A MAJOR strategy designed to protect the Island’s finance sector – worth an estimated £3 billion to the local economy – has been unveiled by the government.
Details of the moves to give businesses more reasons to choose the Island as a base from which to do business were shared yesterday by External Relations Minister Ian Gorst, who also has responsibility for financial services.
Deputy Gorst told a meeting of finance industry representatives at the Radisson Hotel that it was necessary for Jersey to adapt to worldwide changes in order to protect a sector which contributes £3 billion to the local economy, provides 14,000 jobs, and generates 40% of tax revenues.
The Competitiveness Programme, a joint initiative between the government, Jersey Finance, the Jersey Financial Services Commission and industry partners, is focused on facilitating growth in the sector over the next decade.
A new concierge service will help businesses to set up in Jersey, along with increased international engagement to market the Island to potential new partners, and a team of officers will monitor global trends and identify policy changes required to maintain competitiveness.
The work will also include a review into Jersey’s risk appetite for emerging sectors such as digital assets, and adjustments to tax policy.
Deputy Gorst said that much of the work had stemmed from a review into the finance sector carried out by global consultancy firm McKinsey.
The review had not been carried out to give the Island “a pat on the back”, he added, but to acknowledge that global finance was changing and Jersey would need to be nimble enough to adjust to this.
“The financial world is changing rapidly and it is essential that Jersey changes with it,” he said. “We need to change our mindset, and understand that it is no longer a privilege for financial services businesses to operate in Jersey, it is now Jersey’s privilege to serve them.
“So we must ensure that everyone is pulling together to give businesses a reason to choose Jersey – I am confident that the Competitiveness Programme will do just that.”
An action plan for growth is set to be unveiled at the next quarterly update meeting in late March – this will follow input from an expert panel chaired by economist Sir Howard Davies, former chairman of NatWest Group and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England.
