BVI Finance This Week 31/1/20

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03Feb

BVI Finance This Week 31/1/20

03 Feb, 2020 | View Counts (1344) |Return|

FRIDAY 31 JANUARY, 2020

BVI FINANCE WELCOMES NEW BOARD DIRECTORS – LIBURD ELECTED AS CHAIR

For a closer look, click on the photos.

BVI Finance is pleased to announce four new appointments to its board following its 4th Annual General Meeting on 28th January 2020.

Joining on three-year terms are Ayana Liburd, executive director of Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee Trust; Charlotte Bailey, managing director at TMF Group; Lorna Smith, OBE, CEO at LGS & Associates; and Russell Crumpler, managing director of advisory at KPMG.

Liburd is the new chair of the board. Prior to joining Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee Trust in 2013, she spent time at Ogier Fiduciary Services and the BVI Financial Services Commission.

Ryan Geluk, director of advisory and innovation at BDO, continues on the board on a further one-year term and Rexella Hodge, managing director of Vistra, has also renewed her tenure for a further 12 months after originally joining the executive committee in 2019.

These board members join Richard May, managing partner of Maples; Nick Bishop, chief operating officer of Trident Trust; and Peter Tarn, chairman of the executive committee of Harneys, alongside two government representatives: Permanent Secretary Kedrick Malone and Lisa Penn-Lettsome, Executive Director of International Business.

Commenting on her newest appointment, Liburd said: “I am honoured and humbled to have been appointed as the new Chair of BVI Finance Limited by my peers and will endeavour to uphold the stellar leadership of my predecessor. The financial services journey ahead will not be a walk in the park but I am confident that, as BVI has in years past, we will continue to rise above and demonstrate that our position as a top tier international financial services centre is not by chance. I will lean on my 20 plus years of experience in this industry and look forward to working together with my colleagues and the BVI Government to progress our country’s financial services agenda.”

Read the full article, here.

FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY TURNS OUT IN ‘IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS’ FOR BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FORUM

For a closer look, click on the photos.

Premier and Minister of Finance of the British Virgin Islands, Hon. Andrew A. Fahie, hosted a successful Financial Services Business Solutions Forum alongside BVI Finance on Tuesday 28^th January, signalling the Premier’s ongoing commitment to the industry.

The event was well attended by the financial services industry, focusing on several key topics including infrastructure, ease of doing business, the BVI’s business centre, economic substance and industry consultation on developing legislation. A number of topical issues were covered within each panel discussion.

The session on industry consultation on developing legislation, hosted by Richard May, Managing Partner at Maples Group, covered legislation roll-out. Claire Abrehart, Managing Director at Harneys, focused her session on infrastructure, including the aesthetics of Road Town as the business centre, Grade 1 commercial properties, telecommunications and education. The session on ease of doing business in the BVI centred on trade licences and work permits, as well as covering Special Economic Zones. This discussion was led by Vanessa King, Managing Partner at O’Neal Webster. Peter Tarn, Partner at Harneys, spoke about the Commercial Court during his session, while Ryan Geluk, Deputy Managing Director at BDO, discussed tax residency and identification with respect to economic substance.

You can read the full article by clicking here.

MULTIPLE HONG KONG OFFICES CLOSE AS WHO DECLARES CORONAVIRUS AN INTERNATIONAL HEALTH EMERGENCY

Following the declaration of Coronavirus as a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ by the World Health Organization, a number of offices in Hong Kong have sent out notifications of office closures, including the BVI Financial Services Commission’s Asia Representative Office.

Collection of certificates has been suspended until further notice, but the VIRRGIN application will be active and available during the closure for the usual processing of transactions. We urge everyone to take extra and necessary precautionary measures.

Read the statement from WHO, here.

IN MEMORIUM

BVI Finance sends condolences to the family and friends of the late Harriet Skelton, the founder of the BVI Association of Compliance Officers.

SPOTLIGHT

BVI MAKES A MARK IN 2020 IFC REVIEW PUBLICATION

IFC Review, a leading global wealth management and offshore trusts financial publication, has published its 2020 report which features contributions from leading financial services experts in multiple jurisdictions, including the British Virgin Islands.

Click the screenshots below to read our highlight articles, which include contributions from BVI Finance CEO Elise Donovan; Vistra Global Lead, Company Formation, Simon Filmer; Sinclairs Partner, Adenike Sicard and Kennedys Law Bermuda Partner, Mark Chudleigh.

Upcoming Events

DELEGATION SETS SIGHTS ON MINING INDABA CONFERENCE IN CAPE TOWN

SAVE THE DATE

Weekend Reading Suggestions

PRIVATE EQUITY FUND REGULATION IN THE BVI: DAWN OF A NEW AGE OR BUSINESS AS USUAL?

Shiny and exciting gifts may lose their lustre, yet items which were not expected, or even asked for, may prove to have long-term value.

Which brings us to legislative changes which appeared under the BVI funds industry’s Christmas tree on 24 December 2019. Like an unexpected gift of a sweater, they were not actually requested by the people who must wriggle into them, but may yet prove to be useful in harsher environments.

Robert Varley of Appleby pens his thoughts on the latest update in the funds industry. Read the full article, here.

THE VALUE OF APPOINTING LIQUIDATORS IN THE BVI TO RECOVER DEBTS

Creditors of British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) incorporated companies are often concerned that by the time they obtain an order from the BVI Court placing the company into liquidation, it will have dissipated all of its assets and it will be expensive and futile to try to recover these through the Liquidator(s).

The Grant Thornton team has been investigating these matters and developing and implementing cost effective strategies to maximise recoveries for creditors. Click here to learn more about their approach.

I TRIED ‘KAKEIBO’: THE JAPANESE ART OF SAVING MONEY—AND IT COMPLETELY CHANGED HOW I SPEND MY MONEY

Kakeibo, pronounced “kah-keh-boh,” translates as “household financial ledger.” Invented in 1904 by a woman named Hani Motoko (notable for being Japan’s first female journalist), kakeibo is a simple, no-frills approach to managing your finances.

Some people don’t struggle with overspending and can live a satisfying life with just essentials. Click here to see how this method of saving money helped CNBC Contributor Sarah Harvey.