British Virgin Islands seeks dedicated India investment corridor

New Delhi: The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is seeking a bigger role in India's cross-border investment architecture, pitching a dedicated BVI-India investment corridor as Indian companies expand overseas and global capital seeks access to India.

The BVI is also exploring greater cooperation with GIFT City in financial services, cross-border legal services and investment protection.

The proposals were discussed at a high-level interaction hosted by the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) in New Delhi. The BVI delegation was led by finance minister Natalio D Wheatley and minister for financial services, economic development and digital transformation Lorna Smith.


The delegation expressed particular interest in India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem.

Wheatley said the BVI's first trade mission and dedicated roadshow to India reflected its ambition to deepen cooperation. The territory, he said, has supported India's international investment efforts for 20-25 years and now sees an opportunity to play a larger role as Indian businesses expand globally and raise capital overseas. The discussions also covered investment protection in the age of artificial intelligence, energy transition and broader cross-border legal cooperation.

Fintech was a key area of interest for the BVI, particularly UPI, with the territory keen to learn from India's experience in building a digital payments ecosystem.

SILF president Lalit Bhasin said stronger legal linkages would be essential for a connected global economy, while stressing that cooperation between the two jurisdictions would have to respect their sovereign legal frameworks.