Investment Opportunities abound in St.Vincent and the Grenadines

St.Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is a sovereign state situated in the Eastern Caribbean at the Southern end of the Windward Islands chain. It is an English speaking archipelago. St.Vincent is the mainland. The Grenadine islands include: Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island, Palm Island, Petit St.Vincent and other uninhabited states and privately owned islets.

Park Estate

The island offers an unhindered and stable foreign exchange regime, stable labour relations, an independent and efficient judiciary system, significant tax holidays, and tax-free status for international entities among other attractive investor incentives. Access to St.Vincent and the Grenadines was improved significantly with the opening of the Canouan Jetport in May 2008, and with the commencement of work on the new 9000 ft International Airport, scheduled for completion in 2011 international flights will be able to land on the mainland. Within the last five years there has been significant FDI in Luxury Tourism infrastructure, by investors such as Raffles Resorts (of Singapore) and Trump Villas (on Canouan) and Harlequin Properties (on the mainland).

As a multi-island state, St.Vincent and the Grenadines is an excellent location for private island resort development. Keen interest by Eastern Arabian and European investors is being shown in the private Grenadine islands of Petit Mustique, Isle á Quatre and Balliceaux. Mustique, an internationally renowned Grenadine island has long been known as one of the top home and vacation destinations in the Caribbean for several celebrities and High Net Worth individuals. Opportunities also abound for multi-purpose resort, villa and marina development on the mainland and in the Grenadine Islands of Bequia and Union Island.

The International Financial Services Sector received a boost with the recent legislative reviews and the awarding of Qualified Jurisdiction status. SVG is now a viable, world class alternative for international business for wealth managers worldwide. The Jurisdiction offers several products including International Banks, International Business Companies (IBCs), International Insurance, Trusts and Mutual Funds. St.Vincent and the Grenadines is also a Ship’s Registry, and offer registration for flags of convenience.

Among the interesting legislative developments are the new provisions of the IBC Act. It allows for an IBC to elect to pay 1% tax. It also permits an IBC to hold land in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As such, new tourism developments can be structured through a St. Vincent IBC: homeowners on Mustique, Canouan and Bequia who currently use IBCs from elsewhere can now hold a SVG IBC.  Other investment sectors include Information and Communications Technology, Agro-Processing and Creative Industries including Film and Entertainment. The award winning Disney movie: “Pirates of the Caribbean” was filmed in various locations around St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

St.Vincent and the Grenadines has a long history of banking. Currently, the international banks on the island are Scotia Bank (the Bank of Nova Scotia), First Caribbean International Bank (an amalgamation of Barclays Bank PLC and the CIBC (formerly the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) and RBTT Bank Caribbean Ltd, a subsidiary of RBC Financial Caribbean. The National Commercial Bank heads the list of indigenous banks. All of these banks have excellent regional and international correspondent banks, and access to regional International Banking Centres. Several of the well known international chartered accountants have offices, or are represented on the island.

 These include:
• Deloitte and Touche (represented by DeFreitas and Associates)
• KPMG
• Pannel Kerr Foster

There is also a wealth of regional and internationally trained local Chartered/Certified accountants. Legal services are readily available on the island, with approximately 12 firms, 4 Queen’s Counsels and a further 50 Attorneys engaged in individual practice. 

For further information, please visit:
www.svg-nipi.com
www.gov.vc or www.stvincentoffshore.com,

Or contact: National Investment Promotions Inc.
Tel. 1 784 457 2159
Email info@svg-nipi.com