| Global

Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands:

Important contributors to the

global economy

KEY
2,279 public companies incorporated in Bermuda,
BVI, Cayman and listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ,
LSE, AIM, SEHK, with US$3.4 trillion aggregate

FACTS
market capitalization*

E.g. Bunge, Alibaba, Tencent, Brookfield funds, JD.com, Budweiser Brewing

APAC, Baidu, CK Hutchinson, Capri Holdings, Despegar, Arcos Dorado
*At December 2019

Bermuda BVI Cayman

One of the world’s Leading offshore domicile for

three most important Leading offshore domicile for hedge funds
reinsurance centres incorporations e.g. Bridgewater, Blackrock,
(alongside New York and London) Baupost, Capula, Elliot

Almost
Home to Over
11,000 registered hedge funds
major players 400,000 holding around
such as Axa, Chubb, active holding companies
US$7 trillion
RenaissanceRe and Hiscox at the end of 2019 in assets under
management

Around Holding an estimated Leading offshore domicile for

US$100 billion US$1.5 trillion private equity
in global gross premiums of cross border investments e.g. Apollo, Blackstone,
written annually Carlyle, TPG, KKR, Oaktree, Bain

Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the Cayman Islands facilitate cross-border
investment and play a significant role in the global economy. These jurisdictions provide
neutral, business-friendly platforms enabling parties around the world with different laws,
regulations and taxes to do business with each other in an efficient and effective manner.
Large multinationals regularly use Bermuda, BVI and Cayman companies in their groups for
holding cross-border assets, including Microsoft, Walmart, General Electric, Chevron, Trafigura,
Mercuria, Intercontinental Hotels and Holland America.
Key reasons for using an entity
in Bermuda, Cayman or BVI:
Political stability and rule of law
All are British Overseas Territories and have
legal systems based on English law with
independent courts. The highest court of
appeal is the UK Privy Council. Investors
can have a high degree of confidence in fair,
impartial and transparent legal decisions.
Jurisdictional neutrality
Many cross-border transactions require a
jurisdiction that is independent of the home
jurisdictions of the counterparties involved,
ensuring no party has a “home advantage”.
Tax neutrality
BVI, Bermuda and Cayman companies facilitate
a wide range of international investment
activity without imposing another layer
of tax that could make the flow of capital
uneconomical. Investors must still pay taxes
due in the jurisdiction in which they are tax
resident, and offshore companies and their
subsidiaries must pay tax where they operate
and/or where the underlying assets are held.
Each jurisdiction has extensive international
tax information exchange agreements with
tax authorities worldwide, making them
unattractive for tax evasion.
High international compliance standards
Bermuda, BVI and Cayman receive high
marks from international standard-setting
agencies compared to other financial centres.
• They have performed well on
assessments by the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF), the gold standard on
combatting money laundering.
Contacts
BERMUDA
Christian R. Luthi
Director and Chairman, Head of Bermuda
Litigation & Restructuring
christian.luthi@conyers.com
+1 441 298 7814
Graham B.R. Collis
Director, Head of Bermuda Corporate
graham.collis@conyers.com
+1 441 299 4965
• They are rated “largely compliant” for
transparency and information exchange Charles G.R. Collis
Director, Head of Bermuda Insurance
by the OECD Global Forum, the same
charles.collis@conyers.com
as the United Kingdom, the United
+1 441 299 4918
States, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg,
Jason Piney
Switzerland and Spain.
Director
• Independent studies have found they jason.piney@conyers.com
are more likely to enforce KYC rules than +1 441 299 4993
most OECD countries.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Business-friendly regulation
Mark J. Forte
The jurisdictions have developed specialized Partner, Head of BVI Office and
laws, regulations, products and expertise for Litigation & Restructuring
global transactions and investment. Their mark.forte@conyers.com
commercially sensible and efficient approach +1 284 852 1113
makes them global leaders in sectors such as Robert J.D. Briant
insurance/reinsurance, hedge funds, private Partner, Head of BVI Corporate
equity funds, public companies, aviation robert.briant@conyers.com
+1 284 852 1100
and shipping.
Anton Goldstein
Access to capital markets Partner
Bermuda, BVI and Cayman have strong links anton.goldstein@conyers.com
with equity and debt capital markets across +1 284 852 1119
the globe and provide businesses in many
jurisdictions with access to capital markets in
CAYMAN ISLANDS
a tax-neutral, efficient and business friendly Kevin C. Butler
manner. Companies incorporated in each of our Partner, Head of Cayman Islands Office
kevin.butler@conyers.com
jurisdictions are understood and recognised
+1 345 814 7374
by institutional investors across the world and
are preferred routes to the capital markets Matthew Stocker
Partner, Head of Cayman Corporate
for certain jurisdictions, including many Asian
matthew.stocker@conyers.com
and Latin American countries.
+1 345 814 7382
Regulatory arbitrage Alex Potts QC
Bermuda, BVI or Cayman companies can be Partner, Head of Cayman Islands
used to ensure a more efficient regulatory Litigation & Restructuring
alex.potts@conyers.com
regime applies to a particular transaction or
+1 345 814 7394
structure. For example, they may qualify as
“foreign private issuers” enabling them to Alan Dickson
Partner
list on NYSE or NASDAQ with less onerous
alan.dickson@conyers.com
reporting requirements.
+1 345 814 7790
conyers.com