Stimulating investment in pearl farming in ... - World Fish Center

incentive treatment that fits the likely profile. The most likely and useful business taxincentive available to a pearl farm investment appears to be a tax holiday (exemptionfrom business profits tax) for a period of up to 10 years, the actual period to be decidedon basis of the projected performance of the business. A well argued case should obtainthe maximum exemption. Many other countries offer such concessions for pioneer andrural industries, and for Solomon Island not to do so would reduce the relativeattractiveness of the country to foreign investors.As noted earlier, any pearl farming industry that develops in Solomon Islands will dependon the services of foreign seeding technicians, the majority of whom are Japanese. Inother countries regulations requiring localisation of this work has led to a variety ofproblems for the industry. A clear statement by the Solomon Islands Government thatlicensed pearl farming operators will be entitled to receive work permits for foreignseeding technicians will be an encouragement to investors with long-term investmenthorizons.One drawcard for a pearl farmer considering an investment in Solomon Islands is theexisting WorldFish aquaculture facility at Nusa Tupe, in Western Province. Any investorwho could gain access to this facility would immediately short-circuit the process ofidentifying a suitable culture site and negotiating a lease agreement, and constructingbasic operating facilities, including a hatchery. If the stock of 2-3,000 adult black-lipshell currently being maintained at the facility were made available it could be implantedwith nuclei immediately, so that the farm would commence generating revenue in twoyears rather than the usual 4-5. Spat collection and/ or hatchery production arrangementswould still need to be developed so that the size of the farm could be progressivelyincreased, but the existing stock would accelerate the process of achieving positive cashflow and profitability.A cooperative venture with the WorldFish Center should thus be a significant attractionto any investor interested in exploring pearl farming in Solomon Islands. This shouldmake it possible to leverage a cooperative venture which allows WorldFish and theSolomon Islands Government to continue research on aspects of pearl oyster biology andlife history (growth rates, spat collection success, etc) or to access research informationobtained by the commercial partner. Ultimately, if initial success was achieved at theWorldFish site, the company would need to negotiate its own site and facilities.4.3 LabourWork permits under the Employment Act and residence permits under the ImmigrationAct are required for foreign employees, including the investor himself/herself. Theexpectation will be that Solomon Islanders are used where they can already undertake therequired work or when they can easily be trained to do so. For pearl farms, policy willadvocate that local staff fill general labouring, maintenance, boat driving and SCUBAdiving roles, though seeding technicians need not be local and provision have beenproposed to ensure that they are freely able to obtain necessary work permits.20