Today, 12 months on from the record Category 5 Hurricane Irma, BVI Finance is proud to declare that “the BVI remains resilient, attractive and open for business”, having achieved a number of milestones and boosted the Territory’s recovery.
Upon making landfall on 6 September 2017, Hurricane Irma caused significant damage to homes, schools and critical infrastructure such as roads, power lines and telecommunications.
Despite the damage, the BVI’s international business and finance centre showed significant resilience and agility, as key services, including access to the company register via the online portal, VIRRGIN, were up and running shortly after the immediate aftermath.
Since then, key milestones related to the international business and finance centre include:
- July 2018: Bank of Asia (BVI) Limited, one of the world’s first fully digital, global banks set to serve cross-border business successfully launched in the BVI.
- June 2018: A successful two week BVI Asia Trade Mission, led by Premier Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE, saw a delegation promote and advance the BVI’s financial services status with important stakeholders during key meetings in Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai.
- Feb 2018: New Limited Partnership Act passed containing several key innovations that stand to boost the funds industry.
- Dec 2017: 2017 new company incorporations increased year on year to 32,493 (31, 769 2016)
Moving beyond the initial recovery phase, the international business and finance centre remains a cornerstone of the BVI’s economy and has received continued backing from the Government of the BVI.
Commenting, Lorna Smith, OBE, Interim Executive Director of BVI Finance said: “Following last year’s unprecedented hurricanes, the strength of the BVI has shone through so that today the BVI remains resilient, attractive and open for business.
“Having established itself as one of the world’s preeminent destinations for mediating international trade and investment, the BVI’s key fundamentals remain as strong as ever. The BVI has a global reach, it offers legal and commercial certainty, whilst also maintaining its belief in the right to privacy and the fact it provides confidentiality, not secrecy.
“Despite certain headwinds and the threat of regulatory overreach from certain institutions, the BVI remains a highly attractive place to do business. Whilst the BVI continues to evolve, we are committed to ensuring it remains at the top table of international business and finance centres.”
As well as playing a pivotal role in the BVI’s economic recovery, the BVI’s international business and finance centre also makes a significant contribution to the global economy: a report published June 2017 by Capital Economics, the independent economics consultancy, found that the BVI mediates global trade and investment to the tune of US$1.5 trillion. The report, Creating Value: The BVI’s Global Contribution, also revealed that BVI mediated investments contribute over US$15 billion in tax annually to governments around the world whilst also supporting two million jobs globally.