Beltrade - Belize Trade and Investment Development Service
 
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ABOUT US

 

 

Belize has a very attractive value proposition for the niche-oriented investor.  We aspire to attract quality-driven players who value our pro-business environment, competitive investment climate, convenient export location, and modern infrastructure.

 

The Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) works to help international and local investors in establishing and developing a business in Belize.  This Investor’s Manual is intended to provide useful information as you go about investing in Belize, and is intended for use by both domestic and international investors.

 

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) 2007 publication produced by the World Bank, “Snapshot Caribbean – Benchmarking FDI Competitiveness in Caribbean Countries”,  looked at three sectors: Tourism, Food Processing, and Export Services; which happen to be three of the five priority sectors for export and investment promotion in Belize.  In this report, several reasons investors chose to invest in Belize are listed below:

 

Export Services

Food Processing

Tourism

• English-speaking workforce

• Proximity to the United States

• Labor availability

• High-quality telecommunications

• Tax holidays

• Political stability

• Qualified retirement program

• Land availability

• Availability of raw materials

• Business opportunities in

   aquaculture and citrus

• Prevalence of traditional growing

   methods

• Good agricultural and corporate

   practices

• Market access

• Infrastructure and facilities

• Availability of managers and

   professionals

• Demand for hotel rooms

• Beautiful scenery, reefs,

  Caribbean sea, and Maya ruins

• Land availability

• Proximity to the United States

• Availability of “green” recreation

•Friendly, service-oriented workers

 

Belize also boasts: a strong democracy, environmentally friendly legislation, close proximity to US markets, adjacent accessibility to large Central American markets, and conducive conditions for producing specialty tropical foods.  In addition, Belize is blessed with a combination of natural endowments such as: year-round tropical climate, largest living barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, exotic islands, excellent fishing, pristine waters for boating, ecological diversity, and Maya ruins all supporting a high-end tourist industry.

 

Belize is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the Central American Integration System (SICA).  We are also a party to several preferential agreements such as the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), the Caribbean-Canada Trade Agreement, and The European Union/ACP Cotonou Agreement.  As a member of CARICOM, Belize allows free movement of goods and capital among member states and offers common tariffs for imports from nonmember nations.

 

I urge you to take advantage of the abundant niche-oriented opportunities existing in Belize.  Our priority sectors are: Agro-processing/Agribusiness, Environmental Goods and Services, Tourism, Information Communication Technology, and Aquaculture and Fisheries.

 

I welcome you to “Believe in Belize…The Natural Niche…for Business”!