The Seychelles as a financial centre?
The Seychelles lies at the heart of the old Indian Ocean trade routes, traversed by Asian, Arab and African traders for centuries. Global trade is in the DNA of Seychelles making it a fitting location for an international exchange.
A fully independent Commonwealth country with no currency restrictions, Seychelles is a success story of international cooperation. With support from the IMF, World Bank and OECD, the country’s government and regulators have been able to establish a well-respected jurisdiction with a diverse and growing financial services sector. In a recent example the country launched the world’s first blue bond in collaberation with the World Bank — a pioneering financial instrument designed to support the sustainable use of marine resources.
As the national stock exchange, MERJ is a key part of the development and our listings now represent more than one-fifth of the national GDP. A key metric for assessing the maturity of an economy. Rating agency Fitch recently upgraded Seychelles sovereign debt to BB, underscoring the strong economic trajectory. Seychelles also enjoys the highest GDP per capita of any African country and a stable political climate.
The jurisdiction has worked hard to build a strong international reputation and is in good standing with the OECD and Financial Action Task Force and cooperates fully with all international agencies with regards to money laundering, tax avoidance, base erosion and profit shifting. In the latest OECD peer review for Exchange of Information Requests the Seychelles was rated largely compliant in the first round, ahead of many leading financial jursidictions including Germany, USA, UK, Canada and Luxembourg.
With all these elements in place, it has emerged as a popular location for corporate services with competitive pricing relative to better-known jurisdictions such as Cayman or BVI. We will continue to build on its strong reputation and geopolitical status as a conduit between continents.
MERJ Exchange is a multi-market global financial exchange, clearing house and securities depository. Our group is regulated to the highest global standards and operates the entire exchange and post-trade infrastructure from end to end. We are pioneering a shift in the global capital markets by combining the best of blockchain technology with regulated infrastructure.
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