Above: St Croix, US Virgin Islands (CJ Photo)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
United States Virgin Islands Governor John de Jongh led a two-day economic mission to New York City last week.
The Governor, who was joined by officials from the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, held talks with businessmen, consultants, tax advisors and capital and wealth management firms, according to a statement from his office.
“Getting out into the marketplace to meet face-to-face to showcase what we have to offer to companies and the firms that advise them is critical to spurring investment and job creation in the territory,” de Jongh said. “As the media capital of the world, New York City also provided a powerful platform to amplify our message that the US Virgin Islands is open for business.”
De Jongh also conducted interviews with New York-based media including the New York Times and Barron’s, among others.
“We pushed the strong message that the US Virgin Islands is a tremendous value proposition for businesses that want to achieve growth while improving their bottom line,” said Percival Clouden, chief executive officer of VIEDA. “We underscored that our tax benefits are sanctioned by the US Congress that we operate with the advantages of two airports, deep water sea ports, appropriate shipping routes and airline connections and have one of the fastest broadband networks in the Western hemisphere.”