‘No one obligated to invest here,’ warns biz leader

arbados must urgently innovate and streamline its processes to remain competitive in the global investment market, the president of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) warned Thursday.

Speaking at BIBA’s flagship Global Business Conference, Marlon Yarde delivered a stark message to government officials and business leaders about the challenges facing the Caribbean nation’s international business sector: “No one is obligated to invest in Barbados.”

The long-time general manager of the Barbados Stock Exchange and the central securities depository told delegates at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre: “External investors have options. Our responsibility is to create and sustain the most conducive environment for investment.”

In his opening speech to the conference, now in its 15th year, Yarde welcomed recent amendments to the Foreign Currency Permit legislation, which he said helped “close the gaps left by repealing the old International Business Companies Act”. These changes, he said, addressed some of the challenges that arose from the transition to a new internationally compliant tax regime.

But he pressed the government to accelerate its digital transformation efforts, calling for faster integration of information-sharing across agencies.

“We are encouraged by the government’s efforts to digitise and facilitate seamless information sharing between agencies, but we urge them to move with all deliberate speed. As Winston Churchill said, ‘Perfection is the enemy of progress’,” he said.

The conference, held under the theme Innovation for a Sustainable Future, focused on balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability. Yarde emphasised the importance of collaboration and forward-thinking to maintain Barbados’s appeal to international investors.

“Let us harness this [conference’s] momentum to ensure that Barbados remains a jurisdiction of choice, where the balance between growth and sustainability is not only achieved but celebrated,” he said. (SM)