A top businessman has told a Cayman conference designed to prepare the islands for beyond the next ten years that it should look to Asian powerhouse Singapore and set up special funds to boost the jurisdiction.
Rudy D’Cunha said Cayman had no sovereign wealth funds (SWF) — government-run investment funds that invest in assets such as stocks and real estate — but Singapore had two.
The income can be used to build national wealth, pay for government expenditures, reduce volatility in commodity markets and pump cash into industry and the economy.
D’Cunha, the managing director of Apex Funds Services (Cayman) and the global head of insurance for the Apex Group, said the country should “invest in the next generation to make job creators rather than job seekers”.
He was speaking last Friday at a Chamber of Commerce-organised Economic Forum, designed to help prepare Cayman for the next decade.
D’Cunha outlined six key areas to future-proof the country and “engineer Cayman’s golden age”.
He said Singapore had adopted a “business-oriented approach” to government, with the premier as CEO and its people as shareholders.
He added Singapore, known as the Lion City, had low levels of corruption and a focus on the manufacturing sector, as well as “strategic education and wellness policies”, social stability and the environment, which had made the city state “a template for economic and social success”.
Other suggestions included boosting the Cayman stock exchange, which would create investment opportunities for residents, foster innovation, help to ensure stable investment and create a “circular economy” that invested back into the country.
D’Cunha added that it was vital that Cayman, a financial centre, invested in young people through education, including skills such as financial literacy, to develop “tomorrow’s business leaders through hands-on experience”.
He said that measures such as adding stress resilience to the curriculum and education on lifestyle choices would help secure Cayman’s future and create the “next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs”.
D’Cunha said Cayman could also create opportunities through work to secure its food supply and become more self-reliant.
He explained “new jobs in modern food production” could be created in Cayman, and that investments could also be made in overseas farming and high-tech production methods.
D’Cunha added that would help end Cayman’s dependency on imports, as well as protect indigenous seeds and introduce multiple food sources, which would reduce supply risk.
He highlighted that Caymanian farming would also improve health through the use of organic methods and food free of harmful chemicals and genetically modified organisms.
D’Cunha said Cayman would also benefit from the development and maintenance of its marine resources.
He said the introduction of “blue bonds” — financial instruments providing cash for investment in the preservation of maritime resources, adoption of protected mangrove forests and sponsorship for recycling of waste into fertiliser by big business could also produce dividends.
D’Cunha said investment in the waters around Cayman and its mangroves would help preserve the marine environment and protect the coastline from erosion.
He added that tourism and “cultural capital” could be better used with the use of technology to capture profiles of tourists, their spending habits, and likes and dislikes.
D’Cunha said Cayman could also develop itself into a centre for “longevity treatments”, “luxury wellness centres” and a showcase for Caribbean culture as added attractions to the tourism product.
He added the country should also invest in ferries and hotels with “unique architecture” to boost the attractiveness of Cayman for visitors, and work to create developments outside traditional tourist hotspots.
He said improvements would mean more precise targeting of markets, reduce pressure on limited tourism areas and offer employment opportunities and shorter work travel times to residents who would live around new tourist developments.
Related Videos
