NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (December 09, 2020) — The Nevis Investment Promotion Agency (NIPA) website is set to undergo an upgrade designed to improve and expand its services to attract more local and foreign investors to the island.

The announcement came during the Budget Address for 2021, delivered by Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis and Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Investment in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) on December 08, 2020.

“In light of the need to be more proactive in the investment market place my Administration is presently undertaking a project to revamp our main marketing arm, the Nevis Investment Promotion Agency.

“This revamping exercise will see the launching of a new interactive and user-friendly website platform, encompassing all the features which we hope will pique the interest of investors and have the effect of luring them to invest in Nevis.

“This new digital platform will form the basis for investment in Nevis, as all potential investors both local and international must first register on this platform, submit their project proposals and other pertinent documents which will then be reviewed and assessed by the competent staff at NIPA, before submission to the Cabinet for consideration,” he said.

The Premier said the need to step up the island’s investment marketing has become necessary in the face an increasingly challenging investment climate due to the COVID pandemic. He said it is therefore imperative that the NIA continue to promote Nevis as a viable place to invest.

“My administration intends to expand our investment promotion drive into such countries as a means to soliciting investment into Nevis by people seeking a stable and rewarding environment…

“My cabinet has already mandated NIPA to specifically target these countries with an enhanced investment pitch as part of our new strategy of looking beyond the traditional investment markets of the USA and Europe, focussing instead on Asia, the Middle East, Russia and other Eastern European countries. We feel that these are now the emerging areas with potential investors looking to expand their portfolios and opt for less stressful lifestyles,” he said.

Through this platform investors will be able to track the progress of their various applications which would have been routed to the various approval agencies of government.

Premier Brantley said the newly revamped NIPA will become the interface between the investor and the various departments of government, namely the Companies Registry, the Department of Physical Planning, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture.

“This revamping is all in an effort to enhance the investor experience as we seek to increase our ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index…

“One of the main features of this electronic investment platform will be our ability to list all the professional service providers, development concessions offered by government and the various procedures to be observed when doing business or submitting documents to any of the approval agencies of government.

“This, we feel, will expedite the approval processes and potential investors will be very clear about the documents to be submitted and the processes to be followed in order to obtain the relevant approvals,” he said.

Additional features of the improved NIPA website include the listing of professional services such as lawyers, architects, and surveyors; and the establishment of the Real Estate Database which will allow realtors the opportunity to list all properties currently available for sale.

The Premier informed that the upgrading of the NIPA website should be completed and launched during the first quarter of 2021 when it will become “the catalyst for increased foreign investment into Nevis.”