Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2017

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean • 2017
Chapter I
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is the key to rebuilding and boosting the economy. In 2016, work began on the first
phase of the controversial Baha Mar hotel megaproject, which was acquired by CTF
BM Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of the conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd.
based in Hong Kong SAR. This venture is expected to kick start the local economy
(New York Times, 2017).
The cruise business continues to thrive, with companies announcing expansion
plans. MSC Cruises, a company founded in Italy and with headquarters in Switzerland,
announced a project for a private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, in which it
plans to invest US$ 200 million, while the United States-based Norwegian Cruise Line
will invest to improve its private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay. Meanwhile,
Carnival Cruise Line, the other major United States cruise line, is planning to build a
new port on the east side of Grand Bahama, with an investment estimated at between
US$ 100 million and US$ 200 million.
Barbados received US$ 228 million of FDI in 2016, which is triple the amount
received in 2015, but still below the average for the last decade. In telecommunications,
the Jamaican Digicel Group announced an infrastructure expansion project valued
at US$ 84 million, which is expected to extend access to the fibre optic network to
households. As part of the same project, it also launched its 4G LTE mobile telephone
network, the first of its kind in the country.
In the area of tourism, the Jamaican firm Sandals Barbados plans to double the
size of the hotel complex it opened in 2015, by adding another 222 rooms, while United
States-based group Hyatt announced the construction of a hotel on Lower Bay Street
that will have 232 rooms and 30 condominiums, with an estimated investment of
US$ 100 million. In 2017, work will finally begin on the long-delayed, US$ 200 million
project to build a 450 room hotel on the site of historic Sam Lord’s Castle Hotel in Saint
Philip, to be operated by the United States-based firm Wyndham Grand Resort. As it
is linked to a transnational company, this project is expected to receive investment
from abroad, which would boost FDI inflows, but in the meantime, the bulk of the
funding will be provided by the Government of Barbados directly. In this particular case,
Barbados has secured a loan from the Government of China to finance construction of
the hotel, which will be built by China National Complete Plant Import & Export Co. Ltd.
(Barbados Today, 2017).
FDI in Suriname fell 20.4% to US$ 222 million. However, 2015 saw the highest
reported amount of investment of the last 10 years, so inflows in 2016 were still
above the average of previous years. The country’s natural resources have been the
main attraction for foreign capital. In mining, the Canadian firm Iamgold signed an
agreement with the Government of Suriname to acquire a stake in the Saramacca
project and the encouraging results of the initial explorations mean that drilling will
continue (Iamgold, 2017). In 2016, production began at the Merian open-pit gold mine,
a project led by the United States-based group Newmont Mining Corporation and in
which the State-owned oil company, Staatsolie, holds a 25% stake. This site has an
estimated mine life of 11-13 years and reserves of approximately 3.8 million ounces.
Annual production is expected to reach between 400,000 and 500,000 ounces in the
first five years of operation.
FDI flows to Haiti remained relatively stable, reaching US$ 105 million in 2016,
despite being a year marked by political turmoil and the trail of destruction wreaked
by Hurricane Matthew, with the ensuing damages estimated to be in the region of
21% of GDP.
The maquila industry, particularly in the textile sector, has seen some activity. MAS
Holdings, a Sri Lankan conglomerate specializing in the manufacture of underwear,
announced the opening of a new plant in the Caracol industrial park, with an estimated