Monaco Economie 109

15 the town and state. A digitalised economy is able to focus on the interior of the country, with an e-administration that works more efficiently but, above all, it must focus on the exterior, so that it is a source of development, diversification, job creation and the creation of values. The Principality really does need to take a stand in the area of new technology and get involved in this new industrial revolution. In the same way that we have to undergo a transition in terms of energy, we also need to be ready – even more so than in the past – for a digitally-focused economic transition. *ICO: Initial Coin Offering © Depositphotos / Syda_Productions How is Monaco’s financial marketplace structured today and how do you see it changing in the next few years? It is very well structured and it continues t o evo l ve. The numbe r o f bank i ng establishments has remained stable but financial management companies and investment funds have more than doubled over the past 10 years: we now have between 90 and 100 official funds in the Principality, with over € 120 billion of outstanding sums to manage, which is a wonderful success. The Monaco marketplace has been able to adapt to prescriptive and legal demands without that having a negative effect upon its development. In the next few years, the marketplace’s evolution will depend upon clients who are resident in the Principality. Every bank in Monaco is a branch of some big, international group so, from one Monaco agency, you have access to all the services of these organisations across the world, which is not to be sniffed at. The financial establishments and management companies in Monaco are also seeing people allocating more assets to them to manage – and these are people who were, perhaps, not convinced that these skills existed within Monaco previously, so we are now winning the challenge. In the future, we should concentrate on this clientèle who are at the same time demanding, professional and international, so that we can continue and speed up the development of the Monaco marketplace. There’s a lot of talk about blockchains at the moment, a technology that incites as much enthusiasm as it does fear.What is your position on the possibility of creating ICOs* in Monaco? On this subject, we are halfway between new technology and finance. We should not confuse crypto currencies – about which we remain prudent – and alternative financing for innovative companies who want to be funded by ICOs*. These companies are very welcome in Monaco, specially ones that are linked to green technology. Thanks to the principle of administrative authorisation, the Principality can be selective and could even create its own currency and finance all or some of its development with ICOs. We hope to have a number of hand-picked investors