BVI Government Signed MoUs with Chinese Delegation

During the visit of the delegation from Qianhai Special Economic Zone and officials of the municipality of Shenzhen, there were signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to signal the beginning of the mutual relationship between the jurisdictions. The MoU signed between the British Virgin Islands government and the City of Shenzhen sets out the parties’ intentions to further increase bilateral cultural exchanges, to expand exchange and cooperation in areas of tourism, economy, culture, sports and other areas. The Memorandum signed between the BVI government and the Qianhai Authority sets out parties’ intentions to promote exchange and cooperation in the sphere of financial industry.

According to BVI Premier Orlando Smith, “This is a historic occasion, in that while we have had visits from Chinese delegations in the past, this is the first time that we are having such a significant delegation to forge a closer relationship.” Also, speaking about the establishment of BVI House Asia in September 2013, Smith noted that a major component of his government’s strategy is to expand and deepen the commercial footprint of the territory in Asia as one of the most important global markets. 

The member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and party chief of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Dr Wang Rong said about the opening of BVI House Asia: “We warmly welcome BVI companies and institutions to strengthen overall and multi-layered cooperation with Shenzhen in various fields, and to share development opportunities with us for a better future.”

Premier Speaks on BVI Economy During 2014 Budget Address

The Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Dr Orlando Smith, was speaking on the economy of the jurisdiction, during the 2014 Budget Address last week. He said that, despite the global financial crisis and tremendous fiscal pressure, his government has done very well in safeguarding BVI’s economy and building territory’s economic sectors and reserve fund.

Among this year’s accomplishments named by the Premier, there were improvements in the sector of tourism, including partnership with the airlines serving the BVI territory, and providing incentives for new airlines, as well as BVI presence in the Asia/Pacific region which was enforced with the opening of BVI House Asia in Hong Kong – the most active partner of the jurisdiction for financial services business.

This year’s budget announced by the Premier is US$301,746,000. Smith expressed his confidence that it will help to continue territory’s progress towards stability and growth. The vision of the British Virgin Islands government is to create “a prosperous Virgin Islands, that is ideal to live, work, visit, and do business.”

Qianhai/Shenzhen Delegation Visits BVI to Discuss Economic and Financial Cooperation

The delegation from Qianhai Special Economic Zone and senior officials of the municipality of Shenzhen in the province of Guangdong, China, will visit the British Virgin Islands on January 9- 12 of 2014. The Qianhai/Shenzhen visit to the BVI will be headed by party chief of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee Dr Wang Rong.

During these days the six members of the delegation will meet with various stakeholders in the BVI to discuss the issues of cooperation in financial services, BVI economy, education and culture. They will have meetings with the governor, ministers and other senior government officials, among them the BVI FSC and the Tourist Board. The aim of the meetings is to discuss possible areas of understanding and cooperation between the BVI government and the Qianhai Authority, which is the modern service industry cooperation zone for the Municipality of Shenzhen - one of the wealthiest cities in China, ranked second in Forbes’ 2012 list of innovative mainland cities and eighth in the world in terms of its economic vitality.