London’s mayor condemns hedge fund plans

| 02/09/2009

(BBC): EU plans to regulate hedge funds are a "blatant attack" on London’s role as an international financial centre, the mayor of the city has said. Boris Johnson added that suspicions ministers in Paris and Berlin were using the proposals to deliberately target London were "not unfounded". Mr Johnson fears plans to require hedge funds to be more open will drive many to relocate outside the EU. He visits Brussels later to lobby for a draft European directive to be changed. Hedge funds use sophisticated, complex investing strategies to make returns, even when markets are falling. Under the EU plans, they would be required to be more open and their ability to borrow would be limited.

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  1. Anon1 says:

    Mr Mayor, I feel so bad for you in the predicament you now find yourself in. But then again, I am a Caymanian who has seen London impose far more draconian requirements on my Country. The good news is, as my country will survive, so will London, the exception is the fact that when things start to go south in London, the rich London bankers will finance a recall on you and you will be history.

    Perhaps it is time for London to run to the Cayman Islands for some advisors that can teach you how to survive on less.

    Remember, do onto othere as you would have them do onto you.

  2. Anonymous says:

    The difficulty in operating a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands has nothing to do about local ownership issues or the Islands’ OECD status, whether black, grey or white.  The main issues are infrastructure (communications cost, permitting, etc) and the fact that while the Cayman Islands is an established financial center for sure, it is not a transactional hub for the capital markets. 

    Yes deals get “papered” in the Cayman Islands, but they are made elsewhere. Hedge fund managers gravitate to transactional centers (cities with stock, debt and commodity exchanges such as New York and London) because (i) the manager probably started his or her career working for a large institution based in that location; (ii) those cities have large pools of experienced traders, managers and other professionals, all with established networks of relationships; and (iii) convenient access to counterparties (it’s easier to go across town to negotiate a deal than fly 5 – 8 hours). There’s a reason that the majority of the world’s hedge fund managers are based in only a few cities worldwide.

     

  3. Anonymous says:

    Whats up with that dude’s hair? Anyone, anyone?

    • Anonymous says:

      "Whats up with that dude’s hair? Anyone, anyone?"

      You are really funny!

  4. Anon says:

    I find this situation amusing.

    The regulation of the Cayman finance industry by outside parties to suit their own interests has gone on for ages without anyone standing up for Cayman. As soon as they try it on with London it is considered a "blatant attack" on the finance centre and Boris gets mad.

  5. They really think Caymanians are stupid! says:

    Good maybe we can take some business from the EU and finally fund our defecit.

  6. Anonymous says:

    To the poster who suggested we bring business to Cayman, there are too many hurdles to setting up business here that were put in place by the last government who were more interested in protectionism than helping the Cayman economy.

    • Anonymous says:

      hurdles can be knocked down just like the boundaries that divide our love

       

      p.s. call me!

    • m western says:

       

      Reply to comment

      To the poster who suggested

       

      Can you give us an idea of what hurdles your talking about other than the roll over ? surely there are hurdles/protectionism in other countries Thanks 

  7. Jedi Dread says:

     he need to condemn that hair…  dang.

    laugh… it makes you feel better.

    – Jedi Dread –

  8. Karma Chameleon says:

    Ain’t Karma just a real old whore Mr. Mayor? Coming back to bite you in the ass now I see.

    A lot like Capt. Underpants trying to get his own back on all the gay hating religious bigots who are allowed to interfere in Government here really, isn’t it?

  9. Anonymous says:

    Do it. Drive them to Cayman. We will take care of them.

    • Anonymous says:

      R U kidding???

      No hedge funds managers are coming to Cayman withthe UK press announcing that Cayman’s government is both incompetent and broke and that the Government is publicly indicating that they are going to introduce income and property tax.

      Is it true that the the Governments main advisor now is the same person who was in charge of the financial services sector when the FATF blacklisted Cayman a number of years ago? If it is that ought to be a real selling point.

      • Anonymous says:

        Sign all the agreements, be on the white list BUT…these are the terms….claim the Islands are broke and impose taxes…….oh, for the truth to be told!

    • Anonymous says:

      No we won’t.  We will hold everything up in inane red tape, force them through the Trade and Business lottery, try to force local ownership on them and impose requirements to hire staff who aren’t realy vvery good at their job but are "suitably qualified".

      Or we couldbe welocming and realise that jobs will flow from the incoming of new jobs and the spending that it would bring.

    • t says:

      They will go to any number of other jurisdicitons before they would come here.  The red tape in conducting business in Cayman makes it simply not worth the pain.

      • Anonymous says:

        Don’t you understand that the red tap is there to make sure that if the jobs did come here Caymanians would be able to get jobs they would otherwsie not get, and if that means that no jobs come here at all that is a price the Islands are willing to pay for the protection of Caymanians.  Excuse me while I cut of my nose to spite my space.

        • [Insert NameHere] says:

          I respect the need to ensure that Caymanians get first pick, but I can’t start a business here unless I gift 60% of it to a Caymanian, along with full legal control.  Who on God’s green earth is going to do that?  Open it up for all businesses, but say that the only people who can work in it are the original owners and hired Caymanians (failing the availability of which go ahead and askl for a work permit for an expat).

          • Anonymous says:

            No. You have to seek Caymanian Participation at 60% and the Caymanian has to pay fair market value for that participation. If no Caymanian is willing to participate on that basis you will usually be permitted to go it alone. .

        • Anonymous says:

          The Caymanian hater on here who keeps posting all the stupid snide remarks should find something useful to do other than cloggig up valuable space here. What is your problem with Caymanians protecting Caymanians? It would do us all well if people of your mindset returned from whence you came.

          • Adam Smith says:

            "What is your problem with Caymanians protecting Caymanians? "  The problem is that this attitude is costing Caymanians jobs by hurting businesses in Cayman.  Work permit red tape is moving work from Cayman to other countries as international organisations are getting fed up.  Admin can be done elsewhere.  IT can be run remotely.  You reflect the attitude that is reducing the number of jobs for Caymanians, albeit with the intention of protecting Caymanian jobs.  It is such luddite economics that is doing so much harm.

            And by the way, criticising a status quo which is hurting Caymanians does not make me a "Caymanian hater".