St. Kitts and Nevis is fast-becoming a magnet for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in key sectors, such as tourism-related real estate, financial services and offshore education–medical university institutions, primarily.
The St. Kitts and Nevis economy is projected to have grown by 5.4% in 2014 and growth is expected to continue into the next term. Income from the introduction of Citizenship by Investment Program, construction sector, manufacturing, and tourism has helped the economy to reduce its indebtedness and to lead to an economical recovery after a few years of stagnant economic growth. In fact, St. Kitts and Nevis has been the leading exporter of manufactured goods to the United States in the Eastern Caribbean in the more recent past. The economic outlook for St. Kitts and Nevis coming out of the global recession is considerably bright.
Tax incentives can be in the form of exemption from import duty on materials for approved projects, tax holidays of up to 15 years, and export incentives. The Government has designated areas in St. Kitts where international investment in tourism is incentivized under the Hotel Aids Act. The law allows for exemption from import duty on material, a tax holiday of 10 years for the refurbishment or construction of a hotel with 30 or more bedrooms and 5 years for hotels with 10 to 29 bedrooms.
St. Kitts and Nevis has become a very attractive destination for medical education institutions with six accredited schools currently offering higher education in medical, veterinary medicine and nursing studies. Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) which boasts of having over 2000 graduates was established in 1982 and has full accreditation status from The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) for a period of seven years to offer the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree program is the first of these types of schools.The reasons St. Kitts and Nevis is an idyllic investment haven for medical education institutions are the local infrastructure and supporting services. In order to operate in St. Kitts and Nevis, a school must be certified by the St. Kitts and Nevis Accreditation Board which is guided by two Acts–The St. Christopher and Nevis Accreditation Act, 1999 and The St. Christopher and Nevis Accreditation of Institutions (Amendment) Act, 2001.
St. Kitts and Nevis is currently witnessing a tremendous spike in tourism related real estate development. This growth is spurred by the country’s economic Citizenship by Investment Program. These include the following: Christophe Harbour Development, The Park Hyatt Hotel, Koi Hotel and Resort, Pelican Bay Resort and Kittitian Hill Resort, Tamarind Cove Marina, and Fisherman’s Cabana, to name a few.
The Government treats international investors and local investors equally with respect to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, and sale or other disposition of investments in its territory. International investors may also hold up to 100% of an investment. Investment priority areas: Financial Services, Information Technology, Tourism, Manufacturing, and Agriculture (Agri-business).
Living and working in a country where English is the main language allows for fewer to no delays and makes everything that much quicker and easier to accomplish. Christopher Columbus sighted St. Kitts and Nevis in 1493. Originally called St. Christopher, St. Kitts is the location of the first British colony established in the West Indies in 1623. St. Kitts and Nevis uses English as its first language.
The Federation of St. Kitts-Nevis uses the Eastern Caribbean Dollar which is pegged to the USD. $1.00 USD = 2.70 ECD.
One of the highest literacy rates in the region at 98% and with a readily-available labor force. The twin island federation of St. Kitts and Nevis consists of two Caribbean islands separated by a narrow strait of water. The people of the two islands are called Kittitians and Nevisians, respectively.
The platform allows for the ease of doing business with government entities due to the availability of electronic form submissions and immediate access to information.
St. Kitts was once known as the Gibraltar of the West Indies for its domination of 18th- century colonial battles. How the island rose to become the world’s leader in sugarcane cultivation, an inspiration for the industrial revolution in the process.
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