Introduction

The previous chapter introduced three interest groups – the ‘Offshore Centre’ itself, the service providers and the consumers.

The focus of the last chapter was on the ‘marketplace’, while this chapter considers the service providers and the consumers.

It might be useful to distinguish between ‘Offshore Services’ – meaning the services provided to non-residents of the ‘Offshore Centre’ – and the ‘Offshore Centre’ itself – that is, a jurisdiction characterised by (inter alia) a predominance of business that is non-resident. Financial centres like London and New York provide a vast range of services to non-residents – and therefore might be described as ‘Offshore’ finance centres. It is unlikely that either London or New York would refer to itself or regard itself as an ‘Offshore Centre’ – although it has been acknowledged in London that the City transacts substantial amounts of non-resident business (see section 17.1 below). This distinction impinges upon other parts of the text, in particular in sections 17.2 and 18.2 with respect to the UK and the USA.

The service providers

‘Offshore Centres’ need to attract service providers to establish a real presence in the jurisdiction and to process as much business as possible through that location.