The Directors Registration and Licensing Law 2014 (Law) came into force on 4 June 2014.
The Law applies to all directors of (i) companies regulated or licensed by CIMA as mutual funds and (ii) companies registered as 'excluded persons' (and who are not regulated by an overseas authority) under the Securities Investment Business Law, all defined as 'Covered Entities'.
Each such director will need to register with CIMA and to do so will need a unique identification number (Unique ID) in order to complete the online registration process. CIMA has now issued these Unique IDs to each Covered Entity's registered office provider and Appleby Trust (Cayman) Ltd. is in the process of contacting all directors for whom they have received Unique IDs.
In addition to the registration requirement, 'Professional Directors', which are defined as any person appointed as a director for 20 or more Covered Entities, and 'Corporate Directors' must apply for a licence. There are a number of exemptions available from the licensing regime and if you require additional information or assistance regarding this, you should get in touch with your normal point of contact at Appleby.
Next Steps?
To register or apply for a licence, a director must submit an application through the CIMA Director Gateway which is available on CIMA's website and pay the relevant registration fee.
The aggregate initial and recurring annual fees are:
- Registration - US$853.66
- Professional Director licence – US$3,658.54
- Corporate Director licence - US$9,756.10
Once licensed or registered, any material change to the information provided in the initial application will need to be filed with CIMA within 21 days of the change taking effect and annual filing (which includes payment of the annual fee) must be made no later than 15 January each year.
When?
Individuals have until 3 September 2014 to either register and/or apply for a licence.
Corporate Directors have until 3 December 2014 to apply for a licence.
New directors will have to register before being appointed to the board of a Covered Entity and can apply for their Unique ID through the CIMA portal.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.