Asian banks follow clients to Jersey
Indian and Chinese firms are setting up shop in Jersey, following wealthy Asian clients who are putting their capital into offshore trusts in the Channel Islands.
Indian banks ICICI and HDFC have expressed interest in launching banking operations in the region, and one of the top five Chinese banks is setting up investment and private banking operations there, according to banking sources close to the situation.
Bank of India is the only Asian bank with operations in Jersey, but M R Sharma, a managing director, said the bank caters mainly for investors looking to invest in India, rather than wealthy individuals. However, he said he was aware of the burgeoning numbers of Asian high net worth individuals looking at opportunities in the West.
Geoff Cook, chief executive of Jersey Finance, a Jersey-based consultant, said: “The exchange controls in India and China are highly restrictive. As a wealthy individual in India you are not allowed to move more than $200,000 (€127,000) out of the country at the moment, and in China you can only move $50,000.
Non-resident Asians are reluctant to repatriate their profits as they won’t be able to take it out of the country again, so increasingly they are putting capital offshore.” ICICI did not return calls. HDFC could not be reached for comment.
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