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The island of Grand Cayman Island is the fifth largest international financial center in the world. Favorable tax regulations (there are no taxes on income, profits, capital or capital gains, property or inheritance) has resulted in the island being an offshore domicile for bank branches, hedge funds, captive insurance subsidiaries and trusts. Over 8,000 regulated investment funds are domiciled in the Cayman Islands, which constitutes the vast majority of the global hedge fund market.
The Cayman Islands consists of the larger island of Grand Cayman Island and the two smaller islands of Little Cayman Island and Cayman Brac Island. The archipelago is located approximately 480 miles south of Miami, Florida; 180 miles northwest of Jamaica. Just south of the Cayman Islands is the Cayman Trench / Trough, the deepest part of the Caribbean Sea at approximately 4 miles deep. To the south of the islands is a second deep area known as the Bartlett Deep (over 18,000 feet deep). Between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica lies the deepest part of the Caribbean Sea, the Cayman Trough, which is over four miles deep. The three islands are limestone outcroppings of a submarine mountain range called the Cayman Ridge. The ridge extends west-southwest, from the Sierra Maestra range off the southeast part of Cuba to the Misteriosa Bank near Belize.
Grand Cayman Island is a low-lying coral and limestone outcropping of a submarine mountain range called the Cayman Ridge surrounded by coral reefs and is approximately 76 square miles in area (22 miles in length and 8 miles at its widest point). The highest point on the island is approximately 50 feet. The west coast (known as West End) of the island is the most developed part of Grand Cayman Island and includes the where Seven Mile Beach resort area. The north and east coast (East End) of the island has less development and is more secluded.
Georgetown, the administrative center of the Cayman Islands, is a compact city and the waterfront area is easily accessible by foot. The main street that parallels the the coast is Harbour Drive, which extends northward to Seven Mile Beach as North Church Street. The additional main street in George Town is Cardinal Avenue (right in the center of town), and 2 additional thoroughfares are Fort Street and Shedden Road.
In 2009, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) removed the Cayman Islands from its
list of uncooperative tax havens after the nation signed the minimum 12 bilateral tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) in line with OECD
standards and is now in the category of jurisdictions deemed to have substantially implemented the internationally agreed
standard on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes (United States, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the
Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, France and Australia).
The regulation of financial services on Grand Cayman Island are carried out by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), which operates several divisions with respective oversight for banking, insurance, fiduciary services, and investments and securities. The Cayman Islands adheres to the Basel Core Principles for effective Banking Supervision, the IAIS principles for insurance regulation, the IOSCO principles for regulation of investments business and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Forty Recommendations on anti-money laundering.
Grand Cayman Island is also the location of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX). The CSX was originally set up to provide a listing facility for Cayman’s specialist products, mutual funds and debt securities. Since then, the CSX has expanded its facilities for the listing of derivative warrants, depositary receipts and eurobonds. The CSX also provides a secondary listing facility and an offshore trading venue in the North American time zone for companies listed and traded on another recognized exchange. Domestic Cayman companies may also list and trade on the Exchange.
If you travel around the Caribbean region you will soon recognize that the Cayman Islands (government offices are located on Grand Cayman Island) is the largest flagging (registration; flag of convenience refers to where the ship is registered is in a country different than where the ship’s owner reside) nation for private, ocean-going yachts, again due to the favorable tax treatment of the sales of these vessels.
There are direct flights to Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM) from several cities in the United States.
| Location: | Greater Antilles, approximately 480
miles southeast of Miami, 180 miles west of Jamaica and 150 miles south of Cuba. Airport Distances: Atalanta (ATL) 1,006 miles; Baltimore (BWI) 1,398 miles; Boston (BOS) 1,701 miles; Charlotte (CLT) 1,097 miles; Chicago (MDW) 1,594 miles; Chicago (ORD) 1,609 miles); Cleveland (CLE) 1,524 miles; Columbus (CMH) 1,429 miles; Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) 1,349 miles; Detriot (DTW) 1,584 miles; Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) 473 miles; Hartford (BDL) 1,641 miles; Houston (IAH) 1,145 miles; Indianapolis (IND) 1438 miles; Jacksonville (JAX) 771 miles; Manchester (MHT) 1,729 miles; Miami (MIA) 452 miles; Minneapolis (MSP) 1,891 miles; Montreal (YUL) 1,856 miles; Nashville (BNA) 1,204 miles; Newark (EWR) 1,535 miles; New York (JFK) 1,537 miles; Orlando (MCO) 629 miles; Philadelphis (PHL) 1,463 miles; Raleigh (RDU) 1,153 miles; Richmond (RIC) 1,278 miles; San Francisco (SFO) 2,768 miles; Tampa (TPA) 602 miles; Washington (DCA) 1,372 miles. |
| Time Zone: | Eastern Standard Time (EST) (The Cayman Islands do not observe Daylight Savings Time) |
| Capital: | George Town; 8 districts include Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western. |
| Government: | The Cayman Islands are a British Crown Colony (Overseas Territory). |
| Cayman Islands Government www.gov.ky/ | |
| Airports Authority www.caymanairports.ky/ | |
| Customs www.customs.gov.ky/ | |
| Department of Commerce & Investment www.investcayman.gov.ky/ | |
| Department of Environment www.doe.ky/ | |
| Economics and Statistics Office www.eso.ky/ | |
| Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) www.caymanera.com/ | |
| Financial Services www.caymanfinance.gov.ky/ | |
| General Registry www.ciregistry.gov.ky/ | |
| Governor's Office ukincayman.fco.gov.uk/ | |
| Health Services Authority www.hsa.ky/ | |
| Immigration www.immigration.gov.ky/ | |
| Information Commissioner’s Office www.infocomm.ky/ | |
| Judicial Administration & Portfolio of Legal Affairs www.caymanjudicial-legalinfo.ky/ | |
| Legislative Assembly www.legislativeassembly.ky/ | |
| Ministry of Education, Training & Employment www.education.gov.ky/ | |
| Port Authority of the Cayman Islands www.caymanport.com/ | |
| Portfolio of Finance & Economics www.pfe.gov.ky/ | |
| Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs www.pie.gov.ky/ | |
| Royal Cayman Islands Police Service www.rcips.ky/ | |
| Tax Information Authority www.tia.gov.ky/ |
| Airport: | Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM); Located approximately 2
miles southeast from George Town. |
| NOAA: Current Weather Conditions at Owen Roberts International Airport
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| Transportation: | There is a public bus that operates between George Town and Seven Mile Beach, and operates from 6:00am until midnight. A public bus terminal is located adjacent the Public Library on Edward Street, downtown George Town and serves as the dispatch point for buses to all districts. There are several mini-buses operated by licensed operators (look for the blue license plate), serving eight routes. Color coded logos located on the front and rear of buses identify routes they transverse. Route 1 (yellow) and Route 2 (lime green) cover George Town to West Bay. Route 1 (yellow) goes directly by the Turtle Farm and Route 2 (lime green) will charge an extra CI$ 1.00/US$ 1.25 to stop at the Turtle Farm. Route 3 (blue) operates to Bodden Town, (service every 30 minutes from 6:00am to 11:00pm). Route 4 (purple) operates to East End, 5 (red) operates to East End and North Side, 6 (dark green) operates from North Side to West Bay (service every hour from 6:00am to 9:00pm. Route 7 (dark green with white numbers) operates in the George Town area and 8 (orange) operates to Hutland in North Side. Taxis are available at Owen Roberts International Airport and offer a fixed rate per vehicle or per person transport to all points on the Island. Taxis are also available from all resorts and from the taxi stand at the cruise ship dock in George Town (a sign with current rates is posted at the dock). |
| Currency: | Caymanian dollar (KYD, also CI$); Caymanian dollar per US dollar: fixed exchange rate at KYD $1.00 to USD $1.25. The denominations of paper currency in circulation include the $100, $50, $40, $25, $10, $5 and $1 banknotes. Coins in cirulation are in 25˘, 10˘, 5˘ and 1˘ denominations. Local banks include the Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Ltd., FirstCaribbean International Bank, Scotiabank (Cayman Islands) Ltd., Fidelity Bank (Cayman) Ltd., Cayman National Bank Ltd, and the Royal Bank of Canada. www.cimoney.com.ky/ (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority). |
| Newspaper: | Cayman Observer www.caymanobserver.com/ |
| Radio: | Z99.9 FM www.z99.ky/ Contemporary Hits (Windows Media Audio) |
| Radio Cayman One 89.9 FM / Radio Cayman Two 91.9 FM www.radiocayman.gov.ky/ News & Music (Windows Media Audio) | |
| Vibe 98.9 FM www.vibefm.ky/ Hits & Contemporary (Live 365) | |
| Hot 104.1 FM www.hot1041fm.ky/ Caribbean (Live 365) | |
| Spin 94.9 FM www.spinfm.ky/2006/ Contemporary (Live 365) | |
| Rooster 101.9 FM http://www.rooster101.ky/ Country (Windows Media Audio) |
| Electricity: | 120 volts / 60Hz |
| Area Code: | (345) (Member of NANP; From the US and Canada dial 1 + 345 and then the local telephone number) |
| Auto Traffic: | Drive on the LEFT |
| Immigration: | United States, EU and Canadian citizens require a valid passport, onward/return ticket, and sufficient funds. A visa is not required of U.S., Canadian, some EU and some British Commonwealth citizens for tourist stay of up to 3 months. Persons requiring a visa for entry into or transit through the Cayman Islands must apply to the nearest British Embassy or Consulate that has a visa section. A visitor is not permitted to take up or solicit employment while in the islands. A work permit must be applied for and obtained before arrival, either by the individual, if he is to be self employed, or by the employer with a post to fill. |
| Departure Tax: | CI $20.00 / USD $25 (usually already included in the price of the purchased airline ticket) |
| Hotel Tax: | 10% |
| Health & Safety: | Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital, Grand Cayman Island; (Tel: 345-949-6066)
Emergency medical services are also located at Jackson Memorial Hospital International, Miami, FL, and at Baptist Hospital, Miami, FL. In June 2006, Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM) received the highest assessment in airport security procedures of all British Overseas Territories, by the United Kingdom Department for Transport. |
IRS-Approved KYC (Know-Your-Customer) for the Cayman Islands: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/qiattachcaymanis.pdf (.pdf format)
Bank Addresses
Banco Do Brasil SA, 4th Floor, Elizabethan Square, Shedden Rd., George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1108
Banco Itaú SA, 3rd Floor, Ansbacher House, 20 Genesis Close, George Town, Grand Cayman
Bank Austria Cayman Islands Ltd., Third Floor, 238 Whitehall House, North Church Street, Grand Cayman
Bank Mandiri (Europe) Ltd., Cardinal Plaza, 3rd Floor, 30 Cardinal Avenue, Grand Cayman
Bank of New York Trust Company (Cayman), Ltd., Butterfield House, 68 Fort Street, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1107
Butterfield Bank (Cayman), Ltd., Butterfield House, 68 Fort Street, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1107
Caixa Geral de Depositos, Regatta Office Park, Windward Three, 4th Floor, Grand Cayman
Citco Bank & Trust Co., Ltd., Windward 1, 2nd Floor, Regatta Office Park, West Bay Road, Grand Cayman KY1-1205
CIBC Bank & Trust Company (Cayman), Ltd., 54 Edward Street, George Town, Grand Cayman
Credit Suisse Investment Services (Cayman) Limited, BritCay House, George town, Grand Cayman
Deutsche Bank (Cayman), Ltd., Boundary Hall, Cricket Square, 171 Elgin Avenue, Grand Cayman KY1-1104
Fidelity Bank (Cayman), Ltd., Financial Centre 36A, Dr. Roy's Drive, Grand Cayman KY1-1103
FirstCaribbean International Bank (Cayman) Limited, 25 Main Street, George Town, Grand Cayman
RBS Coutts (Cayman) Limited, Coutts House, 1446 West Bay Road, Grand Cayman KY1-1107
Rothschild Trust (Cayman), Ltd., 5th Floor, Citrus Grove, George Town, Grand Cayman
Royal Bank of Canada Trust Co. (Cayman), Ltd., 24 Shedden Road, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1104
Scotia Bank & Trust (Cayman), Scotia Centre, 6 Cardinal Avenue, Grand Cayman KY1-1107
State Street Cayman Trust Company, Ltd., Safe Haven Corporate Center, Leeward 2, West Bay Road, 2nd Floor, Grand Cayman
UBS Fund Services (Cayman), Ltd., UBS House, 227 Elgin Avenue, Grand Cayman KY1-1103
