Jersey Finance visit to Delhi and Mumbai reaffirms long-term commitment to India

Jersey’s long-term commitment to the Indian marketplace was reaffirmed through a Jersey Finance-led visit to the country last week, almost exactly a year after the Tax Information Exchange Agreement was signed with India.

During a five-day visit to India, Geoff Cook, chief executive of Jersey Finance, met with a range of government, regulatory and senior industry representatives in Delhi and Mumbai.

As well as undertaking a range of high level networking events and private meetings, Jersey Finance was also represented at the 18th annual International Taxation Conference at the ITC Maratha Hotel in Mumbai (6th – 8th December), where Jersey Finance was a gold sponsor.

Geoff Cook had a speaker session within the conference on ‘Jersey’s substance as an IFC’, when he outlined the benefits of using Jersey as part of an international wealth management strategy and its attraction as a tax neutral jurisdiction for structuring investments. Richard Teather, a senior lecturer at Bournemouth University and offshore academic, also spoke at the event on behalf of Jersey Finance, on the application of case law offshore and the importance of businesses demonstrating substance in tax matters.

The conference, one of the leading regular taxation conferences in the world, was organised by the Foundation for International Taxation, and was attended by around 500 international delegates.

Jersey Finance’s visit builds on another busy year of activity for Jersey in the Indian market. In the summer, the Jersey Financial Services Commission hosted a delegation from the Reserve Bank of India to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the two bodies, whilst in September Jersey Finance hosted a succession planning and wealth management round-table event in Mumbai involving a range of locally based lawyers, bankers and accountants. A Jersey Advisory Group, consisting of senior level individuals from the financial, legal and professional services sectors of both Mumbai and New Delhi, is also well established in India.

Geoff Cook, chief executive, Jersey Finance, said:

“With an impressive current growth rate of 5.3%, India remains a key long-term market for Jersey. A rapidly expanding middle class is reinforcing the need for increasingly sophisticated succession planning and wealth management expertise and this is an area where Jersey is seeing real interest, specifically in the use of Foundations. Jersey’s role in facilitating cross-border business has gained real ground over the past twelve months too, particularly amongst high net worth non-resident Indians looking to acquire UK real estate, whilst the strength of Jersey’s company law is also proving attractive for listings work.

“It’s vitally important that Jersey looks to maintain its profile in India through visits like this and by sharing its credentials at events like the International Taxation Conference. India is a market that offers huge potential and it is clear that there is scope for further expansion beyond Delhi and Mumbai in the years to come.”