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Guernsey has received the green light for its companies to list
on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Exchange's Listing Committee has formally approved
Guernsey as an acceptable overseas jurisdiction for the purpose of
companies incorporated in the Island seeking to list on the
Exchange.
The decision was made at a meeting on Thursday 24th
March and the news was officially confirmed through a statement on
the Exchange's website on Wednesday 18 May.
Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Chief Finance – the
promotional agency for the Island's finance industry
internationally, said: "This is a very positive development
for Guernsey's finance industry. Our service providers are
seeing continued growth in terms of the numbers of clients from the
Far East and there has been particular interest in being able to
list Guernsey incorporated companies on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange.
"Receiving this approval is very much welcomed because it
means that now we will be able to meet this demand and indeed,
there are opportunities already in the pipeline. It was
particularly important that we received this approval because some
of our competitor jurisdictions have this agreement in place
already. Now our service providers can offer the same
benefits through the use of Guernsey companies."
Guernsey's representative office in the region was opened in
Shanghai at the end of 2007 and last year the Island's Chief
Minister, Lyndon Trott, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with the Shanghai Financial Services Office and a Tax
Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the Chinese central government tax authorities.
Mr Niven added: "Hong Kong is well-recognised as an
important gateway for inward and outward flows of capital to China
and other financial centres in Asia and so this approval provides
us with another platform for doing business in the region. Later
this year the Chief Minister will be leading a delegation to Hong
Kong not only to enhance relationships with government and
regulatory officials but also to put forward the case to the local
industry for existing and potential clients to use Guernsey
companies to list on the Exchange."
Caroline Chan, Guernsey-based Partner of Ogier which also has an office in Hong Kong,
said: "I'm delighted to have been able to assist the
Commerce & Employment Department on this project. By obtaining
approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to list Guernsey
companies, our finance industry will be able to continue to build
on the work being undertaken in the Asia region to raise
Guernsey's profile and develop new sources of business and
opportunities for the Island."
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