BVI Confirms Its Ranking Among Top Global Financial Centres

British Virgin Islands confirmed its presence in the list of the top 30 countries in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), published by the City of London on September 25. The index is updated every six months, and it is the fourth time when it is published, based on fourteen factors of competitiveness grouped into five key areas – people, business environment, market access, infrastructure and general competitiveness. BVI was first time included in the list in March 2008, ranked in the 27th place among 69 leading international finance centres. The press release published by the BVI FSC on October 10, reaffirms BVI status as top global financial centre in the fourth GFCI, based on nearly 24,000 assessments from business professionals worldwide.

Since March, individual rating of the BVI has increased, going up from 574 in March to 584 in the September report, and showing the improved overall perception of the BVI. Now the jurisdiction ranks 29th among 59 centres.

It is noted in the press release by the FSC that this version goes into less detail than the last index published half a year ago, that placed BVI among the most stable offshore jurisdictions like Hong Kong, Zurich and the Isle of Man. The report cites published by the City of London stress the importance of the regulatory environment which includes taxation as the most important factor in the competitiveness of offshore centres.

Robert Mathavious, MD/CEO of the BVI FSC, said that “in these challenging times, it is good to know that practitioners across the world continue to view the BVI as a leading global finance centre.” By his words, he is also proud that the BVI FSC was “the first ever regulator to be accepted as an ordinary member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).”