Politicians, officials and business leaders from Guernsey will be following in the footsteps of Commonwealth Games competitors when they visit India next week to enhance financial services links between the two jurisdictions.
Carla McNulty Bauer, minister for the commerce and employment department within the Guernsey Government, will lead a delegation to Delhi and then Mumbai between 18 October and 23 October.
The visit will include governmental engagements, meetings with regulators, industry associations and leading business introducers, as well as a series of networking opportunities through specific Guernsey events.
Guernsey established a representative office in China at the end of 2007 but this visit to India represents the island’s first official marketing activity in the country.
“The group can’t wait to get down to business in India,” says McNulty Bauer.
“As a team we have been working hard over the last few weeks and months to put together a full and comprehensive itinerary. From what we have in place then I believe we can make real progress in developing relationships with government, regulators, professional associations and individual industry practitioners. The importance of meeting these key decision makers on a one-to-one basis cannot be underestimated.”
The delegation also includes Paul Christopher from Mourant Ozannes, Stuart Platt-Ransom of the Legis Group, State Street’s Gerald Hough, Robin Fuller from Dominion Fund Management and Joe Truelove from Kleinwort Benson.
It is being organised by Guernsey Finance, the promotional agency for the island’s finance industry, and includes chief executive Peter Niven.
Niven says: “Guernsey’s finance industry is continuing to perform well but we are increasingly facing new challenges – including stronger competition from other jurisdictions – so it is important that we do not stand still. The island needs to make sure that it maintains its profile in centres such as London, which remains our principal source of new business, while also developing relationships in emerging markets such as India. Some of the practitioners coming with us are already active in the market but this visit will enhance relationships, providing the Island’s firms with a smoother path for doing business in those countries.”
Lyndon Trott, Chief Minister, will then head a delegation to Beijing and Shanghai from 1 November to 8 November. In addition, Niven will also be leading Guernsey trade delegations to wealth management and investment fund conferences in Hong Kong during November and another investment fund conference in India at the start of December.
