Section 41 of the Finance Act, 1980, is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (8):

"(9)

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section -

(i) the Minister may by notice in writing given to a qualified company reduce the fraction (hereafter in this subsection referred to as 'the relief') by which corporation tax payable, so far as it is referable to income from relevant trading operations, falls, or would but for this subsection fall, to be reduced under subsection (2) by specifying in the notice such lower fraction (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the 'revised relief') as the Minister deems appropriate by which the said corporation tax is to be reduced where the Minister is satisfied that -

(I) some or all of the shares in the qualified company are owned directly or indirectly (within the meaning of section 156 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976) by a company or companies (hereafter in this subsection referred to as 'the investors') resident outside the State or the qualified company is resident outside the State and is trading in the State through a branch or agency,