Detailed information in relation to the use of offshore companies is notoriously difficult to come by because of the opaque nature of much of the business (and because, in many cases, the companies are used specifically to preserve the confidentiality of a transaction or individual). It is a commonly held view that most uses of offshore companies are driven by tax mitigation and/or regulatory arbitrage, although there are some suggestions that the amount of tax structuring may be less than commonly thought. Other commonly cited legitimate uses of offshore companies include uses as joint ventures, financing SPVs, stock market listing vehicles, holding companies and asset holding structures, and trading vehicles.