Corporate And Banking Update, March 2007

The first quarter of 2007 has been a very good one for the BVI.

On the back of a continued golden period for much of the global economy, the BVI continues to boom. The Financial Times Special Report on the BVI, which was published on 9 March, paid a glowing tribute to the way in which the BVI has continued to develop and position itself.

The BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 ("BC Act") now governs almost all BVI companies and, as a reminder, it replaced the International Business Companies Act (Cap. 291) on 1 January 2007.

In terms of transaction flow for corporate work, as private equity's grip on the M&A market seems to get even tighter the BVI is benefiting across the private equity spectrum. The streamlined dividend and redemption procedures in the BC Act in particular are proving to be very popular with VC houses and corporates.