April 28th, 2012
A Guernsey closed-ended investment company has been used by Blue Crest Capital Management in its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of a fund on the London Stock Exchange Main Market.
This was advised by Carey Olsen, a well-known Channel Islands law firm. Carey Olsen’s team, including corporate partner Tom Carey and associates Oliver Quarmby and Alex Mauger, advised on the Guernsey aspects of the IPO and worked with UK legal advisors, Herbert Smith.
The IPO saw subscriptions worth GBP 165 million or USD 266 million into the BlueCrest BlueTrend Limited fund. The fund uses a systematic approach with a view to achieve its investment objective of long-term capital appreciation. The fund is a Guernsey-based alternative asset manager and invests across numerous asset classes globally.
Posted in guernsey, investment company, investment funds | No Comments »
April 24th, 2012
Jersey Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf has arrived in the United Arab Emirates. This 3-day official visit is aimed at promoting Jersey as an international financial jurisdiction.
Ozouf returns a year after he attended a series of events to mark the launch of promotional agency Jersey Finance’s representative office in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
During the visit, the Minister will attend a series of meetings with a view to boost Jersey’s business network with the region. He will speak to ministers, officials and representatives from different organizations such as the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) that opened a branch in Jersey in 2011.
According to Ozouf, “Boosting Jersey business and creating jobs is the key priority of the Council of Ministers and joint efforts to forge diplomatic and commercial relationships that support growth are our focus this year.” He also said that the United Arab Emirates is a crucial market for Jersey’s finance sector and these invitations reflect the strong relationships built by Jersey.
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April 12th, 2012
Legis Fund Services that is headquartered in Guernsey has been recognised as Best Fund of Hedge Funds Administrator – under USD 30 billion at the HFMWeek European Services Provider Awards, which recognises companies outperforming against their peer group during 2011.
Stuart Platt-Ransom, Group Managing Director, and Patricia White, Fund Services Managing Director, collected the award on behalf of Legis, and said: “We are pleased to accept this accolade for our fund services business, which continues to grow and go from strength to strength. We aim to differentiate ourselves on client service so it is very rewarding to receive this award from such a respected hedge fund publication, which recognises the expertise and quality of service provided by our team.”
Over the last 3 years, Legis has almost doubled its staff numbers. Currently the company employs more than 60 people and has offices in Guernsey, New Street, and St Peter Port.
Posted in channel islands, guernsey | No Comments »
April 6th, 2012
The Jersey government has decided not appeal the decision of the High Court in London, which ruled that the UK government’s decision to revoke Low-Value Consignment Relief (LVCR), a value-added tax concession, for the Channel Islands was consistent with European Union law http://channel-islands.offshoreincorporation.biz/2012/03/channel-islands-fail-to-overturn-uk-vat-decision/.
Following a 3-day judicial review at the High Court in London, which began on March 13, 2012, it was found that the United Kingdom was entitled to remove the relief, which provides that low value goods may be imported to the United Kingdom from non-EU territories and sold free from value-added tax if they are priced at less than GBP 15, down from GBP 18 before November 2011.
In accordance with the scheme, many businesses could set up warehouses in the Channel Islands from which they exported items such as CDs and DVDs to the United Kingdom. However, the relief was controversial, and some argued that it contributed to the demise of some traditional ‘high street’ retailers. The judicial review discovered that, under European law, the UK had no obligation to treat one territory “the same as another” and therefore was permitted to remove the relief solely for the Channel Islands while the concession remains for other non-EU territories.
Following the decision, the government of Jersey said it would consider an appeal. However, Jersey’s Economic Development Minister, Alan Maclean has now confirmed that the jurisdiction will not pursue an appeal. He said that Jersey had sought specialist advice and consultations with Guernsey.
Maclean said: “We have been advised that the Court of Appeal would be highly likely to refer the case to the European Court of Justice. The expected timeframe for a decision would be between 18 months and two years, which is too long to have any material effect on local businesses and their ability to continue operations in Jersey. Therefore, the decision to appeal would be made solely on a point of principle, rather than its impact on employment in the island.” He added: “In considering the wider implications and the inevitable uncertainty of the final outcome, it has been decided not to proceed with making an appeal. It was important that this matter was considered by the High Court given the law is, as the Judge commented, unclear in this area.”
Posted in channel islands, government, guernsey, jersey, low-tax jurisdiction, taxation | No Comments »
April 3rd, 2012
Guernsey recently hosted the delegation from the government of Switzerland. During a 2-day visit to the offshore jurisdiction, the delegation emphasized the importance of links between Guernsey and Switzerland, especially co-operation in financial services.
This was the 1st visit made by the two Swiss officials – the Swiss Ambassador to the Court of St James, Anton Thalmann and the Swiss Embassy’s Economic Counsellor, Fabrice Filliez. Thalmann held meetings with senior figures in the government of Guernsey, regulatory authorities, and Guernsey-based businesses with links to Switzerland.
According to a Policy Council spokesman, the visit of the Swiss delegation was particularly important to the Guernsey, because Switzerland had a significant role in jurisdiction’s economic performance. He said: “Swiss banks are a vital component of Guernsey’s banking sector and Swiss firms introduce a significant amount of business to Guernsey, so the Policy Council was naturally delighted that during the Ambassador’s visit to Guernsey, he was able to view first-hand not only the island’s financial services operations but also our world-class system of financial regulation”.
The spokesman added that the two jurisdictions share a similar status as major international financial centres situated outside of the EU but with close connections to European institutions and individual European Union member states, and both Guernsey and Swirzerland face similar challenges and can learn much from each other.
Posted in financial services, government, guernsey, offshore financial centre | No Comments »
March 30th, 2012
The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) has granted State Street Corporation a license to expand its offerings to include Jersey-based banking.
State Street Corporationa is one of the world’s leading providers of financial services to institutional investors. It employs 400 people on the island. State Street is the first Boston-headquartered bank to hold such a license in Jersey.
The license will permit it to provide banking services from Jersey to complement the fund administration services it currently offers in Europe.
Phil McGowan, Senior Managing Director of State Street’s private equity, real estate and corporate services business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa commented: “Offering banking services from Jersey is an important component of our value proposition for institutional clients. It is gratifying to increase our commitment to the island by extending our solutions to include these additional services.”
Posted in jersey, jersey finance, offshore banking | No Comments »
March 26th, 2012
The governments of the Channel Islands have announced their disappointment with the findings of the UK High Court. This was announced to respond to the Channel Islands’ joint challenge to the decision made by the government of the United Kingdom to remove long-standing VAT (value-added tax) concessions crucial to the islands’ fulfilment industries.
On March 13, 2012, a 3-day Judicial Review hearing at the High Court in London began to hear the arguments of lawyers representing the Channel Islands in their challenge to the scheduled removal of the UK’s Low-Value Consignment Relief (LVCR) for the islands’ fulfilment industries from April 1, 2012.
The LVCR scheme allows goods imported to the United Kindom from non-EU territories to be sold free from VAT if they are priced at less than GBP 15, down from GBP 18 before November 2011. The scheme has encouraged many businesses to set up warehouses in the Channel Islands from which they ship items to the UK, and some argue that this has contributed to the demise of some traditional ‘high street’ retailers. In accordance with the legislation announced by the UK Treasury on November 9, LVCR will continue to apply with the new GBP 15 threshold to commercial supplies from all non-EU jurisdictions except the Channel Islands. Jersey and Guernsey decided to challenge this decision and asked to clarify if the UK had infringed European law. The decision could cause companies to relocate operations out of the Channel Islands and therefore yield no new revenues for the UK government while at the same time severely impacting the islands’ economies.
Nevertheless, the Judicial Review hearing concluded that the UK government acted legally.
Guernsey’s Minister for Commerce and Employment, Carla McNulty Bauer said: “I’m very disappointed with the outcome of the Judicial Review. It could well have a major impact on jobs and the economy of the Channel Islands. Over the coming days we will be making contact with industry, following on from a series of meetings we’ve had with many of the main businesses, in order to ascertain what their plans are now that the decision has been reached. Of course Commerce and Employment will continue to do what it can to assist the industry and mitigate the effects of the HM Treasury decision.”
Posted in channel islands, financial services, government, guernsey, jersey, low-tax jurisdiction, taxation | No Comments »
March 23rd, 2012
Guernsey’s offerings as a wealth management domicile were promoted at the India Wealth Forum that was held in Delhi. The event was attended by Guernsey wealth management firm Nerine Group of Fiduciaries.
Keith Corbin, Nerine Group of Fiduciaries Executive Chairman, and Pranav Khanna, Nerine’s India office managing director, participated in the event that attracted bankers, advisers, accountants and fiduciaries interested in the emerging market.
Nerine is the only independent trust company with an office in India that has been working in the India market for more than 5 years. Corbin spoke on using domestic trust structures, which is a relatively new concept in India.
Corbin said that, with the vast majority of businesses being family-owned in India, “many see the potential of the region across all business sectors and those offering financial services are no exception”.
Posted in financial services, guernsey, offshore financial centre | No Comments »
March 19th, 2012
On March 13, 2012, the government of Jersey signed a bilateral agreement with Italy to exchange tax information on request in accordance with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) internationally-agreed standard on tax transparency and information exchange.
The tax documents was signed at the Italian Embassy in London by Jersey’s Assistant Chief Minister with responsibility for external affairs, Philip Bailhache and Alain Giorgio Maria Economides, Italy’s Ambassador to the UK.
Bailhache welcomed the signing, saying: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to sign this Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Italy, which is a EU, OECD and a G20 member state. We attach great importance to maintaining a good relationship with all the EU member states and we see this agreement as a significant further strengthening of that relationship.”
He added, “We have been pressing the Italian authorities to sign the TIEA for some time and we look forward to working closely with them on the implementation of the agreement. We hope to extend this relationship to other matters of mutual interest and to this end I have extended an invitation to the Ambassador to visit Jersey at an early date.”
Posted in government, information exchange agreements, jersey, taxation | No Comments »
March 15th, 2012
An all-time high tax collection rate of 99.6% for 2011 has been reported by Jersey’s Tax Office. The rate is significantly higher than that of the UK in 2011, which recorded a rate of around 96%.
According to the government, tax collection performance had improved each year since 2008. The government of Jersey attributed the improvement to increased emphasis on.
The Treasurer of the States, Laura Rowley, commented that she was delighted that the tax office had achieved such a significant and positive result. She added: “We are now identifying areas where losses could be further minimized, for example whether moving to a current year basis of tax would reduce the loss of tax from those who leave the island. However, it is very encouraging that we are performing at such a high level already.”
Posted in jersey, taxation | No Comments »