Rivers begins job as advocate for offshore sector

| 24/07/2017 | 2 Comments
CNS Business

Minister Tara Rivers and Cayman Finance CEO Jude Scott advocate for Cayman in London

(CNS Business): The new financial services minister began her work as a voice for Cayman’s offshore sector during the recent visit to the UK for the Brexit meetings with the overseas territories. Tara Rivers was also advocating for the financial services industry, which she now has responsibility for in the new coalition government.

Officials said Rivers discussed Brexit, beneficial ownership and the EU screening process with both UK officials and industry leaders. She also visited the Chinese Embassy to “discuss regulatory cooperation and China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative”.

‘The Cayman Islands has always engaged with UK Government and industry on matters of bilateral and global importance,” Rivers said in an official release about the London trip. “We focused on reinforcing the strength of our financial services framework by clearly addressing the legacy myths that affect our reputation among political leaders, and engaged in dialogue to build awareness from an industry perspective.”

Cayman officials also held discussions about beneficial ownership and the EU process with an Isle of Man delegation, led by Howard Quayle, chief minister of that UK crown dependency. Minister Rivers and Chief Officer Dax Basdeo attended a breakfast briefing organised by Cayman Finance, which was hosted by the association’s CEO, Jude Scott.

“At the breakfast briefing, I gave industry an overview of what Cayman has accomplished, and discussed our planned, ongoing engagement with both UK and European officials,” she said. “The attendees seemed quite appreciative for these updates and the opportunity to dialogue with us in this manner.”

She described the meeting with Minister Counsellor Jin Xu at the People’s Republic of China’s embassy in the UK as “an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship with China, which has shown an increasing level of interest in how Cayman’s financial services products can be of value to their economy”.

Rivers was not alone in advocating for Cayman’s lucrative offshore sector, as Scott remained in Britain for two weeks, where he engaged with the international press as well as financial sector stakeholders in London.

“Cayman Finance, in conjunction with the Ministry of Financial Services, is constantly working to ensure we maintain strong and beneficial relationships with key international figures in the financial services industry,” Scott said. “It is important for us to keep reminding these stakeholders of the Cayman Islands’ role as a premier global financial hub and the ways in which we benefit developed and developing countries around the world. We are always grateful for the Cayman Islands Government’s support in these ventures.”

On the trip, Scott met with TheCityUK, HMRC and IFC Forum, as well as the media, including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and International Accounting Bulletin. He attended meetings with MPs, hosted by the Cayman Islands Government, and was also at the Chinese Embassy meeting with Rivers.

At the Cayman Finance breakfast briefing issues such as the value of the Cayman Islands to the UK in anticipation of Brexit, updates on the new beneficial ownership regime, the proposed EU blacklist, and the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project were addressed. Scott and Rivers were also pressing home the message that Cayman plays a pivotal role in the global financial economy.

“The combined efforts of Cayman Finance, the Cayman Islands Government and our regulator, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, ensure that our financial services products and services are consistently delivered to meet or exceed our international clients’ expectations through excellence, innovation and balance,” Scott said. “We are extremely proud of the work that the Cayman Islands does both locally and worldwide, and will always seize the opportunity to spread our message around the globe.”

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Category: Finance, Financial Services

Comments (2)

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  1. Veritas says:

    It is not clear to me what, if anything, she knows about the workings of our financial industry.

  2. AlanP says:

    She should implement her own creation “Cayman Islands national youth policy” first.

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