Dookeran axes Financial Centre The vision of an International Financial Centre (IFC) in Port of Spain is over, Finance Minister Winston Dookeran said yesterday. In fact, Dookeran said the Trinidad and Tobago IFC, which was to be housed in two 26-storey towers at Wrightson Road, Port of Spain, was "an idea that never should have been born".
State special-purpose company e Teck may also be about to undergo a restructuring process, he said. The towers were part of a $2 billion international Waterfront project, which included the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel. Tower C and Tower D cost taxpayers $1.3 billion and were completed in 2008 by the previous People's National Movement (PNM) administration.
Discussions to turn the towers into the Caribbean headquarters of international banking and financial powerhouses, however, were stalled with the onset of the global economic meltdown, and the towers remained practically empty until government ministries started occupying several floors.
"The economics of the IFC were never there" from the time the towers were completed, Dookeran told reporters, following a luncheon address to American Chamber of Commerce members at the Hyatt Regency.
The IFC idea also faced legal challenges to make it a reality.
"The legal and taxation framework were not there," Dookeran said.
The IFC under the previous PNM government was designed to be a financial platform for international banks and finance houses, similar to IFCs in Dubai, the Middle East and Asia.
Earlier during his address, Dookeran said the IFC idea in Port of Spain should not have been created, and the new People's Partnership would now have to redesign the IFC concept as a means of increasing investment promotion. A ministry task force has been assessing options for the new IFC.
Dookeran said the ministry was exploring new options to convert the IFC into an investment-promotion entity that would actively go after investors who want to come to Trinidad and Tobago.
There is also the need for a new investment promotion vehicle because there has been a "missing link" in promoting Trinidad and Tobago since the demise of the Tourism and Industrial Development Company (Tidco), he said.
Dookeran is projecting US$2 billion worth of investments to start in the country next year, and he expects to convert the IFC into a permanent liability company to drive the investment thrust forward.
Another issue is the Evolving TecKnologies and Enterprise Development Company (e TecK), a special-purpose company set up in 2003 to develop new industries. The company says it is nearing completion of its Tamana InTech Park at Wallerfield, which will be a science and light industrial park.
Responding to questions from AmCham members, Dookeran said, "e Teck has been a sore spot not only because the building is still not complete, but the bills are starting to rise."
He said the company would be restructured in the context of investment promotion.