(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO — With over US$ 260 million (112 million in 2010 and 154 million in 2011) direct foreign investments in Suriname have crossed the US$ 2 billion line. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has issued a report with records of all investments in the region.
Stats from the report disclose foreign financial injections between US$ 100 million and 400 million between 2002 and 2011. Henk Naarendorp chair of the Chamber of Commerce expects more investments to come referring to the expected US1 billion in investments by 2015. The ECLAC report confirms that investments in the bauxite and gold sector will exceed US$ 200 million in 2012. Naarendorp explains that the investments identify Suriname as an investment destination. ‘But that’s no reason to cheer. We should be aware that the investments are mainly in the mining sector. With the exception of the small scale mining sector, few job opportunities are created in the mining sector, so we have to use these mega investments to develop other sectors and thus create employment,’ the Chamber of Commerce official says, with the agriculture sector in mind.
‘Several laws and regulations from the past seem to slow down development. If we want to invest in other sectors, we need to adjust a number of laws. That’s up to the government and that’s often where the problem lies. We try to assist from the Suriname Business Forum, but it should be a joint effort,’ says Naarendorp. The ECLAC report states that the Caribbean and Latin America have digested a record US$ 153 billion in foreign investments in 2011 despite continuous uncertainties about the global economy. The lion share of the investments went to the mining sector.
