Statement
STATEMENT BY
DR. THE HONOURABLE NATALIO D. WHEATLEY
PREMIER AND MINISTER OF FINANCE
AT THE SIXTH SITTING OF THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE FOURTH HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
21ST JULY, 2022
“FINANCIAL SERVICES UPDATE – FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE”
Madam Speaker, I would like to give this Honourable House a brief update on the direct contribution from the financial services sector in 2022 in monetary terms, for the first quarter of 2022.
The year 2022 opened with a very confident financial performance.
For every month of Q1 2022, new incorporation figures were similarly as healthy as last year and, importantly, surpassed those of 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the Territory.
New incorporations up to March 2022 stood at 8,075, which was a 4.4% increase over the same period in 2021 (7,732). Additionally, for each month of Q1, the total amount of revenue exceeded the same month last year. For the first quarter of 2022, based on monthly fee collection statements received from the Financial Services Commission (FSC), there was a growth of 9.9% in fees collected by the FSC over the same period in 2021 (US$36,437,712).
However, for Q2, the trend displayed a less robust performance both when compared to last year and to pre-pandemic 2019. The analysis for this is presently on-going but preliminary indications are that this might be due to (a) the long-term UK and European sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals; (b) uncertainty of the impact of political and economic tensions between China and the US on international trade; (c) business uncertainty due to global inflationary pressure and corresponding increase in interest rates; (d) the unsettled financial markets following tighter monetary policies by Central Banks; and (e) market saturation.
Overall, the recovery from the pandemic years has been impressive. In 2021, the Territory’s international business, financial services and regulatory sectors generated over $222 million in revenue for the Territory, based on the year-end fee collection statement from FSC. Further, those sectors continue to play a very important role in the global economy by streamlining cross-border trade and investment.
I thank you.
