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Haiti - Economy : Foreign Direct Investment in Haiti in sharp decline
01/06/2015 08:09:38

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in a report released past week, entitled "Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Latin America and the Caribbean" reported about Haiti and the Caribbean "Of the economies in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic’s FDI inflows are the most balanced in terms of distribution between natural resources, manufacturing, tourism and other services. The inflows of many other economies typically depend more heavily on a particular sector. The Bahamas and the members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), for example, receive the bulk of investment in the tourism sector, while inflows to Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are driven primarily by natural resources. In 2014, Haiti and Jamaica received the majority of FDI in the transport and telecommunications sector on the back of significant investments in the expansion of telecommunications services."

The Dominican Republic, being the largest economy in the region, also attracts significant investment in the export-oriented manufacturing sector, particularly from the United States. Haiti is also slowly entering this market, but from a very low base.

While the Caribbean has attracted significant FDI over the years, it is not clear that the region has fully leveraged that investment. Most governments could do more to harness existing FDI to encourage economic growth, while some economies, particularly Cuba and Haiti, which have to date received very small FDI inflows, would first have to attract those flows in order to perceive any significant positive impact.

For Haïti the inward foreign direct investment between 2001-2014, figure as follows, 2001 $4 million ; 2002 $6 millions, 2003 $14 millions, 2004 $6 millions, 2005 $26 millions, 2006 $161 millions, 2007 $75 millions, 2008 $29 millions, 2009 $55 millions, 2010 $178 millions, 2011 $119 millions, 2012 $156 millions, 2013 $186 millions, and drop to $99 millions in 2014.

Haiti is one of the countries that receive the least FDI in the Caribbean, both in absolute terms and in relation to the size of the economy. FDI inflows in 2014 dropped to US$ 99 million after four years in which they had averaged US$ 150 million.

"Only in the Dominican Republic does manufacturing account for a large proportion of FDI, while transport and communications are particularly important in Haiti and Jamaica. In recent years, these countries have received large investments in the telecommunications sector, corresponding to both network expansion and the setting-up of new networks."

Regarding tourism the report says "Haiti is an interesting case. It is the fourth most popular destination in the subregion for non-regional flights, mostly from the United States. This is primarily because Haiti has a large population and a large diaspora, but it suggests that there may be an opportunity to further develop tourism. Flight bottlenecks, often a problem in developing tourism, would not be an obstacle for Haiti."

Download the report : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/fdi-2015_en.pdf

SL/ HaitiLibre