INVESTMENT POLICY AND DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY AVAILABLE ONLINE ON GOVERNMENTS WEBSITE

Sint Maarten’s first Investment Policy and Diversification Strategy of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation & Telecommunication (TEATT) is now available for review under the policy and reports section of Government’s website www.sintmaartengov.org and agri-food businesses that are in line with current best practices and technologies.

The Investment Policy and Diversification Strategy is a dynamic document created to help the Government of Sint Maarten formulate sound investment policies, especially international investment agreements, that capitalize on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for sustainable development. The document was prepared by the Department of Economy, Transport, and Telecommunications.

Attracting FDI is a central pillar of a country’s national development plan or industrial policy. FDI can help in the economic development of the country where the investment is being made through job creation and employment, resource transfer, in terms of capital and technical knowledge, increased productivity and increments in income.

The agriculture policy represents a key development milestone that, better positions Sint Maarten to respond socio economic and developmental needs. ■

A country’s ability to attract, retain and absorb foreign direct investment (FDI) is a function of its overall investment policy and its investment promotion efforts.

Sint Maarten has identified the attraction of diversified streams of investment flows as a priority and (a) vehicle(s) through which the country can realize its national development objectives.

The Investment Policy and Diversification Strategy presents the methodology for selecting priority sectors for promotion and highlights the recommended pillars of Sint Maarten’s strategy as being:

1. Proactive Promotion of Strategic Sectors – Targeting strategic high-performance investments will ensure net gains to the economy.

2. Build on Base – Priority actions include the strategic targeting of existing local and regional investors to encourage reinvestments, as these will secure results in the near to medium term.

3. Ease the Path for Investors – a program will be developed that seeks to reduce the costs and risks for investing and doing business in Sint Maarten through, for example, statutory changes, regulatory adjustments, and administrative processes.

Priority sectors are agriculture, creative industries, financial services, logistics, renewable energy, telecommunications, and light manufacturing to name a few.

A revamped Economic Development Corporation N.V. (EDC), which is underway, will act as the country’s Investment Promotion Agency and will be the entity responsible for implementing the strategy.

The EDC will facilitate investor queries and carry out the following functions such as: Investment attraction services

(domestic and foreign), Investment facilitation including “onestop-shop” services, Communication and image building, and Policy advocacy for an improved business environment.

The EDC will serve as the monitoring body and present key performance indicators that will be used to measure and monitor the execution of strategic objectives as outlined in the Investment Policy and Diversification Strategy document.

The EDC will report to the Minister of TEATT. ■