entrepreneurs. In interviews with media reporters, these entrepreneurs expressed that QQ was on the cusp of a glorious rebirth.
With the technological and financial support of an international giant like Microsoft, QQ would undoubtedly enter a more brilliant phase of competition with 00. However, the question remained whether QQ could maintain its current market advantage.
Their reasoning was simple: Microsoft possessed abundant capital and technology. The fundamental reason QQ had lagged behind 00 was a lack of funds and insufficient servers to support QQ and QQ Spaces.
However, the situation had changed. Microsoft had ample capital, and QQ's user experience would undoubtedly be smoother than 00's.
Another significant factor was that Microsoft was an international enterprise and the world's leading computer company. Even an average employee from Microsoft was a top-tier business elite, a technological genius, or a doctor of management.
Compared to Microsoft, Jiangnan was merely a collection of country bumpkins. Once the excellent Microsoft began managing and operating QQ, it was certain to rectify previous mistakes and help them defeat 00.
Everyone believed these predictions would come true in the near future. Even within the Jiangnan Group, a sense of anxiety arose. Leng Zhiruo specially made an international call from Shanghai to Mr. Huang, inquiring whether the head office should develop a comprehensive plan overnight to deal with Microsoft's sudden emergence.
"Deal with what?" Huang He yawned. It was still late at night in the Cayman Islands, and he was fast asleep, dreaming pleasant dreams, only to be woken by Leng Zhiruo's call.
Leng Zhiruo helplessly repeated her question.
"Completely unnecessary!" Huang He yawned again and said, "If others were running QQ, I might be a little worried. But if it's Microsoft... Zhiruo, you don't need to worry about these fellows at all. You'd be better off worrying if we've turned off the gas at home or switched off the lights; those practical concerns are more realistic!"
"Brother-in-law, that's Microsoft! This time, it's Microsoft!"
"Exactly, I'm talking about Microsoft. Don't worry, there's no company more useless than Microsoft in this world. We don't need to do anything; Microsoft will self-destruct!" Huang He said nonchalantly.