New company registrations increased in most offshore jurisdictions in the second half of 2013, according to offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services, Appleby.
In total, there were 44,615 new offshore company incorporations in the second half of 2013, and the total number of active companies rose to 671,000, according to the firm’s 'On the Register' report, which provides insight and data on company incorporations in offshore financial centres.
All three Crown Dependencies increased their incorporation activity in the second half of the year with new incorporations making up 8-9% of their local registers. The Isle of Man and Guernsey revealed the largest increases in new company incorporations across offshore jurisdictions at 10% and 9%, respectively, when compared to the previous six months.
Jersey added 2,517 new companies to the register in 2013, including 1,302 in the second six months of the year, an increase of 7% over the first six months. Jersey’s register has remained incredibly stable, hovering around 32,500 for the last three years, the report found.
The largest year-on-year increase was seen in the Seychelles (29%), followed by Bermuda (16%), which saw a recent high in new incorporations — more than 1,000 annually for the first time since 2008.