Mr. Neil M. Smith is the British Virgin Islands’ Finance Secretary, photographed here in his office in Road Town, Tortola. The BVI is one of the world’s most important offshore financial service centers and the world leader for incorporating companies. There are more then 800,000 companies based in the BVIs but only 28,000 inhabitants. The BVIs are the second-biggest direct investors in China, just after Hong Kong. British Virgin Islands