Guernsey leads the way on main market listings

Companies using Guernsey as a gateway to tap into the capital markets of both Europe and Asia is increasing.

The latest data from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) shows Guernsey has more non-UK entities listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) than any other jurisdiction globally.

As at the end of December 2011 there were 108 Guernsey-incorporated entities listed on either the Main Market, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the Specialist Fund Market (SFM) or as ‘Trading Only’, according to LSE data.

By comparison, the US has 47 companies listed and India 31. Peer centres such as Jersey, Isle of Man, Ireland and Bermuda each had less than 70 listings on the LSE.

Fiona Le Poidevin, Deputy Chief Executive at Guernsey Finance puts its success down to its growing expertise and capabilities: “The fact that so many companies and securities on the exchange are incorporated in Guernsey means that we have developed significant expertise of London listings. The way in which this is recognised by professional advisers in the City and elsewhere is demonstrated by our position at the forefront of new listings during 2011."

In addition, Guernsey has the largest number of listings on London's Specialist Fund Market.

Patrick Firth, Chairman of the Guernsey Investment Fund Association (GIFA), said: “It is very encouraging to see that fund professionals continue to recognise Guernsey’s strong capabilities for listing a wide variety of fund structures on such a major international stock exchange. The Island is seeing particularly good growth in closed-ended funds and in particular, those investing in alternative asset classes."

Le Poidevin also points out that Guernsey companies also received approval to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) during last year, which added to the capability to list on stock exchanges in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Australia and Toronto, among others, as well as the local Channel Islands Stock Exchange (CISX).

"This means that Guernsey provides a gateway to access the capital markets of both Europe and Asia, where the developing economies are accumulating increasing amounts of private and corporate wealth and looking for suitable investment opportunities. We have already held discussions in Singapore and Shenzhen and we will be moving these forward during this year with a view to Guernsey companies listing on these exchanges in the future,” she says.