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STOP THE
PIRATES - "If they don't reinvest in the islands and their
people, they are no better than the pirates of the
Caribbean," |
by GERALYN EDWARD - Barbados Nation
THE REGION is attracting new "Pirates of the Caribbean" and
they are no Johnny Depps, but people who cream off profits
from the islands and give very little in return.
American billionaire investor Sir Allen Stanford gave this
assessment to a packed Hilton Barbados ballroom where he
delivered one of the most heavily anticipated presentations
of the two-day Caribbean International Leadership Summit
hosted by the Cave Hill School of Business.
Sir Allen said that regional governments ought to tax
heavily those companies that sent out most or all their
profits, benefit from government incentives and give back
little to the communities from which they benefited.
Sir Allen, who resides in Antigua, said for far too long a
large number of companies and investors profited from the
Caribbean and had not reinvested in its infrastructure and
people.
"This must stop," he said to applause, noting that too many
of these businesses were hoarding their profits.
The losers in these circumstances, he said, were "the bright
young minds" who had to leave the region in search of jobs
because these companies were not creating the kind of
employment they were capable of doing.
At the same time, Sir Allen, the sole shareholder in
Stanford Financial Group which has US$45 billion in assets
under management, said tax breaks should be given to
companies that "reinvested" in the region.
For him, the Caribbean was attracting the "wrong type of
investors" and blamed governments for entering into "poorly
negotiated deals" with investors who often did not stick to
their promises.
He told the chief executive officers and top company
executives from throughout the Caribbean that sanctions
should be imposed on companies that did not live up
to their end of the bargain.
"If they don't reinvest in the islands and their people,
they are no better than the pirates of the Caribbean," he
said alluding to the blockbuster movie starring Johnny Depp.
The two-day summit which featured some of the biggest names
in business like Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric
and owner of Digicel, Denis O'Brien, was hosted in
conjunction with the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business and
the Mona School of Business.
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