GOVERNMENT SIGNS AGREEMENT TO TIGHTEN EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE PROGRAMME

April 05, 2007

Government grants international company Export Processing Zone status. Recently the Ministry of National Development and Culture signed an agreement with Pinnacle B-S-T Company, granting them Export Processing Zone status. This will allow that company to establish a state of the art Information and Communications Technology, operations in Belize. Love News spoke with the Ministry’s C-E-O, Hugh O’Brien. O’Brien first explains the E-P-Z.

Hugh O’Brien: CEO

“The Export Processing Zone Programme is an incentive base programme that is implemented by many countries including Belize. And it is done with a view to attract foreign investments to other countries with a view that the investors will be given tax exemption privileges but that there will be major benefits to the country that has to do with employment, foreign exchange programme and direct foreign investment 

The company will be housed at the E-P-Z Park at the former Data Pro Compound. This park is owned by a subsidiary of B-T-L, International Communications Services Limited. O’Brien speaks about the company, the Pinnacle B-S-T, and how it will benefit Belizeans

Hugh O’Brien: CEO

“Pinnacle BST is a company that will operate from out of the International Communications Services Limited Park which like I said is at the Data Pro Compound and they will be providing services to their parent company in the United States known as Pinnacle Group worldwide. And this US based company produces software that is mostly use for businesses and provides business solution to emerging business in the US and other parts of the world. Now the local Pinnacle based team will be providing training and costumer services support to the various businesses support buy this software from the parent company and therefore would be required to have knowledge on programming and software management. And they will have to be able to make adjustments to the software to customize the software in a way to serve the needs of the companies that buy the software from Pinnacle Group Worldwide. So it’s really a high end service industry and we are looking forward to the employment of a lot more Belizeans in this area. Right they have something like five or six employees but they project that within a year or so they will have close to a hundred Belizeans working.”

O’Brien highlights the terms agreed to between Government and the investment company, Pinnacle B-S-T.

Hugh O’Brien: CEO

“The terms are really constant with all EPZ companies but what we centrally do in the terms of conditions we outline what is provided to an EPZ that is within the laws of Belize and we do us the agreement to tighten up certain conditions that we would want. So for example in the case of the Pinnacle we made specific reference of the employment of Belizeans we made reference to the submission of their bi annual report. So we made mention of the foreign exchange that they earn and so has to banked in the local bank so we try to close the opportunity leakages to occur and to maximize the benefits to Belize.”

O’Brien adds that Government will continue to do its part by strengthening the program to reduce the instances of loop-holes and to ensure maximum benefits to Belize and Belizeans.

Hugh O’Brien: CEO

“The EPZ Programme is done with a view to attract investments a d to a large extent the investments that have been attracted in the past focused more on the Agro processing Sector and we do intend to continue with that approach but we have decided that as soon as we notice that an EPZ company is no longer in operation we are moving rapidly to close the benefits that they obtained and at the same time we are not approving application for new companies  on a blanket bases. And so we are looking at more closely at the benefits that directly accrue to Belize before we would want to grant an EPZ status to a new investor. We also revoke the EPZ status for eighteen of the companies that were not performing and so in effect there is a reduction of the total number of company to fifty five. And both the export figures and employment sales for these companies are higher than they were in 2005. And it’s a sign in reducing the number of companies consciously looking at the new companies that will be applying at the same time we are closing off the opportunity of leakages and for people to take advantage of this regime and they are still getting the benefits of increase exports and increase employment.”

Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Development and Culture, Hugh

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