Driven by tax havens, the economy of the Cayman Islands has grown rapidly and explosively. Within a short period of time, the Cayman Islands has shaken off its impoverished and backward state and achieved national prosperity and strong economy. Its per capita GDP ranks 12th globally, and it has also risen to become the fifth-largest financial center in the world. Therefore, more and more entrepreneurs choose to register overseas companies when setting up businesses, and they prefer to register Cayman Islands companies for international trade.
Of course, it's not just the Cayman Islands that offer many favorable and convenient conditions for overseas offshore company registration. Many other overseas jurisdictions also provide such benefits. There are no taxes for these companies locally, only a small annual management fee is charged, and all major international banks recognize these companies. The three key features of high confidentiality, tax reduction, and no foreign exchange control have attracted numerous businesses and investors to choose the development model of offshore companies abroad.
Advantages of registering a company in the Cayman Islands The laws of the Cayman Islands confer certain benefits/advantages on exempt companies (compared to non-resident companies) as follows:
1.An exempted company can obtain a guarantee exemption from paying any taxes for a period of twenty years after its establishment (although there are no taxes in the Cayman Islands at present).
2. The shareholder information of an exempted company does not need to be submitted to the company registration office in the Cayman Islands. Moreover, an exempted company only requires one less shareholder.
3. The annual reporting requirements for exempted companies are very low. Basically, the annual report only involves submitting a document signed by the company secretary or the director, stating that the business of the exempted company takes place outside the Cayman Islands and that the company has fully complied with Sections 193 and 194 of the Company Ordinance. (Section 193 stipulates that exempted companies cannot conduct any business in the Cayman Islands unless such business is directly beneficial to their overseas business development. Section 194 stipulates that the board of directors of each exempted company must hold a board meeting in the Cayman Islands once a year. Our company can usually arrange for our staff to act as substitute directors or arrange for the directors to sign authorization letters to hold the board meeting. So that the directors do not have to attend the meeting in person in the Cayman Islands.)
4. The company regulations of the Cayman Islands allow companies to issue bearer shares (unregistered shares). These unregistered shares can be exchanged for registered shares (registered shares can only be transferred through the company's register of shareholders), and vice versa. However, the law also stipulates that if a company that is exempted issues or has the right to issue bearer shares, it is not allowed to hold land located within the Cayman Islands. Therefore, if a client wants their exempted company to hold land in the Cayman Islands, the company must amend its articles of association and then apply for approval from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands. Similarly, many banks operating in the Cayman Islands require exempted companies to amend their articles of association to prevent the issuance of bearer shares, before accepting the company's account application.
5. The law stipulates that companies are prohibited from issuing "stock without par value".
6. The name of an exempted company can be in any language, and it does not need to include "LIMITED" or its abbreviation "LTD".
7. An exempted company is not required to hold an annual general meeting in the Cayman Islands, but it must still comply with the provisions of Article 194 of the Company Regulations.
Conditions for registering a company in the Cayman Islands:
1.The Cayman company must have at least one director/shareholder, who can be either a natural person or a legal entity, with no restrictions on nationality.
2. There are no specific requirements for the company name. Unless it has been specially approved, the words "BANK", "TRUST", "MUTUAL FUND", "INSURANCE", or "REINSURANCE" cannot appear in the company name.
3. Sign the authorization letter for registering a Cayman Islands company and provide photocopies of the ID cards or passports of all directors and shareholders.
4. Provide proof of the addresses of the directors and shareholders, which includes a list of names and addresses, such as utility bills or phone bills;
5. The standard authorized capital for registering a Cayman Islands company is generally $50,000, which can be divided into 50,000 shares, each valued at USD
When registering a Cayman Islands company, apart from the annual license fee, no taxes need to be declared or paid.
If the purpose of registering a Cayman company for listing in Hong Kong is to be achieved, when registering the company, detailed information of the shareholders and their identification documents (in copies) should be provided. Also, registered stocks and registered directors should be used.
Detailed process for registering a company in the Cayman Islands:
1.At least one shareholder and one director.
2: Submit copies of the ID cards of shareholders, directors and beneficiaries.
3: Registered capital is $50,000, and the price per share is $1.
4: Shareholders, directors, beneficiaries, ID cards or passports, and address certificates need to be notarized by a domestic notary office, or by an accountant or lawyer (either in Hong Kong or in China). They must be translated into English.
5: The registration application form also needs to be filled out in English.
6: Provide the license and business card of the certified lawyer/accountant (to prove that this person is indeed a lawyer or an accountant).
7: Have the documents notarized by the internal notary office or by an accountant or lawyer. After the notarization is completed, send the scanned copies to Agent Mr. Liu for review. If there are no issues, then allow the client to send the documents out.
8: The processing time is one month.
