Barbados may be experiencing a recession, the worst in its history, but has set its sights on becoming the top “entrepreneurial hub” in the world in less than a decade.
That’s according to Freundel Stuart, the nation’s Prime Minister who also said that there were “stubborn pockets” of poverty” in the country that needed Government’s constant attention.
In an address to a breakfast meeting at the United States Chamber of Commerce organized by the Centre For Strategic And International Studies and Caribbean Central American Action, Stuart told business executives, government officials, diplomats and others in Washington, DC, that the island nation intended to target investments in an array of economic and financial areas ranging from international insurance and banking, treasury management, shipping, trusts, and research and development to renewable energy, high-end niche manufacturing, medical transcription, and international arbitration.
“Recent legislative amendments also strategically position Barbados as a preferred choice for individual wealth-management solutions, particularly for high net-worth individuals and entrepreneurs,” said Stuart.
“In fact, Barbados is working towards becoming the number one entrepreneurial hub in the world by 2020.”
He listed several factors working in Barbados’ favour that would propel the country forward. Among them,
• a network of double taxation treaties with 31 countries, soon to be expanded when three more countries and 24 others being negotiated join the list;
• 4 000 international businesses already in the country;
• “In spite of the recent economic downturn we have not experienced any mass exodus from our shores” by financial services companies;
• the number of offshore banks “have held steady” in the face of the global financial crisis;
• the international insurance sector has recorded “consistent growth”;
• registrations of international business companies have “climbed steadily” by seven per cent;
• the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, through its Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes, has “again confirmed Barbados’ compliance with international standards”;
• the Government, private sector and labour unions have a “strong partnership” that has been the country’s “saving grace” and has helped maintain “significant social cohesion” during what could best be described as the “great recession”.
He was quick to explain that Barbados had to confront some serious challenges, among them a high pile of debt – “debt overhang” was the way he put it, an increase in chronic non-communicable diseases which require expensive treatment, a “long established system of social protection that has started to show wear and tear, and “stubborn pockets of poverty that need the focused attention of the Government”.
