A REPORT acknowledging the contribution of offshore centres is yet more good news for the island, says GuernseyFinance chief executive Peter Niven.
The International Finance Centres and the World Economy report, commissioned by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, found evidence that offshore centres aided financial development and stability in neighbouring countries.
Mr Niven (pictured) said that the report, written by US economist Professor James Hines Jr, made good reading and once again highlighted some commonly held misconceptions.
‘Professor Hines was a major speaker at the Step Asia conference in Singapore towards the end of last month, where Guernsey was the lead sponsor, and his paper was trailed at that event.
‘It is an authoritative work by a leading and well respected academic and so adds very much to the growing body of evidence which shows that contrary to commonly-held misconceptions, international finance centres are often a force for good and as the spotlight is always firmly on us, business that needs to remain in the shadows gravitates mainly to the major onshore jurisdictions.
‘This interestingly ties in with the Tax Justice Network’s recently published research on opacity in the world’s finance centres, where top of the list was the US state of Delaware – used by many companies and individuals as it has one of the laxest regulatory regimes in the world and if it were anywhere else but in the US it would have been shut down years ago.’
The Hines report also highlights the rapid growth of international finance centre economies in the period since 1980, with average per capita annual growth rates of 3.3%, compared to 1.4% for the world as a whole.
It also found that offshore centres played a vital role in the overall international financial system, improving the availability of credit and encouraging competition in domestic banking systems. The result is a boost in investment in the major economies, which ultimately supports job creation and growth.
Mr Niven added that it was good to see Guernsey receiving some positive headlines in recent weeks.
‘As the media reports rightly mention, this is the second major piece of work published in the last couple of weeks, the other being the Foot Review, that puts the international finance centres and particularly the UK Crown Dependencies in a very positive light and we can yet again hold our heads high as a well-regulated, transparent and responsible jurisdiction in the world community.’
Article posted on 11th November, 2009 - 2.30pm
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