Guernsey In India This Week

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

19 October 2010

The Guernsey government has announced that it will be have a presence in India this week as part of efforts to enhance financial services links between the two jurisdictions.

Politicians, officials and business leaders from Guernsey are to meet with Indian government officials, regulators, industry association, and business leaders in meetings starting on October 18, until October 23. The visit represents the island’s first official marketing activity in India.

“The group can’t wait to get down to business in India,” said McNulty Bauer, Jersey Minister for Commerce and Employment. “As a team we have been working hard over the last few weeks and months to put together a full and comprehensive itinerary. [On the basis of the arrangements we have in place], I believe we can make real progress in developing relationships with government, regulators, professional associations and individual industry practitioners. The importance of meeting these key decision makers on a one-to-one basis cannot be over-estimated.”

The delegation also includes Paul Christopher from Mourant Ozannes, Stuart Platt-Ransom of the Legis Group, State Street’s Gerald Hough, Robin Fuller from Dominion Fund Management and Joe Truelove from Kleinwort Benson.

It is being organised by Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry – and includes Chief Executive, Peter Niven.

Niven said: “Guernsey’s finance industry is continuing to perform well but we are increasingly facing new challenges – including stronger competition from other jurisdictions – so it is important that we do not stand still. The island needs to make sure that it maintains its profile in centres such as London, which remains our principal source of new business, while also developing relationships in emerging markets such as India. Some of the practitioners coming with us are already active in the market but this visit will enhance relationships, providing the Island’s firms with a smoother path for doing business in those countries.”

Deputy Lyndon Trott, Chief Minister, will then head a delegation to Beijing and Shanghai from November 1 to November 8. In addition, Niven will be leading Guernsey trade delegations to wealth management and investment fund conferences in Hong Kong during November and another investment fund conference in India at the start of December.

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