Every Friday, we challenge our readers with five financial trivia questions drawn from the international/offshore world…
To see the answers, go to page 2. To suggest a question, email iieditorial
@odmpublishing.com.
1. On Friday, Ferrari announced it would be building a major Ferrari theme park in an undisclosed location in China. This will be the second such theme park Ferrari has opened. Where is the first?
a. Abu Dhabi b. Dubai c. Doha d. Kuwait City
2. A day pass to Ferrari World will cost you £66. Sound steep? Well, it’ll be going up soon, because the Gulf states recently agreed to introduce a value added tax (VAT) by 2018. How much will this VAT be?
a. 2% b. 5% c. 7% d. 10%
3. Former Bank of England boss Mervyn King recently published a book entitled The End of Alchemy. The book explores the role of money and banking in the post-2008 world, in which central banks appear to have run out of tricks. When King left the Bank in 2013, the official interest rate was 0.5%, the same as it is today, and the lowest it has ever been.
What was the bank rate when he joined the Bank as its chief economist in 1991?
a.6% b. 10.275% c. 12.375% d. 15.875%
4. When Mervyn King left the Bank of England, he was given a seat in the UK’s upper house, the House of Lords. When people are appointed to the House of Lords they take on a title, the sort of title that to non-British ears can sound like something out of The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. What is Mervyn King’s title?
a. Earl King of Kensington b. Baron King of Lothbury c. Lord King of Croydon d. Prince Mervyn of Hackney
5. And now to the Far East. Expats working in financial services in Thailand will be familiar with the Thai word “farang”. What does it mean?
a. a tax-efficient investment wrapper b. a type of three-wheeled vehicle, typically seen used as a taxi in Bangkok c. a derogatory term for a wealthy person d. a white person
To see the answers to this quiz, go to page 2.
Answers to the International Investment Daily Financial Trivia Quiz:
1. (a) Abu Dhabi. Called Ferrari World, the theme park was opened in 2010 and has a number of Ferrari- and Formula One-themed rides and displays. Its most striking feature, though, is the complex’s enormous, sprawling red roof (pictured).
2. (b) 5%. The introduction of the VAT, though modest by global standards, will end the United Arab Emirates’ status as an entirely tax-free jurisdiction.
3. (c) 12.375% . But that was by no means the highest it ever went; for eight months during the hyper-inflationary days of 1979 and 1980, the bank rate was 17%.
4. (d) Baron King of Lothbury.
5. (e) a white person. Or literally, a person of European origin.
