BVI International Finance Centre Inducted In World Finance 100

ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, January 14th, 2013 - The British Virgin Islands is still the jurisdiction of choice for financial services, as indicated by the BVI International Finance Centre’s (IFC) recent induction into the World Finance 100 list.
 
World Finance is a bi-monthly magazine produced by United Kingdom (UK) -based company World News Media. The magazine, distributed in more than 200 countries in America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, compiles its top 100 companies list every year, based on reader votes.
 
During his UK trip in December, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE attended the World Finance 100 induction ceremony at the London Stock Exchange and accepted the award on behalf of the IFC.
 
In accepting the award, Premier Smith said, “It is always good to be recognised for work done, because it gives those who are involved in it, much more energy to go forward.”
 
Honourable Premier thanked the IFC Director Ms. Elise Donovan and the department’s staff, in addition to industry practitioners, adding, “Without those persons, we could never get this far.”
 
Following the ceremony, in an interview with World Finance reporter, Ms. Eleni Chalkidou, Premier Smith explained Government’s 2013 plans for the financial services industry. In speaking about the Territory’s reputation as a leading finance centre, Premier Smith said, “The BVI as a financial services jurisdiction offers services to persons of high net-worth in a way that is very friendly, efficient and helps them manage their wealth much more efficiently.”
 
Premier Smith said, “The BVI Business Company (BC) is a very important part of what we offer. It allows persons to use our companies to do transactions in a way that affords them the privacy and speed that they need. We are also a leading jurisdiction as far as trusts, funds, and captive insurance.”
 
Regarding the ways in which BVI meets the needs of international business, Honourable Smith said, “The primary service that the BVI provides is the Business Company (BC) that allows persons to conduct transactions in any part of the world. The BC allows for speedier transactions without much fuss, affording persons the privacy that they need.”
 
In speaking about the Territory’s stance on meeting international regulatory standards, Premier said, “We are in fact part of the standard setters, and over the years we have consistently met all the requirements of the international regulators. We were also once part of the Global Forum, and we were recently nominated to Chair the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force – an organisation concerned with setting standards to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.”
 
He continued, “In fact, we are so involved that quite often, the standards which we set and meet, are much higher than those in other countries, even in those onshore jurisdictions.”
 
Regarding 2013 plans for the sector, Premier Smith highlighted Government’s recent announcement to establish an office in Hong Kong, stating, “One of the things we have found is that it is very important to be as close to your customer as is possible. Much of our business comes from the East, so we plan to establish an office in Hong Kong.”
 
Along with the television interview, the magazine’s website includes the following statement: “The British Virgin Islands is one of the most well-known offshore financial centres in the world: second to the Cayman Islands in assets under management, but first in number of businesses present.”
 
Persons interested in viewing the interview can copy and paste the following link into an internet browser: http://www.worldfinance.tv/?p=3248&shareadraft=baba3248_50eeeec3a18f6.
 
The Government of the Virgin Islands remains committed to diversifying and bolstering the Territory’s financial services product offerings while ensuring full compliance with best global practices to safeguard the reputation of the jurisdiction.

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