licensed agent, and the agent is required (amongst other things) to obtain client due diligence (sometimes referred to as "know your client", or KYC) to comply with the regulations. Almost all companies formed in the British Virgin Islands are now registered under the BVI Business Companies Act (although a large number of existing companies were originally registered under the International Business Companies Act). In addition there are a small number of statutory corporations, most of which serve some kind of public function. Under the BVI Business Companies Act it is possible to register five broad types of company: Company limited by shares Company limited by guarantee and not authorised to issue shares Company limited by guarantee and authorised to issue shares Unlimited company authorised to issue shares Unlimited company not authorised to issue shares In practice the vast majority of companies are registered as companies limited by shares. Furthermore, when registering a company, the company may also further be registered specifically as: Segregated portfolio company Restricted purpose company A segregated portfolio company is a company which segregates the assets and liabilities of different classes of shares from each other and from the general assets of the company. All segregated portfolio companies are required to include the designation "(SPC)" within their name, and must comply with the Segregated Portfolio Company Regulations, 2005. A restricted purpose company is a special type of company intended for use in bankruptcy remote bond issues, and which only has limited corporate capacity to undertake certain specific purposes. Slightly unusually, in the British Virgin Islands the formation of a company does not involve the issuing of subscriber shares. Accordingly, when a company is incorporated it initially has no members. The registered agent has a statutory power to appoint the first directors of the company, and the first directors can then receive subscriptions and issue shares. However, until the first shares are issued the directors are personally liable for anything which they do in the name of the company. BVI enjoys 0% Taxation, no auditing and no paid up capital requirement. With over half its income coming from the licensing of offshore companies and related services, the BVI is a significant global player in the offshore financial services industry. Once frequently labelled as a “tax haven”, the territory has fought hard against the label in recent years, signing the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters in