Guernsey foundation law will be brought in

The States of Guernsey has agreed to prepare laws to allow a financial product to be sold in the island.

Foundations are similar to trusts, but differ in that they are based on civil law.

Commerce and Employment said foundations were familiar to emerging markets such as Russia and China so may help encourage trade with those areas.

It said since Jersey had set them up in 2009 more than 100 foundations had been set up in the island.

The department said a third of these were charitable, a third private and the rest had been used in the funds industry.

It said they were generating between £50,000-£100,000 in revenue for Jersey every year.

The formation of Guernsey foundations will be restricted to licensed fiduciaries regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and they will all be registered with the Guernsey Registry.