Parliament has backed legislation giving Cabinet a time-limited power to pause new local companies control licences while adding safeguards around exemptions from any moratorium.
The Local Companies (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was debated during the third sitting of the second meeting of the 2026-2027 parliamentary session on 2 October.
During the debate, Premier André Ebanks said the law would allow Cabinet to impose a moratorium on local companies control licences (LCCLs) generally or on a specified type of company where there was a public interest case.
LCCLs are required by companies with foreign ownership or control to operate certain businesses in the Cayman Islands.
“Importantly, the bill itself does not impose a moratorium or prohibit foreign investment,” Ebanks said.
Any moratorium would instead require a separate Cabinet order setting out the companies or activities covered, along with commencement and expiry dates.
“It would be supported by evidence, consultation, and implementation arrangements,” the premier added.
The legislation comes as the Department of Commerce recorded 10,405 active trade and business licences in August 2026. Of those, 226 were LCCLs, accounting for about 2% of the total.
Ebanks said 96 of the 226 LCCLs, or about 42%, were recorded under three real estate and property development descriptions.
He said Caymanian developers had raised concerns about LCCL approvals and access to business opportunities in sectors where they believed Caymanians had the skills and capacity to compete.
The bill gives Cabinet a mechanism to pause new LCCLs when such intervention is considered necessary, while applications already pending when a moratorium takes effect would not be affected.
“The board must consider the application under the prior position,” Ebanks said. “In plain terms, government will not move the finish line against a person who already started the race.”
The legislation also allows exemptions where circumstances warrant them.
During the debate, Ebanks said details on how those exemptions would operate would be addressed through committee-stage amendments.
Ebanks described the proposed power as “a transparent, time-limited tool” and said the substantive policy decision would come later through an evidence-led process and consultation.
Appropriate guardrails
Opposition leader Roy McTaggart said the official opposition supported the principle of the bill but questioned the safeguards around Cabinet’s proposed power.
“When parliament gives Cabinet a broad discretionary power of this nature, parliament should also ensure that there are appropriate guardrails around its exercise,” he said.
McTaggart questioned which factors Cabinet would consider when determining whether a moratorium was in the public interest and whether the Local Companies Control Licensing Board should be consulted before one was imposed.
He also raised the absence of a maximum duration and said factors such as market conditions, Caymanian participation, competition, employment, economic concentration, consumer interests and advice from the licensing board could be considered.
“At the very least, I think there should be transparency around why such a significant power has been exercised,” McTaggart said.
He warned that restricting new entrants could increase the commercial value of existing licences or Caymanian-controlled businesses.
During committee stage on 5 October, the bill was amended to revise provisions governing exemptions from a moratorium.
The amendments changed references to “business” to “company” and provided that Cabinet could grant an exemption only by order and after consulting the Local Companies Control Licensing Board.
The amended provisions also set out information requirements for exemption applications and allow Cabinet to seek relevant information from public authorities.
The bill was subsequently given its third reading and was passed during the 5 October sitting.
