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Minister of International Business and Industry Ronald Toppin (right) with BIBA president Julia Hope and 1st Vice President Derrick Cummins during a church service held at the St. Cyprian’s Anglican church to mark the start of International Business Week 2018.

BIBA president supports fintech push

BARBADOS can become the Silicon Valley of the Caribbean.

This is the view of President of the Barbados International Business Association Julia Hope who was speaking to the media yesterday after a church service to mark the start of International Business Week 2018.

Explaining that the association is currently working to meet deadlines imposed by the OECD through its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting programme, she said next on BIBA’s Task Force’s agenda is identifying new products and services, and the jurisdictions needed to which those products and services can be marketed.

“So one of those huge areas which we are already having some success in, is the area of financial technology (fintech). We have some good companies in Barbados already operating – the likes of Polymath and AION, to name a couple.”

“They are here; they are operating and this isn’t just digital currency, this is block chain. We need to get the regulatory framework in place to enable these companies and others to thrive here, but we could very much become the Silicon Valley of the Caribbean and that is something to aspire to.”

“We are down the road trying to get this in place and that will be our next move. We have the people. If you think about a lot of the other territories that provide international business services, they don’t have the manpower.”

Hope, who worked in Bermuda as an attorney for four years noted that territory is staffed by expats. “Because they simply don’t have the manpower in Bermuda. We have it. We’ve got a university... These things are all the reasons why international business will thrive in Barbados. So we are excited,” she said.

While the sector has taken a multimillion dollar hit in recent years, she believes efforts have to be made to refocus.

“The industry changes and legislation in other countries changes. What we need to focus on is not driving business from a tax reason, or just a tax alone solution. We want people to come to Barbados to do business because of the good business environment, the regulatory environment, the political stability, the integrity of the jurisdiction. If that is then combined with a low tax rate, we’re winning,” she said. (JH)

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