Cayman Islands Offshore Company
The Cayman Islands, located in the Caribbean basin, are a group off English speaking islands that are still under United Kingdom territories. This means the head of the island state is the queen of England, though on the local level there is a governor who is in turn supported by a cabinet of local Ministers that represent the country.
Cayman is one of the few tax free territories, in that there are no corporate taxes on the Cayman Islands. This means that neither local nor offshore Cayman companies pay taxes hence there is very little distinction in the two Cayman companies. The Cayman Islands generate revenue through from import duties and rely heavily on revenue generated from the very lucrative and successful offshore services sector in the form of Cayman business establishement, comparable to Belize companies registration, administration and maintenance fees.
The Cayman Islands are regarded as one of the world’s top offshore banking centers with an estimate on deposits exceeding 2.0 trillion. Other sectors of offshore and securities/financial businesses are captive insurance, mutual and hedge funds. In fact, Cayman is the second largest captive insurance base after Bermuda.
There are four types of Cayman Companies, and with no distinction in between local and offshore Cayman companies, clients choose the most appropriate for business purposes. The Cayman company types are the:
- Ordinary resident company, used by companies who intend to conduct local business mainly
- Ordinary nonresident company- used by investors as Business Company for non-local or offshore operations. No trading on shore, but follows the ordinary resident company rules
- Exempt company, a Cayman company used by non-resident investors for offshore business, and it is the company most similar in features and characteristics to that of generic offshore companies, international business companies and the
- Exempted limited duration company.
Cayman companies are designed to attract company incorporator and offer the fiscal advantages of offshore companies. Of significance, is the fact that Cayman companies do not pay corporation tax. Then the Cayman offshore company is for nonresident investors with no requirements or nationality.
When it comes to the structure of the Cayman offshore company, the law permits offshore Cayman companies limited by shares or those limited by guarantee. The Cayman offshore company can be set up with one shareholder and a minimum of one director. There is no nominal share value for the offshore company in Cayman (Cayman Exempt Company). The company has no auditing or reporting obligations.
Of signification to major corporate incorporator, mergers and consolidations are permitted without the need for court approval. As with standard offshore companies there are some limitations and conditions for operating a Cayman Offshore Company. All Cayman companies must maintain a registered office in Cayman. The company must hold a meeting in Cayman once a years, but may use stand-ins. The Cayman offshore company cannot own Cayman real estate, cannot undertake insurance or banking business without a special licenses nor can it carry out business within the Cayman Islands.
The registration of a Cayman company requires the submission of a memorandum and articles of Association. The exempted company is the company used by non-resident investors for offshore business, and it is the company most similar in features and characteristics to that of generic offshore companies, international business companies.