- Quarterly survey reveals finance industry leaders optimistic about future growth
- States Business Tendency Survey asks firms to compare the current trading situation to the previous three months
- For the three months to March responses were significantly more positive than in the previous quarter, for both finance and non-finance sectors.
FINANCE industry leaders continue to be optimistic about future growth, according to the responses to a quarterly survey.
However, the cost of doing business in Jersey could be hampering competitiveness, according to a spokesman.
Richard Corrigan, deputy chief executive of Jersey Finance, said that although the sector was optimistic overall, costs were an ongoing concern, with some of the Caribbean jurisdictions undercutting the Island on salaries and office costs.
Mr Corrigan was responding to the latest quarterly States Business Tendency Survey, which asks firms across the sectors to compare the current trading situation to the previous three months.
Responses for the three months to March were significantly more positive than in he previous quarter, for both finance and non-finance sectors.
Finance firms saw an improvement in business activity, with 46% of respondents reporting an increase over the previous quarter.
A further 46% reported no change to the level of activity, and eight per cent reported a decrease.
Profitability, employment and future business indicators also improved in the first three months of the year, but the ‘input costs’ indicator for supplies, purchases and employee costs continued to be negative.
Mr Corrigan said it was difficult to draw any ‘robust’ conclusions from the quarter-to-quarter survey.
‘It’s more about longer-term confidence in what the government and the regulator are doing, rather than a knee-jerk reaction,’ he added.
‘The surveys reflect how people are feeling on the day – if a large transaction has just closed and there is nothing on the horizon, they might feel a bit more hesitant.’
Asked about employment prospects, Mr Corrrigan said there were signs of an upturn, with more jobs being advertised and several companies reintroducing college leaver and graduate schemes.
‘Funds are a real hot-spot – we are optimistic about that,’ he said.
Mr Vorrigan added that the Island needed to make sure that it was a competitive jurisdiction in order to attract new business.
‘There are other jurisdictions with a lower cost base than us, in terms of salaries and fixed-base costs, although they will see greater pressure on standards, which adds to the cost of regulation.’
Other factors likely to affect the industry include changes to regulation, like changes to banking rules, and a raft of new measures affecting tax transparency, as well as the forthcoming UK elections.
The UK Labour Party has already indicated that if successful, it will tighten tax loopholes for non-doms – wealthy people who live in the UK but are exempt for tax purposes.
‘Jersey is less aligned to the UK than it has ever been,’ said Mr Corrigan.
‘That is not to say that we would not feel anything, but non-doms have been beneficial to the UK and invested in UK businesses, so they frighten that away at their peril.’
- Jersey Finance is run as a not-for-profit making organisation.
- It was formed in 2001 to represent and promote Jersey as an international financial centre of excellence.
- It is funded by members of the local finance industry and the States of Jersey.
- As well as its base in the Island, Jersey Finance also has offices in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi and representation in London, Mumbai and Delhi.
- They are a a central contact for journalists and anyone connected with the finance industry, both locally and internationally.
- Jersey Finance say they ‘actively represent the finance industrys needs and concerns with regards to legislation, regulation and other key areas of innovation that can enhance our jurisdictional product offering’.
