New incorporation numbers hit a 20-year low in 2019, and they are on track to fall further this year. The total number of active companies also hit at least a 13-year low last year. Above is the Registry of Corporate Affairs in Pasea. (Photo: CLAIRE SHEFCHIK) Shortly before the Covid- 19 pandemic began to wreak havoc on the global economy, the Virgin Islands quietly reached its own troubling economic milestone: New company incorporations, long viewed as the bread and butter of the financial services industry, hit a 20-year low of 26,150 in 2019, falling to about a third of their 2007 peak. This year, they are on track to drop even further, with just 10,000 companies incorporated through the end of June, down 3,579 from the same period in 2019.