CIFSA Lauds Cayman Stock Exchange

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore, London

03 July 2007

The Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX), which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, has made a major contribution to the country’s financial services industry, according to the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association (CIFSA). With a string of recognitions and accomplishments to its name, CIFSA feels the CSX’s first decade of achievements are a testament to the strength of the financial sector in Cayman.

“The growth of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange over the past decade has underpinned the growth across the financial services sector, increasing the attractiveness of the various industry segments to international clients, while ensuring that participating investors can rely on the jurisdiction meeting the highest standards of compliance,” said CIFSA director Eduardo Silva. “Cayman’s market leading positions in both hedge funds and structured finance have developed as a result of the quality of the CSX’s listing services and its growing international reputation.”

In June, a special tenth anniversary tribute to the CSX looked back at some of the Exchange’s many milestones and looked forward to further successes. Among the achievements was passing the 1,000 listings mark in 2006, posting double digit listing growth every year since its inception, as well as reaching break-even status in 2005 to make a positive contribution to government finances, two years ahead of schedule.

Amid the celebrations it was also announced that a CI$20,000 CSX scholarship has been formed to be awarded to a Caymanian student enrolled in the four-year Bachelor of Science in Business Administration programme at the University College of the Cayman Islands.

Originally established to provide a listing facility for the mutual funds and specialist debt products that the Cayman Islands is recognised for, the CSX now covers a wide range of sophisticated vehicles and structures, such as derivative warrants, depository receipts, Eurobonds, preferred shares and international equity. Currently there are over 1,400 listings on the CSX, with a market capitalisation of over $123 billion.

The international recognitions that the CSX has received have helped drive the growth in listings, particularly since the UK’s Inland Revenue named it as a ‘Recognised Stock Exchange’ in March 2004, which greatly enhanced its commercial appeal to UK investors. The CSX was also admitted as an affiliate member of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in 2003. In 2001 it became the first and is still the only offshore exchange to join the Intermarket Surveillance Group, which is committed to information sharing and enhancing market surveillance, while in 1999 the CSX became the first offshore stock exchange to be registered with the London Stock Exchange.

“The rise of the CSX in the past ten-years is a significant accomplishment and one that demonstrates why the Cayman Islands continues to be a successful international financial centre,” said Anthony Travers, chairman of the CSX. “The CSX exemplifies Cayman’s key attributes of high quality service, specialist knowledge, public-private partnership and an effective yet proportionate regulatory regime.”

CSX chief executive Valia Theodoraki attributed the impact the Exchange has made in such a short time to the leadership of the board, the quality of the CSX staff and the support of the government and private sector. “Looking back on the past ten years it has truly been a collaborative effort,” she said.

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