Investor - Haiti Observer Blog

Haiti's Renewal Alliance (HRA) is going to organize its 5th Annual Haiti Business, Investment Expo & Conference in Washington, DC on June 6 and 7, 2014 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, USA. Before this annual meet, the HRA has arranged an opening meet at Karibe Convention Center, Port au Prince on January 17 & 18, 2014 with an object to connect potential investors with Haitian entrepreneurs and government leaders so that they may have a positive impact on Haiti. This is a timely approach by HRA to include interested business people and investors from other Caribbean countries.

It is expected that if this effort can successfully promote and sustain development as anticipated, it will boost healthy competitiveness in the entire Caribbean region. The upcoming expo at Washington, DC on June 6 and 7, 2014 will focus mainly on finding ways to connect Caribbean region with global development and solving complex issues concerning investment growth, tourism, infrastructure, energy, technology and agriculture. The event will facilitate unique access, foster collaboration and partnerships, brokering deals, broaden the reach and encourage diaspora engagement through best practices.

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Haiti's continued recognition of The Republic of China as a body which governs itself was met by the Asian country's readiness to offer almost $16 million to the recovery of the Caribbean nation after the crippling earthquake experienced in 2010. As such, a visit from Taiwan's President, Ma Ying-jeou during his tour of those countries in the Caribbean and South America, of the 23 worldwide which support Taiwan's sovereignty, is a welcome one.

Met at the airport by President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Ma took stock of what he could of the country during his one day visit and held talks with the Haitian President at the presidential office concerning the reconstruction of the Port-au-Prince Supreme Court building, the project to which the donation had been appropriated. The two laid the ceremonial first stone of the building being built by OECC, a Taiwanese company based in the capital, Taipei. The new courthouse will be in the style of the neo-colonial and will be situated near the National Palace, also destroyed by the earthquake.

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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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Denis O'Brien, Irish billionaire and owner of cellphone company, Digicel was the first private investor to penetrate Haiti, the poorest country in Western Hemisphere. He introduced Digicel into Haiti in 2006. There was no shortage of skeptics about this move made by him but six years later in 2012, Digicel turned out to be the largest private sector investor in Haiti with a total user base of 4.8 million.

The cellphone entrepreneur is a true visionary and when everyone looks at the gloomy side of Haiti, he says that there is not even one Haitian problem that cannot be fixed. He says that all it takes is implementing the right project skills at the right place. He is right! He revolutionized the cellphone industry in Haiti by making cellphones available at rates as low as $7 per unit and call rates are fixed to be as low as it is practically possible.

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In Haiti, there are a lot of false ideas related to security in comparison to the rest of the Caribbean. It is felt that the rate of homicides is high which alarm everyone.

Effect Of Giving Importance To Homicides
Fed up with this kind of information, the opposition makes claims regarding the instability of the government in ensuring safety to organizations related to human rights as well as citizens of Haiti. The recent warnings being updated by Canada and the United Statese, only create a further bad impression.

A lot of importance has been given to homicides so much so that everyone seems convinced of the same. In such a condition where security is not guaranteed, it is difficult to develop the tourism sector which prevents business development.

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As per the Vietnam government's 2011 records, there is an increase in bilateral trade between Vietnam and Haiti. In 2010 there was a raise of $11 million in the two way trade after which it reached $40 million in 2011. Vietnamese exports are valued at around $15 million.

Haiti's Openness to Trade

Laurent Lamothe, Haiti's Prime Minister stated at the Monday meeting with Nyuyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of Vietnam that the number stood at $19 million thorough the first six months of 2012. Lamothe continued to make efforts to push the message across that Haiti was open to trade.

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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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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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