Straughn urges investors to unlock Caribbean wealth, resilience

A stronger, more coordinated push to mobilise Caribbean capital and attract international investment is essential if the region is to close the gap in global returns and deliver lasting prosperity for its citizens, Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn said on Thursday.

He told the opening of the Caribbean Economic Forum that policymakers are committed to creating a stable economic and regulatory environment designed to attract high-quality financial partners.

He highlighted a stark regional disparity in savings and returns, noting that while Caribbean citizens maintain relatively high savings rates, their rate of return is frequently less than half of that enjoyed by investors in North America and Europe. He argued that regional institutions must collaborate more effectively to mobilise domestic capital and deliver equitable financial rewards.

“We want to implore you that we have to work alongside the regional institutions to mobilise regional savings and investment such that our Caribbean citizens can yield the same return or similar return as those in other jurisdictions,” Straughn said. “Because we will have failed our citizens if that mechanism for economic enfranchisement, given our history in this region, we would have failed them.”

The finance minister stressed that building economic resilience must go hand in hand with direct benefits for ordinary citizens. He explained that setting the right ecosystem to attract international partners is vital to unearthing local talent and fostering long-term prosperity.

“Generating wealth and having that wealth transferred from one generation to the next is important as part of the resilience building for the general being,” he said. “Everything we do must be deliberate, intentional… because our citizens’ future, the Caribbean’s future, relies on us creating the right ecosystem to attract the right partners to work alongside our people.”

Underscoring Barbados’s own fiscal discipline, Straughn revealed significant progress in managing the national debt, which dropped from 178 per cent of GDP to 93.3 per cent by the end of March.

He observed that, had it not been for the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure would have reached 84 per cent. This newfound fiscal space is intended to foster safe assets that blend private capital, multilateral development banks and philanthropic resources.

Addressing regional challenges, the finance minister focused on the escalating cost of reinsurance, which he argued is disproportionately draining capital from the Caribbean due to climate risks and shifting global insurance pools in places such as Florida and California. He urged the insurance industry and private sector leaders to help redirect these premiums into critical regional infrastructure, such as green energy, water security and transportation.

“We in the region feel it because we are in the frontline of it, but we also feel it on the balance sheet side because the insurance premium keeps going up year after year,” Straughn said. “Investing or redirecting these insurance premium will be critical for unlocking more investment into solving some of the critical issues that we have to solve with energy, with water, with transportation, you name it.”

Innovation remains central to the island’s economic strategy. He pointed to sustainable projects within the rum industry and agriculture, highlighting efforts by companies like Sargassum to convert waste into biofuel. This initiative aims to shield the domestic economy from volatile global oil prices and geopolitical shocks.

Straughn suggested that the forum must serve as a platform for tangible action rather than just talk, framing the mission as a vital component of the wider Bridgetown Initiative to reform the international financial architecture.

“I see the Caribbean Economic Forum is not a talk shop,” Straughn said. “It is about us having a firm commitment to solving problems on behalf of the Caribbean people…. Sharpen your pencils and let’s get these deals done for the benefit of our people.”

(RR)