Guernsey finance delegations heading to India and China to boost business

Written by Ray Clancy

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 10:30

Delegations of politicians, officials and business leaders from Guernsey are to visit India and China during the second half of the year to enhance financial services links between the jurisdictions.

Carla McNulty Bauer, Minister for the Commerce and Employment Department within the Guernsey Government, will lead a delegation to Delhi and then Mumbai between Monday 18th October and Saturday 23rd October, it has been announced.

Lyndon Trott, Chief Minister, will then lead a delegation to Beijing and Shanghai at the start of November. Both visits are being organised by Guernsey Finance, the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry.

The visits will include governmental engagements, meetings with regulators, industry associations and leading business introducers, as well as a series of networking opportunities through specific Guernsey events. They are aimed at expanding Guernsey’s prospects as an international finance centre in regions that might not consider the Channel Island as an obvious place to do business.

Guernsey Finance chief executive Peter Niven will also be joining the Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Nick Anstee, who recently visited Guernsey, during his delegation to Beijing and Shanghai in September.

Niven will also be leading Guernsey trade delegations to wealth management and investment fund conferences in Hong Kong during November and another investment fund conference in India at the start of December.

Guernsey established a representative office in China more than two and a half years ago but the visits to India represent the Island’s first official marketing activity in the country.

Guernsey Finance is also hosting seminars in Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham focusing on Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pensions Schemes (QROPS) and a Guernsey Film event in London during the autumn.

‘Guernsey’s finance industry is continuing to perform well but we are increasingly facing new challenges including stronger competition from other jurisdictions so it is important that we do not stand still,’ explained Niven.

‘The Island needs to make sure that it maintains its profile in centres such as London, which remains our principal source of new business and indeed the UK more widely, while also developing relationships in emerging markets such as China and India. The multiple visits during the coming months will enhance relationships with the government, regulators, professional associations and individual companies, providing the Island’s firms with a smoother path for doing business in those countries. The importance of meeting key decision makers on a one-to-one basis cannot be underestimated,’ he added.