Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, welcomes visitors and investors to discover all the opportunities the beautiful island nation offers. He discusses Saint Lucia’s investment potential in many sectors, from tourism to renewable energy.
European Times: Why should European investors target Saint Lucia?
Kenny Anthony: We believe Saint Lucia offers enormous potential for European investors, particularly in real estate linked to the tourism sector, our fast-growing cruise industry, the energy sector, creative projects and education, to name just a few of the possibilities. Tourism remains our biggest industry and is thriving. Concerning education, we would like to position Saint Lucia as a top destination for offshore education. The island already attracts many foreign students, including from the US. Saint Lucia can become the regional hub for investments in the Caribbean.
European Times: What are some of the investment options Saint Lucia offers in the energy sector?
Kenny Anthony: There are a number of opportunities opening up. We are now at the stage where we are inviting interested companies to indicate their possible choices for investment projects. Two areas where we are particularly looking for investors are waste management and renewable energy. Saint Lucia has the potential to develop geothermal energy as well as other types of renewables, including solar energy. Our island’s energy capacity is currently sufficient for local consumption, which is around 76 MW, but Saint Lucia could provide energy for export. Martinique, for example, is a much larger island with much greater energy needs. Our solar-energy potential is particularly promising, with an index of around 5.5 kWh per day. We believe that with careful investment in the energy sector, we can position Saint Lucia as a hub for alternative energies, not just for the Caribbean region but for the global market.
European Times: Can you discuss current trends in the local agriculture sector?
Kenny Anthony: Our banana industry has suffered tremendously because of decisions taken by the World Trade Organisation to end the preferential status that Saint Lucia formerly had. Thousands of our farmers have abandoned their farms. To counteract this problem, we are investigating new possibilities and we see great potential in new kinds of projects using our banana crop, such as manufacturing banana by-products. We are also looking into producing new agricultural products as well as seeking out new export opportunities for products the island already produces, including cocoa and coconuts. Cocoa in particular is generally a very lucrative crop. Another crop with excellent possibilities for Saint Lucia is exotic coffee. The island already produces excellent coffee for local consumption, and our tourism industry has boosted not only coffee consumption but also awareness of the quality of Saint Lucia’s local coffee. We are looking for investors who can take advantage of these conditions to produce coffee for export. Saint Lucia currently has a lot of agricultural land which is not being used and we need to make this land productive.
European Times: What about projects to add value to Saint Lucia’s agricultural products?
Kenny Anthony: We strongly encourage initiatives aimed at adding value to our agricultural products. Such projects can not only create jobs and new potential for our farms but also increase Saint Lucia’s foreign-exchange earnings through expanding our exports.
European Times: What are Saint Lucia’s advantages for European investors?
Kenny Anthony: Saint Lucia offers many advantages for investors and we believe that there is huge potential to attract investors from Europe. We have devised many investment incentives for different sectors, including tourism and manufacturing.
European Times: Can you outline some of these new incentives for foreign investors?
Kenny Anthony: Saint Lucia has created an elaborate framework of incentives, not just in the tourism sector but in manufacturing, energy and other sectors. Our new tax law for tourism investment, for example, offers a 25-year tax incentive instead of the former 15 years.
European Times: What are some other reasons international investors should take a closer look at Saint Lucia?
Kenny Anthony: Other reasons for investors to target Saint Lucia include our excellent telecommunications network with efficient connections to the US and Europe. Our island is also well served by international airlines, and we have two sea ports as well as a very good road network. In addition, Saint Lucia’s location is a big advantage since it is within easy access of the US, Central America and South America as well as nearby Caribbean markets. And, last but certainly not least, Saint Lucia has a very welcoming population and skilled human resources. Our people are friendly, generous, skilled, educated and kind. Our culture is unique, a blend of British and French cultures. We also have many young people seeking job opportunities here on the island, and we are looking for new investment projects to help us reduce the island’s high level of unemployment.
European Times: What about Saint Lucia’s business climate?
Kenny Anthony: Our government has no history of expropriating property and welcomes FDI, and our legal system is very stable, based on the British and French systems. Another very important factor for European investors to consider is that Saint Lucia has signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union and we want to open the doors to all of the synergies and opportunities that this can generate.
European Times: What are your main goals for Saint Lucia over the coming five years?
Kenny Anthony: I want Saint Lucia to remain a rare and unique island within the Eastern Caribbean. I want us to continue to build a strong democracy and to support people who are progressive and open to new ideas, who have a passion for education, and who are not ashamed of who they are or their culture. I want our society to be based on equality, free of crime, with job opportunities for its people so that their talents can be nourished. I simply want Saint Lucia to remain different in a very positive way, because we are different and our island has a very promising future.