BVI Presents Strategies for Creating Success in Global Marketplace at China Summit

BVI Finance was a lead sponsor of this year’s China Offshore Summit, held May 25th and 26th in Shenzhen, China, which brought together more than 300 of China's investment and business leaders for an information upload on the offshore financial services industry and its relevance to China.

The BVI’s opening presentation at the Summit was a panel titled, “Strategies for Creating Success in the Global Marketplace – BVI: The Complete Business Solution.”The panel was moderated by the Chairperson of the BVI’s General Legal Council, Ms. Dancia Penn, QC.  On the panel were Shaun Folpp of Mourant Ozannes, Richard Grasby of Maples and Calder, and Barry Mitchell of AMS Financial Group.

Ms. Penn and the leading Asian experts outlined why Chinese business leaders have made the BVI the jurisdiction of choice for the last 25 years.  They pointed to the BVI’s efficiency and flexibility in its corporate structures, robust regulatory and legal framework, reliability and well-regarded commercial court, cost effectiveness and its tax and foreign exchange neutrality.  

Highlighting that the BVI has a good track record for business success in China, the panelists discussed the use of BVI trust and other structures for succession planning, asset protection, mergers and acquisitions and cross border trade, and gave notable examples of the use of BVI structures in major business deals, such as the US$700 million Sino Ocean Land Treasure Finance II Limited and the restructuring of the Cheung Kong and Hutchison groups which involved several hundred BVI subsidiaries.

Mr. Grasby, referring to the robust network of professionals doing BVI business across the world, said, “Anybody anywhere in the world can use BVI structures for legitimate business.  The infrastructure of the BVI is very strong, not just in the BVI, but in Hong Kong, Singapore and Asia generally.”

Mr. Grasby, who also represented the BVI on a panel discussion on Global Transparency, outlined the BVI’s vigorous anti-money laundering regime and its compliance with international standards of transparency, such as the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard and FATCA.

Ms. Elise Donovan, Director of BVI House Asia, said, “The China Offshore Summit is an important platform to get the BVI’s message out in one of China’s most flourishing cities, to strengthen the territory’s status as the most important offshore jurisdiction in the region, and to reinforce why Chinese business leaders can continue to have confidence in the BVI as the jurisdiction with a proven record of success in taking their businesses global.”

More than a hundred attendees stopped by the BVI Finance booth to gather more information about the jurisdiction. The booth was manned by Leon Wheatley, Heather Tang and Peter Gao of BVI House Asia.

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