Keeping an eye out for key industry trends and developments is critical for corporate and finance communications professionals in a rapidly changing environment.

Here’s the Crystal team’s regular snapshot of some of the highlights and points of note from around the jurisdictions this past month…

• Cayman: The Cayman Islands have a general election on the horizon in April this year – and the race for government is hotting up. Last month, former deputy premier André Ebanks announced he would lead a new political group – the Caymanian Community Party – into the next general election.
• Luxembourg: Bankruptcies in Luxembourg soared by over 25% last year, with the services sector most impacted, according to a report from debt collection agency Creditreform, published last month.
• Channel Islands: Guernsey and Jersey’s finance bodies both held their industry updates last month. Guernsey Finance’s update highlighted business development opportunities for Guernsey’s financial services sector in 2025 across the UK, US, Middle East and South Africa, whilst Jersey Finance’s event focused on the jurisdiction’s enhanced US market strategy, service innovation and skills development.
• Middle East: 2024 was the best year on record for the GCC projects market, according to data from the MEED Projects project-tracking platform, published last month. A total of $264bn-worth of contracts were awarded last year, 6.5% higher than the previous record of $248bn set in 2023, and more than double 2022’s $124bn. Saudi Arabia was the largest market, with $144.3bn-worth of contracts.
• Overseas Territories: UK Minister for the Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty, submitted a Written Ministerial Statement in which he reflected on the 2024 Joint Ministerial Council, emphasising that “The Overseas Territories are an invaluable part of the British family” and that “tackling illicit finance across the UK, OTs and Crown Dependencies is a Government priority.”
• US: the Corporate Transparency Act continued along its bumpy road, with a Texas federal judge blocking it just days before the US Supreme Court was set to weigh in on a separate challenge to the law.
• Private Equity: PE fundraising timelines hit a record in 19 months in 2024, according to figures published last month – with fund managers keeping their funds open longer to help mitigate liquidity issues.
• Media and technology: the Reuters Institute published its predictions for 2025 around the prospects for journalism and media houses against the backdrop of technological change, AI platforms and social search.