The Offshore Institute Bulletin


Report on the Conference, August 2001

The St. Lucia Branch of the Offshore Institute was officially launched on Friday August 24th 2001 at the Wyndham Morgan Bay Hotel in St. Lucia. The launch was attended by all stake holders in the industry including the government, the regulators, the service providers and the industry promoters.

The President of the Institute, Samuel Lohman was the guest speaker at the event. In his address he commended St. Lucia on the quality of its infrastructure, particularly the suite of legislation for international financial services which he felt drew and improved on the best models in the industry. Mr. Lohman and the Chairman of the St. Lucia Branch Nicholas John, Managing Director of the Hewanorra Group of Companies, both stressed that the focus of the branch would be to train its members so that the quality of service provided matches the changing needs of the sector.

The Minister of International Financial Services, Philip J Pierre, reiterated government's commitment to the highest standards of service and regulation. In his address he praised the service providers for ensuring that proper client acceptance procedures and due diligence was done on potential clients, rather than seeking volume business that may not be sustainable in the long term.

The St. Lucia branch has seventeen members. There is a four person executive committee that manages the branch. Mr. Lohman saw the launch of the St.Lucia branch as an important first step in establishing a Caribbean Chair that would represent the interests of the region in international fora.



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