More Asian companies than ever before are incorporating in the tiny nations of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands (Guernsey and Jersey), and the British Virgin Islands. And the local firms that specialize in offshore incorporation, as it’s called, are responding by opening more offices in Asia to serve these clients. In the past year, Ogier and Appleby have become the first offshore firms to open representative offices in Shanghai, Collas Crill has joined two competitors in Singapore, and Mourant Ozannes has made its Asian debut in Hong Kong, adding to the seven offshore firms already in the city.
According to a recent report by the company formation firm of Offshore Incorporations Ltd., Asia-based businesses began to dominate offshore registrations worldwide in the past year, and will continue to do so for the next five to 10 years. An estimated half of the 800,000 companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI)the most common offshore destination globallyare based in Asia, while Cayman and Bermuda have long been popular with Asian businesses.
