3-year high: BVI gets nearly 10K new companies in first quarter
Lorna Smith
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.
The BVI Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) quarterly report said 9,798 new companies incorporated between January and March of this year, and this represents a 14 percent increase coming out of the last quarter of 2017.
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.
“Since Irma and Maria struck, our mantra has been that we must rebuild the BVI stronger than it was before the hurricanes. I am confident we will achieve this because of the spirit, quality and determination of the professionals who work to offer the global business community a unique centre for their international business needs,” she added.
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.”
The Smith-led BVI Finance also noted the territory’s Limited Partnership Act which became law during the first quarter of this year.
The implementation of that law also had a strong part to play in the “astonishing achievement”.
According to BVI Finance, the Act supports the growth of partnership vehicles in the BVI. This and other features of the law are believed to have attracted more businesses from the investment and private equity sectors to base their businesses in the territory.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
trust and economic confidence should remain with the current ruling party, despite the eventual lost of some of its founding members.
They will have to be replaced with others that have and will put the country first.
Further, it is hoped that some of the more capable, learned and advanced minds will submit to taking the country forward.
Lastly, it is hoped that our people will study well and vote wisely when the times arrives.
This news should boost all of our confidence,except the negative and hate peddlers, obviously.
I agree 100%. Now is not the time to play with our future. I hope that NDP can re-brand, regroup and bring a decent slate of candidates for elections as I think they are still the best ones to take us forward.
Who’s auditing the FSC is all I want to know.
That’s the one I waiting on……..
That’s great news that 9,798 new companies were incorporated in the BVI during January to March 2018.
I think the public would be grateful to also know the number of current BVI companies that ceased doing business in that same time period because of bankruptcy, dissolution, struck-off, receivership, liquidation, re-location, etc.
It’s important for the financial services industry here to inform the public of the whole life cycle of the new companies created in the BVI and the exit of old BVI companies from the business economy.
http://www.bvifsc.vg/publications/q1-2018-bvi-fsc-statistical-bulletin
Check the facts and get the numbers. As at March 2018 we had 430K companies registered.
Thanks for that link which states that:
2576 BVI companies have filed notice for the appointment of a liquidator
2684 BVI companies have filed the notice of completion of liquidation
So where are the facts for the number of dissolved, re-located and struck-off BVI companies during the January to March 2018 period?
I believe all these facts should be researched/reported by these on-line websites when posting financial services information about the numbers of BVI companies.
Confidence is key! The economy is slowly coming back, financial services is holding its own and tourism is bouncing back. NDP remains the best hope for the future of these BVIs.
“According to the Q1 2018 BVI Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) quarterly statistical bulletin, company incorporations increased by more than 14 per cent, quarter-on-quarter (9,798 vs 8,538) and were up more than 12 per cent on Q1 2017 (9,798 vs 8,695).”
Ok. It is encouraging that the financial services industry is rebounding after the devastation the territory suffered in the fall of 2017. However, the whole tory must be told. How much business was lost due to Hurricanes Irmaria? How much revenue from financial services was lost after the storm (financial services contributes approximately 60% of government reveune) and how much has been recovered?
Further, where is the territory in responding to the EU’s blacklisting threat? Where is the territory in responding to the UK’s amendment to its Sanctions and Anti- Money Laundering Bill that requires Caribbean OTs to publish registers of beneficial ownership by Dec 2020? How long will LS, spouse of Premier Smith and MoF, continue to serve as Interim Executive Director of BVI ? Is this position advertised? Is there a conflict of interest and nepotism? Should the status quo continue and let the next government fix it?
Realise that the success and resilience of financial services and therefore the BVI is through the immense efforts of our resident expats, many of whom have gone through homelessness and trauma just like BVIslanders and Belongers. Many carried on displaced in a range of conditions to keep the economy going from far flung places and within the VI.
It’s time to get comfortable with recognising that this BVI is a joint effort and start actual living by the OneBVI mantra. These people who have sacrificed so much, ought to be properly taken care of in our laws while we remain prudent on who we let into the country and how many. We do miss a trick by nocking them out of having more tenure and investment here however, which would provide security and certainty for the VI as for them and further opportunities for our youth and more tax revenue to our coffers.
There are significant challenges out there for us right now.
Seize this moment
who them is?