Offshore banking and investment hotspot welcomes Chinese

An environment as good for investments as vacations

Vanuatu has been established as an offshore financial center for over three decades, enabling the Indian Ocean nation to build up sound financial infrastructure with a high degree of professional expertise available to international clients, who utilize the country's well-trained financial staff and offshore status for investment.

The benefits that Vanuatu receives from the financial services industry is apparent in many industries. The island's status provides increased revenue for the government, local employment is boosted, there is a good transference of knowledge and skills to the local population, contributions are made to the tourism industry; local employment is improved in other sectors of the economy; and finally, offshore finance revenues provide the government and the people of Vanuatu with a means by which to improve their standards of living.

As Simeon Athy, govenor of the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu admits, Vanuatu could not have gained its financial reputation without the help of international donors.

"The commencement of large donor-funded projects last year is among the main reasons that growth bottomed out, however, most of our macroeconomic fundamentals are now sound," he said. "This includes our balanced fiscal position, low inflation, adequate international reserves, and so forth. Tourism remains a robust industry and is expected to continue its growth path over the coming years. The bank will make sure monetary and prudential policies support private sector credit, as this helps fuel economic growth."

The Reserve Bank oversees the proper functioning of the banking system in the country, including the issue of the country's currency, and it also manages the country's external assets, such as the foreign currency backing for the Vanuatu currency.

Alongside this, the professional services offered within Vanuatu are second to none within the Pacific region, and most of the service providers are members of the Vanuatu Finance Center Association.

Performance for excellence

This institutional framework has led to a sustained platform for sound financial dealings within Vanuatu for many years, which Smith Tebu, CEO of the Vanuatu Investment and Promotion Authority (VIPA) fully agrees with. As head of the country's promotional agency that seeks out investment and smooths the path for foreign investors to do business in a simple, efficient manner, he said: "Vanuatu warmly welcomes investment from China, as has been announced by some of our high ranking officials, and an institution such as VIPA that promotes investment, is here. We offer the facilities and encourage Chinese businesses to come and make viability studies, to prospect, to find investment opportunities, and then come and establish themselves. We really want to tap into the Chinese market.

"The main sectors where the government would like to attract investment are agriculture, fisheries, forestry, manufacturing and tourism. Specifically we want China to invest in the tourism sector, as it has the biggest population in the world, and is a huge market for us."

InFocus provided the story

(China Daily 06/01/2015 page5)