Investment - Haiti Observer Blog

In a persistent effort to attract private investment for the reconstruction of Haiti, post the 2010 earthquake, Prime Minister (PM), Laurent Lamothe, and President of Haiti, Michel Martelly, hosted the Philanthropic Summit on 3/09/2013.

Martelly and Lamothe spoke at the glamorous event at the Miami Ritz Carlton Hotel Coconut Grove, arranged by the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA). Lamothe gave the keynote address to a roomful of potential investors, among them retired NBA Hall of Famers Glen Rice, Penny Hardaway, and Haitian-American Olden Polynice, Haiti's newly-named goodwill ambassador.

Lamothe stressed the government of Haiti's actualization of the 5E Initiative (Education, Rule of Law, Energy, Employment, and Environment), particularly education. He claimed that more than a million children under the Universal Schooling Program Free and Compulsory have been attending school, but more funding is needed to continue the 5E program.

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Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary made Haiti a priority as part of the foreign policy in 2009. A commitment was made to change in the way United States and Haiti partnered.

Partnership With US

A lot of effort has been put in for more than 3 1/2 years by US to partner with the Haitian people and the government. GOH - the government of Haiti got a lot of support from the US after the 2010 devastating earthquake. Life sustaining and life saving needs were met.

One of the engagements was related to emergency and humanitarian aid and the other engagement was to pursue a strategy for long term sustainable development in Haiti.

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PromoCapital, established in 2004, became Haiti's pioneer investment bank, the ancillary arm of PromoBank. PromoCapital set up its headquarters in Pétionville and opened affiliate offices in Washington, D.C., Aventura, Florida, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The investment bank began with 70 partners in a joint-venture effort born of an agreement signed by the Haitian-American Diaspora, Haitian small- and mid-size businesses, and investment capitalists. The Haitian and U.S. shareholders would share the equity between them equally.

PromoCapital is sub-divided into two financial entities, PromoCapital, S.A., set up as Société Fiancière de Dévelopment, in Haiti, and PromoCapital USA, Inc., a general partnership corporation licensed to operate in Delaware State. PromoCapital appointed two directors to represent its financial entities: Chairman Henri Deschamps of PromoCapital Haiti, and Dumarsais M. Siméus, Chairman of PromoCapital USA.

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Irishman Denis O'Brien is billionaire entrepreneur who has succeeded in establishing mobile phone company, Digicel, on the island since 2006. His company is Haiti's biggest private investor.

Digicel's share of consumer users in Haiti is 4.8 million, nearly 50% of the island's population. This is a remarkable accomplishment in a country where the government of Haiti (GOH), and local development banks have been lax in courting private investment.

In December 2012, O'Brien held an awards event for small business owners, "Entrepreneur of the Year". President Martelly acknowledged O'Brien's enormous contributions.

Digicel generated revenue of around $2.5 billion during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Haiti's contribution being $439 million. O'Brien sees the potential of small business owners in Haiti, having re-located Digicel's call center from monied Martinique to Haiti.

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North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre is being criticized for keeping undercover his role as advisor to Cayemite Enterprises (CE), who plans to build a luxury resort on Petite Cayemite Island near the coast of Haiti. Developer Michael Swerdlow of Oleta Partners (OP) is also an advisor to CE as well as an investor. Both he and Pierre have connections to Biscayne Landing (BL) project, a property of North Miami. CE stakeholders are also executives at Swerdlow's OP, and have connections to the BL project.

Mayor Andre Pierre wants to invest in CE. But the city charter bans officials from conducting business with city vendors like CE. Because Pierre is not known to make money in any capacity he has with CE, it's not certain if his investing in CE would be a violation of the charter terms.

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Haiti is recovering gradually from 2010 earth quake. To become more stable Haiti wants to invest with foreign countries like Bahamas. Last year Haiti had $ 100 million foreign investment. This year Haiti hopes to have over $ 400 million foreign investment and if possible reach over $600 million from foreign investment in the year 2013.

The neighboring countries wish to invest with each other. The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) called up dignitaries from Haiti to a meeting to discuss expectations of the two countries. Gregory Mevs, Haitian ambassador for trade and investment said that Haiti is ready for any investment business.

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Laurent Lamothe, Haiti's new Prime Minister (PM), flew to New York on June 16, 2012 to conduct exploratory talks with Haiti Consul General Charles Forbin about New York labor laws. As part of his visit, PM Lamothe was scheduled to meet with Oscar-winning Actor, Robert De Niro, to discuss his plans to build a hotel in Haiti. If the actor commits to building one, this would be more good news for Haiti, who needs to ramp up its tourism trade as part of the recovery effort from 2010's earthquake, which completely leveled the Port-au-Prince region. Recently, U.S. Best Western began construction on a luxury hotel in Petionville, near Port-au-Prince.

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Haiti's history has seen more or less constant upheaval from 1804, up to the recent past. Survivor of 32 coup d'etats, provisional governments, and natural disasters, the most recent set-back was the 2010 earthquake. Port-au-Prince, still a mass of rubble, has 350,000 Haitians living in tent cities today.

The Government of Haiti (GOH) is working non-stop to attract foreign investment and get its economy restored. Many development banks, non-government organizations, and investment initiatives are funding projects to rebuild Haiti. One of the richest investment resources is the Haitian Diaspora. Made up of law, education, medical, science, and information technology fields, it is a bounty of resources Haiti needs to fully recover from its destruction.

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The Haitian Diaspora has a vital role in helping Haiti revitalize its economy. One of its contributions is to Haitian families, overwhelmingly poor and dependent on remittances to provide for themselves.

Education is another area in which monetary support of the Diaspora is needed. Remittances have been estimated at up to 30% of Haiti's gross domestic product, essential to President Martelly's push to offer free public education to all Haitian children. He wants to tax wire transfers that could amass a broad projection of $50 million upward. The only obstacle is having enough political capital, ensuring the Diaspora will send money through wire transfers instead of other means.

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Haiti's economy has tumbled, especially after the devastating earthquake in 2010. A lot of infrastructure was damaged, sending Haitians deeper into poverty. However, the country continues to take initiative to improve its economy and business market. As a matter of fact, it remains a free market economy that makes use of low labor costs and tariff-free exports to the United States market.

The country is working to attract more investors so as to prop up its economy. There are top sectors and businesses in the country that provide good investment opportunities. One of these is the garment sector. Haiti showed a significant growth in its exports in the first quarter of 2009. It recorded a rise of 16.1%, much higher than China's growth of 0.3%. Currently, Haiti is considered as the fastest growing exporter of garments to the United States. It has a wide range of clients, including Levi's, Walmart, and JCPenny. Also, half of its garment manufacturers are expected to boost their work force and expand their factories in the coming year.

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