Cayman Islands

The US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has granted protection over the US assets of a Cayman Islands exempted company in liquidation, Hedgeweek reported. The company, SIFCO5, is subject to official liquidation proceedings in the Cayman Islands, which the Bankruptcy Court found was eligible for relief under chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

A Saad Group subsidiary says it is unable to make payments on a US$650 million (Dh2.38 billion) Islamic bond maturing in 2012, The National reported. Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services, part of the struggling family-owned conglomerate based in Saudi Arabia, said yesterday it was “impossible for the issuer to perform its payment obligations under the sukuk”. It made the disclosure in a statement to the Bahrain Stock Exchange, where the Golden Belt 1 sukuk is listed.

The Foreign Office has forced the Cayman Islands' government to investigate the possibility of introducing direct taxes on businesses and residents based there, The Guardian reported. An independent assessment of diversifying the Caribbean tax haven's revenue base is the main condition stipulated by the Foreign Office for allowing the Caymans to borrow from banks. The Cayman government has also agreed to make significant cuts to its public expenditure programme.

Ivan Erceg has appointed Peter Jollands as the receiver for Sensation Yachts after Public Trust placed the company into liquidation late last month, The National Business Review reported. Speaking from the South of France, Mr Erceg told NBR that the full debt of Sensation Yachts would not be known until creditors started filing claims.