THE Isle of Man Government has signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with China.

The agreement between the two governments is the 17th TIEA the Isle of Man has signed.

The signing took place today in Douglas between Treasury Minister Anne Craine MHK and Xiao Jie, the Minister (Commissioner) of the State Administration of Taxation of the People's Republic of China.

Mrs Craine said: "The visit of Minister Xiao and the signing of the agreement are important steps in building closer relations between China and the Isle of Man.

"The announcement last week that the Isle of Man is now an approved jurisdiction for the purposes of listing companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the fact that Chinese businesses regularly use Manx companies for raising capital on the London AIM and research showing that the Isle of Man could increase the profitability of Chinese exporters to the UK and Europe all indicate that economic ties between our countries will grow."

Mrs Craine added: "The signing of this, our 17th TIEA, is a further milestone in our ongoing commitment to international tax co-operation."

The text of the agreement can be viewed on the international agreements page of the Treasury's income tax division's website at:

http://www.gov.im/treasury/incometax/sections/practitioners/internationalagreements.xml