Jul 2010 Financial News

IFC plans change, redesigned

Jul 09, 2010

Finance Minister Winston Dookeran said Government will be looking to find other ways of utilising the International Financial Centre established at the Port-of-Spain Waterfront by the former administration.

“We have been looking closely at the notion of an International Financial Centre, it is an outmoded notion, it never had relevance and it still does not. There is some possibility that we can create a regional capital market in Trinidad but we cannot create an IFC,” he said Wednesday evening at a Meet the MPs forum organised by the Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Commerce at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya.

He said stakeholders inside and out of Government have had brainstorming sessions to look at redesigning the original concept of the IFC.

“Money has been sunk so we have to see what we can get out of that sum towards what they call an International Business and Financial Centre,” he said.

Dookeran said this centre will seek to provide easy access to foreign investment in the non- energy sector to create partnership opportunities for local businesses to enhance the economy. Another function being examined is the establishment of an outsourcing industry.

“It is growing at a remarkable rate globally. Part of the globalisation process which we are now all engaged has been the creation of this industry whether in the field of finance, IT, education services, etc, there is a growing industry in the world. Our economy must now enter into that area and I hope when we redesign the IFC to give it a developmental focus, an investment focus and a partnering focus that we will create the institutional infrastructure for that stimulus package,” he said.

He suggested the IFC could be used to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system which has remained untouched by private sector because of uncertainty caused by the global economic crisis.

Dookeran explained the financial sector may soon look outside of TT to get rid of this excess liquidity and there is no regulation to prevent this from occurring.

Plans to reduce liquidity and diversify the economy, he said, will be part of a stimulus package being planned for the economy by Government.


Source:
Newsday
Friday July 9, 2010

http://www.newsday.co.tt/business/0,123728.html