Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members are being advised to tackle risks associated with the offshore sector, including blacklistings, as one unit.
This advice has come from President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Dr Warren Smith, as he recently addressed the opening of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) annual conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre under the theme Harnessing Global Opportunities.
Smith identified the agreement reached at the 13th inter-sessional meeting of the Heads of CARICOM governments on a community strategy to address blacklisting earlier this year, but said while it targeted a number of immediate advocacy action, more needs be done.
“In this business what we trade on is our good name. blacklisting of any one Caribbean country will have an immediate negative effect on the reputation of our entire region. This underscores the need for a regional approach and embrace of common principles by CARICOM countries,” said Smith.
“I want to challenge us to go even further as our current regional strategy still seems under burden by individual and reactionary responses to what essentially is a regional threat,” he said.
The CDB official said with the ongoing challenges to the offshore sector there was clear need for “a transition of a policy focus that is simply defensive to one that sets us on a course of sector sustainability”.
“The policy shift of which is peak is based on the evolution of a more strategic and long term approach that emphasis regulatory convergence. Its ultimate goal is the establishment of the Caribbean as a zone of excellence and a best practice for international business and financial services sector,” he explained.
“I wish to make it very clear that by referring to convergence I am by no means suggesting the cloning of the offshore sector, resulting in sameness to every jurisdiction. In fact, the main attraction of our region is characterized by the specialization that has evolved over time. So we need to build up that,” he added.
As such, he proposed that the region strive for an agreement on minimum standards for compliance and best practice, explaining that such an approach would still allow countries to pursue the subsectors in which they have a competitive advantage.
At the same time, he said, regional economies would be “declaring to the rest of the world that when you opt to do business in a Caribbean offshore centre you are choosing the best region in which to do so”.
Smith said the private sector could then play a greater role in shaping the codes, rules and operating procedures, adding that there was a considerable benefit from pooling resources including coming up with a regional think-tank to lead research and advise on policy coordination.
