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| System of Goverment | Privatization | Investment Incentives | |
| Legislative / Labor Laws | Tariffs and Treaties | ||
| Tax Structure | Economic Free Zones |
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| Privatization | |
| Curaçao launched an ambitious
scheme to privatize State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
These SOEs are active in a wide variety of sectors, like telecommunications,
infrastructure (harbors, airports, etc.), oil, finance and more. Privatization is seen by the Government of Curaçao as one of the major pillars in the attracting foreign investments to the island. For the actual implementation of the privatization process, the Island Government of Curaçao established the Commissie Implementatie Privatisering' (CIP) in December 1999. Why privatize? Privatization is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end, the end being economic development and social welfare of Curaçao. In the government's endeavor to rationalize its functioning, it intends to concentrate on governing and let the economy be guided by the market forces as far as possible. Herewith the government of Curaçao follows the current global trend towards privatization. Besides aforementioned objective, the government aims to enhance overall efficiency on macro- as well as micro-level. Through privatization the government strives to strengthen the forces of national economic development in general and in particular to increase the competitiveness of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), especially those that are exposed to global competition. One of the main objectives is to enhance efficiency. Curaçao is a small island economy, characterized by (i) small-sized markets served by small-sized enterprises, (ii) competition from the other Caribbean islands, and (iii) a relatively high dependence on imports. It is, therefore, essential to introduce policy reforms that encourage reductions in production costs. These will flow from the emergence of competition in the market, along with the inflow of technical know-how and capital from abroad, which acts as a spur for the new owners of enterprises to operate more efficiently. In this way the economic efficiency of Curaçao will improve and will add to its competitive position in the Caribbean. |
