India’s growing economic heft and its expanding role in global investment flows are opening new avenues for engagement with international financial centres. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), one of the world’s prominent international finance jurisdictions, is now looking to deepen its economic relationship with India while broadening cooperation into technology, healthcare, tourism and digital transformation.Leading the BVI’s first official financial services trade mission to India, Dr. Natalio D. Wheatley, Premier and Minister of Finance of the British Virgin Islands, described India as one of the world’s most exciting economic prospects and outlined his vision for a long-term partnership that goes beyond financial services. He sees the BVI playing a role in facilitating cross-border investment into India while also drawing on Indian capabilities in technology and other sectors.
In an interview with Anoop Verma on the sidelines of the BVI–India Financial Services Roadshow in New Delhi, Wheatley spoke about the rationale behind the India outreach, opportunities for Indian businesses and investors, diversification of the BVI’s Asian economic relationships, and his expectations for India–BVI ties over the next five years.
Edited excerpts:
This is the British Virgin Islands’ first major financial services trade mission to India. What prompted you to focus on India now, and what outcomes would make this visit a success?
It is indeed a historic mission—our first official visit to India—and it has started marvellously well. We had a high-level meeting with the Finance Minister today and also started our trade mission here, which was very successful, with a number of excellent presentations. We will continue our engagements in GIFT City, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
What would make this visit truly successful is continued engagement with government representatives, regulators and the private sector, and developing a common understanding of the tremendous potential for the BVI and India to complement each other.
This is particularly relevant in financial services. The BVI can serve as a gateway to the world, while India, and particularly GIFT City, can provide an entry point into India. Together, we can facilitate greater cross-border investment.
India is emerging as one of the world’s largest economies and a major source of global investment. Where do you see the BVI fitting into the international expansion strategies of Indian companies and investors?
We cannot ignore how fast India is growing. It has the largest population in the world and is among the world’s biggest economies. Based on its projected growth, India is one of the most exciting economic prospects in the world right now. We see the BVI fitting very well into India’s growth story. India has the goal of achieving developed-country status by 2047, and we believe we can play a role in that journey by helping to facilitate foreign direct investment into India.
This works particularly well with GIFT City, which has made it easier and more efficient to invest in India. The BVI is a globally recognised mechanism for facilitating foreign direct investment. We have more than 370,000 registered companies, and the BVI business company is well known to global investors. Investors are familiar and comfortable with the product for a number of reasons. I believe it can be an excellent tool for helping facilitate India’s economic growth.
Your delegation is visiting New Delhi, GIFT City, Mumbai and Bengaluru. What specific opportunities are you exploring in these centres, and which Indian institutions and sectors are you particularly keen to engage with?
Our engagement includes regulators, government representatives and the private sector. We will also be meeting lawyers, chambers of commerce and other private-sector organisations, including practitioners who could potentially facilitate BVI business across these four centres.
In New Delhi, we were able to meet the Finance Minister and other government representatives, particularly from the Ministry of Finance. We also met Ambassador Joshi, who is based in Jamaica, and we were very pleased that he was able to return to India for this visit.
We commend the Prime Minister for the idea of GIFT City as a financial services centre. I believe our visit there will be particularly exciting because we will have the opportunity to interact with the regulator. There is also the possibility of proposing a memorandum of understanding. I believe there could be a good appetite for exploring a strategic partnership between GIFT City and the BVI.
Mumbai, of course, is India’s business centre. There are practitioners there who are already very familiar with BVI business. We expect a significant number of participants at our trade event there, which should create opportunities for productive interactions and help us build momentum.
Bengaluru is India’s technology centre. In areas such as financial technology and other innovations, we see potential for the BVI to help facilitate investment. At the same time, the BVI can benefit from engagement with Indian technology professionals as we pursue our own development.
Could this visit mark the beginning of a broader India–BVI relationship extending beyond financial services into technology, tourism, renewable energy, education and the blue economy?
We believe this signals the beginning of a longer-term relationship. We would like to be a strategic partner with India.
We have already had discussions about a number of areas beyond financial services where there is potential for cooperation. A very kind offer was made to assist us in the digital transformation of government services, an area in which India has considerable expertise.
There has also been discussion about healthcare services. In the Cayman Islands, for instance, there are Indian healthcare professionals and an institution called Health City, which has helped transform healthcare there. We would like to see the possibility of something similar happening in the BVI.
Tourism is another area. We are always open to welcoming more tourists from India. The BVI is a beautiful destination, and Virgin Gorda, in particular, has been recognised as one of the leading islands in the Caribbean. We also have Indians living in the BVI who enjoy living there.
We therefore see significant potential for greater interaction with India. We also appreciate India’s leadership role in the Global South.
The BVI is one of the world’s best-known international financial centres. What advantages can it offer Indian companies looking to structure investments, raise capital and expand internationally?
The advantage is that the BVI company is well known and well respected. We trade on our reputation, and that reputation has been built over the course of approximately 40 years. There is really no substitute for the reputation we have established.
We are well regulated and have been recognised around the world for our regulatory framework. We also have an ecosystem of professionals that does not exist only within the BVI. There are professionals practising BVI law and working with BVI structures around the world, including in India. That is a significant advantage for us. Our system is based on English common law, and we have a commercial court that can preside over disputes in a fair and reasonable manner. The final avenue of appeal is the Privy Council. This provides legal certainty and confidence.
There are therefore a number of factors that make the BVI business company a strong product, one that can assist India just as it has assisted other jurisdictions around the world in pursuing their development goals.
You have previously highlighted the importance of Asian business to the BVI. With India now becoming a major focus, are you seeking to diversify the BVI’s Asian economic relationships beyond Greater China and Hong Kong?
We do have a significant amount of business in Hong Kong and China, but we also conduct substantial business elsewhere. We have more than 370,000 companies, so even though a significant proportion of our business may be connected with Hong Kong and China, the remainder still represents a very substantial amount of activity.
We do want to diversify, and in our view India has tremendous potential to help diversify the markets we serve. At the same time, the BVI is truly global. We do business with Africa and the European Union, and we have significant flows involving the United States and Latin America. We are therefore already global in our reach, but no one can ignore India and the tremendous potential it represents for further growth.
Five years from now, what would you like the India–BVI relationship to look like? What tangible investment, business and institutional cooperation would demonstrate that this visit has produced a lasting partnership?
In five years, we would certainly like to see BVI business with India increase significantly and for the BVI to become a more important source of foreign direct investment into the Indian economy. As you mentioned, we would also like to have firmly established cooperation in areas beyond financial services.
We want to remain in regular contact because we do not see this visit through the lens of short-term objectives. We see it as the beginning of a long-term and lasting partnership. In five years, we would want to be able to say that the relationship between India and the BVI has grown substantially stronger.
During this visit to India, you have met India’s Finance Minister and other senior officials. How would you describe the response from the Indian government and your experience in India so far?
The cooperation has been fantastic. It has actually been surprising just how welcoming, hospitable and accommodating everyone has been. They have been nothing short of amazing. The meeting with the Finance Minister was wonderful, and I was extremely impressed. Overall, the experience has been fantastic.
