COOK ISLANDS: GOVERNMENT SERIOUS ABOUT THE OFFSHORE INDUSTRY
by Puai Wichman

2008-04

In a major step announced this month, the Cook Islands Government has put in place a Task Force given the job of re-invigorating the offshore jurisdiction. The Committee is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Sir Terepai Maoate KBE, who is also the Minister of Finance. In a bold move, Sir Terepai has made it clear that he wants the Cook Islands offshore industry to rival tourism as the main revenue earner for the jurisdiction and has given the Offshore Industry Committee the mandate to move forward with initiatives that it determines appropriate.

It is still early days, but Puai Wichman is one of two representatives from within the Trustee Companies Association (“TCA”) appointed to this all important Committee, together with representatives from Government and the Regulatory body of the Cook Islands. The objective is very simple:  grow the financial services sector in the Cook Islands.

The Trustee Companies Association (“TCA”), made up of all trustee companies within the jurisdiction, has shown its full support for the initiative and has made recommendations on how this objective can be achieved.

The Cook Islands is a very small financial and offshore jurisdiction by world standards. Yet it retains considerable unrealized potential. Despite its early growth in the late 1980s and 1990s, the offshore financial services industry has suffered severe setbacks in recent years due to changes in the international financial environment.

 Despite the setbacks, the industry has continued to provide significant direct revenue to the economy. However the decrease of these contributions shows how important it is that the industry is developed. Many are touting that the offshore jurisdiction of the Cook Islands has the potential to become the largest source of diversification in the income base of the country which is heavily dependent on tourism.

The first task is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the jurisdiction and from there devise a strategic plan forward. These initiatives are a long time coming, but its better late then never. With his long association with the jurisdiction, Puai Wichman, who is also the current President of the TCA, is leading the charge for the development of the industry. If the initiatives being recommended by TCA are adopted, it will have far reaching consequences for the industry in the Cook Islands as well as the economy in general.

As a Cook Islander, Puai has a vision to see the industry overtake tourism as the main source of revenue to the Cook Islands. Watch this space for developments from the Cook Islands.