The Cayman Islands are well known as an international financial centre due primarily to the volume of business booked through the islands and the number of investment funds domiciled there. The Islands offer easy and economical access to the Eurodollar and other international capital markets and provide a modern and sophisticated supporting infrastructure. Further, the Confidential Relationships (Preservation) Law of the Cayman Islands makes it a criminal offence for a professional person with confidential information to divulge same without the principal's consent, save in very limited circumstances prescribed by law.

Comprised of three islands - Grand Cayman, and 89 miles to the east, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac - these limestone peaks of a submerged mountain range called the Cayman Ridge, border the deepest part of the Caribbean, The Cayman Trench. This topography provides some of the best undersea diving in the Caribbean Sea.

There are many advantages to conducting business in the Cayman Islands: the absence of exchange controls allows the free transfer of funds in and out of the country with equal freedom to open and maintain accounts in any currency; the lack of reserve asset requirements and no income, corporation, capital gains, withholding, gift, property or inheritance taxes and the high quality expertise and skill of Cayman's international work force is attractive to employers and investors alike.

With a population of of over 50,000 citizens, tourism generates about 30 to 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product ("GDP"). The banking and finance sector, for which the Cayman Islands have a tradition of excellence, similarly accounts for approximately 30-40 percent of the GDP.

The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory and the legal system is based on that of England and Wales. The Islands have a local court structure which includes the Grand Court and the Court of Appeal. The Final Court of Appeal is the Privy Council in London, although it is of note that the European Convention of Human Rights has now been extended to the Islands.

The Cayman Islands are well regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ("CIMA") which is responsible for the regulation and supervision of the financial services sector. Grand Cayman has many banks and trust companies, captive insurance companies (single parent or association owned) and registered mutual funds or hedge funds, many of which do not require regulation due to their sophisticated investor characteristics. There are several licensed and exempted entities providing investment and securities services under the Securities Investment Business Law of the Cayman Islands and also thousands of registered companies. The Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX) opened for business in July 1997 and now has over 750 listed mutual funds (excluding debt listings).

In February 2000, the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry - a Category One British registry and the world's leading offshore luxury yacht registry - became the first government department in the Cayman Islands to meet the ISO 9000 quality standard. This is a globally recognised seal applicable to any area of endeavour both in the manufacturing and service industries. A major function of the Registry is maritime administration and the regulation of the ships on the register.

While the Cayman Islands remain an "Overseas Territory" of the United Kingdom they are governed on a local basis almost independently and their elected representatives largely determine the politics, legislation, economic and social future of the country.