Haiti turns to Asia to seek out investors

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Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Haiti turns to Asia to seek out investors
Published on Wednesday, November 26, 2008

By Jean H Charles

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti: With America and Europe into a financial slump, Haiti is turning to Asia to seek out potential investors for its vast pool of manpower. With a population close to 9 million people larger than the whole Caribbean combined except Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Haiti has engaged during the last five years only one major investor: Digicel.

Its owner, the flamboyant and maverick Irish, Denis O'Brien has found a fertile land in Haiti. O'Brien is so satisfied with his investment in the country that he has decided that his telecommunication empire in the Caribbean should have it’s headquarter in Haiti.


Guy Lamothe pictured during his Asian trip
He is also a voluntary ambassador at large for the country trying to drum up business towards Haiti.

In a recent Forbes magazine piece dedicated to O'Brien and his vast communications empire throughout the world, he said, without the refined language of diplomacy, that he could not find anywhere else in the globe such gallant and diligent entrepreneurs as the young men of Haiti that he has empowered to become independent agents of Digicel.

Haiti is the mother recipient of global bad rap. As such few businessmen dare to follow the path of O'Brien to venture into Haiti with a major investment stake, and profit not only of the cheap labour force but also to take advantage of the country's proximity to the largest market in the world: the United States.

Haiti occupies with Guyana the lowest index per ratio of investors with a major equity landing in their country. With HOPE II in full force of the law, Haiti is even more attractive. The textile businessman in Asia can overcome the problem of quota by finishing its apparel stock in Haiti for the American customer. Hope II preferential agreements are available until 2019.

As such the CFI, the Haiti’ Center of Facilitation of Investments is turning to Asia to inform the investors that Haiti is the potential gold rush site for diligent businessmen. The Center is led by the able and dynamic director, the former Ambassador Guy Lamothe. He has donned de novo his diplomatic attire to travel to Japan and to Taiwan to inform the potential investors of the double attractiveness of Haiti as a potential venue for business investment.

The Inter-American Bank of Development was the incubator of the forum held the 30 and the 31st of October 2008 in Tokyo. Most of the Caribbean and the Latin American countries were also represented.


Guy Lamothe pictured during his Asian trip
Haiti after four recent successive hurricanes can use the assets and the skills of the Japanese and the Taiwanese to help in rebuilding the bridges, the roads and the electricity grid.

Its vast population that includes the people of Haiti as well as the Diaspora eager to contribute financially to help the country take off constitutes a guarantee that the profit will be substantial for any willing investor.

Lamothe has laid down the range of needs and outlets for the investors; they include renewable energy, bio-carburant, agro- alimentary production including nostalgic produce for export to the eager Caribbean customers in London, New York and Toronto. While these secondary investments are crucial for the country, Haiti is also in need of primary investment such as infrastructure related to roads, ports, airports, irrigation and telecommunication.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency the JICA was the venue for the mixing of some 65 potential Japanese investors with eager facilitators from the Caribbean and from Latin America. Japan maintains a negative import-export balance with Haiti and the Caribbean. Caricom imports 730 million of goods from Japan mainly in automobile products; it sells only 110 million of produce to the Nippon. The exchange was an opportunity to counterbalance the international market exchange between the two regions.


Guy Lamothe pictured during his Asian trip
From Japan, the Haitian business ambassador traveled to Taiwan to meet with some 35 industrial Taiwanese to lay down the case that Hope II is a legal and crucial lifeline for the textile exportation to the United States via Haiti.

The agreements contained in Hope II signed recently by President George W Bush have been translated into mandarin; the package for the investors brought by Lamothe contained also in mandarin the favourable clauses and legislation passed by Haiti to facilitate investment into the country.

Already four Korean textile companies have taken advantage of Hope II to take up residence in Haiti's industrial park. As a young Haitian man said recently,” I cannot wait for daybreak to go to work except there is no work”.

The vast pool of unemployed men and women in Haiti eager to work will present a refreshing vista for the investors from Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore or anywhere else in Asia. Denis O'Brien of Digicel could not be so right, he is building the highest skyscraper in Haiti, maybe in the Caribbean, and he is there to stay!

The energy, the diligence and the dexterity of the Haitian workers are infectious; the few investors who have taken the bait are transformed into eager ambassadors for Haiti like O'Brien of Digicel.

The future can’t be but bright for Haiti. It has the workers in large quantity, it has undeveloped land to expand, education at the classical and professional levels is the booming business in the country, and its Diaspora is loyal to the motherland… Haiti is poised to become the next China of the Caribbean.

CFI, Haiti Center for Facilitations of Investment may be visited on the web at www.cfi.net




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Saa merite yon kout chapo.

Bônn chans, anbasadè Lamôt, mwen swete w reyisi lan demach sayo.

Digicel ap voye Ayiti monte.
Nou bezwen enpe biznisman lan kategori ak atitid O'Brien ki rekonèt kote avantaj li ye epi li remèt sosyete a enpe lan benefis yo.

Mwen deja swete ke nèg biznisman ayisyen yo fè menm jan.

se pa diskisyon map fè mache non ,men mwen ta renmen ke Sassaye montre m ki jan Digicel ap voye ayiti monte ya?Fè m konprann byen.Sim apresye demach anbasadè lamothe la men mwen difisil poum konprann sa ki bon nan digisel la ,dim konbyen anploye digisel touche ,ki benefis yo genyen kote lajan benefis digicel yo ye nan ki bank ?

O'Brien is so satisfied with his investment in the country that he has decided that his telecommunication empire in the Caribbean should have it’s headquarter in Haiti.

that he could not find anywhere else in the globe such gallant and diligent entrepreneurs as the young men of Haiti that he has empowered to become independent agents of Digicel.

Denis O'Brien of Digicel could not be so right, he is building the highest skyscraper in Haiti, maybe in the Caribbean, and he is there to stay!

The energy, the diligence and the dexterity of the Haitian workers are infectious; the few investors who have taken the bait are transformed into eager ambassadors for Haiti like O'Brien of Digicel.
Konbyen biznisman lan oligachi nou an fe P.R> saa pou Ayiti pandan tou sa yon moun ap tande se move nouvel.

Digicel anplwaye pliwyè milye ayisyen. Mwen pa gen salè yo avèk mwen, men nou ka fè rechèch sou sa tou. Men se pa premye pwen lan pôs saa.

Digicel peye pou tout deplasman ekip Foutbol ayisyen an an menm tan li bay ekipman ak lojman.
Digicel bati plizyè lekôl deja lan peyi a.

Mwen pap voye Digicel monte, kom mwen pa janm voye pèsonn monte.
Men mwen twouve yo fè plis pase tout lôt swadizan biznis ki ann Ayiti depi digdantan e yo rantre lan peyi a gen sèlman 3 ou 4 an.

Yo peye plis taks pase tout konpayi an Ayiti.