GuernseyFinance chief executive Peter Niven salutes the entrepreneurial spirit that has kept the island at the top of the finance industry league.

ONE of the key themes that we stress in promoting the Bailiwick as an international finance centre is both the historic and continued innovative approach of our financial services industry in providing new and different solutions to meet clients’ evolving expectations.

There is no better example of this than the protected cell company. In fact, yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of when the island introduced this concept to the world.

Guernsey’s captive insurance sector was behind the birth of the PCC and this innovative development has contributed to the island remaining the leading captive centre in Europe and number four in the world.

There is no bigger accolade than your competitors following and copying your ideas and it was not long before the PCC was replicated, in various guises, across the world, but Guernsey still remains the recognised innovator.

This pioneering drive within our finance industry continued when the fund sector took the product and made it its own, developing the concept to satisfy its own distinct client demands.

The industry continues to take a central role in the huge advances being made worldwide to provide creative solutions for ever-changing client needs, particularly in areas such as corporate-lending products, cutting-edge investment funds and increasingly complex structures being created by our lawyers for clients who are raising capital on international markets and view Guernsey as a respected global finance centre.

At the risk of repeating a phrase that I use often – we punch well above our weight.

Yesterday was also a significant date for us because it saw the introduction of a double amendment to the rules for conducting fund business in Guernsey. These changes are, put simply, the envy of our competitors and will attract even more high-quality business to the island.

And these are just the first wave in a series of changes that will be made during the year to keep Guernsey very firmly ahead of the pack.

This is further evidence of the entrepreneurial spirit that the island has displayed again and again. In the face of a changing environment, it has adapted to find its own particular niche.

Indeed, like others, the finance industry keeps innovating for the good of the economy.

As we move through 2007, it is clear that the economic landscape is shifting more significantly than it has in the recent past.

This is all the more reason why we need to keep that entrepreneurial spirit alive and work for long-term economic success.