Appleby Global has published a report on the dynamics of registration of new offshore companies in the world’s largest offshore zones. According to the Bermudan Appleby Global, offshore companies were registered more seldom in the second half of 2012; however “the situation with registration in some jurisdictions gives some cause for optimism”.
According to the Appleby’s report 37,881 new offshore companies were registered worldwide in the second half of 2012. This is 3.6% less than a year earlier – in the second half of 2011, and 11% less than in the first half of 2012. Having analyzed the general situation with registration of every new offshore company, the company’s experts notice that there is a lull in the second half of the year after the sharp growth of the number of new offshore companies from 2009 to 2011. The report says that “after buoyancy in the first half of 2012 the activity of business for registration of offshore companies decreased by nearly 10% in the second half of the year in such jurisdictions as the Isle of Man, Mauritius, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands”. As estimated by Appleby at the end of 2012 there are 673,009 active companies in the registers of such offshore jurisdictions as the Bermudas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and Mauritius which is 3% less than in 2011.
Decrease of the number of new registrations is recorded in all of the most popular offshore zones http://www.infinity-group.sc/ – the negative dynamics are the most prominent in the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius and the Isle of Man (decrease by 12%) and in the Cayman Islands (decrease by 13%). Decrease of the number of new registrations is also recorded in the Island of Guernsey (-5%), Jersey (-3%) and Seychelles (-2%). Increase is only recorded in Hong Kong and the Bermudas (+7%).
Nevertheless the Bermudan company’s researchers consider the lull temporary. “We believe that the situation in such financial centers as Great Britain and Hong Kong is a good indicator of the condition of offshore jurisdictions, therefore we think that 2013 will be a game changer. The increase of number of new registrations in Hong Kong and enhancement of the situation in Great Britain speak for themselves; our clients are also quite actively preparing registration of new companies in offshore jurisdictions. And moreover those jurisdictions have adapted to the current regulatory regime and transparency and information exchange requirements”.