ROTARY SUNRISE HELPING THE FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE

Family Skills Sessions, Health Relationship Workshops, Domestic Violence Intervention Training, Fathers First, these are just a few programmes supported by the Family Resource Centre (FRC) that provides relationship and family support to the Cayman Island residents. There is a demand for these programmes and services but they need financial support to ensure resources and materials can be supplied to families who need it.

Rotary Sunrise is one of those organizations providing much needed financial support to help ensure these programmes can continue into the future. Rotary Sunrise has made two contributions this year totaling CI$1,840 and plans to maintain a strong relationship with the Centre not only from a funding perspective but with hands-on projects as well.

Programme Coordinator Ms. Miriam Foster accepted the most recent cheque on behalf of the Family Resource Centre at one of Rotary Sunrise’s morning meetings. Ms. Foster has been an integral part of the programme’s development over the years and appreciates the support the Centre receives from organizations like the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Sunrise and had this to say, “It is very gratifying when we partner with the private sector in this manner, it suggests that the public is becoming more aware with regards to the need to address social issues.”

Ms. Foster continued to add how through one of the FRC programmes people become aware of other programmes that may also be helpful. “The Family Skills sessions are a great way for families to learn skills they can incorporate into their daily lives while gaining a better understanding of the other programs we offer”. A Rotary Sunrise member shared that through funding and hands-on partnership they are also spreading awareness of what programmes are available at the Family Resource Centre to help build health and happy families.

Photo caption Photo submitted: Ms. Miriam Foster from the Family Resource Centre accepting the most recent donation of CI$840 from Rotary Sunrise’s Community Service Director Finley Josephs.

 

MAPLES AND CALDER RECRUITS INDUSTRY EXPERT: SHERICE ARMAN

Maples and Calder is pleased to announce the recruitment of Sherice Arman, who has joined the firm’s Finance group as Counsel.

Ms. Arman, formerly a partner at Appleby, brings with her many years of finance related experience, particularly in ship and aircraft financing transactions and registrations. She will continue to focus on those areas as a member of Maples and Calder’s leading asset finance team in the Cayman Islands.

“We are delighted to have Sherice join us,” said partner and Global Head of Asset Finance, Mark Western, who is based in the firm’s Hong Kong office. “She is well recognised within the industry as a leading shipping expert. Bringing her on board enables Maples and Calder to further extend our asset finance reach.”

Added Richard Smith, Director-General, Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI), “Sherice is an outstanding lawyer. She has worked tirelessly with the CAACI in its efforts to market the jurisdiction and showcase our aviation finance expertise. We are delighted to hear of her return to the market after a brief absence and look forward to working with her again in our business development initiatives.”

Maples and Calder recently co-sponsored CAACI’s signature aviation tradeshow, EBACE, in Geneva and the firm’s attorneys will be attending both the 2013 Monaco Yacht Show and the 2013 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show as sponsor and participant of the Cayman Yacht Forum organised by the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR). Maples and Calder is also sponsoring and participating in CISR’s Cayman Yacht Forum, to be held in London in November.

About Maples and Calder

Maples and Calder is a leading international law firm advising financial, institutional and business clients around the world on the laws of the Cayman Islands, Ireland and the British Virgin Islands. Maples and Calder has offices in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, London and Singapore.

With a reputation as an innovative, entrepreneurial firm, Maples and Calder is known worldwide as a market leader with highly qualified lawyers who are specialists in their respective practice areas.

About MaplesFS

MaplesFS is a leading specialised fiduciary and fund services provider. MaplesFS has offices in the Cayman Islands, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Montreal, New York and Singapore.

MaplesFS is led by a team of experienced professionals and is committed to providing a high level of service tailored to specific client requirements.

 

AUSTRALIAN BASED JENEPE ASSET MANAGEMENT LAUNCHES NEW IPO FUND

Australian based investment house Jenepe Asset Management, in joint venture with London based IPO Capital Partners, has launched a fund targeting new listing opportunities.

The Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) regulated fund, Jenepe IPO Capital Fund S.P., domiciled offshore in the Cayman Islands, will be managed by Nicholas Pereza-Mathews and will take positions in range of financial instruments focused on the Pre-IPO sector.

Mr Pereza-Mathews, who has over twenty years’ experience in global markets and funds management working in London and Australasia, previously managed the Australian Natural Resources Fund, a top performing fund within its class achieving sound Alpha returns under his stewardship.

Mr Pereza-Mathews says the IPO sector has vast potential for growth given there has been a lack of capital commitment available for new listings since the GFC, with IPO’s falling off dramatically each year.

“Our process is driven by performance and not asset gathering, aiming to provide capital appreciation over the medium term,” Mr Pereza-Mathews says.

“As a seed to IPO fund we will be able to invest at an early stage of a companies intended listing which should generate significant returns when the companies complete a stock exchange listing.”

“This is achieved by investing in a diversified range of securities ranging from early stage growth companies through to established companies seeking to list on a global recognised investment exchange within a 12 month period.”

The fund’s investment process is driven by a security selection process based on ascertaining the suitability of an investment through an in-depth assessment of commercial and financial aspects of each opportunity, screened by Jenepes’ Investment Committee due diligence process.

IPO Capital Partner’s Clifford Giles says we are excited about the new opportunities presented with the Jenepe IPO Capital Fund and Jenepe Asset Management team.

“We look forward to adding value to the team from our London base as we approach our next growth phase.”

Mr Pereza-Mathews says once identified, opportunities are screened to ensure they are of an investment grade.

“A full assessment of the proposed investment is completed to establish whether the business is of a suitable quality and attractively priced,” Mr Pereza-Mathews says.

“Jenepe is a focused investment manager seeking to provide superior investment returns for institutional and sophisticated investors, managed by an experienced team with an established track record of investing in seed and IPOs.”

Jenepe also offers Global Markets and Foreign Exchange dealing and Capital Raising for sophisticated and institutional investors, with the aim to deliver profitable outcomes for clients from the one provider.

For more information go to www.jenepe.com

 

FINANCE MINISTER DISPUTES WORLD BANK REPORT

From T&C Weekly News

In its 2013 report the World Bank has not ranked any Caribbean country in its top 50 and many have been rated as well below this number.

The global report looks at the business environment within countries, job creation and small business development to reach its ranking.

Minister of Finance, Washington Misick, recently stated: “Personally I don’t like the rating that Turks and Caicos was given in some of the more recent reports, because I am of the opinion that the regulatory regime – even though it has a lot to be desired – is not as bad as some of the reports are trying to make out.”

He was, at the time, informing the media of the TCI’s intention to put measures in place to ensure better business operations ahead of a significant grant from the European Union.

However, he added that perception is reality and whether or not he believes the reports, the country has to react to the international perception as is.

He said although he disputes these analyses, they are the views of the World Bank and others.

The Minister also pointed out that the recent Turks and Caicos development strategy which was done locally suggests that the Turks and Caicos Islands will perform poorly compared to most of the Caribbean.

This assessment was done by Steve Pollard and submitted in a report called ‘Turks and Caicos Islands Development Strategy’.

Based on that report TCI has the same entry to business rating as some of the poorest and undemocratic countries within the region, the Minister said.

He acknowledged that whether the report is right or not, the Government accepts that the business environment in the TCI presents certain difficulties, which remain even though efforts have been made to correct them.

“It is also true that everyone would like to see the Islands growing again at a rapid and sustainable rate and that cannot happen where the regulations are cumbersome and slow.”

For more on this story go to:

http://tcweeklynews.com/finance-minister-disputes-world-bank-report-p4277-1.htm

Related story:

Panel urges World Bank to drop country rankings from ‘doing business’ report

By James Politi in Washington, From Financial Times

An independent panel has urged the World Bank to eradicate the overall country rankings in its controversial Doing Business report following a sweeping review that cited a litany of issues with one of the institution’s flagship publications.

The review – chaired by Trevor Manuel, South Africa’s planning minister and commissioned by the World Bank – found that the use of aggregate rankings to compare the business climate in different countries was “problematic,” while the governance of the project was “insufficient”.

It also said the analysis relied on a “narrow information source” which could do with improved data collection and was “not designed to help countries respond appropriately”.

“Any report that opts to demonstrate causally linked outcomes must be able to stand or fall on its evidentiary rigour, and on its policy orientation. The Doing Business report was, as we have come to discover, lacking in both these areas,” Mr Manuel said.

The panel said the report – which has come under attack by emerging economies including China and India as well as some international charity groups – should continue to be produced, but with some changes, most notably a new title and the elimination of overall country rankings.

“Removing [aggregate rankings] would defuse many of the criticisms levelled against the report, but would diminish the report’s influence on policy and public discussion in the short term. In the long term, however, doing so may improve focus on underlying substantive issues and enhance the report’s value,” the panel said.

The panel’s findings mark a test for Jim Yong Kim, World Bank president, who commissioned the review last year. In a statement earlier this month, he welcomed its work, but seemed reluctant to embrace its most high-profile finding on scrapping the aggregate rankings.

“The panel has made valuable suggestions for how to enhance the report, which merit consideration”, Mr Kim said. But he also added that “I am committed to the Doing Business report, and rankings have been part of its success”.

The World Bank is not required to accept any of the suggestions made by the review panel and Mr Manuel said the 2014 report would proceed as planned because the report was not completed in time. “We have no further mandate. All decisions now rest with the World Bank,” he said.

While the panel did suggest removing the aggregate rankings, it is proposing to keep country by country scores by category, saying these “have an advantage of showing where a country is located in the world distribution of an indicator”.

The panel also recommended implementing a peer review process for the report, provide for more oversight by the World Bank’s economic research department, and more prominently display a “health warning” on its shortcomings.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4e70396-dcf0-11e2-9700-00144feab7de.html#axzz2dpqbxorH

Related story:

Opening Remarks As Prepared For Delivery by Minister Trevor Manuel

(Chairperson of the Doing Business Report Independent Review Panel)

Today we release our review of the Doing Business report.

Panelists listed

Please take note of three important points about the Panel. First, we did not craft our own terms of reference; these were given to us by the World Bank. Second, panel members were invited to serve, not self-selected. And, third, we did it for the common good.

EXTENSIVE CONSULTATION

Our findings are the product of extensive consultation with all those who have an interest in the Doing Business report. We met with a range of key stakeholders within the World Bank Group, including the report’s authors. We also met with key external parties representing the private sector, such as the International Chamber of Commerce, as well as governments, civil society organizations, and interested individuals.

In total, we received 165 written submissions, including comments from 76 governments and their respective ministries and agencies; 25 civil society organizations representing the views of more than 65 such groups; 32 private-sector organizations, ranging from large multinational corporations to smaller firms; and 32 individuals from around the world.

The Panel noted early on that the Doing Business report was layered with inordinate complexity. It is therefore up to the World Bank, in the days ahead, to scrutinize the report’s “clarity-of-purpose”. The quest for such clarity must precede the search for certainty.

The Panel adopted a rigorous approach, and we know that we have taken difficult decisions. We began from the premise that, as the Doing Business report was going into its 10th year

of publication, the time had come to ask the tough questions about both the regulations being measured and the processes being assessed.

ABOUT THE REPORT

Any report that opts to demonstrate causally linked outcomes must be able to stand or fall on its evidentiary rigor, and on its policy orientation. The Doing Business Report was, as we have come to discover, lacking in both these areas.

The Doing Business report attempts to provide a wide-ranging assessment of the business climate in 185 countries, primarily through the lens of formal regulations and procedures. It focuses on de jure (according to law) aspects of the business environment as they apply to small and medium-sized enterprises, with limited attention paid to implementation and customary practice.

The report ranks economies on 10 areas of regulation, which the report calls “topics” – starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

Over the decade that it has been published, Doing Business has achieved a great deal of influence. It is the leading tool to judge the business environments of developing countries, generating huge global media coverage every year. Several countries – such as Rwanda – have used it as a guide to design reform programs. For its part, the Bank has advised over

80 countries on reforms to regulations measured in the report. Its influence stretches even to academia, with over 1,000 articles being published in peer-reviewed journals using data in the Doing Business report index.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Panel has analyzed the publication’s contents over time. We recommend that the Bank continue to publish the Doing Business report, but that certain key considerations around its reliability, validity, and methodology should be revisited. Our major concerns include the following:

. The Doing Business report has the potential to be misinterpreted.

. It relies on a narrow information source.

. It only measures regulations applicable to categories of business that can be captured through its methodology.

. Its data-collection methodology can be improved.

. It is not designed to help countries respond appropriately.

. The Paying Taxes and Employing Workers topics require additional consideration.

. The governance of the project is insufficient.

. The use of aggregate rankings is problematic.

Flowing from these findings, the Panel recommends that the World Bank:

. Retain the Doing Business Report.

. Remove the aggregate rankings.

. Group by topic or shift to categories as an alternative to ranking.

. Change the report’s title.

. Implement a peer-review process.

. Increase the report’s level of transparency.

. Reform the report’s methodology.

. Align the report with the World Bank’s mandate and other flagship publications.

. Relocate the report in the World Bank.

. Improve the report’s governance framework.

. Improve the report’s communication strategy.

. Ensure the use of complementary information available in enterprise surveys.

What happens next is up to the World Bank . It is our hope and desire that all panelists will now be able to resume their normal lives. We trust that the World Bank will advance in the same spirit that the Panel has demonstrated in its work.

We understand that the publication of the 2014 Doing Business report will proceed as normal – because our report was not completed in time for pre-publication consideration – and the requisite caveats and warnings will be noted in the 2014 report.

The terms of reference given to the Panel clearly spelled out our mandate. We have discharged our obligations, duties, and responsibilities. We have no further mandate. All decisions now rest with the World Bank.

END

To get a full copy of the above and to download the full report go to:

http://www.dbrpanel.org/