Powerful endorsements for island at Singapore seminar

Guernsey Finance ran a seminar in Singapore for the first time as part of its latest tour in the region. Speakers were Leon Santos, of Collas Crill in Singapore, and Russell Clark, of Carey Olsen in Guernsey.

Mr Santos highlighted the island's experience and expertise for listing vehicles on capital markets, including success with migrations from the British Virgin Islands and Cayman, and Challenger Acquisitions, a small-to-mid-sized south-east Asian venture which was established as a Guernsey investment company on the LSE main market to undertake acquisitions of companies and businesses in the entertainment and leisure sectors.

It raised the minimum capital requirement of £700,000 in February 2015 and has grown that to £3m.

Kate Clouston, director of international business development at Guernsey Finance, who delivered the introduction at the Singapore event, said the case studies highlighted were powerful endorsements.

'At the time of their migrations, both SafeCharge and VinaCapital cited Guernsey's well-established infrastructure for the administration of funds listed on the LSE as a key factor for the migration, as well as the free access to potential investors available through being domiciled in Guernsey. Similarly, Challenger is a live example of an Asian vehicle using Guernsey as a way to raise capital.'