(Stock Photo)
With Latin America identified as one of the fastest growing markets for Barbados to do business with, the LatAm Inward Mission held earlier this week at Hilton Barbados attracted 11 service providers from Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Venezuela.
Director of Invest Promotions at Invest Barbados, Kenneth Campbell, speaking to media representatives on the margins of the event, expressed pleasure at this, as he deemed the forum a “follow-up” to determine how to further attract foreign direct investment into the island.
Acknowledging that Invest Barbados had targeted persons with a crucial role to play in ensuring this business relationship developed, he said: “These are the service providers in the various markets. So, we are targeting the lawyers, the accountants, the tax advisors who bring with them a kind of base and they would encourage others to use Barbados as part of the international tax planning programme.”
While proffering reasons why Latin American businesses would want to be operating on the island, he added: “We sell Barbados as a well-regulated country with a strong network of international tax agreements, which would allow for the global business, and hence, also with the ability to provide substance. The need to provide substance and to facilitate the business through Barbados is one of the key components of getting new investments into Barbados.”
Mr. Campbell also agreed with Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, that the facilitation process was key to ensuring additional business, and though taxation was of interest for most of the businesses, the facilitation process was by far one of the major components for providers deciding to come to a jurisdiction.
Queried about what specifically he was hearing from service providers as their own reasons, he stressed: “Again, the process of doing business in Barbados, the reputation of Barbados being a well-regulated centre, as well as the network of double taxation treaties and the ability to provide substance.
“We have the service providers in Barbados, all of whom are very competent and able to provide the support to set up businesses and for the processes that are required; the legislation has all of the checks and balances that international players are looking for … and hence, makes Barbados a good place to do business.”