The Virgin Islands is making a big push into the Latin American market for financial services with plans to open a business office in Panama this year.
The Financial Services Commission, which announced the move on Monday, said it hopes to build on the success of the VI Asia Representative Office, which opened in Hong Kong in 2014.
“Over the past two years, we have engaged in extensive market research to determine the relevance and viability of having a representative office in the LatAm region,” FSC CEO Kenneth Baker said in a press release.
Mr. Baker added that Panama is believed to be the optimum base to seek business in Central and South America.
“Our ultimate decision to put Panama forward to the board of commissioners as the recommended hub was based on factors such as geographic connection to the BVI and to the rest of LatAm — with Panama having gained the title of logistical hub of the Americas … and Panama’s reputation for creating an environment conducive to business efficiency,” Mr. Baker said.
He added that 75 percent of surveyed financial service providers named Panama as their first choice for an FSC presence in the region.
Customer base
Cherno Jallow, the FSC’s director of policy development and external relations, predicted that Panama will deliver a big payback for the territory.
“It comes down to this: Latin America is only second to Asia in the number of persons that use BVI corporate vehicles and financial services,” he said. “Thus, it holds an extremely important customer base for us.”
Mr. Jallow added that the push will also diversify the VI’s appeal in international markets.
“Our strategy considers opportunities, such as localising our distribution hub in LatAm, providing multi-channel customer support and reliable logistics, and of course having representatives readily available to create robust feedback mechanisms and opportunities for customer engagement,” he said.
Currently, almost 60 percent of VI financial service business comes from China and elsewhere in East Asia.
Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley is also planning a major trade mission to India in the coming months.