The office, which is being called BVI House Asia, is located in Central Plaza, one of Hong Kong’s tallest office towers, in the Wan Chai district, blocks from the Hong Kong Island Star Ferry terminal.
It is the second BVI representative office in a key international location. The first was opened more than 10 years ago in London.
The office was formally opened in a ceremony last week. In a statement earlier this year, BVI premier Orlando Smith said island officials had “long viewed the establishment of a Far East BVI representative office as a major component” in their strategy to expand the British territory’s presence and visibility in Asia.
No one has yet been named to head up the new Hong Kong office, but the government is said to be expecting to appoint someone imminently. For now, it is being overseen by the wife of premier Smith, Lorna Smith, who is chairperson of the BVI’s Financial Services Business Development Committee. She oversaw the setting up of the London office in 2002, and served as its first director.
Set out in budget
Plans for the office were first unveiled in the island’s 2013 budget. The government at that time said the office would serve as the territory’s Asian regional hub.
In addition to seeking to boost business links with the new office, the BVI government said it also plans to use the office as a base for diplomatic representation in the Asia Pacific region, as well as to promote the BVI as a tourist destination.
Although Smith referred to the planned office in that statement as “modest”, some media reports in the BVI were focussing on how much it is expected to cost to run.
"While making it clear that he does not have the specific numbers, Premier Smith reasoned that the running of the Hong Kong office per year should cost about the same as a similar office that the territory operates in London,” one BVI publication noted, adding that Smith had said the London office costs around $800,000 annually.
It was not immediately known how many, if any, of the 13 other British overseas territories have representative offices in Asia. At least one other, Gibraltar, has a presence in London, Gibraltar House, on the Strand.
Both Guernsey and Jersey, which are UK crown dependencies, have offices in Asia, set up and run by Guernsey Finance and Jersey Finance respectively, which promote the islands’ financial services industries.
