HYATT Regency Hotel
Monday 24th. November 2008

Introduction

I welcome this opportunity to address you at the start of what is clearly going to be a very intensive day of deliberations on furthering the development of Small and Medium –sized Enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago. This is a critical matter, especially at this time of economic slowdown, here at home and abroad. I thank all the organisers of this important seminar, headed by the Central Bank, and including the Inter American Development Bank and the four particular Ministries of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. We welcome the participation of all institutions and individuals, especially those who journeyed to our country for this dialogue. We look forward to the ideas that will emanate from today’s conversation, as, like all other nations, we face the reality of a looming global recession and its very challenging consequences.

Our Philosophical Approach to SMEs

We subscribe to the view that Small and Medium Enterprises have a critical role to play in the productivity and resilience of any economy; as well as in the strength and stability of the society. They are indeed a key instrument of sustainable social and economic progress.

Perhaps more than any other area of business activity, Small and Medium enterprises epitomize that inextricable link between economics and human and social development. Where SMEs thrive, the society is stronger and more stable, and individuals and communities have the greater opportunity for progress and for contribution to national development; where SMEs struggle, there can be disaffection, deprivation and marginalization of the citizens at the middle and lower levels of the society.

Indeed there is hardly a middle society without a thriving small and medium enterprise sector. On the other hand, with SMEs, you almost always have an expanding middle class which in turn unleashes the levels of human energy, creativity, entrepreneurship and dynamism that positively influence, and can even incorporate, almost the entire society in its movement forward.

SMEs are therefore at the heart and foundational levels of the successful society, stimulating and propelling the country forward. They are among the greatest generators of employment and they spread the opportunities for development to all levels of the society.

They promote stability by being woven into the fabric of the lives of the people. They are accessible and familiar, part of the community landscape, seen for their value in providing indispensable goods and services. Where SMEs thrive, the people feel more attuned to the general direction of the country. Feelings of alienation are significantly reduced. The stability of the society is strengthened.

SMEs are therefore especially needed at this time of economic slowdown. The Government will continue to do all that is necessary to strengthen the Small and Medium Enterprise Sector in Trinidad and Tobago.

Government action

Over the last eight years, we have placed special focus on the development of this sector. Through our relevant agencies, we continue to provide comprehensive technical and financial support to help SMEs in the development of their potential. Through the Business Development Corporation, for example, we have already issued almost five hundred loan guarantees amounting to close to thirty million dollars for small and medium enterprise development in sectors including printing and packaging, electronics, agriculture, food and beverage, light manufacturing and distribution. Additionally, over fifteen million dollars in leases have been disbursed through the Leasing Company for the acquisition of equipment for plant upgrading. We have also provided tax holidays for this sector.

At the National Enterprise Development Company (NEDCO), we increased the entry level funding from $50,000 to $100,000; and those who successfully service their loans are able to access additional funding up to $ 250,000. We provide expert advice on management, marketing and technology utilization for viability in this competitive world. NEDCO has also trained thousands of persons in various aspects of small business management, helping them towards success and growth, making it possible for the transition of business operations from micro to small; from medium to big.

Under our Fair Shares programme, the intention is that contracts of one million dollars will be reserved exclusively for registered small businesses of varying sizes; and in many Government Departments today , over 10% of all contracts are reserved for the small man. Four of our special purpose state enterprises, are also providing opportunities to small businesses, especially small contractors, to participate in the development programmes on which they are engaged in our communities.

Additionally, approved small businesses in a regional development project, pay no tax on profits for five years; and we also exempt the gross sales of these companies from the business levy for a similar period.

ICT in SMEs

We also fully recognize that for their viability and improved competitiveness, there must be the fullest possible deployment of information and communication technology in the operations of the Small and Medium Enterprise Sector. Training is provided at several levels for the acquisition of ICT skills by our SME entrepreneurs.

Also, EnterpriseNeTT, the Online Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Business to Business (B2B) Marketplace has been established as a pilot. Work on this project now centres on its full deployment combined with the creation of a comprehensive e-Business Strategy to provide, among other things, a global listing of trade events, Internet market research, practical tools to help local MSMEs with the export process, and quick information on new business opportunities. Thousands of companies are currently registered on EnterpriseNeTT, which will play a key role in supporting Vision 2020’s developmental pillar of Enabling Competitive Business. In addition, we have established an e-Business Roundtable as a public/private sector collaborative mechanism aimed at increasing the adoption of ICTs among business community, including SMEs, as well as advancing ICT as an industry in itself.

In the meantime we are formulating a National Policy on e-Business and e-Commerce including proposals for Tax & Fiscal Incentives; a Code of Consumer Protection for e-Commerce; a National Strategy for Electronic Payments ; and the development of a B2C e-Commerce strategy. We are about to lay in Parliament The Electronics Transactions Bill and The Data Protection and Privacy Bill. We are creating the facilitative environment for our SMEs and the entire business community to incorporate the technology in their operations.

Success with SMEs

Our initiatives in the Small and Medium Enterprise Sector has produced tremendous growth. During the last five years, for example, we facilitated the development of over ten thousand small and medium enterprises which have created wealth and employment and contributed to strengthening the social fabric of Trinidad and Tobago. We will be unrelenting in our efforts to improve the strength of this sector.

SMEs and Economic Expansion

Ladies and Gentlemen, as I indicated in my address to the nation last week, we must now make adjustments in expenditure in the light of falling revenues from a global economic slowdown. But one thing must be made clear. We will not yield to economic contraction without a fight. We will not succumb so easily. We will do our best to promote business expansion because we know that the continued creation of wealth has to be a key weapon in the fight against any threatening stagnation.

Therefore, as far as is possible, we will pursue our planned economic expansion and diversification in the energy sector and also through the establishment of certain strategic gas- based industries in plastics, aluminum and iron and steel, as well as the intensification of our efforts in other key areas including agriculture, and the information industries. We will also continue our focus on the already determined new areas like Merchant Marine; Fish and Fish Processing; Yachting; Music and Entertainment; Film, and Food and Beverage.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Sector will be both beneficiary and instrument of this effort which will generate new industrial activity in Trinidad and Tobago. Our planned strategic industries, for example, will provide the platform for the creation of the great many products for use in manufacturing, construction, agriculture and agri-business, transportation, health care, and in the household, among others. Through this activity, all other sectors including services, retail and construction will have the chance to sustain if not expand their operations in these times of threatening economic slowdown. SMEs will undoubtedly emerge in all these sectors of the economy to play their indispensable role in national development.

Conclusion

We will do our best to ensure that the Small and Medium Enterprises have all possible opportunities for participation, and expansion in these challenging times. It is with this sector that we incubate our entrepreneurial talent. We can further nurture the culture of entrepreneurship and we have one of the best instruments for a more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth and for the structural transformation of our communities.

This sector is indispensable to the national economic momentum. It is needed to expand the economic base of the society and to be an essential part of the preparation for the even greater growth that will come when the economic problems are rectified, as they certainly will, at the global level.

I therefore once again thank you all for gathering to pursue ways to further facilitate the growth of this critical sector. I wish you most fruitful deliberations and I have no doubt that the Government would derive great benefits from your wise counsel.
Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen.

As part of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’s integrated programme to alleviate traffic congestion on the country’s roads, a Water-taxi Service between North and South Trinidad will be established. The primary objective is to provide commuters with an alternative and efficient means of transport between the coastal cities of Port of Spain and San Fernando, and the Borough of Point Fortin. This will help to ease the traffic congestion along the North-South Highway, and ultimately the East-West Corridor, through the significant reduction in the number of vehicles on the main artery into Port of Spain. Additionally, estimated travelling time between destinations for the Water-taxi Service is 30 to 45 minutes, a major reduction from the current time of two to three hours that is experienced during peak hours. The Water-taxi Service is designed to complement existing modes of public transport (e.g. taxis, maxi-taxis or bus services).

Benefits

The key, expected benefits from this service are:

1. Considerably reduced travel time relative to vehicular mode of transportation into Port of Spain.
2. Significant reduction in the number of vehicles on the main artery into Port of Spain, thereby offering relief to the commuters who must use vehicles to and from work.
3. Greater sense of personal safety for commuters who rely on taxis.
4. Opportunity for improvement in the quality of the lives of families because less time is spent commuting.
5. Reduced stress caused by traffic congestion, with the potential for improved worker productivity.

Operating the Water-taxi Service

The first phase of the project involves the establishment of a Water-taxi Service from Port of Spain to San Fernando. The Water-taxi will operate in the relatively calm waters of The Gulf of Paria between key urban centres / towns/ industrial estates on the west coast of Trinidad.  The proposed docking areas for the water-taxis are:

1. Breakfast Shed (Port of Spain)
2. Flatrock (San Fernando)
3. Point Fortin (Clifton Hill)
4. Waterloo (Chaguanas/ Orange Valley)
5. Point Cumana (north of Invaders Bay).

These areas offer easy access to main roads. Where required, a jetty will be constructed at the docking locations to facilitate customers’ comfort. All areas will be secured, and security officers will be onboard all vessels.

Hon. M.P. Colm Imbert said “docking facilities at Port-of- Spain are also being completed, and Government is in the process of hiring a marine operator which will provide the crew and maintenance facilities for the water taxis.”

“The company will take approximately two to three months to mobilise operations in Trinidad, so this will take us to September. There are a lot of things that have to be done. The operation is very complex, but by October everything is expected to get going once there are no unforeseen incidents,” Imbert said.

Affordability

The service caters for all commuters, including low, middle, and high income individuals. The $15, one-way fare will be affordable.

The tickets, priced at $15 one way, will be available online from October, if everything goes according to plan, Minister of Works and Transport Hon. M.P. Colm Imbert said yesterday.

Imbert said Government has to decide whether to sell the tickets through Play Whe/Lotto terminals or through commercial banks.

Vessels

The vessels identified for the Water-taxi Service are high-speed Catamarans. To handle the expected volume of passengers utilising the service, it is deemed necessary to have four Catamarans of various, holding capacities operating on the route. The Water-taxi Service is expected to transport approximately 9,000 persons daily.

Confirming that the three (3) interim vessels which were purchased at $US 6 million each were delivered to the Point Lisas port by a heavy-lift ship, Imbert said a fourth vessel is expected to arrive from Spain in August.

Although the interim vessels have arrived, Minister of Works and Transport Hon. M.P. Colm Imbert said the water taxi service is not expected to start until October.

“The vessels have been taken to a dockyard in Chaguaramas, because whenever used vessels are purchased, things need to be done,” Imbert explained.

Over the next month, Imbert said the logos will be painted on the vessels, routine checks will be made and the vessels will be certified and classified by the relevant marine society.

Project oversight

The estimated cost of the Water-taxi Service is TT$252 million. NIDCO has embarked upon the procurement of services, and has completed preliminary engineering.

The following is the keynote address delivered by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning at the close of the 2008 edition of the Euromoney Caribbean Investment Forum which took place at The Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain.

Evolving TecKnologies and Enterprise Development Company (e TecK) and more than 250 organizations and businesses participated in the ninth annual Trade & Investment Convention (TIC) - the largest such gathering in the region - at the Centre of Excellence in Macoya.

In addition to business leaders and investors, the event also attracted a number of Trinidad and Tobago diaspora, including representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago Business Association (TATBA) in New York.

“So many of us left the islands to pursue professional and financial opportunities that were not available at home,” said Leisa Smith Lundy, trustee and secretary of the TATBA. “It’s a different story today. We were thrilled to see first hand all that’s happening here, and to know that we can make connections and generate leads that will lead to growth and development in this very special country.”

Patricia Khan, investment promotion manager at eTecK, agreed that T&T diaspora are critical to the country’s success. “Trinbagonians around the globe have shown great passion and energy for our efforts. You are our most active champions and our best storytellers. We look forward to engaging you in our efforts even more directly as we move forward.”

After more than thirty years of success in the petroleum and natural gas sectors, Trinidad and Tobago is now working to expand and diversity its already stable, booming economy by reaching out to a select number of ambitious nations and companies around the world-those looking to invest in the next economic hotspot in the Caribbean.

With 12 percent economic growth in 2006, Trinidad and Tobago offers an investment and business friendly environment. The country is focused on encouraging investment in sectors where it has unique advantages, including ICT, downstream from energy production, fish and fish processing, food and beverage, merchant marine, film, music and entertainment, printing and packaging and yachting.

“There has never been a better time for businesses in our country - across many different sectors - than at this moment,” Karen de Montbrun, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturing Association (TTMA), said. “We see it at all levels, in both public and private sectors. The intellectual capital is here, the infrastructure is rapidly developing, and the experience is here. And we bring a real global outlook and insights into market forces around the world. It’s not long before we are known for far more than energy and gas.”

TT’s ‘We Are Next’ initiative is an extension of the country’s “Vision 2020″ economic development plan, dedicated to earning TT developed nation status by 2020. The initiative is led by eTecK-an enterprise development company working in close partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

“Every place has a moment when promise can become reality,” explained Khalid Hassanali, President of eTecK. “In Trinidad and Tobago, we believe we are at that moment because there is such great harmony between what we have worked hard to offer global and local investors and what those investors are looking for.”

At its booth at TIC, eTecK helped the University of the West Indies - now celebrating its 60th anniversary - to showcase its technical and research expertise and training capacity and introduced many people to the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s (UTT) new Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design (CAFD).

Christopher Nathan, programme administrator of the CAFD, says that the people he met at TIC were impressed with the progress T&T has made on the fashion front. “We heard comments like ‘T&T fashion is ready to take on the major capitals’ and ‘fashion is the next big thing from T&T.’ That certainly makes us feel great about the strides we’ve made to elevate the industry and fashion education in our country.”

The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA), Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and The RBTT Financial Group were primary sponsors of the convention.

Trinidad and Tobago will show delegates why “We Are Next”

PORT OF SPAIN - More than 60 delegates from India, Bangladesh and Singapore seeking to deepen relations and discuss joint opportunities for trade and investment will visit Trinidad and Tobago June 1-8.

The mission has been organized by the High Commission of Trinidad and Tobago, New Delhi, with the support of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism, Evolving TecKnologies and Enterprise Development Company Limited (e TecK), and the Tourism Development Company, in addition to other ministries and the private sector in Trinidad and Tobago.

The delegates, from companies interested in doing business in the twin-island nation, represent investors and merchants/suppliers in health, ICT, tourism, pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals, steel and other industries.  During their visit to both Trinidad and Tobago, delegates will meet one-on-one and in small groups with business and government leaders and learn about the business environment in the country.

“A delegation from Trinidad and Tobago participated in a very fruitful mission to India in March 2007,” said H.E. Pundit Maniedeo Persad, High Commissioner of the Republic of  Trinidad and Tobago in India with concurrent accreditation to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan for the last four and one-half years.  “That mission gave added impetus to the emerging business relations between Trinidad and Tobago and India and generated widespread interest upon which we will build with this trip.”

Trinidad and Tobago is already experiencing the benefits of stronger ties and active promotion by the High Commission during the past few years, including:

• ESSAR Steel’s USD $1.8 billion investment in Trinidad and Tobago
• Bank of Baroda establishment of offices in October 2007
• The first ever Bollywood film shot on location in Trinidad and Tobago in 2007
• Increase in business travel to Trinidad and Tobago by more than 400 percent in the last four and one-half years.

“Forty percent of our population is of East Indian background and although ‘Trini to the bone’ they retain strong cultural, religious and harmonious links,” said Khalid Hassanali, President of eTecK, the enterprise development company working in close partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry.  “Couple those facts with the reality that South Asia continues to boom and very quickly you understand that this region is critically important to the expansion and diversification of our economy.”

After more than 30 years of success in the petroleum and natural gas sectors, Trinidad and Tobago is now working to expand and diversify its already stable, booming economy by reaching out to a select number of ambitious nations and companies around the world - those looking to invest in the next economic hotspot in the Caribbean. 

With 12 percent economic growth in 2006, Trinidad and Tobago offers an investment and business friendly environment. The country is focused on encouraging investment in sectors where it has unique advantages, including ICT, downstream from energy production, food and beverage, merchant marine, film, music and entertainment, printing and packaging, yachting and fish and fish processing.

Trinidad and Tobago’s “We Are Next” initiative is an extension of the country’s “Vision 2020″ economic development plan, dedicated to earning TT developed nation status by 2020.  “Every place has a moment when promise can become reality,” Hassanali added. “In Trinidad and Tobago, we believe we are at that moment - that ‘We Are Next’ - because there is such great harmony between what we have worked hard to offer global and local investors and what those investors are looking for.”

Delegates participating in the mission will also meet and hear from a wide range of business people and agencies such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers, M. Hamel-Smith and Company, UTT, UWI, the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association, Greater Chaguanas and other Chambers of Industry and Commerce from across the country, Tobago House of Assembly and others.

There will be an opportunity for one-on-one business meetings with the delegates on Tuesday 3 June 2008, Wednesday 4 June 2008 and Saturday 7 June 2008 in Trinidad and on Thursday 5 June and Friday 6 June in Tobago.  Companies interested in meeting with delegates to evaluate possible business opportunities should contact Nyala Singh, Senior Investment Promotion Officer at eTecK, at 868-675-1989 Ext. 2196 or nyala.singh@eteck.co.tt. 

In Tobago, companies may contact Jean Nichols at 868-639-3081 and jeannicho@hotmail.com or bduentdevtha@yahoo.com.

Direct contact with the High Commission office in New Delhi can be made at tradeinfo@hctt.in.

For more information about investment promotion in Trinidad and Tobago visit www.investtnt.com.

Damien Rose, managing director of the Chaguaramas-based Delphin Marine, said the joint venture was finalised in February.

“Delphin Marine is a marketing and operations firm. We operate and market here to the offshore oil and gas industry for platform supply vessels, tugs and marine equipment.

“Right now, we market Rigdon’s vessels because we don’t own any of our own,” Rose said.

“We are actively pursuing avenues to jointly purchase vessels.

“The thing with this business is it’s a very large capital outlay. That is one barrier to entry. One vessel is US$20 million on the low side.”

Rose said HCL did not get involved in the marine industry simply to manage vessels.

Complementary S&R Publications will be distributed to industry stakeholders, students, service providers, buyers, investors and other interested parties attending this business-to-business event.