| Chamber talks inward investment with gov’t CEO | | Print | |
| Thursday, 10 May 2012 11:12 | |||
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Inward investment was the hot topic at this month’s Providenciales Chamber of Commerce meeting May 7 at the Windsong Resort. Guest speaker Patrick Boyle, government chief executive officer, told chamber members that his vision for inward investment includes developing sound infrastructure in order to promote confidence and growth with investors. “Investors have got to have confidence this is a good place to do business,” Boyle said. While the government is restructuring itself with the aim of creating a more stable environment for doing business, the responsibility for promoting the economy of the islands falls on every citizen, Boyle said. He also noted that negativity promoted by local media does not bode well to attract inward investment. Ensuring a stable government has been a work in progress, according to Boyle, who said having good infrastructure also is important to investors. “We want to create circumstances where that will happen,” he said. In addition to Boyle, Acting Director of the new Inward Investment Unit Rebecca Astwood and economic advisor to the Unit, Steven Pollock, were on hand to field tough questions from members. Several members raised concerns over complicated red tape and the rising cost of doing business in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Astwood assured the new unit was working with all arms of government to reduce the amount of paperwork required to open a business and that customer care and customer service were their top priorities. “We want to ensure the red carpet is laid out for investors and that we are holding their hand until the very end of the process,” she said. However, she noted the new inward investment unit’s aim is not only to be a gateway for businesses coming to the islands, but also a source to help those already operating in the country. According to Astwood, nearly two dozen new project proposals are in the pipeline crossing five islands and seven industries, including more renewable energy projects. She said this was due to new policy to reduce taxes on environmentally friendly projects. “The end goal for us is policy advocacy, promotion and after care.” The topic of value-added taxes (VAT) and its effect on the business community and future TCI economy was a repeated theme throughout the night’s discussions. The chamber has been collecting feedback from its members on the topic and planned to meet soon week with the country’s Chief Financial Officer Hugh McGarel-Groves to discuss the matter further. Pollack is currently responsible for helping to create an economic development plan for the country and asked for members to send him their feedback.
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