PROVIDERS OF CORPORATE and trust services to businesses in Barbados will be coming under tighter regulation, as the island seeks to attract more international businesses.
Minister of International Business Donville Inniss said the Corporate and Trust Service Providers Bill 2015 debated in the House of Assembly yesterday was intended to regulate people responsible for providing corporate and trust services, especially to the international business sector which had contributed close to $900 million directly and indirectly to the economy.
Inniss said service providers such as attorneys at law, accountants and others continued to make great gains in terms of their own revenue from the sector.
Barbados continued to be the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment out of Canada, currently processing “over CAN$60 billion in investment”, Inniss disclosed, adding Barbadians were also sharing the employment gains, evident in the fact that there were now fewer expatriates employed in the sector than in the past.
The new legislation is designed to promote and maintain high standards of conduct, ethics and confidence, the minister outlined, and would broaden the definition of international business.
He advised the House that the International Trust and Corporate Service Providers Act of 2011 would be repealed, primarily because of deficiencies that had only been identified in that law after it had been passed.
Investors expected a well-regulated jurisdiction with the attendant policing to ensure they were protected, Inniss said, pointing out this was something also anticipated by international agencies which kept an eye on jurisdictions in which international businesses chose to operate. (GC)
