Welcome to the sexy world of captive insurance, not one of your better known types of insurance. In a nutshell, captive insurance is self-insurance. A captive insurance company is an insurance company that principally insures the risks of businesses that are related to it through common ownership. The insured businesses pay premiums to the captive in exchange for insurance. The captive can be owned by the business owner or by his or her spouse, relatives, a trust, or any of the companies he or she owns.
FDI
The Caribbean click
Trinidad and Tobago, the home of Calypso music, is increasingly making sweet music to the ears of investors. The country is one of the most prosperous, diversified and industrialized countries in the Caribbean. It is the leading producer of oil and gas in the region and is marked by low inflation, steady upward growth, a stable economy, falling unemployment, and a well-organized, locally regulated financial system. The strength of the country’s economy is evidenced by the presence of over 400 multinationals in services, manufacturing, financial and energy sectors. These firms include Fujitsu, Microsoft, IBM, Bank of Baroda, and BHP Billiton.
INVEST IN THE HEART OF SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is one of the world’s top business destinations and is supported by well-developed infrastructure. The country, is rated by the World Bank among the top 30 countries for ease of doing business and among the top 10 in the world for investor protection and good fiscal governance.
The Free State Province, one of South Africa’s nine provinces, is centrally situated in the heart of South Africa, borders six of the other provinces and shares a border with the Kingdom of Lesotho.
Europe needs to extend its commitments to renewable energy
Europe’s energy future stands at a cross-roads. As a continent we have made huge progress towards a renewable energy path – with European Union countries legally obliged to meet renewable energy targets by 2020 amounting to 20% of the total energy share across the Union. But we now need to extend our political commitments, making them last way into the future – and reap the economic as well as environmental benefits. Without such commitments we risk becoming increasingly reliant on expensive, volatile and polluting fossil fuels.
As Europe’s biggest renewable energy source – currently meeting over 6% of the EU electricity demand – and as a mature technology that can be quickly rolled-out, wind power is ready to take on the twin spectre of climate change and energy security, creating thousands of jobs and boosting Europe’s competitiveness by keeping our technological lead in wind power in the process.
Cleantech Innovation in Stockholm
There are many great reasons to invest in the Stockholm region. Stockholm is innovative and globally connected, and has a supportive and stable business environment. Stockholm has received several honoring awards, and among the most recent one is the award for Region of the future in Europe 2012/2013, by fDi Magazine. In addition to this, Stockholm is home to one of Europe’s most advanced and innovative cleantech clusters.
Why invest in the Stockholm region?
Investing in the Stockholm region means gaining unique advantages. A few examples of Stockholm’s competitiveness within cleantech are
- Stockholm having the largest number of innovative cleantech companies in Scandinavia.
- Stockholm being the leader in technology development for biogas, ocean power and smart grids.
- Stockholm having large public procurements and growing demand for new fuels.
Q&A with ORCO
Berlin is experiencing a rebirth similar to the one London went through in the late 1990s. It’s becoming a place where people want to live, tourists want to visit, and where commerce wants to do business. With occupancy rates at their peak, Sebastian Blecke, COO of ORCO, GSG Berlin’s biggest office and commercial space provider explains where it all went right…
Midscand – Europe’s coolest place for Investment
Sweden’s knowledge based economy is no big secret, but parts of this fantastic region of the world have been overlooked for too long. But not anymore – some of the biggest names in social networking have wised up to the region. We hit the ‘like’ button for Sweden’s Jamtland county.
Sweden is widely regarded as one of Europe’s most dynamic economies. Stockholm with its strong banking sector is clearly the focus of the region’s attention where there are plenty of opportunities for investors outside the capital city.
In the Loop
The year 2011 was without a doubt one of the most successful years in the development of Magdeburg as a business location.
Interview with Rainer Nitsche, Vice-mayor and head of department for business development, tourism and regional co-operation of the State Capital Magdeburg
Germany’s economy is still Europe’s most powerful, but away from the headlines and commentary, what is the mood on the frontline of inward investment in places like Magdeburg? Is it optimistic?