Business & Finance

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Haiti had been rising but it remained weak (USD 99 million) in 2014. Its business climate remained mediocre because of its long-term political instability, corruption, burdensome bureaucracy and the government's inability to offer tax exemptions to the investors. In the context of 'Protection of Investors' it remained far below in the "Index of Transaction Transparency", the statistics reveal Haiti (2.0); Latin America & Caribbean (4.0); Germany (5.0) and U.S (7.0). FDI inflows in Haiti in the last three years were (in US$): $156 million (2012), $186 million (2013) and $99 (2014). In September 2011, President Martelly launched a council PACEGI (Presidential Advisory Council on Economic Growth and Investment), co-chaired by President Bill Clinton with the participation of local businessmen for improving the business climate in Haiti and in September 2012, a Presidential Commission reformed the business law of the country. In 2013, Haiti secured its best rank ever (174 out of 183 countries) in the World Bank's "Doing Business 2013" report. Thus, the recent investment plan of $300 million by the foreign and Haitian investors, in the new cement plant 'Siman Lakay,' at "La Pierre" in the locality of Gonaives, is no doubt a big boost for the Haitian economy. The project has come into existence after more than one year's hard work and technical studies by Mr. Bestgen Jérôme, the Honorary Consul of Haiti in Belgium.

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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved $41 million in grant to complete the construction of Caracol Industrial Park (CIP). IDB will be disbursing $41M for the fifth and last phase of work. Since 2011, IDB has contributed a total of $200.5 million to the project. The $41 million will finance infrastructure within the park and construction of factories. This fund also includes provision to support to SONAPI to monitor and enforce environmental, social, health, and safety rules. The objective of this project is to create 20,000 jobs by 2020.

Kreyol:

BID apwouve $ 41m pou Park Endistriyèl Caracol

Bank Devlopman Entè-Ameriken (BID) te apwouve $ 41 milyon dola nan sibvansyon pou fini konstriksyon nan Park Endistriyèl Caracol (CIP). BID pral debouse $ 41m pou senkyèm ak dènye faz nan travay yo. Depi 2011, BID te kontribye yon total de $ 200.5 milyon dola nan pwojè a. $ 41 milyon dola sa pral finanse enfrastrikti nan pak la ak konstriksyon nan faktori yo. Fon sa a gen ladan tou dispozisyon pou sipòte SONAPI kontwole e fè respekte règ nan anviwònman an, sosyal, sante, ak sekirite. Objektif la nan pwojè sa a se kreye 20,000 djòb avan 2020.

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On Thursday, December 17, 2015, Haitian President Michel Martelly, participated in the official opening of the first Haitian Industrial Shoemaking Factory at the Boulevard Toussaint Louverture (Airport Road). This high technology shoe factory is a creation from the initiative of JL Fine Shoes S.A. to contribute and revitalize Haitian economy through domestic production by feeding local consumption. As a token for encouragement, President Martelly has offered SurTab tablet to each employee of the company which would be given to them after successful completion of required training to join the factory. The factory would create immediate employment of 150 personnel, and within the next 2 years it expects to offer 1,200 permanent jobs.

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On Tuesday, December 15, 2015, in the presence of the Dominican entrepreneur Juan Vicini Lluberes and the members of the Quisqueya Binational Economic Council (CEBQ), Marc Antoine Acra and Jean Lucien Ligonde, the first pilot project of CEBQ in Zone 1 has been launched. The project has been funded with an initial investment of $31 million to build 600 housing units for the textile plant workers and 400 housing units for the workers of the finished product plant. This economic development program near the frontier of Haiti with the Dominican Republic was initiated in 2013 in Miami by the presidents of the two countries, Michel Martelly and Danilo Medina. The objective of this joint effort was the creation of 100,000 direct jobs in the textile sector by 2030.

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On December 19, 2015, the foundation stone of a new cement plant "Siman Lakay" has been laid in the "La Pierre" locality of Gonaives. This is the fruit of more than one year's hard work and technical studies by Mr. Bestgen Jérôme, the Honorary Consul of Haiti in Belgium, and it could never be completed without the support of foreign and Haitian investors. The new plant will require an investment of around US$300 million and will be constructed by the Belgian TSE (Techniques Speciales a l' Export NV) construction firm and the multidisciplinary engineering cluster company TPF. The construction of the plant is expected to start on January 13, 2016. This would be the biggest investment in Haiti.

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President Michel Martelly just nominated Mr. Jean Baden Dubois to head Haiti Central Bank (BRH). He replaced Charles Castel. With over 25 years of experience in Haitian banking, Mr. Jean Baden Dubois is very respected in the financial field in Haiti. He has developed many strategies to improve services to the public and increase employee productivity. His special skills are in his capacity to identify needs and bring effective solutions.

Haitian Kreyol:

Jean Baden Dubois , nouvo gouvènè BRH, ranplase Charles Castel

Prezidan Michel Martelly jis nomine Mesye Jean Baden Dubois nan tèt Ayiti Central Bank (BRH). Li ranplase Charles Castel. Avèk plis pase 25 ane eksperyans nan bank ayisyen, Mesye Jean Baden Dubois se yon moun ki respekte nan zòn finansye an Ayiti. Li te devlope anpil estrateji ki te kapab amelyore sèvis pou piblik la ak ogmantasyon pwodiktivite sou kote anplwaye yo. Konpetans espesyal l 'yo se nan kapasite l' pou idantifye bezwen ak pote solisyon efikas.

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With an objective to create over 100,000 direct jobs in the textile sector by 2030 in the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Quisqueya Binational Economic Council (CEBQ) just began its first pilot Plan there with an initial investment of $ 31 million. Initially, about 4,000 industrial jobs are expected to be created along the border. Quisqueya Binational Economic Council is a binational cooperative organization formed by Haitian and Dominican representatives with the objective to sustain development on the border.

What do you think?

Haitian Kreyol:

Premye envestisman bilateral pou devlopman ekonomik nan fwontyè a.

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On December 17, 2015, by the virtue of a Presidential Order dated 23 November 2015, Jean Baden Dubois, the CEO of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) has been appointed as the new Governor of the bank, replacing Charles Castel. As the new Governor of the bank, Jean Dubois has said, among other measures, his primary task would be to establish a base for the national currency and maintain a commendable internal and external value of the Haitian Gourde. To achieve this, he has stressed on the control of inflation through wealth creation and effective, innovative banking assistance services.

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On Tuesday, December 15, 2015, at the Marriott Hotel in Turgeau, Port-au-Prince, the Investment Facilitation Center (Centre de Facilitation des Investissements, CFI), a department of the Haitian government, with the supports of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched the Haitian BPO sector (Business Process Outsourcing). This is an initiative to diversify Haiti's traditional export sector through the capitalization of its available labor force and their multilingual skill which is well conversant in three important languages, French, English and Spanish. Haiti's neighbor Dominican Republic has already successfully implemented this industry about five years ago.

BPO involves the contracting the responsibilities and operations of specific functions of an organization to a third party service provider. It is an allocation of specific business processes to a specialist external service provider. When such a process is out-sourced to a different country which is not nearby - BPO is called 'Offshore Outsourcing'. It is helpful to an organization when it cannot handle all aspects of a business process properly internally, and cost effectively. For third world countries, the BPO phenomenon is a godsend; it creates a large number of jobs. It acts as a buffer against the unemployed youth force and the opportunity for advancement. BPO brings the economic ladder of upliftment close to them.

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Woy! Lavi vini pi chè. Malgre anons yo miltip nan men otorite ayisyen an ki ape fè fas ak pwoblèm goud ayisyen an ki pa sispann diminye nan valè nan relasyon ak dola Ameriken an, emoraji nan goud ayisyen an ap kontinye. Koulye a, ou bezwen ant 57 ak 60 goud ayisyen pou yon dola Ameriken nan mache echanj. Dapre kèk ekspè nan sektè finansye a, gen plizyè rezon pou bès nan la kounye a ki gen ladan politik, nan fen jou ferye ane yo, majorite nan popilasyon an pap travay ak lòt bagay. Entre-temps, Ayiti Central Bank gen entansyon pou mete 50 milyon dola nan ekonomi an nan yon tantativ pou soulaje sitiyasyon an.

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