Chamber Covid Updates

As a founding sponsor of the Annual Global Fund Finance Symposium, Appleby is excited to be a platinum sponsor of the first-ever virtual event on the 16-20 November.

Jeremy Berchem, Office Managing Group Partner* in Guernsey, will be attending the conference and moderating a panel titled “Adapting to Change: Domiciles Defining the Future”. He noted that “although we enjoy meeting with our clients and colleagues face to face in what is the premier event in the Fund Finance space, we are looking forward to being a part of the first-ever Virtual FFA Symposium. The continued success of this event is a testament to the strength of the industry and to the commitment of the FFA, and Appleby is proud to be a partner of the Global Symposium since its inception.”

Fiona Chan, a partner in the Appleby Hong Kong Office will also be in attendance and will participate in a panel discussion on Legal, Credit Underwriting, and Regulatory Updates.

Appleby is a founding sponsor of the Annual Global Fund Finance Symposium and support the FFA’s mission is to educate members, legislators, regulators and other constituencies about the fund finance market . Appleby is also a sponsor of the European and Hong Kong symposiums, as well as the Women in Fund Finance, which focuses on the increased engagement, recognition and promotion of women leaders within the alternative investment fund finance industry.

Appleby is recognised as a market-leader in the sector since the inception of the product. Our global reach into key jurisdictions in the space, alongside our dedicated team of highly specialised lawyers, ensures that we continue to be at the forefront in this evolving sector.

For more information, please contact a member of the Fund Finance team.

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The Cayman Islands’ energy conference, the Caribbean Transitional Energy Conference (CTEC 2020) is set to take place virtually on 19th November 2020 and this year boasts an impressive line-up of guest speakers including His Excellency the Governor, Martyn Roper O.B.E. and the Honorable Joseph Hew, Minister of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure.

His Excellency the Governor, Martyn Roper O.B.E will present a UK address, providing insight into the UK’s efforts for clean energy transition and available resources to assist Cayman and other overseas territories. The Honorable Joseph Hew, Minister of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure will be speaking about the role of clean energy in boosting the economy of the Cayman Islands, post-COVID.

This powerful line up of Cayman-based leaders is supported by over fifteen speakers from across the globe including Saint Lucia, Jamaica, the USA and Trinidad. Consisting of world-experts in clean energy from both the public and private sector, these include Christopher Burgess who is joining the conference from Colorado as the Director of Projects for the Islands Energy Program at the Rocky Mountain Institute – Carbon War Room (RMI-CWR), Allison Jean, CEO of the National Utilities Regulatory Commission from St. Lucia and Racquel Moses, CEO of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator in Trinidad. Other prominent speakers include Sacha Tibbetts, Vice President of Customer Service & Technology at the Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd, James Whittaker, President of the Cayman Renewable Energy Association, Malike Cummings, Chief Executive Officer of OfReg, Bruce Levy, President and Chief Executive Officer of BMR in North America, Fitzroy Vidal, Principal Director for Energy in the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology in Jamaica, Kristen Augustine, Energy Policy Coordinator for Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure, Richard Hew, President & C.E.O for Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd., Jeane Nikolai, Director of Energy Bermuda, David Gumbs, Senior Consultant with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and founder and CEO of Daavi Business Solutions (DBS), Gina Ebanks-Petrie, Director of Cayman Islands Department of Environment, Andre Ebanks, Representative of Cayman Islands Government Office UK & Europe plus many more.

Mr. James Whittaker, President of the Cayman Renewable Energy Association (CREA) and organiser of CTEC 2020, said, “We have an amazing line-up of speakers for CTEC 2020 and we are thrilled at the support from the Cayman Islands Government.

“It’s set to be a transformational event with speeches and panel discussions aiming to pave the way forward for the renewable energy market in the Caribbean, post-COVID. With the insight and experience of the Caribbean’s leaders in clean energy all in one place, we hope that the event will stimulate investment, innovation and development.”

CTEC 2020, organised by the Cayman Renewable Energy Association (CREA), will bring the best of local, regional and international clean energy experience and expertise to the Cayman Islands. CTEC affords its attendees in depth insight into the Cayman energy roadmap and unique access to public and private sector leaders. The event will take place virtually on 19th November 2020, opening up the event to a worldwide audience.

A full agenda and speaker list is now live on the website by visiting www.ctec.energy/agenda Ticket packages are now live and are available to purchase by visiting http://ctec.energy/register

The Caribbean Transitional Energy Conference brought to you by CREA is made possible thanks to the support of the Cayman Islands Government, Dart, CUC, Tower, Logic and GreenTech Solar.

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (28 September 2020) – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) recently presented a donation to Meals on Wheels (MOW) as the third recipient of its monthly staff charitable donations specifically to aid local organizations assisting the community during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

CAACI’s Deputy Director-General, Mrs. Nicoela McCoy remarked, “During the pandemic, MOW served 500 people every day, which was over their projected budget for the year of 230-250 clients. During the difficult days of curfew, not only did they increase the number of meals and soups, but provided weekly groceries deliveries to the seniors in needed, had regular phone contact to those who live alone and ensured that all seniors were provided with masks and flyers of all updated regulations and services available. The CAACI is delighted to donate this month’s charitable collections to support a programme that feeds, benefits and cares for the most vulnerable in the community.”

Ms. Jennifer West, General Manager for MOW said, “As we continue serving the seniors of our island, it is only possible thanks to community support like this. We are thankful to the staff of the CAACI for their generous support and for choosing Meals on Wheels as their charity of the month”.

(L –R): Programme coordinator Nerrie Campbell accepts a donation from CAACI representatives

Background info to augment:

The CAACI has full designation for safety oversight as a UK OT, and is one of only three OTs to enjoy such delegation. The CAACI is responsible for both technical and economic regulation of the Cayman Islands’ aviation industry. In addition, the Cayman Islands is classified as Category 1 by the USA Federal Aviation Administration under their “International Aviation Safety Assessments” programme that evaluates a country’s civil aviation authority’s ability to effectively regulate its aviation industry. The requirement for such rating lies with the CAACI being assessed as having technically qualified and highly experienced staff to effectively oversee the aviation industry in accordance with established standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (28 September 2020) – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) recently presented a donation to Meals on Wheels (MOW) as the third recipient of its monthly staff charitable donations specifically to aid local organizations assisting the community during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

CAACI’s Deputy Director-General, Mrs. Nicoela McCoy remarked, “During the pandemic, MOW served 500 people every day, which was over their projected budget for the year of 230-250 clients. During the difficult days of curfew, not only did they increase the number of meals and soups, but provided weekly groceries deliveries to the seniors in needed, had regular phone contact to those who live alone and ensured that all seniors were provided with masks and flyers of all updated regulations and services available. The CAACI is delighted to donate this month’s charitable collections to support a programme that feeds, benefits and cares for the most vulnerable in the community.”

Ms. Jennifer West, General Manager for MOW said, “As we continue serving the seniors of our island, it is only possible thanks to community support like this. We are thankful to the staff of the CAACI for their generous support and for choosing Meals on Wheels as their charity of the month”.

(L –R): Programme coordinator Nerrie Campbell accepts a donation from CAACI representatives

Background info to augment:

The CAACI has full designation for safety oversight as a UK OT, and is one of only three OTs to enjoy such delegation. The CAACI is responsible for both technical and economic regulation of the Cayman Islands’ aviation industry. In addition, the Cayman Islands is classified as Category 1 by the USA Federal Aviation Administration under their “International Aviation Safety Assessments” programme that evaluates a country’s civil aviation authority’s ability to effectively regulate its aviation industry. The requirement for such rating lies with the CAACI being assessed as having technically qualified and highly experienced staff to effectively oversee the aviation industry in accordance with established standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Industry is advised that the Monetary Authority (Administrative Fines) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2020 (“Amendment Regulations”) were published on Wednesday, 28 October.
The Amendment Regulations:

1. adds administrative fines for additional sections of the Development Bank Law (2018 Revision);
2. introduces administrative fines for new provisions which were added by recent amendments to the companies management law and cooperative societies law (the new provisions can be found in the Companies Management (Amendment) Law, 2020 and the Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Law, 2019); and
3. includes categories of breaches for various laws, regulations and rules that were previously omitted.
   Ultimately, the Amendment Regulations expand CIMA’s enforcement powers and provide the Authority with effective and dissuasive sanctions that could be applied where a person breaches the Monetary Authority Law, any other regulatory law or the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Lee, reports that 238 COVID-19 tests have been carried out since this was last reported on Monday, 19 October 2020. All were negative.

Three symptomatic people remain in a stable condition with one person admitted to the Cayman Islands Hospital requiring ventilator support, and the other two being in isolation with mild symptoms.

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr John Lee, reports that 980 COVID-19 tests have been carried out since this was last reported on Friday, 17 October 2020. Two were positive who are travellers who will remain in isolation until they have recovered.

Over the weekend, 980 COVID-19 test results were returned, which is a large number and includes the final screening of the people related to the Red Bay Primary School (RBPS) incident, previously reported.  It is very reassuring that all of the results from the RBPS incident have been negative. This figure includes the results sent out via Twitter on Saturday, 17 October evening by Dr. John Lee, and further numbers have been added following work on Sunday, 18 October.

The Health Services Authority, which provides Public Health services and manage the screening processes delivered by Public Health made the following statement.

“All of the primary contacts involved in the Red Bay Primary School incident were called and advised by the Health Services Authority how to manage their sampling on Saturday; and that they needed to return home until they received their results (which is an automatic process).  Unfortunately, some of the email addresses provided to return the results were incorrect and this caused a delay in the reports being delivered as planned.  All people who were affected have now been called.   The HSA wishes to apologise for the worry and inconvenience this may have caused.”

Visit gov.ky for details; https://www.gov.ky/news/press-release-details/covid-19-testing-update-19-october-2020

As part of its ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other public health threats, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is preparing to officially launch two important initiatives to protect the Region’s tourism sector and safeguard the health and safety of residents and visitors.    Dr. Joy St. John, CARPHA’s Executive Director, explained that the new tools, which will debut on November 5, 2020, are part and parcel of CARPHA’s Traveler’s Health Program (THP), which provides an early monitoring and response system to public health issues that impact tourism.    The THP, set up several years ago by CARPHA, is a key outcome of a unique partnership established six years ago to bridge collaboration between health and tourism authorities aimed at safeguarding the health of travelers and employees in the hospitality industry.   The Caribbean Travelers Health Assurance stamp for Healthier Safer Tourism (HST) is a measurable and verifiable recognition award for tourism entities and destinations that are implementing the recommended proactive COVID-19 health monitoring and safety measures.   “Caribbean travelers now have the added assurance of a healthier, safer option for accommodations (hotels, guesthouses) and services (transport, tour operators) awarded the HST stamp,” said Dr. St. John, who noted the stamp has been officially approved by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), the region’s preeminent tourism bodies.   The public health expert explained that hospitality facilities awarded the HST stamp will be listed as preferred options on the Caribbean Traveler’s Health Mobile App. Awardees will also later be listed on the websites of CARPHA and CHTA, with links to regional and international health and tourism stakeholders.    The Caribbean Traveler’s Health Mobile App is a unique, multifaceted, health information repository, designed for travelers and health and tourism stakeholders. It provides travel health information by each Caribbean destination (inclusive of vaccination requirements, health care facilities, accommodations listings), health alerts of current public health issues, COVID-19 proactive/prevention measures, and travel requirements by country (testing, health screening, pre-approval, and tracking). It links directly to CARPHA’s COVID-19 situation reports, guidelines, and the THP. The app also identifies accommodations and other hospitality facilities within a destination that have been awarded the Caribbean Travelers Health Assurance stamp.    Dr. Lisa Indar, Director of Surveillance and Head of the THP, explained that the app will be expanded next year to include cruise ships that have been awarded the stamp. “CARPHA is uniquely resourced and positioned to provide reliable travelers health information of this detail and magnitude,” she added, explaining that the app has been designed for both iOS and Android platforms.   In addition to the stamp and the app, CARPHA’s Proactive COVID-19 Health Measures for Tourism are aimed at building travelers’ assurance, tourism resilience, and regional health security. The measures include utilizing the Tourism and Health Information System (THiS), a web-based, early warning and response information system to capture illnesses in real time and thereby reduce spread and reputational damage; certified training in COVID-19 health measures for the hospitality sector (including testing, masks, social distancing, handwashing hygiene, sanitization, and response from visitor arrival to departure); guidelines and checklists; hospitality health, safety and environmental sanitation (HSE) operational standards.   CARPHA is a global pioneer in tourism-health partnerships, having worked with tourism stakeholders in the Caribbean over the past six years on health safety, education and training matters. Earlier this year in March, CARPHA partnered with CTO, CHTA, the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Center (GTRCMC), and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission (OECS) to form the COVID-19 Tourism Task Force to launch Caribbean health, safety and sanitation guidelines and training for thousands of the Region’s tourism employees.

About the Caribbean Public Health Agency The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is the new single regional public health agency for the Caribbean. It was legally established in July 2011 by an Intergovernmental Agreement signed by Caribbean Member States and began operation in January 2013. The Agency is the Caribbean region’s collective response to strengthening and reorienting its health system approach so that it is equipped to address the changing nature of public health challenges. The approach is people-centered and evidence-informed. CARPHA is leading the COVID-19 regional health response. For more information visit www.carpha.org.   About the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is the Caribbean’s leading association representing the interests of national hotel and tourism associations. For more than 55 years, CHTA has been the backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry. Working with some 1,000 hotel and allied members, and 33 National Hotel Associations, CHTA is shaping the Caribbean’s future and helping members to grow their businesses. Whether helping to navigate critical issues in sales and marketing, sustainability, legislative issues, emerging technologies, climate change, data and intelligence or, looking for avenues and ideas to better market and manage businesses, CHTA is helping members on issues which matter most. For further information, visit www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.    About the Caribbean Tourism Organization The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), which is headquartered in Barbados, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of the region’s finest countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish-speaking, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean. For more information on the Caribbean Tourism Organization, please visit www.OneCaribbean.org and follow CTO on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to be part of the conversation.

The Department of Community Rehabilitation (DCR) will be closed to the public for one week from Monday, 2 November to facilitate the move to a new location. During this time, for any urgent matters, the public can call either 926-9347 or 926-2197.

DCR will reopen to the public on Monday, 9 November at their new location, 3rd floor, Apollo House East, 77 Mary Street, George Town.

Cayman Islands’ Special Economic Zones Rank Fifth Amongst Top 10 Global Free Zones and First in the Americas

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (16 October 2020) – The Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) special economic zones development project is ranked number five on fDi Intelligence’s 2020 ranking of the Top 10 Global Free Zones. This ranking by fDi Intelligence, which is a division of the Financial Times Group, places CEC amongst the leading free zones in the UAE, China, and the Americas, and marks a significant achievement for CEC and the Cayman Islands.

While this is the first year that CEC has ranked amongst the Top 10 Global Free Zones, this is CEC’s third consecutive year to receive Global Free Zones Awards. For 2020, fDi Intelligence chose CEC as the winner in two regional categories and awarded CEC in three bespoke categories, as follows:

• Americas Regional Winner
• Americas SME Winner
• Bespoke Award for Data Protection
• Bespoke Award for Events Organised
• Bespoke Award for Facilities Upgrades

With these latest awards, CEC’s tally of fDi Intelligence Global Free Zones Awards now stands at 13.

fDi Intelligence’s annual awards and rankings celebrate the most promising free zones across the world. Government entities, investment promotion bodies, and free zones were invited to complete a survey detailing the attractiveness of their zone, their facilities and what kind of incentives they offer to investors.

“We are honored that the CEC development project has been recognised by fDi Intelligence as the highest-ranking free zone in the Americas and 5th globally,” said Charlie Kirkconnell, Chief Executive Officer at CEC. “These awards are a sign of quality and trust for foreign investors and are testament to the success of CEC as well as to the strength of the jurisdiction. CEC’s mission has always been to attract new knowledge-based industries to the Cayman Islands, to provide a world-class platform for innovative businesses to flourish, and to serve the needs of our community by helping to diversify our economy.”

The global recognition was welcomed by Hon. Joseph X. Hew, Minister of Commerce Planning and Infrastructure, Cayman Islands Government who stated:“Recognition by fDi Intelligence for several Global Free Zone awards proves once again that the Cayman Islands is one of the best places in the world to invest. I extend congratulations to CEC for the achievement. This international acknowledgement reinforces the ongoing commitment by the Government to provide a well-regulated, structured and nurturing environment for global investment. The Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure will continue to work closely with CEC to attract global leaders, entrepreneurs and business innovators to the Cayman Islands.”

Since its inception in 2011, CEC has helped to strengthen Cayman’s economy by attracting knowledge-based businesses in industries such as technology development, media and marketing, biotech, maritime, and aviation to set up a genuine physical presence in the Cayman Islands. Over the course of the last 9 years, CEC has established itself as a leading platform for global businesses that are focused on innovation and technology development.

Travel process

It was announced today, Thursday 15 October 2020, that there will be key changes to the inbound travel process to the Cayman Islands.

Travellers are now able to book repatriation flights directly with the approved airline carriers: Cayman Airways and British Airways. Although Travel Cayman approval is still required prior to entering the Cayman Islands, this will remove the requirement for travellers to seek entry approval before purchasing a ticket to fly from La Ceiba, Honduras; Kingston, Jamaica; or Miami, Florida.

The Travel Cayman management team’s pivotal role is to ensure that quarantine options are managed in relation to inbound travel and the availability of government, private and quarantine at residence options. This also determines the supply of monitoring technology to travellers who require them for safe quarantine protocol.

Applications are prioritised weekly, based on the coming week’s number of travellers, and flight clearances. The public are asked not to call or email unless they are travelling to the Cayman Islands in October. Travellers to the Cayman Islands in October need not reapply.

Note: Some airlines are offering flights to the Cayman Islands and accepting future bookings but only Cayman Airways and British Airways have permission to offer repatriation flights for approved travellers.

New portal in development

A new online portal is in development which will reduce the need to call and email the Travel Cayman team. The new portal will be launched in the coming days allowing travellers to select quarantine arrangements and submit travel plans online, removing the need for manual responses to each query.

November inbound process

Travellers may book flights directly with Cayman Airways for November. For British Airways flights travellers may book directly with British Airways for the approved repatriation flights scheduled on 12 and 26 November 2020.

Travellers may apply for quarantine arrangements via the Travel Cayman portal.

Travellers who have already applied for November arrival are asked to reapply in order to select quarantine options. The public has been asked to wait to apply for quarantine arrangements until the new portal has been launched.

Traveller arrival will be subject to the same quarantine arrangements and persons will have a choice of 3 quarantine options.

1. Quarantine at a Government-Run Facility: This option is available to Caymanians and those with Permanent Residency.
2. Quarantine at a Privately-Run Hotel: If you wish to quarantine at any of these facilities, please contact the facility directly. Once booked, provide Travel Cayman with your reservation number to complete the processing of the application for travel to the Cayman Islands.
3. Quarantine at Residence: The private residence can be the traveller’s home or private residence. This cannot be a shared dwelling. Travellers who agree to the Quarantine at Residence programme, must agree to: wear an iMSafe smart wristband; and undergo COVID-19 testing on arrival at the Owen Roberts International Airport and again on day 15; and remain in isolation for a minimum of 14 days. A day 15 negative test result, sign-off by the Medical Officer of Health and off-boarding by the Mobile Compliance Team will be required in order for the quarantine period to cease. The off-boarding process includes inspection and collection of the smart wrist band and retrieval of the mobile device.

December inbound process

The Cayman Islands Government is currently working with Cayman Airways and British Airways to establish the level of demand and quarantine arrangements required for December. Government continues to caution residents that travel should be limited to essential or medical needs only. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, border decisions will continue to be evaluated and processes are subject to change.

For the latest travel information visit www.exploregov.ky/travel

Travel Cayman contact details: Email at TravelCayman@gov.ky. Call +1 345 743 8463 or 649-6913. Phone lines are open 8.30am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.

Side bar:Quarantine at residence criteria

At this time, October inbound flights are fully booked and availability of quarantine choices has been taken into consideration. The choice of quarantine location is granted if the accommodation meets the following standards:

ü Access to running water and electricity.

ü Access to bathroom facilities that are in good working order and are not shared with persons outside of the quarantining group, and provide a shower/bath, toilet and sink and a supply of hot and cold water.

ü Access to kitchen facilities that are not shared with any persons outside the quarantining group, with access to hot and cold water.

ü Adequate ventilation, with a window(s) that can be opened to allow fresh air to circulate.

ü Where there is A/C, there is a self-contained air-handling system, which ensures that units do not circulate air to other residences.

ü Access to either curb-side pickup for garbage or a central garbage.

ü Access for the delivery of foods and medications.

ü Access by the Mobile Compliance Team to conduct random checks over the period of quarantine.

The majority of property inspections are completed by the mobile compliance team on behalf of the Medical Officer of Health. In most cases assessments can be made without entry to the property, and if access is required property owners will be contacted for entry.

Persons who are neither Caymanians nor Permanent Residents and do not have a private residence to quarantine in, or whose private residence is not approved will need to book a private facility for quarantine.

Eligibility to enter

Flights to the Cayman Islands are repatriation flights only and at this time are not available to short-term vacationers, as all persons entering are required to complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine with a further COVID-19 PCR test on day 15.

Inbound travel is currently limited to the following persons:

– Caymanians,

– Permanent residents,

– Work permit holders and their families,

– Persons who own residential property in the Cayman Islands,

– Students with a valid visa to study in the Cayman Islands,

– Persons with close family ties to residents or work permit holders – spouses, fiancés, parents, grandparents and siblings.