Premier to ring NASDAQ bell

| 13/04/2014

(CNS): The premier will be taking a short overseas trip this week in order to appear on the podium at the NSDAQ Stock Exchange on Wall Street, where he will be ringing the opening bell alongside the Chief Executive of an offshore re-insurance firm. Alden McLaughlin will be ringing the bell on Tuesday – United States Tax Day – at 9:30am along with Jay Madhu, the head of Oxbridge Re, an exempted Cayman Islands company. McLaughlin said the insurance sector was one his government expects to grow in Cayman this year, but revelations on CNS Business show that Cayman’s regulator could be neglecting the industry as the head of the division has been on sick leave for over six months.

The Cayman Islands Government has been proactively seeking reinsurance companies to domicile in the country. Significant revisions to the Insurance Law restructured Class B companies into four categories, including a new class of Insurer for Reinsurance companies and Insurance Linked Securities.

“Global reinsurance markets have reacted positively to Cayman’s new Insurance Law and several reinsurance entities are considering establishing a reinsurance presence in the Cayman Islands. We expect this trend to gain momentum during this year,” said McLaughlin, in a release announcing his trip to Wall Street.

However, CNS Business has learned that Gordon Rowellm who heads up the offshore insurance regulatory sector at CIMA, has been absebt for some six months, leaving the important division in what was described as “disarray” by concerned industry stakeholders.  (See full story on CNS Business)

Despite the issues surrounding the regulator, the premier said that ringing the bell next week would provide another welcome platform to promote Cayman’s offshore story.

“This is another excellent opportunity for the Cayman Islands to tell its positive story of providing sound financial services based on modern and stringent laws and regulations in a politically stable environment,” McLaughlin added.

One of the perks of being a public company is ringing the bell on the NASDAQ and the premier said he was happy to be joining Madhu and his Oxbridge Re team on what would be an historic occasion.

The firm is an exempted company organised one year ago in April 2013 to provide reinsurance business to property and casualty insurers in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Through Oxbridge’s licensed reinsurance subsidiary, Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited, it writes fully collateralised policies to cover property losses from specified catastrophes.

The firm recently raised $26.4m from its initial successful public offering (IPO) of shares to help finance its next stage of growth. The number of share warrants sold was above expectations as Oxbridge Re had previously said it expected to sell between 1.7m and 4.25m share warrants to investors.

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  1. RVidal says:

    congrats on the appointment.

  2. Anonymous says:

    and back home, people are getting robbed for their groceries.

  3. Anonymous says:

    HAHA, I saw the opening bell and thought that guy looked like The Premier. He was front and center, well to the right.

  4. Otherview says:

    Who is slapping who in the face here?  Somehow, this ringing of the bell on tax day in the USA,

    seems like some strange, slap in the face………………….one way or the other.

    • Anonymous says:

      Haters! well done Mr. Premier, Cayman have nothing to hide or fear. Hard Talk now Wall Street ringing the bell, way to go.  Rub it in on all the Haters like salt on a fresh wound, let it sting.   A true son of the soil with DNA to no where else.  You have made these islands proud keep up the good works.  Now that is progress, your report card should read A+. Stick it to the haters………………..

  5. 4cayman says:

    Lmao! Isn't today tax day in the USA?

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes so what?  we have nothing to hide, we are a financial center not a shelter for tax dodgers, scammers and low lives.  We have nothing to fear so our Premier can ring any bell on Wall Street with confidence on Tax Day in the USA.  Unlike the USA we don't have direct taxes but none the less we do have taxes.  Yes for all the tax dodgers that live and work here who don't declare the correct amount that they pay for good when overseas pay your taxes.

  6. Anonymous says:

    All stock  traders in the world think the pension scheme in cayman is the biggest joke ever

    that holiday of  not adding to position when market going down is the dumbest thing ever and will hurt all cayman pension holders forever.

    I bet they will clap and smile at the opening bell and laugh at him

    XXXX

    I also think its funny how the press release says that Cayman offers sound financial services

    Cayman offers NOTHING except a nice place to have an office and a pace for the clients to visit

    Whats even sadder is the money is leaving much faster than it is coming in. and they dont realise soon it will be just like the Bahamas

    Keep up the good work

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Envy is too strong of a work to describe your post, Thank you Jesus for The Premier Mr. Alden McLaughlin and thank God for his wonderful parents who ensured that he got a good education and is able to stand with the best of them instead of being instructed by them.

      I am very proud of my Premier (although I did not vote straight PPM).  If any other leader in this region or you post 20:26 14/4/2014 got the oppportunity to ring the bell on Wall Street it would have been international news forever but because of the humility of Caymanian our Premier did it with humility and no fan fare (that is the Caymanian way).  Who cares if in your opinion Cayman does not offers sound financial advice, rather it is just a place to have a nice office for their client to visit.  You point taken atleast we have a nice country and are nice enought to let the likes of you in but then again if you had anywhere else to go you would have gone, just goes to show the heart of real Caymanians.  As for money leaving Cayman it happen the world over do you know how much money is leaving the rest of the world on a daily basis? I welcome the day when we become like Bahamas atleast then we will once again see our beautiful people and smiling faces at the helm of every sector(Just like we were in the 1970s, 80s and much of the 90s).  I know one thing for sure Bahamaians are not beggars or undesirables, they are very much welcome anywhere they go and I would welcome the fact that once again we will see Caymanians in local industries as the majority.

      • Anonymous says:

        You liked no electricity, health care  and sprats cooked over a wood fire.

        I bet you also approve of inbreeding

        Cayman is a beautiful place and the people are kind and warm but so is a baby lion

        and like a lion your people have a bad habit of biting the hand that feeds them

        How many loving expats do you know that your fellow countryman screwed over Many I am Sure

         Even worse is what you people do to each other. Any upcoming Caymanian will be beat down at every turn Just look at your work permit scam How is the small businessman supposed to make it  he cant and your rulers like it that way   

        That said I regurally go to my home country Its nice warm and safe The only reason I come to cayman is the flights are cheap and the diving is fantastic

        Furthermore I am quite fond of the queen and know she keeps a finger on your people.Its her Country afterall

        Lastly I could fly to the bahamas in 20 minutes  but that place is dangerous full of drug dealers and even more corrupt than cayman I assume you have not been there with the way you speak of the bahamas

        Lastly if this was the NY Stock Exchange bell he rung  that would be something but the opening bell he rang was in a TV studio …….all Fake

    • Anonymous says:

      20;26

      I also see that cayman scheme is the biggest joke ever.

      Im still trying to comprehend why the people here are  so daft, to let their government ram  this  mandatory pension scheme.

    • Anonymous says:

      Caymanians are currently deluding themselves from being in awash of cash for the last 30 years. Their only hope of educating themselves out of this mess is being stunted by their mental-midget administrators of their "higher" education programs. Their only hope of competing for employment on the world scene takes a second seat to entitled  cushy unearned high paying jobs. Their only hope of achieving a quality retirement will be stifled by their greedy pension administrators and the only way they can sell their property or houses is to the ignorant who hasn’t had to live next to caymanian/jamiacan trash for more than a month.

      Nothing lasts forever, and that goes double for the deluded. Welcome to the narco-state Jamaicaymanians.

      • Anonymous says:

        Cayman is no longer the place it was 30 years ago due to the fact that it lowered it standards and began to accept in our society too many miscreants and people who were from depressed economies.  Caymanians were too generous with their country and hospitality and are now paying the ultimate price.  Not to worry no one forced you to come here to live next to caymanian/jamaican trash…. if you had stayed back in your country this would not have happened the most you would have to live next to would be your own trash.

        I agree nothing last forever so I pray that you will not be applying for PR or Status! to this end I say thank you and goodluck and good riddance.  As for Cayman becoming a narco state, I hate to burst your bubble we don't cultivate marijuana or cocaine.  The day that we implement fingerprinting at our ports of entry in this country like they do in all first world countries. Cayman will once again be the eutopia it was 30 years ago also when we remove all imported  undesirables from this country.  As for living well after retirement let me educate you on one thing about Caymanians prior to mandatory pensions in 1997 caymanians prior to that date worked and provided for themselves quite well, no homes were foreclosed on, there were no beggars anywhere in sight, our streets were clean, there were no muggings and zero unemployment.  We were and the envy of the entire world so don't worry should you and all who think like you decided to leave today it would be a welcome relief.  If I had my way I would  freeze Cayman in time to 1965 and leave it there without any form of trash or narco traders that came and mess up this country and its people just like the imported green iguanas are doing and destroying Cayman.  The Blue Iguanas live here prior to 1503 and was no problem until some one decided to import a few green iguanas now they have taken over and ruined it for all Caymanians and Blue Iguanas.  The same can be said for the importation of miscreants from all walks of life trying to take over Cayman.

        • Anonymous says:

          Just another delusion upon another delusion. I already have PR status and I'm stuck with land I cant sell so I don’t know who you are trying to target , but you fall right into that ugly Cayman caricature  of creating rumors to get your way.  I have witnessed so many good expats contribute so much to Cayman only to have been stabbed in the back. On the other hand, I have seen so many Caymanians over the years have their relatives from Jamaica eventually end up in Cayman and contribute absolutely nothing but cause more problems of crime, racism, and corruption.  You don't want to fess up and instead will just have more expats solve the problems you and your trash has created.  

  7. Anonymous says:

    Alden sure has gotten off to a fast start..If he keeps this up he will have McKeeva whipped in no time…

    Somebody was jealous…UDP or PPM/C4C does it really make a difference?

    • Anonymous says:

      Nowhere near McKeeva. Check the air miles and travel costs.

      • Anonymous says:

        alden is learning the ropes ..Give him time. He has only been in for a year.. He will catch up with Mckeeva soon…Once we stop watching him he will be rifding his G5's and stretch limos wherever he goes..When will everyone get it into their heads that these are politicians. They thrive on this..

        Now on the matter of going to ring the Nasdaq bell on Tax day in the USA..LMAO doesn't he see that someone is making a mockery of the Cayman islands..Can't wait to hear what CNN has to say about this one..

        Couldn't he have just saved some money and stayed home to try to fix the dump and get Caymanians back to work..

         

        Alden, we starvin out ya while you dress up in you black suit in New York making us look like idiots…progressive, my behind!!!

  8. Anonymous says:

    Good Job Jay – you have worked hard for this and deserve it.  Proud of you all!  Welcome to the island mon!

  9. Anonymous says:

    The timing of this needs to be questioned.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Nothing new here. MLA's been ringing the dinner bell at the hog trough for years.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Somebody needs to ring his bell.

  12. Anonymous says:

    This isn't even the NYSE opening bell – it's the NASDAQ.  I hope there is other business in NYC?

    • Anonymous says:

      Hater! Hater! NYSE opening or NASDAQ CLOSING bell it is of significance and I know of no "other Premier" or "in crowd" Caymanian that has rang an exchange bell on Wall Street.  "I know of one "in crowd – so called caymanian socialite" with a stock market first name but to actually ring an opening or closing bell on Wall Street? Na! not yet BoBo still the Premier, Well done Hon. Premier McLaughlin graduate of the Cayman Islands High School and Cayman Islands Law School, Good Job! When you ring the bell make us proud as you did on Hard Talk with grace and humility even if you are a little nervous.  Now that is true Caymanian fa ya BoBo! Tek dat Hater, yes you go chew on tat, da wa ya git! Caymanian as it get 6 or 8 generations.

  13. Anonymous says:

    A.  Unless it is Victoria's Secret or Sports Illustrated Swimsuit day, or someone heroic being profiled, nobody really cares who rings the opening or closing bells.  The CNBC and Bloomberg cameras will pan there for a courtesy 3 Mississippis and then flash back to market open news.   

    B. If anything, using tax day for an offshore spotlight is a deliberate ploy to turn this into something more political, and that's not necessarily positive for us.  Alden might actually get the brief camera angle but then segway into a network discussion on "evil offshore" on a day that has the most traction with their main street audience. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Shouldn't that be segue?  Unless you mean he was going to travel in and out on one of those adult scooter-type things?

       

    • Anonymous says:

      Thank God that the Premier is in New York to clear our name away from the harm that many criminals that are not Caymanian do to our financial reputation daily case on point look at the harm to our reputation that is being done by these non Caymanians check this out on the USDOJ websit that is available anywhere in the world and probably by one of your affiliates. This is the link hope you and other have a good read and come back on here and tell us what is so bad and evil about the Premier ringing the bell on the stock exchange in comparison to "business men" with financial companies that mess up our financial good name who are not even from here.  Go read this http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/March/14-tax-302.html and leave our Premier alone to run his country as he sees fit, I would suggust that you go back to your good heaven of your birth and do likewise.

  14. Knot S Smart says:

    This is good publicity for the Cayman Islands…

    Money well spent…

    • Knot S Smart says:

      To all of you who gave me thumbs down, I have empathy for your lack of understanding the importance of public relations in the marketing cycle… So all of you kindly KMB – B as in Bonky…

  15. Party ON! says:

    You can ring my bell, you can ring my bell
    Ding, dong, ding, ah, ring it
    You can ring my bell, anytime, anywhere
    Ring it, ring it, ring it, ring it, ow

  16. Anonymous says:

    A waste of our $$$, he’s busy showboating & not taking care of our problems why we elected him for!

    • Anonymous says:

      10:48, I would beg to differ here on it being "wasted money and showboating".

      Our Premier being asked to "ring the bell" should be taken as a sign that the stigma that has long been aasociated with the Cayman Islands by the US might finally be coming to an end.

      That said stigma that we have had since opening our doors as an offshore financial center, may have taken a hit over the last few week with regards to a couple of cases, but nonetheless, we have been and coninue to do what is asked of us by the international community when it comes down to regulation of our finance industry.

      That is progress.

      I can only assume you are a UDP supporter by your ill-thought response to this article, your inability to read between lines and your lack of understanding of progress in the grand scheme of things, but I forgive you.

      • Anonymous says:

        And makeeva was ask to attend those meetings he traveled to. Even when he was ordered by the FCO to travell to UK you all crusifiedhim.

        My Caymanian, cant please them! some are so full of hate and jealousy!

        Alden will end up probably travelling more than Mac. He hasnt spent one year in office yet. Remember that!

        I have nothing against him travelling, he is our Premier and it will help broaden his experience as a leaqder. Some of you need to, your minds and very narrow and shallow.

         

        Hill

    • Anonymous says:

      The world will not come to Cayman by us just sitting on our butts and waiting…you have to get out there and knock on doors. The captive industry is very large here, second worldwide after Bermuda and some would argue that Bermuda's numbers are stuffed with incorrect data and should be broken down to give a more accurate picture. So here we are world leaders for a change, captives bring in millions of dollars in fees, employs Caymanians and expats alike, bringing in more fees and spending and once, just for once, can we understand that government need to be seen to be out there promoting Cayman….always someone who does not get it.

      • Anonymous says:

        I hope you were not one of those hypocrites that crucified Makeeva for attending these important meetings.

        I can remember people saying he should use the internet service to communicate.

        • Anonymous says:

          That's right, he could be ringing the NASDAQ bell by internet, right? No comparison with McKeewa.

      • Anonymous says:

        The irony of it all seems lost on all, McKeeva Bush used to say the same things when he was Premier.

  17. A Struggling Merchant says:

    For some reason I am not impressed by this article.

    • Anonymous says:

      – 09:58.For some reason I am not impressed by the fact that you are not impressed by this article.

  18. Nero says:

    Politicians on junkets. Civil Servants out of office. Average day in the world of government.

    What’s that sound? $600,000,000 going down the drain.

  19. Anonymous says:

    Mr. Mc"LAUGH"lin's "EGO has landed" on Wall Street.

    How is flying around almost as much as JuJu and Big Mac instead of focusing on the real issues at home helping Cayman

  20. Anonymous says:

    Alden really is just another version of McKeeva………..constantly traveling to avoid the stress of political office at home and the brewing coup within the PPM. He better remain here and take his licks before he suffers the same fate as McKeeva !!! 

    • Anonymous says:

              At a time when Cayman needs to be as stable as possible,you are talking about a political coup.How reckless can you get? Could it be that you are promoting this alleged coup or at least supportive of it.