BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Sir Allen Stanford, Chairman and CEO of the Stanford Financial Group of companies (Stanford),
delivered a powerful speech offering his recommendations on creating investment momentum in the Caribbean at the inaugural Caribbean
International Leadership Summit: Journeying Towards Global Competitiveness.
The summit, which took place November 12-13 at the Hilton Barbados, brought together regional and international speakers and was comprised
mainly of CEOs, boards of directors, executive management from private- and public- sector organizations, business owners, strategists, pioneers and students of leadership from throughout the Caribbean and beyond.
Sir Allen’s message focused on the opportunities for investing in the Caribbean and emphasized the role of business leaders and entrepreneurs in placing the Caribbean on the road to first world status. Sir Allen stressed
his commitment to the Caribbean as a resident, citizen, and investor in the region for the past 24 years. The Stanford Financial Group of companies has invested in excess of US $1.5 billion in the Caribbean during this time and
employs over 3,000 CARICOM nationals.
He also highlighted the impediments to realizing global competitiveness and illustrated what Stanford Financial Group, and himself as Chairman and CEO, are doing to address these issues. Specifically, Sir Allen noted that
the Caribbean region offers unique and world-class opportunities for investors who understand the challenges of dealing with micro-states and
their efforts to further their economic and social development. He noted that the region must create a long-term investment strategy in order to
maintain the competitive edge needed in today’s world and must also reinvest in its people.
Paramount to this, he said, was ending the exodus
of young bright minds from the Caribbean to other parts of the developed world by providing first-world wage opportunities.
He voiced his support for governments in the region pursuing aggressive tax policies where those who invest their profits back into the Caribbean receive tax breaks and other investment incentives.
He noted that for far too long the Caribbean has attracted the wrong type of investors, — “individuals and corporations who come to our debt
ridden, small island nations desperate for foreign investment and in simple terms, rob them. The reality,” he said, “is that hardly any investor is
properly vetted prior to negotiations with a government, and once a deal is made there are seldom any provisions put in place to ensure performance and adherence to commitments made by the investor during the negotiations.”
Sir Allen said he was convinced that the Caribbean region can become a world leader, which is why he established Stanford Caribbean Investments, a US $2 billion fund dedicated solely to the Caribbean. The investor’s role is to lead by example and invest in the future in order to stimulate and grow the economy of the Caribbean region in an unprecedented fashion through the construction of vital infrastructure projects and world-class tourism developments.
Sir Allen stressed that future investment in the Caribbean cannot continue to be primarily in the tourism sector. “I believe we need to fully
utilize and market the legal structure, tax and investment incentives, low labor costs, geographic location, global communications, air travel
infrastructure, and the fact that in this volatile world in which we live, the Caribbean is still one of the few places in the world where it is
relatively safe to live, work and travel to,” he said.
He also identified some of the difficulties in investing in the Caribbean and illustrated the many hurdles that must be removed if the
Caribbean as a whole is to be a serious global competitor. Such difficulties and hurdles include inconsistent regulations from island to island, uneven enforcement of existing regulations, rampant protectionism, stifling value-added taxes, different work rules and labor policies that
are unrealistic and politically driven.
Using an analogy from cricket, Sir Allen said that he supports each island competing against each other so that they can become better at what
they do, However, the islands must come together to face external forces when needed just as in cricket where the islands compete against each other regionally but on the international stage come together as West Indies cricket.
Remaining on a cricketing theme, Sir Allen spoke about the 2008 Stanford 20/20 Cricket tournament and his vision for West Indies cricket.
He emphasized his belief that West Indies cricket can regain its glory days of the past and stressed the importance of creating a professional cricket
league. “For far too long West Indies cricketers have been undervalued and underpaid. In order to keep these athletes in the Caribbean, we need a
professional cricket team on each island where the players earn enough to support their families and can devote 100% of their time to becoming the
best athletes in the world.” It is to this end that Sir Allen organized and funded the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament, now in its second year.
Sir Allen closed his speech by speaking candidly about the realities of global climate change and its potential environmental impact on the Caribbean. He observed that the realities of climate change could have “frightening” implications for the Caribbean as sea levels rise, coral reefs die and temperatures change. It was for these reasons that one year ago, Sir Allen commissioned the University of Miami Rosentiel School of Marine Science and Texas A& M University School of GeoScience to conduct research into global climate change and its impact in the Caribbean.
The inaugural Caribbean International Leadership Summit was hosted by the University of West Indies (UWI) and its three business schools: Cave Hill School of Business, Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business and the Mona School of Business.
In addition to Sir Allen Stanford, other speakers included Arthur Lok Jack, founder benefactor of the UWI Graduate School of Business in Trinidad; Margaret Young, Managing Partner and CEO of the Mill Square Group and a graduate of Harvard Business School; and former GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch.
Sir Allen Stanford moved to St. Croix in 2006 and established the global oversight office and Caribbean regional headquarters for the
Stanford Financial Group of companies there.
Stanford Financial Group is a global network of financial services companies with $43 billion in assets under management or advisement. The company is in the process of building a
90,000- square-foot office and hangar in St. Croix that, once completed,
will employ about 100 local people, Sir Allen said.
