Stephen Broadbridge
fourth warehouse-style membership store in South Trinidad in recognition of a strengthening consumer sentiment. This increasing consumer confidence is also evident through the proliferation of recognised American restaurant franchises throughout the country. The success of established brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, T.G.I. Friday’s and Subway has prompted the introduction of a number of new competitors into this lucrative market. Newcomers such as Wendy’s and Pollo Tropical have already begun to taste the rewards of the T&T market’s seemingly insatiable hunger for foreign fare. Significant investments continue to be made in the financial services sector as well. A prime and very evident example of this is the newly established RBC regional head office in St Clair, Port of Spain. The establishment and continued development of this distinguished bank has brought added esteem to a prestigious regional financial centre already home to global powerhouses PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG as well as a number of international agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank and United Nations Development Programme. Switching focus to the hospitality sector, Cornell Buckradee, Manager of the Investment Promotion Department at the Tourism Development Company Ltd (TDC), said that he remains “optimistic about public and private sector investment into the islands’ tourism industry.” In summarising recent activity in the sector, Buckradee advised that “construction of the 140-room Star Hotel in Piarco is well-advanced. This immediately follows the completion of the new wing of Cara Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Claxton Bay which added 50 new rooms and enhanced their room stock by 100%.” Buckradee added that, “plans continue to progress for the development of an internationally-branded hotel on Ariapita Avenue. Moreover, reinvestment in plant, an accurate indicator of investor confidence, has been undertaken at the Hilton Trinidad to the extent of approximately US$34 million and upgrade works have been undertaken at several of the more prominent medium– sized hotels such as Kapok and the Courtyard by Marriott. In Tobago, based on the recently advertised Request for Proposals, it is likely that Vanguard Hotel will resume operations around the 4th quarter 2011.”
74 • Business Trinidad & Tobago
Investment activity has not been limited to lavish shopping malls, modern commercial buildings and luxurious hotels. The manufacturing industry has also witnessed a number of substantial investments into innovative process technology by forward thinking businesses seeking to increase their market reach and competitive advantage. Mr. Greig Laughlin, director and immediate past president of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) revealed that, “a number of well-established local manufacturing firms have made disciplined and calculated investments into plant, systems and people.” While highlighting the TTMA membership’s focus on the development of ‘green’ and ‘high-tech’ industries, Laughlin shared examples of specific investments into robotic and automated production systems made by indigenous organisations such as KC Confectionary and TYE Manufacturing Company Ltd. The automated system put into place by TYE, declared Laughlin, “is the first of its kind in the region and certainly the most advanced in T&T.” Commissioned in the first quarter of 2010, TYE’s robotic system symbolises the level of investment being made into advanced technology within T&T’s manufacturing industry. According to Robert Tang Yuk, Managing Director of TYE Manufacturing, “the automation is unique in that it creates a customisable and flexible manufacturing system managed by software, and capable of running multiple jobs even in ‘lights out’ shifts. The technology gives us the ability to focus on our customers’ specifications and gives the company a unique value proposition. This significant investment opens up opportunities in North America and helps us towards our vision to be specialist sheet metal product developers for the world.” These ambitious words essentially capture the enterprising spirit and dogged determination demonstrated by T&T’s established businesses and industry. The commitment and continued success of these established enterprises certainly bodes well for the islands’ future. With its solid asset base, growing investor confidence and emerging market opportunities, Trinidad and Tobago is once again poised for economic resurgence and investment promise.