16 October 2018
•
The British Virgin Islands has reached a three-year high in the number of new companies that have incorporated with the territory’s international business and finance centre.
According to the Q1 2018 BVI Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) quarterly statistical bulletin, company incorporations increased by more than 14% quarter-on-quarter (9,798 vs 8,538) and were up more than 12% on Q1 2017 (9,798 vs 8,695).
The figure – the highest number of new incorporations in the BVI in the first quarter of a year since 2015 – was achieved mere months after the territory was devasted by two category-five hurricanes.
“In early 2018, we were still very much in recovery mode just three months after so many homes and businesses across the islands were destroyed. To see that we had our best quarter for incorporations for three years in that period is encouraging indeed,” said interim executive director of BVI Finance, Lorna Smith.
Smith attributes the achievement largely to the FSC and the rest of the territory’s financial services industry who, she said, “worked tirelessly to keep our systems online and our customers informed”.
“Many on-island professionals came back to work in the new year in temporary offices and accommodation, surrounded by destruction.”
During Q1 2018 the jurisdiction’s Limited Partnership Act became law, supporting the growth of partnership vehicles in the BVI. This new legislation allows partnerships several innovative advantages as well as a number of unique features, marking an evolution in limited partnership law. This flexibility has attracted more businesses from the investment and private equity sectors to base their business there, according to a statement by BVI Finance.
