International business strong amid COVID-19

The international business sector remains largely resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, with very little impact on employment and operations.

President of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) Derrick Cummins made that disclosure as he officially launched the association’s Global Business Week 2020 on Wednesday via Zoom.

“Over the past few months, COVID-19 was indeed the most significant threat facing our shores and, by extension, our way of doing business . . . . [However], we in Barbados quickly adapted, changing the way business is conducted, moving to accelerate a digital transformation that is yet far from complete but has already begun to yield results in terms of improving the ease of doing business,” he said.

“The global business sector has proven to be a largely resilient economic sector in Barbados in the face of the pandemic. As we have seen from the most recent Central Bank report on the economic performance of the island, the foreign currency earners who make up the majority of our global business sector were the single largest contributor to our national corporate tax revenue collection.”

Cummins said the ability for individuals in the sector to operate remotely was proven over the last several months, as it was largely business as usual for the majority of international business firms in Barbados, “with little or no layoffs and no major loss of business”.

Despite the success and strides made in distinguishing Barbados from other jurisdictions, however, Cummins said the sector was bracing for the impact of any new international impositions since there are always “external powers confronting small open economies”.

He said regardless of measures taken, there was a seemingly growing external push to constrict the growth of small international financial centres like Barbados.

“It seems there will always be such first world forces seeking to limit our growth and seeking even to end our participation in local financial services. With all the persistent headwinds before us then, it is critically important that we master all that is within our control,” Cummins said.

“It is important that we are never shooting ourselves in the foot, important that we are not providing an assist to the plethora of international bodies that have been set against us.”

He encouraged authorities and global business sector operators to ensure continued innovation, transparency and compliance, efficiency in doing business, targeted education, certainty of legislation, fees and taxation, and certainty of immigration policies.

Welcoming the recently introduced 12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp initiative, Cummins said it had the potential to attract new global investors to the country and provide an opportunity to reinforce that “world-class business can be conducted from here”.

“It clearly evidences our ability to get things done at great pace, from conception to design, to implementation, to adaptation. This is mastering what we can control,” he said.

BIBA is also showing its ability to adapt and evolve, as it hosts this year’s Global Business Week virtually.

The event, which is rebranded from the usual International Business Week, will run October 25-31, under the theme Adapt, Evolve, Execute: Lead the Change.

Officials are hoping to explore new opportunities for more regional and global trade and employment opportunities for skilled individuals, among other objectives.

Global Business Week 2020 will begin with a donation to the St Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church and community outreach on Sunday, October 25.

This will be followed by a virtual public discussion forum on Monday, and on Tuesday the secondary school symposium will be in the form of pre-recorded sessions. There will also be a school team competition for an innovative business idea out of COVID-19.

The flagship event will also be done virtually, and over three days instead of two. The October 28-30 event will be held under the theme The Evolution of Global Business and will give participants an opportunity to discuss a range of issues affecting the sector and global trends.

The 5K walk, the final event to take place on October 31, will also go virtual, with individuals having the opportunity to run, walk, bike, or use their treadmill at home and track their progress through an app that they will be required to download.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb