The International Financial Centres Forum has been formally launched in London with a formal discussion between key organisations and individuals who are recognised as thought leaders in the field of international finance.

The forum was established to provide authoritative and balanced information to contribute to the public conversation on the role of IFCs in the global economy.

The forum has launched a website (www.ifcforum.org) with a Key Issues section and Knowledge Centre as a publicly available resource. The IFC Forum will be constantly adding policy papers to these sections.

The forum will also publish a monthly newsletter which can be subscribed to online.

Richard Hay (pictured) of Stikeman Elliott, adviser to the IFC Forum, says: "Current economic orthodoxy confirms that tax neutral platforms play an essential and constructive role in the world economy. The IFC Forum's objective is to contribute to global policy through identifying existing empirical evidence, commissioning reasoned research and addressing common misconceptions about IFCs."

Member firms include law firms Appleby, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Mourant, Ogier and Walkers.