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BVI FINANCE SUMMER KLATSCH A ROARING SUCCESS
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Winning Teams: Jack’s Angels (Simonette Lewis) and the WPHL (TMF)
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Click on images above to view.
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Some 80 representatives from the BVI’s financial services industry attended the BVI Finance Summer Klatsch on Wednesday 19th August. The event, held at Wyndham Lambert Beach Resort, brought together music, food and presented a 50-question quiz. The quiz featured questions on finance, history, terminology, as well as questions related to the BVI’s history and culture. The event was hosted by Head of Business Development Simon Gray and Marketing Manager Kareem-Nelson Hull.
The Winning Teams
12 teams with creative names like The Sharks, Bankophobes, Distance Posse, Cool Breeze and Lost at Sea participated. The spot for top prize was shared between Jack’s Angels (Simonette Lewis) and the WPHL (TMF) who both scored 41 points while two second place teams Oggie and Red Rock Rules, were also celebrated for scoring 40 points each.
The winning teams were awarded a 2-hour lesson for four at the Josiah’s Bay Pottery. Consolation prizes of BVI Finance teddy bears were distributed to any team that managed to answer a few of the tricky finance questions. The best theme dressed man and woman also received a bottle of BVI Gin.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to Family Support Network (FSN) which was represented by Gail Lettsome.
The BVI Finance Summer Klatsch was rescheduled from its original date on 30th July due to the passing of a tropical storm. Winners are advised to contact events@bvifinance.vg to arrange prize collections.
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WORK PERMIT HOLDERS TO RE-ENTER VIRGIN ISLANDS BEGINNING 1ST SEPTEMBER
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Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie discussed Phase II of the Government’s re-entry strategy for work permit holders and others seeking to conduct business in the Territory amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, during a webinar titled “A Conversation with the Premier”, hosted by BVI Finance.
Premier Fahie affirmed: “We live and breathe the safety of the people of the Virgin Islands...all our precautionary measures for protecting our people from the public health threat of COVID-19 are soundly grounded in the law of the land and your government is being cautious in dealing with this very fluid situation, because another round of lockdown can cripple our economy to the point that we may not be able to bounce back.”
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Pictured: Hon. Andrew A. Fahie, Premier and Minister of Finance, BVI
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The conversation highlighted the recent announcement of the lifting of the curfew along with the list of persons who will be allowed to re-enter the Territory from 1 September, 2020. Those persons include work permit holders or work permit exemption holders; persons who are permitted to reside but not seek employment and individuals with Land Holding Licenses; Students of locally based Medical Schools and H. Lavity Stoutt Community College students; exceptional approval for persons employed by the Government of the Virgin Islands and its Statutory Bodies, Agencies and Boards; and teachers (public and private); dependents (spouses and children) of Belongers, Permanent Residents, work permit holders, work permit exemption holders; and persons desirous of conducting business in the Territory. All qualified persons will be subject to a Government-mandated quarantine.
Premier Fahie said that effective 1 October, some quarantined individuals will be required to contribute towards the cost of the 24-hour security and meals, with fees being US$2500 and US$3500 for those quarantined in government or private facilities. Virgin Islanders, Belongers, Permanent Residents and Naturalised Citizens are exempt from those fees.
Read more, here.
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TROPICAL STORM WARNING ISSUED FOR THE BVI – DDM
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Click on the image above for better look.
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The Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Service has issued a Tropical Storm Warning for the BVI. A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within the next 12 to 24 hours.
On the forecast track, the center of Laura will pass near the Territory late tonight or very early tomorrow morning. The National Hurricane Centre reports that Tropical Storm Laura was located near latitude 17.0 North, longitude 60.8 West at 2pm today. The system is moving toward the west at near 18 mph. On the current forecast track, the center of Tropical Storm Laura will move near or over portions of the Leeward Islands later today, near or over Puerto Rico Saturday morning, and near the northern coast of Hispaniola late Saturday and early Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph with higher gusts. Some slow strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 mb (29.74 inches).
A small craft advisory remains in effect, and the BVI remains under Tropical Storm Warning. Persons are asked to download the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) Alert app in the Apple App store or Google Play store to receive updates of any hazards affecting the Territory. You can also visit the DDM’s webpage at www.bviddm.com and subscribe for updates or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bvi.ddm.
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REOPENING THE WORLD: ASIA AND IFCS ARE THE KEY TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY
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Pictured: Elise Donovan, CEO, BVI Finance
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COVID-19 has left an indelible mark on the global economy. With an uncertain economic outlook prevailing, governments around the world are working hard to address the financial ramifications of the pandemic as part of their long-term strategies towards economic recovery.
In her recent speech on navigating the path out of economic uncertainty, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde recalled the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said that “the best way to predict the future is to create it”.
However, against this backdrop, predicting future economic outcomes seems daunting. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the global economy will contract by 4.9 per cent, take a US$12 trillion hit, and moreover, take at least two years for the world output to return to the same levels as at the end of 2019.
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Yet, despite this, President Lagarde, like many other world leaders, has advocated for steps that will help the global economy navigate out of the fog of uncertainty and towards a positive vision for what our economies will look like after.
As governments look to help their economies recover from the pandemic-induced financial crisis, International Financial Centres (IFCs) and Asian economies, such as China, are in a unique position to lead the way towards economic recovery.
IFC Review has just this week published BVI Finance CEO Elise Donovan’s article on reopening the world and how Asia and IFCs are the key to economic recovery. You can read the full article, here.
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BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: AVIATION FINANCE & LEASING
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Counsel at Conyers Audrey Robertson has provided an overview of the Aviation Finance & Leasing laws and regulations that are applicable in the BVI to The Legal 500’s Country Comparative Guides. In her overview, Robertson answered the following questions, 31 in total, posed by The Legal 500:
- What international aviation conventions has your jurisdiction [the BVI] signed and/or ratified?
- Will a court uphold the choice of a foreign governing law in respect of the following contracts and if so, please also state any conditions or formality requirements to this recognition a. Lease and b. Security document (for example, mortgage)?
- Are foreign judgments recognized and enforceable by courts of your jurisdiction and if so, please also state any conditions or formality requirements to this recognition (for example, do you require a local court order confirming such recognition)?
- Is your aircraft registry an owner-register (registering ownership interests) or an operator-register (registering interests as operator)? Please also state any conditions, procedural steps or formality requirements for such registration and explain how this is evidenced (for example, the issuance of a Certificate of Registration)
Click here to see Audrey Robertson’s response and learn more about Aviation Leasing and Finance in the BVI.
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OFFSHORE BUSINESS UPDATE: BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
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In this update, Appleby's Andrew Willins and Shana Simmonds provide a rolling overview of how the authorities in the British Virgin Islands are continuing to respond to the evolving global COVID-19 pandemic. In particular they focus on the impact to filings, ability to conduct searches, certificates of good standing, other relevant searches, court sessions, travel restrictions and the implications for Economic Substance compliance and residency. In addition they also provide updates of any other temporary regulatory measures in place that might affect any ‘business as usual’ processes.
You can read the full offshore business update, here.
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WHO CHIEF HOPES CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC WILL LAST LESS THAN TWO YEARS
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The World Health Organization (WHO) hopes the coronavirus pandemic will be shorter than the 1918 Spanish flu and last less than two years, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday, if the world unites and succeeds in finding a vaccine. The WHO has always been cautious about giving estimates on how quickly the pandemic can be dealt with while there is no proven vaccine. Tedros said the 1918 Spanish flu “took two years to stop”.
Read the full article on Reuters, here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER
BVI Finance Breakfast Forum
Webinar | 16 Sep | 10:00 a.m
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