Appleby Reports Offshore Incorporation Activity

New York – July 29, 2013 – Though incorporation activity in the majority of offshore jurisdictions was down slightly in the second half of 2012 when compared with the first six months of the year, company registrations in certain jurisdictions offered signs of optimism, according to Appleby, one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services.

Despite tough economic conditions, levels of new company registration activity in one major offshore jurisdiction continued to increase, according to Appleby’s latest ‘On the Register’ report, which provides insight and data on company incorporations in offshore financial centers. Bermuda reported a 7% increase in activity compared to the first half of the year, according to the report, which looks primarily at the data for the last six months of 2012.

“There are signs that 2013 will be a watershed year in terms of seeing a universal return to pre-2009 activity levels across the offshore jurisdictions,” said Farah Ballands, partner and global head of fiduciary & administration services at Appleby.

The ongoing weakened economic conditions continued to impact the overall market in the second half of 2012. There were 37,881 new offshore company formations in the jurisdictions covered by the report, a decrease of 3.6% from the second half of 2011, and a deeper decrease of 11% on the preceding six months in 2012.

Minimal Growth in 2012

Taking the entire year into account, the overall number of new company incorporations for the majority of jurisdictions stayed flat in 2012, which proved to be a year of consolidation following large increases in annual new incorporations between 2009 and 2011.

“Continued uncertainty in some markets and the shift in focus from China/Asia to Africa for jurisdictions such as Mauritius and the Seychelles are preventing a speedy return to the numbers of company formations recorded prior to the global economic crisis,” Ms. Ballands said. “Add to this several major international events during the second half of 2012 including the US Presidential Elections, continued economic uncertainty in the Eurozone and the once-in-a-decade change in leadership in China, and it’s hard to be surprised at the company registrations barometer struggling to quickly improve,” she added, “but we are seeing growth in some markets.”

The story is similar for the total number of active companies, with most jurisdictions showing little movement from the previous year. Hong Kong, as a comparator, saw a 9% increase in the total number of active registered companies, with the local register there breaking through the one million mark for the first time. The Mauritius and Cayman registries are steadily returning to their pre-recession peaks, experiencing a 3% and 1% rise respectively. 

Among the report’s key findings is that in the second half of 2012:

·         Overall volumes of new offshore companies being registered were 11% lower in H2 2012 than the preceding six months. After a busy first half of the year, jurisdictions including the Isle of Man, Mauritius, Cayman and the British Virgin Islands were approximately 10% down in the latter half.

·         The jurisdiction that continues to dominate offshore new company registration activity by volume is the British Virgin Islands, which has consistently maintained a six-fold lead ahead of its nearest comparator, the Cayman Islands.

·         Year on year, Guernsey is the only offshore jurisdiction revealing growth in new company registration activity with a 1% increase between 2011 and 2012.

·         Mauritius is the offshore economy witnessing the greatest growth rate in total number of companies on its register with a 3% increase between 2011 and 2012.  

·         The UK and Hong Kong, as comparators, continue to show signs of recovery. Hong Kong in particular showed significant growth between H1 and H2 2012 with a 7% increase in registrations. Both Hong Kong and the UK registrations are now well above those recorded in 2009. 

Research Methodology

Data has been collected from reported figures produced by the national registries of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man and the UK, as well as Jersey Finance, the Central Bank of Seychelles and the Financial Services Commissions of Mauritius and the British Virgin Islands.

About Appleby:

Appleby is one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services. With an unparalleled presence in the key offshore jurisdictions of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, and Seychelles, the group offers advice on offshore law and also has offices in four international financial centres: London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Zurich.

The Appleby Group has been ranked as one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal services by partner numbers in The Lawyer’s 2013 Offshore Survey. In 2010 Appleby was named “Offshore Law Firm of the Year” in both the Legal Week and The Lawyer Awards; no other firm has ever received both accolades in the same year. With over 770 lawyers and professional specialists across the Group, Appleby delivers sophisticated, specialised services, primarily in the areas of Corporate and Commercial, Litigation and Insolvency, Private Client and Trusts and Property, and a broad range of fiduciary services.  The Group advises public and private companies, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals, working with them and their advisers to achieve practical solutions, whether in a single location or across multiple jurisdictions.