Telephone: (+350) 200 42686
International wealth protection – Innovative and impartial tax planning and asset structuring for private clients, their businesses and their families.
The Economy
In the 1980s, the Gibraltar economy was dominated by the British Ministry of Defence, which accounted for some 35 per cent of GDP. However, major cut-backs over the last 20 years have reduced its contribution to GDP (in 2005) to only eight per cent. It is a tribute to the ingenuity of the Government and entrepreneurs of Gibraltar that they have achieved diversification of the economy in such a relatively short timescale, so that today there is 97% employment amongst Gibraltarians. The four (export) pillars of the Gibraltar economy are:
- Financial Services
- Port and Dockyard
- Tourism
- E-commerce, particularly online gambling.
These industries are supported by the construction and wholesale/retail sectors.
At the end of 2005, the financial services sector employed approximately 2,300 people (up 5.6 per cent compared to 2004) and accounted for 14 per cent of the jobs in the economy, but about 33 per cent of GDP.
Growth in the e-commerce sector has also been dramatic, with a number of very large gaming companies taking advantage of the low-tax regime and good telecommunications facilities in Gibraltar. In July 2005, Party Gaming Plc, a client of BDO Orion, was the first Gibraltar Company to be listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange. In October 2005, 888 Holdings Plc (888.com), another Gibraltar client of BDO Orion, undertook an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. There are now 1,634 people employed in the gambling industry, just under 10 per cent of the workforce. Gibraltar is a world pioneer in devising a legislative and regulatory framework for on-line and telephone gambling.
The other sectors of the Gibraltar economy are also growing rapidly, so that the economy is fairly balanced and not dependent on a single industry, as so many "offshore" jurisdictions are. The port is one of the top 10 bunkering ports in the world and second in the Mediterranean, after Piraeus. It has the strategic advantage of being on a maritime crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The dockyard (previously Royal Navy), which is now owned and run by Cammell Laird is going from strength to strength. It has two large open dry docks (suitable for up to Panamax size ships) and the third dock is covered and designed specially to handle superyachts. Other port activities include provisioning, crew changes and ship arrests. In 2005, there were 7.8 million visitors to Gibraltar, of which 188,000 came on cruise ships. The huge majority are day visitors. Hotel occupancy was 68.6 per cent.
One project which merits a special mention, and which will have a transforming effect on Gibraltar, is the Eastside Development. With budgeted expenditure in excess of £1 billion, this is Gibraltar's most ambitious investment and development project in its 300 year history. The project is being undertaken by a joint venture between Multiplex Construction (Pty) Limited, the Australian publicly quoted company associated with the new Wembley Stadium in the UK (51%), and Aldersgate Investments Limited, the investment vehicle of the Reuben Brothers (49%). The project involves a six million sq. ft. (557,000 sq mtr) development on the Mediterranean side of the Rock, between Eastern Beach and Catalan Bay; a 500 berth marina; a "boutique" cruise liner berth and terminal; 2,200 apartments and a 300 bed, four star hotel, together with associated infrastructural work. Work is well under way, with the architectural design being undertaken by Lord Foster's firm.
For further information on STM Fidecs, please contact us or telephone on Gibraltar (+350) 200 42686.
