Financial services workers offshore say one of Prime Minister John Key's pet projects, to turn NZ into an international financial services hub, or "the Switzerland of the South Pacific", could bring home a lot of skilled New Zealanders.Two-hundr
Financial services workers offshore say one of Prime Minister John Key's pet projects, to turn NZ into an international financial services hub, or "the Switzerland of the South Pacific", could bring home a lot of skilled New Zealanders.
Two-hundred-and-seventy-one expatriates -- most of whom have been working in the financial services industry for more than two years -- were surveyed on Mr Key's plan to establish the country as a financial services hub for the Asia-Pacific region, creating as many as 5000 jobs and up to $360 million a year in tax revenue.
The survey was part of an investigation carried out by the International Fund Services Development Group (IFSDG), set up by the Government, which is now reviewing recommendations for NZ businesses to provide providing financial services to offshore fund managers and investors.
Of the 271 expatriates, 94 percent work in the financial services industry; and 85 percent have done this for more than two years, with most based in the Britain, USA, Australia and NZ.
In the survey, 72 percent agreed with the statement: "the talent pool to support the [fund services] industry is not present in New Zealand".
But 78 percent said they would "consider returning to New Zealand to participate in the industry" if appropriate jobs and pay were available.
And it was a common view that training the existing workforce could provide a lot of skilled staff required to service "domiciled" funds, in technical accounting and legal work such as pricing units, and registering transactions.
The head of BNP Paribas Securities Services in New Zealand, Hugh Stevens, 39, told the KEA expatriates group -- whose members were surveyed -- that New Zealand had geographical and governance advantages.
"Fund domiciles such as Luxembourg and Dublin have grown to be globally recognised as financial services hubs," he said. They were able to offer attractive tax and regulatory regimes to international funds and investors. As head of Merrill Lynch's global foreign exchange operation, Mr Key relocated the company's back-office to Ireland in the 1990s.
Ireland, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands have high concentrations of skilled staff to carry out the administrative requirements of the offshore funds, he said.
Now, growth of the managed funds industry in the Asia Pacific region was fuelling demand for a local domicile that met the requirements of regulators, said Mr Stevens, one of five members of the IFSDG .
"New Zealand's market is getting closer to meeting offshore investor requirements," he said.
Certainty over asset ownership was critical to attracting offshore investors and Mr Key -- a former international dealer in money markets -- had taken a close interest in the comprehensive overhaul of tax and financial regulation.
"New Zealand offers a stable, independent, common law jurisdiction with international recognition as the world's least-corrupt country," Mr Stevens said.
A fund domicile based here would provide Asian regulators with geographic positioning between the USA and Asia, and a pool of highly-skilled expats looking to return home.
