Companies seeking to operate locally without 60 percent Caymanian ownership must now submit their advertisements for Caymanian participation to the Department of Commerce and Investment (DCI), which is the Secretariat to the Trade and Business Licensing Board, for placement on the DCI website for a period of 14 days.

This new measure has been implemented to augment the existing requirement to advertise the investment opportunity in a local newspaper, and both are a prerequisite following which, the Trade and Business Licensing Board will process an application for a Local Companies Control Licence (LCCL).

The Board has decided to mandate both steps based on Section 11 of the Local Companies (Control) Act (2019) which requires that applicants prove that they have made efforts to obtain Caymanian participation.

"Our objective is to ensure that news of these investment opportunities reaches as wide an audience as possible, and we are committed to exploring various means to achieve this," said Board Chair Garth Arch.

Commerce Minister André Ebanks expressed his support for the new measure which he explained is in keeping with the Government's policy commitment to enable Caymanians to play a more active role in the success of the country.

"We encourage potential Caymanian investors, who see these opportunities advertised on the website or in the media, to respond to the companies and to copy their expression of interest to the Board", Minister Ebanks added.

The link for all adverts seeking Caymanian participation can be found in the licensing section of the DCI website, under local companies control licensing. For more information, please contact the DCI at info@dci.gov.ky.

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