By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
August 30, 2022
After two years of disrupted supply chains across the globe, many companies are looking to set up manufacturing and processing outlets in closer proximity to their markets. Commonly known as ‘nearshoring’, InvesTT hosted its webinar to interested parties looking to set up shop in Trinidad and Tobago on why the southern-most Caribbean twin island state is ideal for this move.
Currently on the way is the development of the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate, as well as the Moruga Agro-Processing facility which targets investors looking to establish Trinidad and Tobago another port of entry to other market destinations.
Speaking at the InvesTT Trinidad & Tobago An Ideal Nearshore Manufacturing Destination seminar as part of the Business Education Series the Trade and Investment Convention held in the lead up to its official launch, President of InvesTT, Sekou Alleyne, shared that Trinidad and Tobago currently benefits from a large extent of bilateral trade and investment agreements and treaties. These which include the UK, Canada, the EU, India, Asia and Latin America, allow duty free access to key products, cheaper access to the markets, protection for investors coming in from specific markets. He disclosed that many businesses from China were already expressing interest and setting up shop at the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate that were already servicing Latin America and the US.
As recent as March this year, action was taken to attract investors via the repeal of the Free Zones Trade act for the Special Economic Zone Act, bringing Trinidad and Tobago into compliance with global standard in trade. Vice President of Investments at InvesTT Pramilla Ramdahani explained that while government had established the Special Economic Zone Authority with oversight of its policies put in effect, it was not fully operationalized as yet.
The webinar also saw attention brought to the involvement of financial institutions like the IDB and its involvement in nearshoring, as well as data collected on FDI figures from this sector, particularly the measurement of FDI metrics for competitive areas, with this data made public.
Responding to this and in the same breath being transparent, Alleyne explained says he was not aware of the IDB providing nearshoring support to IPAs, but was willing to look into its impact on the key sectors. However, he added that figures were already available on the largest nearshoring industry in the region is the BPO/Call centre industry, with several large markets benefiting from these ‘meeting seats’. So far iQor and Teleperformance have established call centres in Trinidad and Tobago, with as much as three opened in under the last year, accounting for the generation of several new jobs among recent graduates.
As for consideration to investors hailing from countries where bilateral agreements do not exist, Alleyne says this is currently looked at case by case, while the practice by InvesTT often involves working with the organization whether in building or establishing such relations in tandem with working with potential clients in making such connections to external markets. And with many looking to Trinidad and Tobago for the ease of access to infrastructure, ports, industrial parks, very comparative low costs of energy, he says it would be ideal that Trinidad and Tobago does its due diligence if it is to ensure it is beneficial and most ideal for doing business with its markets.
With the Phoenix Park Estate near completion and seeing several businesses establish, InvesTT, SMEs looking to also enter the estate are also being urged to enter the stock exchange as a means of building up capital. As for real estate, InvesTT says the minimum square footage companies can access on the parks, including lots available for factory shelves, land lots are also available from 0.5 acres, to two acres, or larger if need be, while the largest factory shelf spans over 50,000 square feet.
The latest nearshoring campaign also comes after IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone shared that annual $78 billion in exports of goods and services in Latin America and the Caribbean in the near and medium term, with opportunities for, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and renewable energy. Following the pandemic, the IDB President echoed a call for the reconfiguration of global value chains is a priority of the IDB’s Vision 2025 plan to accelerate the economic recovery and growth of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Earlier this year, the American Chamber of Commerce of T&T put forward a policy paper titled “Nearshoring Framework and Rationale for the Government of T&T”, presenting it to the Trinidad and Tobago Trade Ministry, calling for a national task force established with a five-year strategy for developing Trinidad and Tobago nearshoring industry, with engagement with multilaterals for financial and technical support for its roll out.
Within the last two weeks, Chinese firm ‘First Caribbean Marketing Company (FCMC) signed a letter of Offer between and Evolving TecKnologies and Enterprise Development Co Ltd (e TecK at the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate, which targets businesses engaged in Light and Advanced Manufacturing, Logistics, Distribution, and Warehousing.