PRESS RELEASE – THE Government of Anguilla in its continued efforts to diversify and grow the island’s economy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Latitude Consultancy and Arton Capital, two leading firms in the investment migration industry.
The signing of the MOU followed months of research by the Government aimed at raising further revenues for the island, including through the recently announced Anguilla Residency-by-Investment (ARBI) Programme.
Latitude, the Consortium’s lead member, is founded by Mr. Eric Major and Mr. Christopher Willis. The firm’s government advisory team has over 75 years of combined experience in this very specialized industry which raises direct foreign investments to participating countries.
According to Mr. Major: “Over 75 countries currently have a programme that exchanges residency privileges against a significant investment into the country, so it is now a mainstream way for countries to raise foreign direct investment.
“We’re not just trying to attract money to Anguilla but also talent with global networks, and once the Agency responsible for promoting Anguilla’s programmes is up and running, early next year, we will be ready to promote Anguilla internationally”.
Mr. Armand Arton is the founder of Arton Capital and commented: “Competition is high, but we believe Anguilla can offer an attractive proposition that caters to a niche-market of ultra-high net worth individuals.”
Arton Capital has a team of over 60 professionals spread across the globe, and its government advisory services have attracted over US$ 3 billion, in the last five years in foreign direct investments, to the countries it serves.
Mr. Willis, who is based in the Cayman Islands, is quite familiar with the Caribbean and knows how to promote and attract investors, noting it would be quite a measured approach as opposed to big volumes as seen in other Caribbean markets. “The initial phase involves building the awareness, and volumes will grow over time”, he shared.
Chief Minister and Minister of Finance Mr. Victor Banks said: “Government is happy to be involved with Latitude Consultancy and Arton Capital in moving this initiative forward, and we are very fortunate to partner with them in this enterprise.
“They are the experts and have knowledge of the players, and small economies like Anguilla cannot survive without foreign direct investment of one kind or the other.
“The really good news is that Government does not have to lay out any upfront capital for launching this project, nor will we be required to finance the promotion campaign.”
This initiative is jointly spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The signing of the MOU now paves the way for the formal launch of the full ARBI Programme (Phase 2) tentatively set for the 1st quarter of 2019. (OECS Business Focus)