Business
CIG encourages finance sector to speak with one voice
(CNS Business): The Financial Services minister is seeking to formalize the relationship government has with the offshore financial services sector and to consolidate the communication with government and the promotion of the industry and jurisdiction into one voice. Wayne Panton said Monday that he wanted to strengthen the partnership government has with the financial services sector through the industry association Cayman Finance. While government will still welcome broad input and points of view the minister is seeking a way to focus the position so that everyone involved in the sector is singing from the same song sheet at the same time. Read more on CNS Business
Cayman Enterprise City brings in less than $17k
(CNS Business): Hopes that Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) would boost government coffers have been dashed as the ring-fenced initiative has barely covered the costs of setting up and running of the Special Economic Zone’s authority. According to details revealed under an FOI request, the money collected under the special economic zone (SEZ) since it was established by law in September 2011 is just over $150,000. However, running the new authority costs over $68,000 per year, leaving government with just a few thousand dollars from the collection of trade certificate and the zone’s employment certificate fees since it opened. Billed as a potential new economic pillar for Cayman, there is still no sign of the promised campus and the predicted earnings for the public purse have failed to materialize. Read more on CNS Business.
DCI makes legally trading businesses public
(CNS Business): The government has announced that all local companies with a valid trade and business license are now listed on the website of the Department of Commerce and Investment (DCI). Although the new listing does not give much detail about the licenses except stating what type of business, it will allow people to find out if a commercial enterprise they wish to do business with is legal or not. Officials said the list would be updated on a monthly basis so people can log on and verify if a given local business has a license and report those that are not to the T&B Unit, in another step towards government’s promised improvement in enforcement of local business related laws. Read more on CNS Business
Access to ownership down to CIG says Simmonds
(CNS Business): The overseas territories minister implied that the British government will not be forcing the hand of the Cayman government when it comes to how the jurisdiction deals with the access to beneficial ownership. Mark Simmonds told the local press, Tuesday evening, that the UK was pleased that Cayman had readily agreed to a number of moves relating to the Prime Minister’s G8 agenda including the aim of consulting with stakeholders here about how the jurisdiction would approach the question of access to the details of the owners of companies and other entities registered in the jurisdiction. However he said it “was a matter for Cayman” on how far it went. Read more on CNS Business
Cayman begins revealing tax-payers details to UK
(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands has become the first of the overseas territories to sign a FATCA-type intergovernmental agreement with the UK, paving the way for the jurisdiction to automatically share financial information on UK taxpayers who hold Cayman Islands accounts. Another step in the gradual transition to much more transparency in all jurisdictions in relation to offshore finances, the deal is in line with the OECD goal of a single global standard for automatic information exchange by February next year. Cayman’s financial services minister, Wayne Panton, said that Cayman and the UK will monitor the agreement to see that it remains effective against tax evasion while not adding undue compliance costs for financial institutions. Read more on CNS Business
CIG plans consultation on beneficial ownership access
(CNS Business): With the announcement last week by British Prime Minister David Cameron that the UK will be introducing a fully accessible and public register detailing the beneficial owners of companies registered in the UK, the Cayman Islands government has said that it continues to make plans over the issue of how beneficial ownership for offshore companies registered here will be handled and will begin an industry consultation process this month. With pressure mounting to move towards automatic exchange of information and greater levels of transparency, Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton defended what he called the “robust measures” and channels already in place for authorities to gain information about companies domiciled in Cayman. Read more on CNS Business
Rain dampens CUC profit for third quarter
(CNS Business): Grand Cayman’s monopoly power provider said that earnings fell in the third quarter of 2013 due to flat sales and an inch more rain in the summer compared to 2012, but the Caribbean Utilities company (CUC) is still on target for a more profitable year. Net earnings for the three months ending 30 September 2013 totalled $6 million, which is $600,000 less than earnings for the same three months last year. The combination of more rain, flat sales, higher depreciation and finance charges dampened profits but earnings for the year so far are still more than $1 million higher than earnings during the first nine months of 2013, maintaining what the CEO described as a positive outlook. Read more on CNS Business
CUC picks 2 US firms for solar-wind energy supply
(CNS Business): In August this year Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd (CUC) invited renewable energy experts to submit expressions of Interest and preliminary proposals for the financing, construction, ownership and operation of renewable energy generation facilities, and the local power provider has chosen two US-based firms to provide wind and solar power to Grand Cayman. CUC said that, subject to approval by the Electricity Regulatory Authority of the final negotiated power purchase agreements, the company has chosen New Generation Power (NGP), who proposed to provide 3 megawatts of wind power and 5 megawatts solar, and Electric Power LLC (IEP), who plan to provide an additional 5megawatts of solar power. Read more on CNS Business
Fidelity adds enhanced security for online customers
(CNS Business): Online customers of Fidelity Bank (Cayman) will now have to plug in a special code for every online transaction they initiate. Fidelity said that the introduction of these more robust online security features, which are effective immediately, are to militate against the increasing incidence of bank fraud that is prevalent in the Cayman Islands. This code will be texted by Fidelity to the customer’s private cell phone on file each time an online transaction is initiated. This way, every transaction will have a unique, randomly generated transaction code that must be entered before Fidelity will process the transaction and this code will only be available on the customer’s cell phone. Read more on CNS Business
200 locals targeted for tourism jobs
(CNS Business): The government, the private sector tourism body and local recruitment agencies have all teamed up in order to help find jobs for around two hundred local people who have expressed an interest in working in tourism. The employment ministry and the Cayman Islands Tourism Association have begun an employment drive to find jobs for Caymanians registered with the National Workforce Development Agency in Cayman’s second major industry before the start of the high season using what is being described as a systematic and transparent process. The programme will also help define essential training needs and recommend specific action plans to help ensure applicants are equipped to meet the industry’s needs. Read more on CNS Business