Cayman Islands, situated in the West Caribbean Sea, 640 km south to Miami and 268 km northwest to Jamaica, belongs to British Overseas Territory. Cayman is one of the two offshore jurisdictions accepted by Hong Kong Stock Exchange for listing in Hong Kong. 

Cayman Islands Companies Act is based on English Common Law. Companies are of two categories: Exempted Company and Non-Resident Company. Exempted Company is a more popular form of registration, the name of which need not end with "Limited", and it can apply for a 20-year term tax exemption certificate to further increase its tax advantages. 

Advantages 

• Provide privacy protection, without disclosing shareholders and directors 

• Company is granted listing in Hong Kong Stock Exchange 

• No tax shall be declarable and payable 

• Chinese name can be shown in the Certificate of Incorporation of company 

• Cayman has no double taxation treaties with any other countries 

• No exchange control, easy to raise capital 

General Requirements 

• There shall be at least one shareholder and director, who can be legal person or individuals, without nationality restriction. 

Standard Registered Capital 

• USD50,000 

Required Information and Time for Incorporation 

• Chinese and English names of company 

• Copies of ID cards or passports of shareholders and directors 

• Registration of company (requires 30 days or so) 

Types of Cayman Company Registration

Presently, there are four basic types of companies available in Cayman company registration:

1. Resident/Ordinary Companies

Resident/Ordinary Companies are companies with capital less than $42,000; pays for fee of $.... upon registration. If their capital is more than $42,000, their registration fee is …..

2. Non-Resident Companies

Non-Resident Companies are companies without permanent location and has capital less than $42,000; upon filing a Memorandum and Articles of Association, and its Annual Return of January, the registration fee is $400. If the capital is more than $42,000 then the registration fee is $....

3. Exempted Companies

Exempted Companies are companies where the activities are held outside the Islands. Most people use these offshore locations for exempt companies for a business which would be barred from carrying out business in Cayman, other than in the requirements for doing offshore businesses. It is also possible that Trust companies, Insurance and Banks can end up being registered as an exempt company, once the required license is done.

With this type of company annual fees are divided into different categories.

With a capital of less than $42,000 has a registration fee of $.....

With a capital between $42,000 and $....,000, the company pays for the registration fee of $.....

With a capital between $820,000 and $1.64 million, its registration fee is $......

With a capital more than $1.64 million, then the registration fee are $......

4. Segregated Companies

Segregated Companies are the type of companies for insurance enterprises.  The annual fee is the normal exempt registration fee plus $2,000 and an additional fee of $1,000 for each segregated portfolio.

Requirements of Cayman Company Registration

Company Name: Must end with one of the following suffixes: Limited or Ltd.; Corporation or Corp.; Incorporated or Inc.

Shares & Capital: The standard share capital is USD 50,000.00 divided into 50,000 shares of USD 1.00 each. Shares can be issued with or without par value. Bearer shares are permitted but must be held by an authorized or recognized custodian as approved by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

Director: Minimum of one Director. Corporations are permitted.

Secretary: A Secretary is necessary.

Shareholder: Minimum of one Shareholder. Corporations are permitted.

Declarations or Alterations

Just about all the declarations of this company, which would include the modification of the name or the alterations of their Articles or Memorandum of Association, should be submitted to the Registrar of Companies in fifteen days. In addition, a declaration modifying the company’s directors and representatives or the altering of the registered business office should always be submitted to the Registrar within thirty days. Besides, these companies are required to keep a general meeting each year at least once in the Cayman Islands, as well as file annual returns.

Time for Cayman Company Registration

Usually 3-5 working days are needed, but for legalization of the documents and delivery by courier, it’ll be up to 10 working days.