By Gopika Gopakumar
Dec 4 (Reuters) – The Cayman Islands is looking to sign pacts with India’s market regulator and finance hub GIFT City, to ensure transparent exchange of information, a government official of the British Overseas Territory said on Thursday.
André M. Ebanks, the territory’s premier, told journalists that the submitted proposals include legal cooperation as well.
The premier also said they could look at a tailored set of regulations for funds investing in India.
The move is part of the Island’s attempt to project itself as a tax-neutral and transparent investment destination.
It had long held a reputation of being a tax haven, due to its policy of imposing virtually no direct taxes on individuals or corporations.
The Caribbean island, which was removed from the international organisation Financial Action Task Force’s grey list in 2023, already has an agreement over tax information exchange with India, signed in 2011 as part of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India regulates foreign portfolio investors, some of whom are registered in Cayman Islands, and often seeks information from regulators in different geographies.
“Both SEBI and Cayman Islands’ monetary authority are already part of the International Organization of Securities Commission,” said Ebanks.
Cayman Islands is among the top five sources of FDI flows into India.
The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, is a financial services hub that the Indian government has been promoting as a “gateway for global capital and financial services.”
(Reporting by Gopika Gopakumar and Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
