The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has a reputation of being Asia’s favoured offshore jurisdiction for companies.  However, whilst the use of BVI companies as holding companies, sole director entities and, more recently, listing vehicles for Hong Kong initial public offerings is well known, the advantages of the BVI as a domicile of choice in the context of private equity transactions is not as widely recognized.  Many features which make the BVI an attractive domicile for listing vehicles also make it an attractive jurisdiction for private equity investments and for the formation of private equity funds.  In a guest article, Michael Gagie and James Gaden, both partners at Maples and Calder, outline some of the benefits of the BVI as an attractive jurisdiction for private equity transactions and for the formation of private equity funds.