Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands offer the largest offshore banking centre based globally and second largest insurance base after Bermuda, with assets worth 20 USD billion. Trusts and mutual funds are another growing sector of the Cayman Islands' economy. In 1997 Stock Exchange was opened on the Cayman Islands.

The Cayman Islands offer a stable commercial infrastructure and flexible regulation rules. Currently there are more than 73,000 companies registered in the Cayman Islands. The types of company which may be registered in Cayman under the Companies Law are Ordinary Resident Company, Ordinary Non-Resident Company, Exempted Company and Exempted Limited Duration Company.

The law that generally governs companies' activities in the jurisdiction is Companies Law 1961 (as amended, in 1990 and 1995). It is based on English law and allows companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee, and unlimited companies. In practice, only companies limited by shares are registered.

Cayman Islands have a sophisticated banking industry, with 340 banks and deposits more than USD 1 trillion. Cayman banks must obtain a licence under the Banks and Trust Companies Law 1995. The licences are divided into two classes:

Class A licence gives permission to conduct both local and offshore business activities; only about 30 banks hold it. All the rest banks hold Class B licence, permitting only offshore business with only very limited transactions with Cayman Islands residents. Being able to provide asset protection, private banking is a major component of the offshore industry.

Ordinary Companies
Ordinary companies are formed in the same way as they are in England. A Memorandum of Association (Charter) must be filed with the Registrar of companies, stating the name of the registered office, the objectives and the authorised share capital. The company may either draw up its own Articles of Association (Bylaws) or use the standard Table, and may operate with only one shareholder. An ordinary company must have at least one director and is required to hold at least one shareholder meeting every year. It must also file an annual report with the Registrar of Companies, listing the shareholders and officers.

Exempt Companies
Exempt companies are formed in the same way, except that a director must make a declaration to the effect that the company will not trade within the Cayman Islands for any reason other than the maintenance of an administrative office or local bank and brokerage accounts.

An exempt company offers the following advantages:

• It may obtain a guarantee from Government exempting it from any taxes which could be introduced by future legislation for a period of up to 20 years.
• It need not hold any meetings of shareholders.
• It needs not include the word Limited or Ltd. in its name.

Please contact us info@emetoffshore.com to learn more about company formation in the Cayman Islands. Emet Offshore Consultants have extensive experience with Cayman offshore opportunities and are able to facilitate your structure in a timely and cost effective manner.