The Prometheus League
Breaking News and Updates
- Abolition Of Work
- Ai
- Alt-right
- Alternative Medicine
- Antifa
- Artificial General Intelligence
- Artificial Intelligence
- Artificial Super Intelligence
- Ascension
- Astronomy
- Atheism
- Atheist
- Atlas Shrugged
- Automation
- Ayn Rand
- Bahamas
- Bankruptcy
- Basic Income Guarantee
- Big Tech
- Bitcoin
- Black Lives Matter
- Blackjack
- Boca Chica Texas
- Brexit
- Caribbean
- Casino
- Casino Affiliate
- Cbd Oil
- Censorship
- Cf
- Chess Engines
- Childfree
- Cloning
- Cloud Computing
- Conscious Evolution
- Corona Virus
- Cosmic Heaven
- Covid-19
- Cryonics
- Cryptocurrency
- Cyberpunk
- Darwinism
- Democrat
- Designer Babies
- DNA
- Donald Trump
- Eczema
- Elon Musk
- Entheogens
- Ethical Egoism
- Eugenic Concepts
- Eugenics
- Euthanasia
- Evolution
- Extropian
- Extropianism
- Extropy
- Fake News
- Federalism
- Federalist
- Fifth Amendment
- Fifth Amendment
- Financial Independence
- First Amendment
- Fiscal Freedom
- Food Supplements
- Fourth Amendment
- Fourth Amendment
- Free Speech
- Freedom
- Freedom of Speech
- Futurism
- Futurist
- Gambling
- Gene Medicine
- Genetic Engineering
- Genome
- Germ Warfare
- Golden Rule
- Government Oppression
- Hedonism
- High Seas
- History
- Hubble Telescope
- Human Genetic Engineering
- Human Genetics
- Human Immortality
- Human Longevity
- Illuminati
- Immortality
- Immortality Medicine
- Intentional Communities
- Jacinda Ardern
- Jitsi
- Jordan Peterson
- Las Vegas
- Liberal
- Libertarian
- Libertarianism
- Liberty
- Life Extension
- Macau
- Marie Byrd Land
- Mars
- Mars Colonization
- Mars Colony
- Memetics
- Micronations
- Mind Uploading
- Minerva Reefs
- Modern Satanism
- Moon Colonization
- Nanotech
- National Vanguard
- NATO
- Neo-eugenics
- Neurohacking
- Neurotechnology
- New Utopia
- New Zealand
- Nihilism
- Nootropics
- NSA
- Oceania
- Offshore
- Olympics
- Online Casino
- Online Gambling
- Pantheism
- Personal Empowerment
- Poker
- Political Correctness
- Politically Incorrect
- Polygamy
- Populism
- Post Human
- Post Humanism
- Posthuman
- Posthumanism
- Private Islands
- Progress
- Proud Boys
- Psoriasis
- Psychedelics
- Putin
- Quantum Computing
- Quantum Physics
- Rationalism
- Republican
- Resource Based Economy
- Robotics
- Rockall
- Ron Paul
- Roulette
- Russia
- Sealand
- Seasteading
- Second Amendment
- Second Amendment
- Seychelles
- Singularitarianism
- Singularity
- Socio-economic Collapse
- Space Exploration
- Space Station
- Space Travel
- Spacex
- Sports Betting
- Sportsbook
- Superintelligence
- Survivalism
- Talmud
- Technology
- Teilhard De Charden
- Terraforming Mars
- The Singularity
- Tms
- Tor Browser
- Trance
- Transhuman
- Transhuman News
- Transhumanism
- Transhumanist
- Transtopian
- Transtopianism
- Ukraine
- Uncategorized
- Vaping
- Victimless Crimes
- Virtual Reality
- Wage Slavery
- War On Drugs
- Waveland
- Ww3
- Yahoo
- Zeitgeist Movement
-
Prometheism
-
Forbidden Fruit
-
The Evolutionary Perspective
Monthly Archives: September 2021
Wind Down This Weekend With Ambient Meditations S2 Vol 48 – Rena Jones – Magnetic Magazine
Posted: September 12, 2021 at 9:21 am
Our complete podcast series is available on these fine platforms and on Mixcloud + Soundcloud - below at the end of the post is our complete Ambient Meditation Series and Spotify Playlist that is updated weekly:
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Acast | TuneIn | Pocket Casts | Breaker | Stitcher
Ambient Meditations S2 Vol 48 - Rena Jones
Getting back into gear after Labor Day is no easy task, especially when it still feels like summer (well, it technically is). To help you downshift into the fall work grind or back to school grind or whatever grind you are attempting to tackle, we have tapped Emancipator collaborator Rena Jones. Her new single "A New Dawn Awaits" is out today, and you can check it out below, and her full-length album will be coming up on November 5th. The album is called Allegories and is just in time for long computer screen halls, holiday shopping clicks, cold weather, and of course, that post-Thanksgiving have for all the Americans out there. So wind down into your weekend with this lovely mix from Rena Jones - it pairs well with Pumpkin Beer, don't knock it until you try it!
Check out other mixes in the Ambient Meditations Series HERE
Ambient Meditations 48 Tracklist - Rena Jones
1. Helene Vogelsinger - Contemplation - "Astral Projection"
2. Emancipator, Rena Jones, Flowerpulse - Xylem- "Thus"
3. Oona Dahl - Re:Luminate EP - "Wait Lifted" David Last Remix
4. Jako Jako - Aequilibration - "Resilienz"
5. Matt Robertson - Enveleau - "Kalimba"
6. John Hopkins - Singularity - "Singularity"
7. Catarina Barberi- Fantas Resynthesized for 808 And 202 (feat. Carlo Maria)
8. Emancipator, Rena Jones, Flowerpulse - Xylem - "The Sleeping Princess Stairs"
9. Rena Jones - Allegories - "A New Dawn Awaits"
Soundcloud Complete Season 2 Playlist
Soundcloud Complete Season One Playlist
Spotify Playlist (Weekly Updates)
Rena Jones in the studio
More about Rena Jones:
Multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer Rena Jones is a force to be reckoned with. At age 30, she boasts more than 30 collaborative albums, 3 full length solo albums, 20 years of classical violin study, and 12 years of cello, and she is considered one of the leading women in audio engineering today."-Strings Magazine 2007Her extensive background in music and sound engineering covers a colorful spectrum.As a freelancer, she composed music for the award-winning video game Dance Dance Revolution and Adobe software, as well as designing patches for Twisted Tools and Keith McMillen Instruments. She also worked for Avid, supporting the development of Pro-Tools audio software. As an audio engineer, she mixed for Beats Antique, co-produced, engineered and mixed Lynx's album "On the Horizon",engineered in Sylvia Massy's legendary RadioStar studio, Recombinant Media Labs in San Francisco, and Brighton U.K.'s Metway Studios. Similarly, she's collaborated on projects as an engineer in her home State in Oregon at Wildwood Studios, Cloud City Sound and her own private studio. Passionate about musician's rights and the state of the industry, she also serves as a voting member at the Recording Academy in the Producer and Engineers wing and is currently serving as a District Advocate at the Recording Academy. Known for her unique ambient-electronic chamber music, Rena released original compositions on groundbreaking labels such as Loci Records, Disco Geko, Iboga, Spun Records, Aleph Zero, 1320 Records, Addictech, Ultimae and Schematic Records, while also running her own label Cartesian Binary Recordings.
In her vast audio catalog, two of Rena's studio albums were chosen amongst the top 25 essential albums of the year on Echoes Radio in 2006 and 2009, and her recent collaborative release with Emancipator and Flowerpulse was featured on Echoes Radio in 2021. With over two decades of experience as a seasoned studio musician, Rena's highly sought-after string playing has landed her on albums with Emancipator, STS9, edIT (Glitch Mob), Funckarma, Beats Antique, Sophie Barker and Grammy nominated artist J. Viewz. Leaning into her love of collaborative music from her recent experiences with "Echoes", collaborations with artists Sophie Barker (Zero 7 and Groove Armada), Matt Robertson (Bjork, Lamb, Batt for Lashes) Earl Harvin (Seal, Air),and following the success of her collaborative album "Xylem" with Emancipator and Flowerpulse, Rena delivers a potent new album "Allegories",her most live and collaborative album to-date. Featuring lifetime collaborators including multi-instrumentalist Jeff Thomas Potts, Jason McKenzie on tablas, Asher Fulero on drum kit and Marc Sciglimpaglia on live bass, Rena continues to evolve her unique approach to electronic and organic instrumentation. "Literally one of the best experimental artists currently making tracks. Layers and layers of experimental-electronic goodness, focus constantly shifts from leads to bridges to the beat and back around again, using sounds in Ableton Live that many others would have difficulty with, but instead forms an analog/virtual opus."-Women's Radio
Allegories -Rena Jones - OutNovember 05, 2021 | Cartesian Binary Recordings
The sixth full-length album from Rena Jones - 'Allegories', is a sonic-emotive exploration of the transformative power of storytelling.
This year she has already drawn wide-reaching support from the likes of FIP, KEXP, Echoes, WorldwideFM and Openlab at radio, in addition to multiple Spotify editorial placements via her recent collaboration with Emancipator.
Similar to music, storytelling is a uniquely beautiful way to engage with history, art and culture, continuing Rena's tradition of conceptual albums, 'Allegories' takes a deep dive into sound design with music as metaphor and allegory. The new album draws heavily on Greek Mythology and classical allegorical tales, with the ultimate journey left to the listener.
Waxing poetic through 'Allegories', Rena Jones delivers her most live and collaborative album to-date. Bringing in lifetime collaborators like multi-instrumentalist Jeff Thomas Potts on strings, Jason McKenzie on live tablas, Asher Fulero on live drums and Marc Sciglimpaglia on live bass, 'Allegories' finds its way into uniquely luscious grooves.
Rich with sonic-multiverses that unfold with unyielding beauty, 'Allegories' is a landmark addition to Rena's catalog of thought-provoking and emotive music.
She conjures up the relaxing and introspective vibe of the Vienna school of chillout and lounge music, yet the sound is infused with her own unique classical and world influences from her well-versed strings background. The result is a wonderful plethora of styles happily coexisting in a laid back stage.
I felt inspired to write "Allegories" by searching for stories that imagine a better future, while also understanding the unique power of music and art to transform culture. Struck by this simple thought, that we have to imagine a better future before we can start to create it, I hope to engage listeners to become curious about ways to dream of a better world, while also drifting through a deeply immersive, emotive and powerful sonic journey. Unlike metaphors, parables or narratives, Allegories are unique in how they can be applied to multiple concepts. I wrote "Allegories" for you, the listener, to find your own story within the crevices of melody and sound I carefully crafted.
"Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it." Bertolt Brecht
Go here to see the original:
Wind Down This Weekend With Ambient Meditations S2 Vol 48 - Rena Jones - Magnetic Magazine
Posted in Singularity
Comments Off on Wind Down This Weekend With Ambient Meditations S2 Vol 48 – Rena Jones – Magnetic Magazine
Tabletop Kickstarter Alert: Explore the Stars in The Artemis Odyssey – GeekDad
Posted: at 9:21 am
The Artemis Project remains one of my favorite games. Now, its sequel is here, and promises to be just as good a game.
GeekDad Approved The Artemis Odyssey is a game for 1-5 players, ages 14 and up, and takes about an hour to play. Its currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, with a pledge level of $55 for a copy of the game.
The Artemis Odyssey was designed by Bruno Faidutti and Serge Laget and published by Grand Gamers Guild, with illustrations by Josh Cappel.
New to Kickstarter? Check out our crowdfunding primer.
Note: My review is based on a prototype copy, so it is subject to change and may not reflect final component quality. In particular, the playing pieces in the prototype, shown below, do not resemble the planned final pieces at all.
In the box, you will find:
As noted above, none of the playing pieces in the box resemble at all the final artwork for the game. Instead, the prototype merely uses pieces recycled from other games. However, given past products from this publisher, in particularThe Artemis Project, I have no doubt that the final version of the game will have gorgeous playing pieces.
The artwork on the other pieces is presumably closer to finished.
The planning board shows a row of ten spaces for cards used during the game, and a score tracker below that. As playing cards to this board is one of the key mechanics in the game, its nice that this is kept simple. The score tracker makes it easy to see where youre at during the game, and the hexagonal spaces will match the eventual final pieces used on the board.
Each player has an action deck in their color. The distribution of the cards within each deck is the same: each player gets four scoring cards, three production cards, two travel cards, and one each of the trade and build cards. However, the resource and travel cards are different within each deck; Ill explain more on that in the How to Play section. Here again, the art is simple and focused: the bottom half or so of the card features a large icon showing which type of card it is, while the top portion shows icons with the details of how that card plays. The lower section with the card type icon is in the player color, making it easy to tell at a glance whose card this is.
The backs of the cards feature a drawing of an alien race. This isnt at all important for the game, but the pictures are very nicely done, and the style of art fits into the bigger Artemis gametic universe.
The star and planet tokens are also nicely done. The stars represent our sun and eight other stars, each named for a sign of the zodiac: Aquarius, Aries, Libra, Pices, Cancer, Leo, Scorpio, and Sagittasius. These names have no bearing at all on game play either, but in addition to the symbol printed on each planet, there is also a cool representation of what the star itself might look like. Its all visual flair, but its much more interesting than just having nine stars that all look like normal suns.
The planets show what the planet would look like, with a small icon for the resource type produced by the planet. Theyre all nicely color coded, but one small quibble with the artwork of the game I would have is that the resource icons on these should be a lot bigger and easier to see, as thats the important element for game play.
The resource cards simply show a large drawing of each resource. Two, I think, are obvious representations: water and energy. Two of the ore types are likewise obvious. The rest are more abstract, with food looking like some kind of weird green plant, and the final ore being some kind of purple blob. At first glance theyre all kind of weird, but players can generally figure them out quickly, with the only potential lasting confusion being differentiating the three ores. However, thats not really an important factor, as the ores all serve identical roles in the game. And most importantly, the icons are color-coded to their matching planets.
Unlike the action and resource cards, which are 44mm x 68mm, the alien cards are closer to poker-sized. They feature the alien planet on the back, but the front of each card is unique, showing a large piece of art and then instructions on how and when the card can be used.
For the solo and 2 player variants, the game includes a set of singularity cards and a singularity token. The solo game also relies on a set of mission cards.
You can download a draft of the rulebook here.
The goal of the game is to be the player with the most points when the last planet is discovered or when a player reaches or passes 77 points.
Each player chooses a color and takes the components of that color. This includes the deck of action cards, the starships, colonies, factories and terraformers, and their score marker.
If playing with three people, two alient planets are returned to the box. With four players, one alien planet is returned.
Then, all nine stars are placed on the table. The positioning doesnt matter at all, but they need to be placed far enough from each other that planets can be placed around them.
Take one of each of the six resource planets (not including an alien planet) and place it face-down around the sun. Then, each player, in any order, chooses one of these planets, flips it over, and places a starship and a factory on it. The remaining planets are returned to the supply.
All of the remaining planets, including the unused ones from the sun and the alien planets, are flipped to their back sides, shuffled, and distributed around the other stars. Each star needs no less than three planets and no more than seven, but the actual distribution should be as random as possible. The resource cards are then separated into individual decks, which are placed in reach of everyone. The alien artifact deck should be shuffled and placed nearby. The planning board is placed somewhere on the table within everyones reach. Several of the spaces on the board have icons indicating that they are not used with certain player counts (for example, the 10 spot is only used in a 5 player game); a terraformer piece from an unused player color should be placed on these spots so that they are not accidentally used.
Each player takes one of each resource card, and places their scoring token on the 7 spot on the score track. A starting player is chosen at random.
The game is played over a series of rounds, with each round divided into phases.
In the planning phase, each player will take one of their action cards and place it, facedown, on the planning board. The phase starts with the starting player and proceeds clockwise. On their turn, each player places a single card in an open space on the board. The spaces do not need to be filled consecutively, but they will be resolved in numerical order.
One every available slot on the planning board is filled, the first card is flipped over and resolved. Then, each additional card is flipped and resolved. Once all of the cards have been resolved, a new phase begins unless the end condition is met.
As noted above, each player has three production cards in their deck. Each of these cards shows two of the possible resources. When the card is revealed, the plannerthe person who played this cardchooses one of the two resources on the card.Every player then receives that resource if they have planets that generate it. They get one card for each starship or colony they have on a matching planet, and two for each factory. Alien planets never produce resources regardless of the assets on them, and terraformers never produce resources even if they are on a production planet. Its important to note that while all players have three of these cards, the distribution of the resources among the cards varies.
Each action deck also has two travel cards. Each card shows three of the systems. The planner chooses one of the systems on the card and may them move one of their starships to a planet in that system. Note that the distance between systems is irrelevant; all starships can reach all systems regardless of their starting point. One the planner has either moved or chosen not to, each other player may move on starship to thesame system. The planner, however, determines the order in which the other players may move, and it may not be possible for everyone to move.
You may only travel to a planet that either has no assets on it or other assets you own; you may never travel to a planet owned by someone else. You may travel to an undiscovered planet (one that is facedown) or to one that has been discovered (face up). When traveling, you may peek at each planet in the system before deciding to which planet they wish to travel.
It is possible for the planner to choose a system one of their starships is already on simply to move to a different (available) planet, and possibly, to prevent other players from being to move at all if that would mean that there are no other planets available. Players can also choose to abandon a planet that only has a starship on it by moving that starship somewhere else; that planet would then already be discovered but available for others to move to later.
When you discover a production planet by flipping a facedown planet over, you immediately gain one of that type of resource from the bank. When you discover an alien planet, you draw one card from the alien artifact deck for each alien planet on which you currently have assets. You choose one card to keep and discard the rest.
A key strategy point here: each player has two travel cards, and each card has three systems. This means that there are two systems that you cannot travel to by playing one of your cards; you can only get there when another player who has that system on one of their cards chooses to travel to it. You should therefore be aware of the systems you can get to, and make sure that you take the opportunity to travel to those other systems when those cards are played. The starting system (ours) cannot be traveled back to, as it is not represented by any action card (although there is one alien artifact card that will let that player get back there.)
Each deck contains one of each of the trade and build cards. The trade card allows the planner to offer and negotiate any trades with any other players (although those players may not trade amongst themselves). If they cant work out a deal, they can trade with the bank. They can trade multiple times with the bank, but at an increasing cost: the first trade is any one resource for any one other resource, but the second trade is any two resources for any one resource from the bank, the third trade is three-for-one, and so forth.
When the build card is revealed, the planner may build two assets. Then, each other player, in an order determined by the planner, may build one asset of their choosing. Starships cost one energy and one of each of the three ores, and can be placed on any planet where the player has at least one other asset. Colonies cost one food, one water, and one of any type of ore. A colony can be placed on any planet where the player has a starship or terraformer, but not where they already have a colony or a factory. Factories cost two energy and 1 ore of any kind, but may only replace an existing colony. (In an example of play, the rules do state that the planner, who gets two builds, could in one turn build a colony, and then immediately replace that with a factory, as long as they had the resources to do it.) Terraformers cost two water and two food, and may only be placed on a water, food, or alien planet, and on a planet that already has a starship, colony, or factory on it.
Building any asset other than a starship on an alien planet immediately scores three points, but note that they will never produce resources. Terraformers do not produce resources regardless, but the player does earn three points immediately when they are built on any planet.
The final four decks in each deck allow the players to score points. Each score card has two scoring conditions, and as with other action cards, the planner chooses which one will take effect for all players. One of these cards scores 1 point for each colony and 2 for each factory, or 2 points for each starship. Another scores 2 points for each alien planet that players occupy (with at least one asset), or 3 for each terraformer. The third card scores 2 points for each asset in the system in which the player has the most assets, or 1 point for each system where they have at least one asset. The final card scores for players discarding resources from their hard: either 1 point for each card in a matching set of at least two cards, or 2 cards for each set of different resources they discard.
The player whose score card is revealed first in a round takes the first player marker for the following round.
Any time a player discovers an alien planet, they gain an alien artifact card. Each card grants the player a special power, but each can only be used once before being discarded from the game. The cards all state when they can be used.
The first time any player reaches 42 on the scoring track, the player with the lowest number of points draws artifacts equal to the number of players. They look at the cards, keeping from hidden from everyone else, and choose one to keep. They then pass the remaining cards to the second-lowest scorer, who repeats this, until the highest scorer (the one who passed 42) gets the remaining card.
Once all of the cards have been revealed and all actions have been resolved, there is a brief end-of-round phase. First, everyone counts their resource cards and must discard cards of their choosing down to 10. Then, you should check to make sure the proper player has the first player marker (it will be whomever played a score card in the lowest slot on the planning board; if no one played one, it remains with whomever had it last.) Then, any score cards that were played and removed from the planning board and returned to their players but placed in a discard pile,not their hand.Finally, all other action cards are returned to each players hand. Players may only pick up their score cards and return them to their hand once all four are in their discard pile.
Unless an endgame condition has been met, players begin a new round.
The game ends at the end of the current round when either the last planet is discovered or a player reaches or exceeds 77 points. Whomever has the most points wins; in case of a tie, all tied players win.
While the game is officially for 1-5 players, the rules do provide for a team variant for 6 or 8 players. In this scenario, you follow the setup rules for either 3 or 4 players, but form players into teams, who sit across from each other at the table. Players on a team share components, acting as one player in everything except that at the beginning of a round, the action cards are shuffled and dealt evenly to each player. When playing cards during the planning round, teammates are not allowed to indicate which card they played or suggesting which card their partner should play. In the action phase, the teammate who played the card is the planner, and again, the teammate may not make suggestions as to how the action should be played. The planner chooses one partner from each team to perform the action, and that team member must act alone.
Note that I did not have a chance to play the game with this variant.
The game varies slightly for two players. During setup, two alien planets are removed. The singularity deck is shuffled and placed near the planning board, and the singularity token in placed in space 3 of the planning board. During the planning phase, no cards may be put in the slot with the token. During the action phase, when the tokens spot is reached, the top card of the singularity deck is revealed and resolved. When using the trade action, the planner may trade with the bank as normal, but the other player may also trade, although they begin with a two-for-one trade and work up from there. Finally, when traveling to an alien planeteven one that has already been discoveredthe player may peek at the top card of the singularity deck.
As with the team variant, I did not have a chance to play the two-player version of the game.
The game also includes rules and components for solo play. To play alone, select a single color and take its components. Take four planets of each type, the sun, and the six stars that appear on your travel cards. Place one planet next to the sun at random, and place the others around the six suns. Place one factory and one starship on the starting planet, and take one resource of each type. Remove the Black Hole Grenade, Black Hole Bomb, Hypnotic Device, and Amnesia Beam cards from the alien artifact deck, then shuffle the remaining cards. Shuffle the singularity deck and place the token on the third space on the planning board. Either select a mission card or shuffle that deck and choose one at random.
During the planning phase, you place three action cards of your choosing on the empty slots on the planning board. Theres obviously no need to place them face down. During the action phase, you resolve the actions as normal. When you reach the singularity token, take the top card from the singularity deck and resolve it before moving on.
When traveling to a system, you may peek at the planets as normal, but you may not look at undiscovered planets later; you just need to remember which ones are where.
The game ends after thirteen rounds, when the singularity deck is exhausted. You win if you completed the mission cards objective.
At first glance, the core mechanic ofOdyssey is very similar toCatan: you are building things that allow you to generate resources to build more things, which gives you points. In fact, when I was first teaching the game to my gaming group, I found myself saying kind of like inCatan, you do this
However, while it turns out that describing elements of the game as Catan-like was a useful shorthand for teaching it, once we got into the game, the similarities to that other game very quickly disappeared.
For starters, while yes you need to build things on planets to generate resources to build more things, the generation of those resources is completely strategy based. The only luck in the game comes when youre choosing a system to travel toif youre looking for a particular resource, you may or may not discover the right planet in that system. But even that luck-based element slowly diminishes as the game progresses, since more and more of the planets will already be discovered and you really can just travel to exactly the planet you need.
But the game also includes a somewhat unique twist on a programming mechanic. Each round, youre choosing two or three (depending on how many players you have) actions that youre going to perform, and at least within your cards, the order youll perform them. The game doesnt have the normal gotcha that exists in many other programming games where a card played by someone else may render your next action mootyoure definitely going to get to play all of your actions. But, youre also going to get to play all of the actions from the other players as well, and this is where the game gets very interesting strategically.
As an example, when you play a travel card, you not only have to decide which system is the best one for you to travel to, you also have to decide which one is perhaps the worst for your opponents. Its possible that youll have a system with fewer planets than there are players, so if you travel there, one or two of your opponents will not also be able to travel there. And best of all,you as the planner get to decide who doesnt get the benefit.
Producing resources is even trickier. When a resource card you played is revealed, you can choose which one to produce. But you have to remember that just because you played the card, you arent necessarily going to produce a resourceits easy to mess up and, for example, plan to get a water because you have a starship on a water planet, but then eariler in the round take advantage of someone elses travel card and move that starship to another planet, having forgotten that you needed to leave it there to produce the water. Or, you may have thought you wanted water, but then you notice that another player will get more water than you, and so you choose the other resource on the card.
The scoring cards are where you have the most decisions to make. Each one has a pair of criteria, but only one will count and as always, you get to pick which one. So do you take those four points for your factories, even though doing so gives an opponent eight points for theirs, or do you take the single point for the starship, denying the other players their bigger points? And then add to the mix that every time you play a scoring card, you lose that card for at least a round or two, but at the same time, if you dont play your scoring cards, and instead rely on others to do so, you can never get the first player token, which at times can have a big impact.
So while the game without question shares a certain amount of DNA withCatan, it is very decidely its own game. Its a deep, pure strategy game that combines and twists several different mechanics, resulting in a very fun, if very cerebral game. Its also a game that may take a bit to grow on peoplewhen we played it, one of my friends wasnt too impressed by it for the first round or two, but by the end was thoroughly enjoying the game.
I personally cannot wait to see the final version of the game. I know from past experience that Grand Gamers Guild does a fantastic job of producing absolutely fantastic games with very high quality components, and Im sure this one will be no different. Id highly recommend that you back the game on Kickstarter. I know I am.
For more information or to make a pledge, visit The Artemis Odyssey Kickstarter page!
Click here to see all our tabletop game reviews.
To subscribe to GeekDads tabletop gaming coverage, please copy this link and add it to your RSS reader.
Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Related
Read this article:
Tabletop Kickstarter Alert: Explore the Stars in The Artemis Odyssey - GeekDad
Posted in Singularity
Comments Off on Tabletop Kickstarter Alert: Explore the Stars in The Artemis Odyssey – GeekDad
Letter: Advance offshore wind development now – Concord Monitor
Posted: at 9:21 am
Published: 9/12/2021 7:00:14 AM
As a Granite Stater and a member of the League of Conservation Voters, I strongly urge Gov. Sununu to issue an Executive Order by Dec. 31st in support of responsibly developing offshore wind resources in the Gulf of Maine to benefit New Hampshire communities and workers and to lessen the impact of climate change. In order to advance the development of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine, the Executive Order should include: directing New Hampshire public utilities to procure 800 MW of offshore wind (enough energy to power 400,000 homes) and a request to the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management that the Gulf Maine Task Force meet to advance the process of designating potential offshore wind lease areas.
Responsible development of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine should include these principles: encouraging regional collaboration among the New England States, maximizing the creation of high-quality union jobs, delivering community benefits with attention to improving access for displaced workers, BIPOC workers, and low-income workers, expanding domestic manufacturing with a robust supply chain, and protecting fisheries, wildlife and New Hampshire ecosystem from potential environmental impacts. With hurricanes, droughts, wildfires and flooding happening more often and more intensely, it is more apparent than ever that climate change is here. We must do all that we can to lessen the impact of climate change. Responsibly developing offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine is one way to mitigate climate change, while also creating good-paying union jobs for Granite Staters.
Johnathan Hoogeveen
Manchester
Read the original:
Letter: Advance offshore wind development now - Concord Monitor
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on Letter: Advance offshore wind development now – Concord Monitor
Over two-thirds of offshore oil output remains shut in U.S. Gulf -regulator – Reuters
Posted: at 9:21 am
HOUSTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.S. offshore oil companies restored almost 200,000 barrels of production on Friday, while most of the Gulf Coast crude output remained offline following Hurricane Ida, government data showed.
The storm hit the U.S. Gulf of Mexico almost two weeks ago, damaging infrastructure and removing more than 21 million barrels of production from the market.
Over two-thirds of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's oil production, or 1.2 million barrels per day, were still shut as repair efforts dragged on, helping to support global oil prices.
Over 1.68 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas were also offline on Friday, while a total of 65 platforms and three rigs continue evacuated, said the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest U.S. privately owned deepwater crude terminal, has fully reopened its marine operations for imports and exports. read more
Pipeline operator Enbridge (ENB.TO) on Friday said its offshore assets were ready to operate once producers bring production back online.
Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Thursday sought another 1.5 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to feed its 520,000 barrels per day Baton Rouge refinery. The oil "will help us completely restore normal operations," said Julie King, a company spokesperson.
Chevron on Thursday said it has restored partial production at its Jack St. Malo and Blind Faith platforms.
Reporting by Marianna Parraga and Sabrina Valle; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Andrea Ricci
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
More here:
Over two-thirds of offshore oil output remains shut in U.S. Gulf -regulator - Reuters
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on Over two-thirds of offshore oil output remains shut in U.S. Gulf -regulator – Reuters
Exxon Mobil discloses another oil discovery offshore Guyana – Reuters
Posted: at 9:21 am
A view of the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., May 15, 2021. Picture taken May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Kathleen Flynn/File Photo
Sept 9 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) said on Thursday it had made a discovery at Pinktail in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, as it develops a major new oil and gas find.
Exxon operates the 6.6-million-acre Stabroek Block as part of a consortium that includes Hess Corp (HES.N) and China's CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK). It has made at least 20 discoveries there.
The company said the find would add to the previous recoverable resource estimate of more than 9 billion barrels of oil and gas, without specifying the size of reserves in its latest discovery.
The company's second offshore production facility, the Liza Unity, set sail from Singapore to Guyana in early September. The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is crossing the East Indian Ocean, with an estimated arrival in Guyana on Nov. 15, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data.
The Unity FPSO will be utilized for the Liza Phase 2 development and is expected to begin production in early 2022, with an output capacity of about 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.
The consortium began producing crude in late 2019. Hess Chief Executive Officer John Hess said in remarks to the Barclays CEO Energy-Power Conference on Thursday the Liza 1 project was producing at its nameplate capacity of 120,000 bpd.
He said the company expected the Stabroek block to produce at least 1 million bpd through six FPSOs by 2027.
The Payara project, the consortium's third in the Stabroek block, is expected to start up in 2024, Hess told an investor conference hosted by Barclays.
Exxon expects to submit a development plan for its fourth Guyana project, Yellowtail, later this year, said Hess.
Hess Chief Operating Officer Greg Hill said he expected Guyana's government to approve the consortium's development plan for Yellowtail, its fourth project, by the end of this year.
Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Edmund Blair and David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
See original here:
Exxon Mobil discloses another oil discovery offshore Guyana - Reuters
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on Exxon Mobil discloses another oil discovery offshore Guyana – Reuters
Construction Begins for First US Port Dedicated to Offshore Wind – The Maritime Executive
Posted: at 9:20 am
The NJ Wind Port will be the first in the US dedicated to the offshore wind industry (NJEDA)
PublishedSep 10, 2021 4:16 PM by The Maritime Executive
Construction is beginning on the U.S.s first purpose-built wind port designed to support the development of the offshore wind industry. To be located along the Delaware River in southern New Jersey, the New Jersey Wind Port will provide a location for staging, assembly, and manufacturing activities related to offshore wind projects on the East Coast.
The port will be located on an artificial island on the eastern shores of the Delaware River, southwest of the City of Salem. The site was selected in June 2020 after a 22-month assessment process that included involvement from the wind industry as well as government, and environmental stakeholders.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority has been preparing the site and finalizing design since summer 2020. It is more than five miles from the nearest New Jersey residential area and provides space to grow operations over time. When the port is in full operation it may encompass more than 150 acres devoted to the manufacturing of materials for offshore wind farms.
Several potential tenants have already expressed interest in the site, including Orsted and Atlantic Shores which also won the bidding to develop offshore wind projects in the state. Their bids also included proposals to partner with turbine manufacturers GE and Vestas to build nacelle assembly facilities at the port. The NJEDA said that it will be launching an additional tenant selection process in the coming weeks to negotiate agreements with potential tenants for the port.
The State of New Jerseys 2022 fiscal budget includes $200 million for the development of the New Jersey Wind Port in addition to $13 million from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. The New Jersey Department of Transportation will invest $44 million for the dredging to create the port.
Investing in offshore wind is vital to building a stronger, greener economy that creates high-paying jobs to support a robust recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and paves the way for long-term, equitable growth, said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy during the ceremonial groundbreaking on September 9. The New Jersey Wind Port will create thousands of high-quality jobs, bring millions of investment dollars to our state, and establish New Jersey as the national capital of offshore wind.
In addition to supporting New Jerseys commitment to producing 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, the goal of the wind port is to capture a large portion of the more than $150 billion of capital investment that will be required by 2035, and the more than 83,000 jobs projected to be created as the offshore wind industry develops along the U.S. East Coast.
As part of the groundbreaking ceremony, they also signed a project labor agreement between AECOM-Tishman, which was named construction manager for the project, and the United Building Trades Council of Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO. The agreement with the union sets the broad terms for all contractors working on the construction project.
Earthworks will begin on-site in the coming weeks and major construction is due to start in December 2021. The goal is to open the port in the winter of 2023/2024.
Link:
Construction Begins for First US Port Dedicated to Offshore Wind - The Maritime Executive
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on Construction Begins for First US Port Dedicated to Offshore Wind – The Maritime Executive
RWE, NTE and Havfram target floating offshore wind off Norway – Windpower Monthly
Posted: at 9:20 am
RWE is teaming up with Norwegian renewables developer NTE and subsea and offshore wind contractor Havfram to enter Norways upcoming floating offshore wind tender.
The trio plans to jointly bid for a lease in the deep-water Utsira Nord site, 30km west of the island of Svendsholmen off south-west Norway,.
RWE believes 1.5GW of floating offshore wind capacity could be built there but has not confirmed how much it would plan to build in Utsira Nord.
The German developer owns a stake in the TetraSpar floating offshore wind demonstration project, which is now being commissioned at a site less than 20km from Utsira Nord.
Norways Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is due to start the licensing process for two areas it has earmarked for offshore wind development Utsira Nord and Srlige Nordsj II later this year.
RWE, NTE and Havfram are likely to face stiff competition in Norway, as several bidding consortiums have set their sights on Utsira Nord.
Trios of Shell, BKK and Lyse, rsted, Hafslund Eco and Fred Olsen Renewables, Equinor and Vrgrnn a joint venture of energy companies Eni and HitecVision and a joint venture formed by Norwegian renewables developer Magnora and UK engineering firm TechnipFMC have all announced their intention to bid for projects in Utsira Nord.
RWE is also bidding to develop a fixed-bottom offshore wind farm in Srlige Nordsj II, alongside Equinor and Norwegian renewables developer Hydro REIN.
Continue reading here:
RWE, NTE and Havfram target floating offshore wind off Norway - Windpower Monthly
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on RWE, NTE and Havfram target floating offshore wind off Norway – Windpower Monthly
Report sets out roadmap of opportunities from Scotland’s offshore wind sector – RossShire Journal
Posted: at 9:20 am
The UKs Offshore Wind Sector Deal has a commitment to grow UK content of offshore wind to 60 per cent.
A new Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council report has set a clear baseline on Scottish content levels, as well as giving industry and government recommendations on a roadmap to increase the amount of work Scottish and UK businesses win from the sector.
Modelling in the report, by BVG Associates, highlights that while Scottish content in Scottish projects is 44 per cent today, Scottish-based companies have been less successful at supplying into wind farms elsewhere in the UK. For non-Scottish UK projects, Scottish content is less than one per cent.
The UKs Offshore Wind Sector Deal, agreed between the UK Government and the offshore wind sector, has a commitment to grow UK content of offshore wind to 60 per cent. To deliver this 60 per cent UK content will require significant investment. The report recommends a strategy focused on manufacturing rather than installation, and identifies towers, blades, and floating offshore wind platforms as the most promising inward investment opportunities for Scotland.
The report also highlights that future floating offshore wind projects are likely to deliver higher levels of UK and Scottish content than fixed offshore wind projects, due to the increased likelihood of platform manufacture in Scotland, the opportunity to supply mooring systems from Scotland and because more of the turbine installation work is undertaken onshore, meaning that existing expertise from the onshore market can be used.
The report estimates that 15 new manufacturing facilities would be needed to deliver 60 per cent UK content, six of which could be in Scotland. However, it also highlights that there are no compelling reasons for suppliers to choose to manufacture in Scotland compared to other UK locations.
Alongside this report, today SOWEC is also releasing a Stakeholder Map of organisations involved in offshore wind. The aim of this map is to provide information to help businesses understand who the stakeholders are and how they fit together, helping businesses know who to engage with, what for, and when.
SOWEC industry co-chair Brian McFarlane said: For the first time, we have a baseline to grow from. SOWEC is committed to growing Scottish jobs from offshore wind, so knowing where we are starting from and having a clear route map is vital. This report, alongside the recent Scottish Infrastructure Assessment, will help SOWEC to prioritise actions to grow jobs in Scotland from offshore wind.
Neil Douglas, director of BVG Associates, said: ScotWind and other upcoming leasing rounds represent a huge opportunity for the Scottish supply chain. These leasing rounds can provide a catalyst for Scotland to grow an industry to meet local and global needs.
"Increasing the local share of offshore wind projects will deliver economic, social and environmental benefits for Scotland. More local content will also increase offshore wind's appeal to investors, governments and citizens. Having worked with the Scottish supply chain for over a decade, we are delighted to support SOWEC to help make the most of these opportunities.
Latest Crown Estate offshore wind lease to help decarbonise oil and gas sector
Excerpt from:
Report sets out roadmap of opportunities from Scotland's offshore wind sector - RossShire Journal
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on Report sets out roadmap of opportunities from Scotland’s offshore wind sector – RossShire Journal
Offshore wind nears halfway mark in NJ – NJ Spotlight
Posted: at 9:20 am
File photo: Offshore wind turbines
Last month, the Murphy administration scrapped a scheduled formal request for companies to bid on building more wind farms off the Jersey coast a sign viewed by some as proof the state is well on its way to building 7,500 megawatts of wind capacity by 2035.
By virtue of awarding two new projects totaling 2,658 MW of offshore wind capacity at the end of June, the state, on paper, is more than halfway to reaching that ambitious target when the first 1,100 MW of capacity awarded in 2019 is included.
More importantly, the growth could enhance New Jerseys overall goal of becoming a hub for the emerging offshore wind sector, an industry that could generate billions of dollars in economic impact and create thousands of jobs for years to come, according to officials.
What remained of Hurricane Ida flooded wide areas of north Jersey, and more than a half-dozen tornadoes leveled homes in South Jersey. That storm, and others this summer, are believed by many to be a reflection of the changing climate. And that has renewed questions of whether the state is doing enough to transition to 100% clean energy by mid-century.
I think hes spot on, said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, a group that called for meeting the states 100% clean-energy goals by 2035 in a report issued last month. This is an opportunity for our elected officials to meet the challenge.
This storm is another wake-up call, Potosnak said, citing the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which warned that some of the worst impacts of climate change are already inevitable higher temperatures, more intense storms and rising sea levels. Climate change is accelerating.
By some measures, the offshore industry is thriving. The 2021 edition of the Offshore Wind Market Report, prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, found that the pipeline for offshore wind-energy projects grew to 35,324 MW, a 24% increase over the previous year.
Most of the growth in the U.S. pipeline occurred with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Interior, creating five new wind-energy areas in the New York Bight that total 9,800 MW of capacity.
Other clean-energy advocates agree the state should look to expand its offshore wind goals, but focus on building out its solicitation schedule in the next five years. New Jersey has held two solicitations so far, the latest raising expected wind capacity to 3,758 MW when those projects are expected to come online.
The first project by rsteds Ocean Wind 1,100-MW facility is supposed to be operational by the end of 2024 or early 2025. The latest projects include Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a 1,510-MW wind farm, a joint venture of EDF Renewables and Shell New Energies LLC; and a second Ocean Wind project, a 1,148-MW facility by rsted.
Earlier this summer, the state Board of Public Utilities adopted a revised solicitation schedule, eliminating a scheduled solicitation with the award of a project in the first quarter of 2029. That leaves the agency with three more solicitations in 2023, 2025 and 2027.
The BPU plans to continue to evaluate each solicitation as it relates to the evolving market. A number of factors could influence the timing and how much capacity will be awarded in future solicitations, according to the agency. Those include transmission solutions, status of lease areas, permitting, establishment of a supply chain, workforce training and cost trends.
To date, there has not been widespread opposition to the states aggressive approach to offshore wind, but some segments have expressed concerns, including its impact on the states lucrative fishing industry and its costs.
What weve seen in the last three years, the BPU is expanding our goals, OMalley said. In the latest solicitation, its original target was 1,200 MW but was expanded to 2,400 MW, which was eventually exceeded in the award.
Kris Ohleth, executive director for the Special Initiative for Offshore Wind, however, thinks the drawn-out solicitation schedule works to New Jerseys advantage. New Jersey has a process thats a model, she said. In a way, it is best to have a measured approach.
See the original post:
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on Offshore wind nears halfway mark in NJ – NJ Spotlight
Offshore Funds Relocation to The Gift City – The National Law Review
Posted: at 9:20 am
Monday, September 6, 2021
The Indian government operationalized the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) as Indias first International Finances Services Centre (IFSC). Since then several measures have been undertaken to incentivize overseas financial institutions and overseas branches/subsidiaries of Indian financial institutions to bring to Indian shores those financial services transactions that are currently carried on outside India. While the IFSC is technically located on Indian soil, it is considered an offshore jurisdiction for foreign exchange purposes, allowing investors to invest in businesses located within the IFSC without having to comply with Indias foreign exchange regime. Special tax incentives have also been provided to units located within the IFSC to further incentivize offshore investment and bring the IFSC at GIFT City on par with IFSCs globally. Several fund managers are exploring GIFT City to establish alternative investment funds (AIFs).1
The International Financial Services Authority (IFSCA) has been established as a single-window clearance body to regulate all financial services and products in the GIFT City.2Prior to the establishment of the IFSCA, the SEBI (International Financial Services Center) Guidelines, 2015 (2015 Guidelines) and the Operating Guidelines for Alternative Investment Funds in International Financial Services Centres3(Operating Guidelines) provided a broad framework for setting up AIFs in an IFSC (IFSC AIF). The IFSCA has been making structured efforts to boost global investments in the GIFT City and to make the IFSC a global financial hub at par with other IFSCs in the world. To boost the establishment of IFSC AIFs, the IFSCA released a circular providing benefits with respect to leveraging activities, co-investment opportunities, and a relaxation of diversification norms for IFSC AIFs.4The desire of the IFSCA to form regulations that are intended to quickly bring the funds set up in IFSC at par with offshore funds is an important consideration for both foreign and Indian GPs while deciding on the jurisdiction of the fund.
While the 2015 Guidelines and Operating Guidelines provided a framework for setting up of IFSC AIFs, there was no regulatory or taxation framework facilitating the relocation of offshore funds to GIFT City. SEBI released a circular (2021 Circular) allowing one-time off-market transfer of securities by a Foreign Portfolio Investor to the IFSC.5This 2021 Circular will allow relocation of foreign funds (set-up as FPIs) to set up Category-III AIFs in IFSC. Subsequently, the IFSCA released a circular providing that the requirement of continuing interest by the manager or sponsor-provided in the Operating Guidelines shall be voluntary in case of relocation of offshore funds to IFSC.6Alongside these regulatory changes, various changes have been brought to the tax regime to facilitate the relocation of offshore funds to the GIFT City in a tax-neutral manner.
The Finance Act, 2021 amended several provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (ITA) to facilitate the relocation of offshore funds to the IFSC in a tax-neutral manner both for the offshore fund as well as investors. Such provisions are applicable where the assets of the original fund are relocated to a resultant fund in GIFT City. For this purpose, the ITA defines the term original fund, relocation and resultant fund as under:
Original fund:7Original fund means a fund establish outside India which collects funds from its members for investing such funds for their benefit and fulfills the following conditions:
(i) the fund is not a person resident in India;
(ii) the fund is a resident of a country with which India has a tax treaty;
(iii) the fund and its activities are subject to applicable investor protection regulations in the country where it is established or incorporated; and
(iv) fulfills such other conditions as may be prescribed8
Resultant fund:9Resultant fund means a fund established or incorporated in India in the form of a trust or a company or a limited liability partnership, which:
(i) has been granted a certificate of registration as a Category I or Category II or Category III AIF and is regulated by SEBI or IFSCA; and
(ii) is located in IFSC
Relocation:10Relocation means a transfer of assets of the original fund, or of its wholly-owned special purpose vehicle, to a resultant fund on or before March 31, 2023, where consideration for such transfer is discharged in the form of share or unit or interest in the resulting fund to:
(i) shareholder or unitholder or interest holder of the original fund in the same proportion in which the share or unit or interest was held by such shareholder or unitholder or interest holder in such original fund, in lieu of their shares or units or interests in original fund; or
(ii) The original fund, in the same proportion as referred in sub-clause (i), in respect of which share or unit or interest is not issued by the resultant fund to its shareholder or unitholder or interest holder.
Essentially, relocation will encompass the transfer of assets of an offshore fund (say in Mauritius or Delaware) to an IFSC AIF the consideration of which would be discharged by way of a swap. The swap will include proportionate issuance of units by the IFSC AIF to either the unitholders of the offshore fund in lieu of units held in the offshore fund or to the offshore fund (in the case where share or unit or interest is not issued by IFSC AIF to shareholder or unitholder or interest holder of the offshore fund).
The diagram below depicts a typical relocation transaction:
Pursuant to the Finance Act, 2021, the ITA has also been amended to provide the following provisions for ensuring tax neutrality of relocation:
Exemption from capital gains tax on capital gains arising from transfer of capital asset in a relocation by the offshore fund to the IFSC AIF.11This provision essentially seeks to exempt capital gains tax arising on transfer of shares of Indian companies and other Indian securities held by an offshore fund to an IFSC AIF. The ITA levies capital gains tax on gains arising on transfer of shares or securities of an Indian company. In absence of this exemption transfer of shares or securities of an Indian company by an offshore fund to IFSC AIF pursuant to relocation would have been subject to tax in India;
Exemption from capital gains tax on capital gains arising from transfer by a shareholder/unitholder, in a relocation, of capital asset being share/unit held by him in the offshore fund in consideration for share/unit in the resultant fund.12This provision seeks to exempt the transfer at the shareholder level from capital gains tax on account of indirect transfer provisions;
Exemption from capital gains tax on capital gain income arising or received by a non-resident investor or a specified fund, on account of transfer of shares of an Indian company by the IFSC AIF or specified fund which were acquired by the IFSC AIF or specified fund pursuant to relocation and where the capital gains on such shares were not been chargeable to tax, had the relocation not taken place.13This provision seeks to protect grandfathered investments of the offshore fund. It ensures that the outcome for the non-resident investor remains the same whether the exit from Indian company takes place by the offshore fund or the IFSC AIF;
Cost of acquisition of shares of an Indian company acquired by the IFSC AIF upon the relocation is deemed to be the cost of the previous owner i.e. cost base of shares of Indian company in hands of the offshore fund is available to IFSC AIF;14
Cost of acquisition of units of the IFSC AIF acquired by the unitholders on the relocation of the offshore fund is deemed to be the cost of the previous owner;15
The period of holding of shares of an Indian company acquired by the IFSC AIF upon the relocation is deemed to include the period for which the shares of the Indian company were held by the offshore fund;16
The period of holding of units of IFSC AIF acquired by the unitholders upon the relocation is deemed to include the period for which such unitholders held the units of the offshore fund;17
Section 79 has also been amended to allow the Indian company the benefit of set-off and carry forward of loss to the extent the change in shareholding has taken place on account of relocation;
Lastly, corresponding changes have also been made to the provisions of Section 56(2)(x) to ensure that the IFSC AIF or the unitholders of the offshore fund are not subject to tax on account of the swap transaction.
The above provisions ensure that no adverse tax consequences arise on either the investors of the offshore fund or the offshore fund on account of the relocation of the offshore fund to IFSC.
The changes brought by the ISFCA and the Finance Act, 2021 display the commitment of the Indian Government in promoting the IFSC as a global financial hub. The amendments to the regulatory and taxation framework facilitating the relocation of offshore funds to GIFT City coupled with the existing relaxations of IFSC AIFs are likely to boost the fund industry in the GIFT City. While the tax provisions permit the IFSC AIF to issue units to investors directly on relocation, the permissibility of this will have to be examined in accordance with the provisions of the jurisdiction where the offshore fund is set up. For example, corporate laws of the jurisdiction where the offshore fund is set up will have to be checked to examine whether the unitholders of the offshore fund (and not the offshore fund itself) can directly be issued units of the IFSC AIF. In case this is not possible, the distribution of units of IFSC AIF to original investors will also need to be examined from a tax perspective
As mentioned above, the provisions of the ITA seek to protect grandfathered investments of an offshore fund such that the non-resident investors are not subject to tax in India merely due to the relocation of an offshore fund to GIFT City. However, such exemption is available wherethe capital gains on such shares were not been chargeable to tax had the relocation not taken.In this regard, determination of whether capital gains on such shares were chargeable to tax had the relocation not taken place will be key. In the case where an offshore fund decides to relocate to GIFT City, it is likely for the offshore fund to be wound up post such relocation. Historically, capital gains on the transfer of shares of an Indian company by Mauritius / Singapore-based funds have been exempt from tax in India under the relevant tax treaties. However, the exemption is subject to the availability of tax residency certificate in the year of transfer, demonstration of appropriate substance at the offshore fund level, etc. Therefore, in order to ensure that the grandfathered investments are protected upon relocation of the offshore fund to GIFT City, it will be essential to ensure that these conditions are satisfied.
Relocation of offshore funds to GIFT City should be seriously explored by India-centric offshore funds with Indian GPs. Relocation to GIFT City should enable Indian GPs to effectively manage the fund from GIFT City and mitigate potential permanent establishment and place of effective management issues which are otherwise present in the case of offshore funds. Due to other incentives provided to units set up in IFSC under the ITA (like tax holiday, reduced minimum alternate tax rate), innovative structures may be considered for carrying structuring for Indian GPs from GIFT City. Given that entities set up in GIFT City are considered to be residents from a tax perspective, payment by the investment manager to an Indian advisor may not be subject to transfer pricing rules which reduces litigation risk on pay-outs. Ongoing compliances and onboarding of investors to an offshore fund are typically a pain point for Indian GPs. This may be easier in the case of an IFSC AIF thereby reducing timelines for fundraising. Setting up and operating funds from GIFT City may be more cost-effective for the GPs.
Apart from the above, the relocated offshore fund should be able to undertake leverage without any restrictions, investment in domestic AIFs, invest in offshore companies without any approval just like an offshore fund. The IFSC AIF will also have the ability to co-invest through the creation of a segregated portfolio. It will be relevant to note that pursuant to the relocation of an offshore fund to GIFT City, the IFSC AIF will be managed by an investment manager in GIFT City. In this regard, it will be important for Indian GPs to assess the manner of setting up of the investment manager in GIFT City prior to taking a decision of relocation of the offshore fund.
From an investors perspective also, relocation of an offshore fund to GIFT City should not have any adverse impact. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has relaxed the requirement to obtain a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for non-resident investors investing in the units of the IFSC AIF subject to satisfaction of certain conditions.18The CBDT has also exempted non-residents having income chargeable under the ITA from any investment in IFSC AIF (Category-I / Category-II) from filing of income-tax return in India. However, such exemption is available only if tax has been appropriately deducted and deposited to the government by the IFSC AIF as per provisions of the ITA.19Given the above, relocation of offshore funds would definitely be worth exploring. Having said this, given the increased interest of GPs and LPs in GIFT City, probably the next step for CBDT and Reserve Bank of India would also be to allow domestic AIFs to relocate to GIFT City.
1BW Online Bureau. (2021, June 16). AIF Activity Picks Up Steam In IFSC At GIFT City; Half Dozen Entities Apply To Set Up Shops.Business World. Can be accessed at:https://www.businessworld.in/article/AIF-Activity-Picks-Up-Steam-In-IFSC-At-GIFT-City-Half-Dozen-Entities-Apply-To-Set-Up-Shops/16-06-2021-393356/
2IFSCA has been established under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 (https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/214809.pdf). It is empowered to exercise the power of various counterpart regulatory bodies in India such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India
3SEBI/HO/IMD/DF1/CIR/P/143/2018 dated November 26, 2018
4F. No. 81/IFSCA/AIFs/2020-21 dated December 09, 2020; Please refer ourhotlinefor the detailed analysis of the aforementioned circular
5SEBI circular no. SEBI/HO/FPI&C/P/CIR/2021/0569 dated June 01, 2021
6Circular No. 81/IFSCA/AIFs/2020-21/03 dated June 25, 2021
7Explanation to clause (viiac) and clause (viiad) of section 47
8No such conditions have been prescribed as of the date of this hotline
9Explanation to clause (viiac) and clause (viiad) of section 47
10Explanation to clause (viiac) and clause (viiad) of section 47
11Section 47(viiac)
12Section 47(viiiad)
13Section 10(23FF)
14Section 49(1)(iii)(e)
15ibid
16Section 2(42A)(b)
17Section 2(42A)(b)
18CBDT Notification No. 58/2020/F. No. 370133/08/2020-TPL dated August 10, 2020
19Notification S.O. 2672(E) dated July 26, 2019
Nishith Desai Associates 2021. All rights reserved.National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 249
Excerpt from:
Offshore Funds Relocation to The Gift City - The National Law Review
Posted in Offshore
Comments Off on Offshore Funds Relocation to The Gift City – The National Law Review







