GUERNSEY businesses would benefit from adopting the euro. German’s former finance minister Dr Theo Waigel, one of the leading architects of European monetary union, said a single currency made international transactions quicker and easier.

Dr Waigel, a member of the general council of Generali, was in the island this week to open the company’s new Hirzel Street offices.

And the man who claimed credit for naming the currency the euro said that firms such as Generali would benefit if it was adopted.

‘The euro will help companies and therefore the economy because it means that there is no need to exchange,’ said the man who was Germany’s finance minister between 1989 and 1998.

‘While the euro was not particularly stable immediately after its launch, it has been during a period of international crisis. Countries like Germany have experienced some problems after conversion but the problem is the government’s policy and not the currency.’

Dr Waigel, who was in the German parliament for more than 30 years, said that any decision about adopting the currency was of course a matter for the jurisdictions involved but maintained that the euro was the future.

‘It is not the biggest currency but it is one of the anchors of the international economy.

‘In the future there will be just three, possibly four main currencies: the US dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro and the Chinese yuan.

‘The euro is the answer to globalisation because it means that economic leaders can act in unison to bring international stability while citizens can use money globally with increasing ease. It is right, necessary and a great currency.’

Making his first visit to the island, Dr Waigel said that his most difficult tasks during his term in office were coping with the financial implications of unification and preparing to introduce the euro.

‘I am very impressed with the island and I think that it is very important that a company has a base here and is present in such an offshore location.’

Also at the opening of the new offices was Generali Group chief executive Dr Sergio Balbinot.

‘Guernsey is a very important location and we have shown our commitment to the island by our decision to invest in this building. This company is very well run and this team provides an excellent service to customers,’ he said.

The move into its new Hirzel Street offices brings the group in Guernsey under one roof. Previously, Generali Worldwide was based in Les Echelons and subsidiary BSI in Lefebvre Court.

‘The idea of integrating two firms is to produce synergies and this is a clear example of how to do that. This clearly shows how to work together for the good of the company.’