On 19 Nov and 21 Nov, BVI House Asia participated in the official launch of the Bank of Asia in mainland China. Led by BOA Chairman Mr. Carson Wen, the launch consisted of two seminars in Shanghai and Beijing respectively, detailing the commencement services and account offerings to Chinese and international clients in the financial services and other industries. The seminars provided a biography of the bank, description of services, and an in depth walk through of the onboarding process for future clients. Both events were well attended by legal, accounting, and corporate professionals in China.
The Bank of Asia was formed in 2017 to solve the problem of limited access to bank accounts for BVI financial entities within the financial services industry. The bank provides accounts for offshore companies as well as provides for further evidence of demonstrating Economic Substance for legal entities incorporated in the BVI. The Bank of Asia, an international digital bank based in Hong Kong, will greatly benefit the Chinese and Asia Pacific markets which accounts for some 40% of BVI structures and financial vehicles used worldwide.
In each launch seminar, newly appointed Director of BVI House Asia, Dr. Ricardo Wheatley, reiterated the British Virgin Islands Government’s support of the Bank of Asia and gratefulness to the BOA team for its undertaking. In addition, he provided updates on the BVI's Economic Substance Rules recently released in October. The update provided further clarity and guidance on reporting deadlines and requirements.
An estimated 80-90% of BVI Business companies are utilized in holding businesses, as a result only 10-20% of BVI entities are slated to be significantly impacted by the new rules. These are primarily in the areas of banking, financing, and leasing. The Virgin Islands government and BVI House Asia are committed to maintaining a pro-commerce regulatory environment as the Asia Pacific's favoured offshore international financial centre, committed to the highest standards of regulatory compliance.
BVI House Asia thanks all seminar participants for their interest and support for BVI business and the Bank of Asia. We are planning more events of this kind with different focuses in China in the coming year.