During a tour of New Delhi and Mumbai, Cayman Premier André Ebanks met senior Indian financial figures in a bid to boost investment flows between the two jurisdictions.
The first leg of Cayman’s India delegation began with Ebanks speaking at an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tax forum on 2 Dec., before flying to Mumbai to meet with Indian regulators.
Cayman’s main attraction for India is that the jurisdiction offers an efficient way to funnel pools of international investment to the emerging economic superpower. More than US$15 billion of foreign direct investment has been directed to India via Cayman-registered companies since 2000.
That might sound a lot, but it’s dwarfed by the US$55 billion of foreign direct investment that Cayman-registered companies held in China in 2024.
With India overtaking China as the planet’s most populous nation in 2023 and predicted to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, Cayman needs to improve its links with India to future-proof its role as a global financial centre.
“The Cayman Islands understands that strategic regulatory partnerships, and the transparency and trust [it fosters] are essential to stable, well-functioning financial markets,” said Ebanks. “Our goal is to work collaboratively with India to support high-quality investment, safeguard integrity and reinforce our shared role in global finance.”
Political capital and financial capital
New Delhi, India’s capital city, was the host of the 18th plenary meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
Ebanks spoke on the first panel on Day 1, entitled: ‘Advancing a Shared Vision for International Tax Transparency.’ Tax transparency is always a relevant topic for Cayman and is particularly timely at present, given the jurisdiction’s recent adoption of the organisation’s new digital money tax reporting rules.
Given the prevalence of outdated myths about Cayman’s financial centre, it’s understandable that Ebanks was keen to maximise the symbolic importance of his participation at the forum.
“I was honoured to convey Cayman’s extraordinary evolution as a leading international financial services centre – and importantly, an active, constructive, respected OECD Global Forum partner,” said Ebanks.
The delegation, which included Dax Basdeo, chief officer at the Ministry of Financial Services and Commerce, then moved to India’s financial capital, Mumbai.
The premier met with regulators, including officials from the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the International Financial Services Centres Authority.
“Cayman and India share a strong commitment to regulatory excellence,” said Ebanks. “By deepening our partnerships and expanding cooperation between our authorities, we can support sound business, reinforce market confidence and deliver mutual economic benefit.”
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What was the cost of sending a delegation of 6 to India?. Perhaps Govt can review the results of this mission in a year’s time and enlighten our taxpayers.