Jersey To Promote Finance Industry In Key Markets

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

19 August 2005

Jersey’s Finance Industry is embarking on a series of overseas visits during the last quarter of 2005 to outline a range of new business opportunities to finance and legal professionals in key markets around the world.

New York, Hong Kong and Singapore are included on the itinerary in the next few months as the Island continues to build business in a range of specialist markets. It is also planned to stage a seminar in London in the form of a debate in which hedge fund professionals will be invited to hear about Jersey’s growing emergence as a location for hedge fund business.

The series of visits, which will be organised and hosted by Jersey Finance Limited, will bring together industry representatives from the banking, funds, trusts, legal and accountancy sectors. The programme begins in London with a special debate on Jersey’s hedge fund business entitled 'What you Always Wanted to Know about Hedge Fund in Jersey, But Were Too Busy To Ask.'

The debate takes place at No. 4 Hamilton Place, Mayfair on Tuesday, 27th September and will be hosted by Phil Austin, Chief Executive of Jersey Finance and Gary Clark, Chairman of the Jersey Funds Association.

Designed for hedge fund managers, their advisers and prime brokers and organised in association with the Jersey Funds Association, the seminar will be chaired by Rod Sparks, publisher and managing editor of the highly respected Hedge Fund Journal magazine.

Taking part as one of the panel of experts will be a partner from one of the market leading hedge fund practices in the United States and Europe. Christopher Hilditch, from Schulte Roth and Zabel International, and a former partner at Maples and Calder Europe, is listed as a leading hedge fund lawyer in The International Who’s Who of Private Fund Lawyers and The Who’s Who of Professionals.

The Jersey participants on the panel will be Helen Hatton, Deputy Director General of the Jersey Financial Services Commission, Martin Paul, a Partner at Bedell Cristin, Wendy Dorman, Director of Tax, Deloitte and Richard Boleat, Principal, Channel House Group.

The New York Visit is scheduled for week commencing 3rd October and will include a Jersey Finance presentation and reception at a hotel in Lexington Avenue in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, 5th October. An industry delegation will then visit Hong Kong and Singapore for the first time during the week commencing 28th November.

Phil Austin commented:

"The delegations will showcase the range of financial services and will do so confident that the Island offers an ever more competitive business environment, with enhanced regulations implemented or planned to back up the skills and proven expertise of our legal and financial services organisations.

"Feedback from our members identified the importance of the Far East to a growing number of businesses in Jersey and has prompted us to host a delegation to the two leading finance centres in the region, Hong Kong and Singapore. Although they are competitor jurisdictions for some finance activity, we need also to explore the business opportunities that exist and ensure that the Island is better known in these locations. We will also take the opportunity to build contacts during a short stop over in Shanghai, although there are no official presentations planned for China on this trip.

"We are returning to New York for a second time and a third visit is already scheduled for the second half of 2006. We realise that awareness of Jersey in the US is still limited and we will use these occasions to build profile and outline the range of financial services that may be of interest to New York finance and legal professionals."

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