Lessons From Delaware

Delaware is the second smallest state in the United States of America. It is also the leading corporate domicile and company law jurisdiction. Delaware has over one million active business entities, each paying an annual government fee. More than half of the Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware. Delaware is the brand name for company law in the United States.

Offshore, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is the brand name globally for offshore incorporations. With over 450,000 active business companies, the BVI is the leading offshore incorporation domicile, far surpassing all of its competitors put together. However, the BVI is purely an incorporation jurisdiction while Delaware is the pre-eminent business jurisdiction. So, why is Delaware so successful? What can the BVI learn from Delaware? This article examines the factors that have combined to create the Delaware product. It also considers how these factors can be brought together in the BVI to improve