This country’s International Business Minister, Donville Inniss, has described the International Business and Financial Services (IBFS) Sector as one of Barbados’
best-kept secrets.
The Minister, who was speaking recently at the opening ceremony of the
International Business Conference, at the Hilton Barbados Resort, made this
comment as he recounted that although the sector makes such an “important
contribution” to the “lifeblood of the economy”, not many people truly understood its
role and function.
He stated that too often, many of our citizens had the belief that international
business was far removed from the average Barbadian, and a sector in which only
the affluent were directly involved.
The Minister told attendees: “Let me take this opportunity to underscore, that
despite the various challenges it may face, Barbados’ IBFS sector continues to play
a significant role in the economic and social development of our country.”
Adding that it was the second largest contributor to the country’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) and second only to tourism, Mr. Inniss pointed out that
apart from contributing almost 10 per cent to this country’s GDP, the sector had also
generated thousands of local jobs across the nearly 4,000 active international
business entities.
He said: “Each year, these entities pay corporation and other taxes, licence
fees, as well as salaries, rents, utilities, entertainment and other local expenses and
this revenue helps to drive our economy.”
