New incorporations spiked in Q2

The number of new companies incorporated in the Virgin Islands rose sharply in the second quarter of 2024, according to figures released recently by the Financial Services Commission.

The tally in April, May and June hit 6,864, nearly 52 percent higher than in the same period in 2023 and up almost 12 percent on the first quarter of this year.

Despite the uptick, the territory’s total of 358,592 registered companies as of June 30, 2024, was down from the 363,595 recorded at the end of March and more than 25 percent short of the peak of 481,002 in December 2011.

Steady dip

The VI incorporations sector has faced a slow but steady dip in demand in recent years, and it hit a 25-year low in 2023.

In total, 22,317 new companies were incorporated that year — 45 fewer than the 22,362 recorded for 2020, which had previously been the poorest performing year in recent times. However, for the first half of 2024, 13,006 incorporations were registered, up more than 25 percent from the same period last year.

The territory’s financial sector has been trying to diversify its business base beyond incorporations in recent years by expanding into other areas such as limited partnerships and trademarks.

The second quarter of 2024 saw a big leap in LPs, with 93 being formed, up from 61 in the first three months of the year. And 89 new applications to register a trademark in the second quarter of the year was a leap over the 62 recorded in the previous quarter and the 61 in the same period last year.

Since the enactment of the Trade Marks Act in September 2015, a total of 2,680 new applications to register a trademark have been filed.

The past three-year period has seen 270 trademarks registered in 2021; 345 in 2022; and 278 in 2023, according to the FSC figures.

The FSC numbers also showed a total of 128 matters before the Licensing and Supervisory Committee in the first three months of this year, a drop from 221 in the previous quarter.

The LSC grants approvals and authorisations for specified initial licensing and ongoing applications under any financial services legislation.

Patents

The second quarter also saw two United Kingdom/European Union patents re-registered, which compared with three in the same period last year and none in Q1 of this year.