Foreign investors still nowhere in sight

The nation is still waiting for the many investors whoaccording to the coalition parties- are eager to make investments in Suriname which is currently under new leadership. During its election campaign the ruling VHP party had promised that it would make haste with facilitating foreign capital in Suriname after winning the general elections. But six months after the party won the elections, there are still no big investors. Finance Minister Armand

Achaibersing explained that this process takes some time but he insisted that a bunch of investors are waiting in line to do business with Suriname. “There are many investors who find Suriname interesting. We have already received good offers.” The potential investment plans have already been presented to the government and are being screened by the Foreign Direct Investment Suriname Bureau. There are reportedly strict requirements which potential investors must meet. “One does not want to bring in everybody”,said Minister Achaibersing toe. “One wants to haul in good money. There are many investors who are eying Suriname.” The diaspora community also indicated that it wanted to invest in Suriname. President Chan Santokhi claimed that the diaspora community in the Netherlands owns at least USD two billion and that it wants to invest a portion of this in Suriname. The modality for these investments is, however, still unclear. One option would be to establish a diaspora bank. The diaspora policy has been entrusted to the Diaspora Institute Suriname (DIS) which like the FDIS, falls under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation (BIBIS). “I can’t comment on the current state of their affairs but I get the feeling that things are on the right track”, said Minister Achaibersing.