A delegation of nearly 30 officials and practitioners from the Chinese trust sector has visited Guernsey to find out more about doing business in the Island.
The delegation was led by Wang Lijuan, Vice President of the non-banking supervisory department at the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). She was joined by a CBRC colleague, executives of the China Trustee Association (CTA) and several other CTA members who are in senior positions within trust companies in China.
The visit was arranged and coordinated by Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, both through its offices in Guernsey and Shanghai.
Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance, said: “Guernsey Finance established a representative office in Shanghai at the end of 2007 and since then, we have made huge strides in raising awareness of the Guernsey brand. Part of this process has been building relationships with the relevant professional associations, including the China Trustee Association (CTA).
“We have met with them on a previous visit to China, a group from the CTA visited the Guernsey Registry during last year and we were fortunate to meet with some members during our visit to Beijing in April this year. As part of that meeting, we learnt that a large delegation was due to visit Europe, including London, during June and so we immediately extended an invitation for them to visit Guernsey.
“We were delighted that they were able to arrange their itinerary so that they could visit us and learn firsthand about the Island in terms of its beauty, heritage, culture and financial services offering.”
Mr Niven welcomed the group to the Island on the evening of Thursday 14 June. The following day the delegation was given a tour of the Royal Court and Bailiff’s Chambers by Deputy Bailiff, Richard McMahon.
They were then given presentations on the local finance industry by Mr Niven and his deputy, Fiona Le Poidevin. The offering at the Guernsey Registry was outlined by Alan Bougourd, Registrar and John Ogier, Registrar of Intellectual Property, spoke on the Island’s IP environment, including the latest image rights legislation. Then Alan Chick, Chairman of Richmond Fiduciary Group, outlined the work that his firm has been undertaking in the Chinese marketplace.
The group was then given a tour of Castle Cornet by Jason Monaghan, Museums Director, which concluded by Ms Wang firing the noon day gun. This was followed by a lunch in the Hatton Gallery where Chief Minister Peter Harwood gave a speech and exchanged gifts with Ms Wang. The lunch also provided a networking opportunity attended by several members of the local trust and fiduciary community.
In the afternoon, the party was given a tour of the Island before flying back to London.
Mr Niven added: “I was delighted that we were able to put together such an impressive itinerary. The delegation was here for less than 24 hours but I really do think that we were able to showcase the best of the Island in its various different guises. We have made a very positive impression which will enable us to further strengthen our ties with the CTA and its membership in the future. Indeed, extending our reach, particularly through professional associations, is an extremely important strand of our work to help develop new business flows from China.”
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