International co-operation agreements and Guernsey’s reputation in the market are helping to facilitate the growth of Guernsey captives with Chinese clients, according to Guernsey Finance.
At a recent Guernsey masterclass event, Kate Storey, partner at Walkers in Guernsey, explained that the island was an ideal location because its “proximity to London is a selling point”.
Storey added: “Another distinguishing factor is the existing co-operation agreements between Guernsey and China.”
Since March 2017 there have been agreements in place between the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and between Guernsey Finance and a key business hub, the Beijing Airport Economic Core Zone.
Also commenting on Guernsey’s process in the China captive market was Charles Scott, managing director of Guernsey-based Asset Risk Management, who suggested that work in China is paying dividends for companies that take the time to visit.
Scott said: “As regards new Chinese owned clients, we are working on a business plan for the first Chinese-owned Protected Cell Company as well as a cell in the ARM-owned Windward insurance PCC. There are a number of other captive projects we are working on, but these are not in the advanced stage yet.”