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

Charlie Kirkconnell, CEC’s Chief Executive O

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 receiveGlobal 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. 

For more information about CEC visitwww.caymanenterprisecity.com.