STAR Businessweek - 12 May 2018 by STAR Publishing

THE STAR BUSINESSWEEK MAY 12, 2018

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INCENTIVISING INVESTMENT

In the scramble to attract FDI, are Caribbean governments promising too much? BY CATHERINE MORRIS, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT

Companies face long delays for UK visas of non-EU skilled workers

Can the Commonwealth provide Britain’s trading future?

The economic lifeblood of the Caribbean or a grossly inequitable system where profits are funnelled offshore and the benefits rarely trickle down? Wherever you stand on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), one thing is certain— courting overseas investors is a longstanding practice in the region and accounts for billions of US dollars flowing through the islands. each year Continued on page 4

The gathering of the heads of the Commonwealth governments in April came as Britain considers what its relationships with the rest of the world will look like after Brexit Page 7

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Education Innovation: HYBRID LEARNING AND VR BY ED KENNEDY, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT

The STAR Businessweek BY CHRISTIAN WAYNE – EDITOR AT LARGE

Are Caribbean governments giving away too much in return for too little? While incentive regimes have become an endemic species to the Caribbean— much like our Jacquot here in Saint Lucia—there’s mounting evidence that suggests wholesale tax holidays coughed up by indigent governments in return for FDI shillings is not such a sustainable practice. Hardly surprising. After all, our little slices of paradise have only so much beach-front property. Sure, I take as much pleasure as the next guy in scape-goating “greedy foreign capitalists” for the economic tailspin we’re only now starting to crawl out from but at some point we need to wake up and smell le Café Sent Lucie. Read more on the scramble to attract FDI in this week’s lead story Incentivising Investment, on pages 1 and 4. While studying the Saint Lucia government’s recently published official Estimates of Revenue & Expenditure, I happened upon the inspiring-turnedhaughty promises by a certain Minister of Education regarding the funding of innovation in Saint Lucia’s schools. Suddenly it dawned on me how disastrous being an in-flight minister of government is. Especially, as rumour has it, that same minister on the wing “couldn’t make the time to prepare a 2018/2019 budget”. Talk about asleep at the wheel! If the minister imagines Saint Lucia’s woefully bereft education system can be revamped with a paltry EC$ 2.4million, then obviously the minister needs to come down from the clouds. Despite the demonstrated nonchalance toward her job—not to say those who will succeed or fail based on her decisions—other stakeholders in the country are actively working on bringing the future of education to our people. Check out Education Innovation here on page 2 and learn how technologies like mixedreality are taking over the classroom. The STAR Businessweek Nothing Personal. It’s Just Business. Stay connected with us at: Web: www.stluciastar.com Social: www.facebook.com/stluciastar Email: starbusinessweek@stluciastar.com

At the heart of education, VR also allows for the reshaping of the teaching experience

The way in which we live and do business is rapidly changing in 2018, and the next frontier for rapid evolution is education. The next generation of the Caribbean family will face new opportunities and challenges in equal measure, and an education system that prepares them for the future will see them seize upon the promise ahead. The best thing about this new era is the potential for it to be truly affordable, accessible, and engaging for students across a variety of nations, institutions, and interests. And at the heart of it is the promise Virtual Reality (VR) offers in this space.

VISUALIZING THE FUTURE

For many years now a big shift has been underway in education. We’ve already seen the first wave as the rise of the online arena has brought a world of resources to our doorstep. Universal access to information has ensured education is contemporary and dynamic. Historically it could take months or even years to receive textbooks locally; today downloads happen in minutes. But for all the pace and scale of change so far, we’ve really just scratched the surface. Education in 2018 is now online, but not yet truly digital. The shift towards a new era will see the Caribbean drive towards blended and hybrid learning, and the versatility each offers in turn.

HYBRID LEARNING AND VR

Blended and hybrid learning share similarities, but are ultimately independent of one another. Blended learning provides for learning online and offline. Hybrid learning emphasises learning across a wide variety of mediums. It’s here that hybrid learning makes a natural fit with VR tech. VR may still be in its relative youth but already its potential for education is clear. This begins with the most elemental requirement of education: being present for instruction. Already VR is being used in sports, business and elsewhere to replicate an environment for a user sitting at home. Right now this tech is being used chiefly for a basketball game or sales conference. But soon, it could have real applications for the classroom. Not only would it remove the need for students to be present all the time, but also provide an ongoing experience outside of it. Homework that involves memorising data out of a textbook may not set a student’s heart racing, but bonus ‘after hours’ content that features guest lectures from renowned teachers could. The benefits are not only apparent for what VR could add, but what it could remove. Chiefly, lost time. While our world may be rapidly globalizing, the reality of kilometers and miles remains. Students freed from a long commute could spend time studying instead of travelling. For now this may largely be the domain of

higher education as the youngest years of a student’s life also emphasises the importance of growing social skills alongside reading, writing and maths. But even so, the possibilities are exciting as, via VR, students from the Caribbean could easily sit in a VR class at Stanford, although they are not in California, or the Sorbonne, even though they are not in Paris. For educational institutions this is also a win-win: many of the world’s most respected universities expand their online offerings but there’s also a growing tension between the high costs and length of traditional university education when considered alongside the rapid evolution of our global economy. This dynamic can quickly render existing knowledge dated, and require ongoing learning throughout a career as opposed to a ‘one and done’ period of education to serve as a foundation for a lifetime of work.

LET’S TALK TEACHING

At the heart of education, VR also allows for the reshaping of the teaching experience. From the world’s newest schools to its oldest, teachers invariably teach the same content in the same structures each year. Time has shown this is a reasonable approach, but far from the ideal one. The best students in these courses can quickly disengage from the material as they seek something more challenging. Continued on page 5

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COMPANIES FACE LONG DELAYS FOR UK VISAS OF NON-EU SKILLED WORKERS

Immigration experts warn cap on numbers likely to be hit every month this financial year BY FT CORRESPONDENT

The Home Office said the 2,200 cap on non-EU immigrants had been hit in April

Immigration experts are warning companies to expect long delays in obtaining visas for skilled workers from outside Europe after a national cap on numbers was hit for the fifth month in a row in April. The Home Office said the 2,200 cap on non-EU immigrants had been hit in April, despite the month having a disproportionate share of the annual 20,700 quota because it is the first month of the financial year. In March, the cap had been set at 1,000. When there is an excess of applications, visas are decided on a points-based

system that depends heavily on salary. In March, no one paid less than £60,000 a year was given a visa, while the figure for April was £50,000. The minimum salary to qualify for a Tier 2 skilled migrant visa is £30,000. Experts said the cap was likely to be hit in every month of this financial year. Madeleine Sumption, head of the Migration Observatory at Oxford university, said rejected companies often reapply the following month, adding to the pressure on the system. Ian Robinson, a partner at Fragomen, an immigration law firm, said he had told one client it should expect to wait six months to bring junior software developers into the

Demand for nonEU skilled workers has grown as net immigration to the UK from the European Economic Area has slowed following the Brexit referendum in June 2016

UK. Another of his clients, he said, was contemplating whether to rescind job offers to people it had trouble bringing to the UK. “It’s disruptive and distracting for employers,” he said. Demand for non-EU skilled workers has grown as net immigration to the UK from the European Economic Area has slowed following the Brexit referendum in June 2016. Employers are seeking non-European workers to fill vacancies instead. The crunch has hit the National Health Service particularly hard because many of those rejected have been doctors. NHS Employers have said applications to bring 400 doctors to the UK from outside Europe have been refused since December. The former home secretary, Amber Rudd, unsuccessfully lobbied Prime Minister Theresa May to reclassify all doctors as a “shortage profession”, which would give them priority when applying for visas. Some medical specialities are already classed as shortage professions. Ms Sumption said some employers were likely to “give up trying” to bring in people for jobs paying in the £30,000 to £40,000 a year range because they were being “consistently rejected”. Seamus Nevin, head of policy research for the Institute of Directors, said that when employers had their fingers burnt applying for visas, it could create “serious disillusionment”. “While this may lead to some businesses giving up on the UK visa system and choosing to post foreign workers elsewhere, more will simply be impeded from growing and creating jobs and wealth in the UK,” he said. Matthew Fell, UK policy director for the CBI, the employers’ group, said the cap on migrant numbers was hampering companies’ efforts to create jobs and growth. The Home Office said it was important that the immigration system worked in the national interest, ensuring that employers looked first to the UK resident labour market before recruiting from overseas.

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INCENTIVISING INVESTMENT

In the scramble to attract FDI, are Caribbean governments promising too much? Continued from page 1

Whether these dollars are a force for good largely depends on investment strategies and whether they are carefully managed to ensure governments don’t fall into the trap of promising too much and receiving too little.

FLOWING IN

Although inflows have been volatile since the 2008 financial crisis, Latin America and the Caribbean still receive the lion’s share of the world’s FDI. While global flows fell by 16 per cent in 2017 to US$1.52 trillion, the region was one of the few economies which saw a slight rise, collecting around US$170bn. In Saint Lucia, FDI inflows reached US$130.41m in 2016 but Prime Minister Chastanet is on a mission to increase this figure, recently promising that the country would attract US$1.5bn by 2019. Most of the Caribbean’s FDI takes place in the tourism sector and it’s easy to see why this industry, in particular, attracts international interest. Last year the Caribbean welcomed over 30 million tourists—a US$37bn payday for the region. And the sector is steadily growing with a year-on-year increase of 1.7 per cent in 2017. Foreign investors have long been a part of the tourism scene in Saint Lucia, which has one of the top-performing tourism industries in the Caribbean and saw an 11 per cent increase in visitor arrivals last year. One of the country’s largest FDI projects, the $2.6bn Pearl of the Caribbean, is being developed by Hong Kongbased Desert Star Holdings Limited and will include a racetrack, boutique resorts, marina, casino and retail facilities. Calling the project “a game changer”, Prime Minister Chastanet said it would also include an expansion of Vieux Fort’s international airport. In addition, other FDI-backed tourism projects set to come onstream in the coming year are the 120-room luxury Fairmont hotel in Choiseul, the Marriott Courtyard at Pointe Seraphine and the Sandals LaSource resort on Pigeon Island Beach - the brand’s fourth property in Saint Lucia.

SWEETENERS

FDI on this scale can transform local economies. But at what cost? FDI has attracted

Incentives are a short-term tactic that won’t secure long-term growth

criticism in the past from those who believe that Caribbean governments are offering too much to international investors, tempting them with citizenship, tax breaks and other alluring fiscal incentives. While these perks deserve scrutiny, it’s important not to over-estimate the power of incentives. According to a 2013 study from Carib Export, international firms rarely make investment decisions based on incentives alone. Tax breaks and other sweeteners are seen as the icing on the cake, rather than the deciding factor, as companies carefully weigh up a myriad of issues when choosing where to invest. Having said this, incentives are the norm in the Caribbean where competition for the foreign dollar is fierce. Investors can afford to shop around, increasing the pressure on small nations vying for their much-needed investment.

According to Carib Export, incentive programmes have become more popular throughout the region in recent years, with most targeted at the tourism sector. They are also overwhelmingly directed at encouraging FDI (two-thirds of all incentives are awarded to foreign investors and a third to domestic investors) and have largely been successful, increasing jobs, exports and capital expenditure. Indirect benefits have also been felt. FDI projects frequently require specialised knowledge and skills, which requires training the local workforce. They may also utilise new technologies and encourage adoption of best practices in line with international standards, encouraging the host country to become more innovative and competitive. On the flip side, large-scale projects require large-scale resources. In Caribbean countries,

where land is often scarce, it’s sometimes controversial to sell this precious resource to the highest bidder. And alongside land come environmental concerns: will developers contribute to pollution and overcrowding? Are there sufficient safeguards in place to protect local wildlife and habitats? These questions often go unanswered in the rush to close the deal.

STRIKING A BALANCE

How can governments accrue the benefits of foreign investment without the pitfalls? By performing a thorough and thoughtful cost benefit analysis from the outset. Carib Export believes that investment incentives should be limited and precisely targeted, as well as clear, simple and certain. They should also be transparent and consistent so that no investors are allowed to flaunt the

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rules or participate in backroom deals. A regional approach should also be adopted to prevent the ongoing bidding war among Caribbean states. Countries fighting to outbid each other creates an environment that favours investors rather than governments, and harmonising the incentive regime could end this race to the bottom. The 1974 Agreement on the Harmonisation of Fiscal Incentives to Industry (signed by Saint Lucia in November 1973) was intended to create a regional incentives policy but in thirty years the business climate has significantly shifted and the legislation has not kept pace with the times. In a 2017 study, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) urged a review of regional policy on FDI. The Bank calls for greater cooperation between Caribbean nations through the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, a focus on removing tax competition and a regional working group to help countries decide on the types of incentives they should offer. The CDB also suggests that institutional, regulatory and policy reforms would reduce the need for tax breaks and other such schemes. As concerns increase over lack of infrastructure, skills gaps and ease of doing business in the region, governments find themselves forced to become more and more generous to cover the shortfalls of the domestic business environment. Improving

According to Carib Export, incentive programmes have become more popular throughout the region in recent years, with most targeted at the tourism sector

the problematic business climate not only benefits local entrepreneurs alongside foreign investors, it also gives governments more power at the negoiating table. Incentives are a short-term tactic that won’t secure longterm growth. If Caribbean states are to get the balance right, and reap the full rewards of FDI, they need to look inward and address systemic, longstanding issues.

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Education Innovation: HYBRID LEARNING AND VR Continued from page 2

Virtually reality can be used to augment traditional classroom learning experiences as a minimal investment to policymakers

The students who struggle find that the limited time and little personal instruction they get with their education sees them fall further and further behind. Because VR provides a pathway for teachers to record content in an interactive and engaging way, its benefits are numerous. It can see teachers freed from explaining the same content year in and year out, as opposed to spending time elsewhere like developing new curriculum. It also allows for teachers to spend class time working on a greater one-to-one basis with students. Students leading the field can be assigned new material to challenge them. Students struggling can see time devoted to them without stalling others in the class from progressing.

AFFORDABLE EDUCATION

Artist’s impression of the proposed Pearl of the Caribbean resort

MAY 12, 2018

Among the most exciting things about VR is the affordability of its technology. When Google first released its Cardboard product in 2015, many thought for a while they were joking. After all, this at a time when other tech giants had already signalled

their intention to deliver the cutting edge when they released their VR headsets. But as VR is ultimately a visual experience, the same flexibility in price points can be pursued just like a pair of sunglasses. Presently, a Google Cardboard can be purchased for as little as US$2 online. It’s true that VR also requires the use of a smartphone but, given the growth of mobile phone use within the Caribbean and globally, the barrier here is small. More expensive VR headsets do exist but, for the purposes of education, access to the tech is universal. The great work of many not-for-profit groups developing VR content is the icing on the cake. If the right vision is defined and policy put in place, the future of education with VR could be universal in access and boundless in opportunity. And all this with some cardboard at its core.

SEEING IT CLEARLY

Though VR is exciting technology, it comes with some hurdles. Often, using the technology for long periods (multiple

hours) isn’t possible without developing some mild form of nausea. This isn’t that different from someone experiencing eye strain after staring at a computer screen but new tech should ideally solve problems, not create new ones. Also some evidence suggests the transfusing of information via digital means that less learning is retained than via non-digital learning. Though VR may be more immersive, if the ultimate aim is to see a student learn information and retain it, then VR may not be the ideal choice by itself. Ultimately, these issues are far from insurmountable—or even significant—but they are important to note for anyone who’d otherwise think momentum for hybrid learning and VR is unstoppable.

BRIGHT FUTURE

Ultimately VR is one part of many areas that will see us have a revolution in the Caribbean. From blockchain and cryptocurrency that change how we bank and store data, to TeleCarib Labs and how it seeks to deliver on education. The most exciting idea of all is how these technologies will combine in ways we don’t yet imagine, but will delight in. And it will happen - it’s virtually guaranteed.

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CORPORATE

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HANDS

THE IDB AND THE OPEN MUSIC INITIATIVE Waking up disoriented in a hotel room in a foreign city was nothing new for Chino McGregregor. He travels all year long with “the movement”—a fan-based wave of today’s Jamaican music. He has followed this wave beyond Jamaica and the Caribbean, to London, Tokyo, Miami and New York. “Jamaican music is very unique; you need to listen to it live,” says Chino. Yet one morning Chino woke up in Boston not realizing where he was. Then he recalled being one of three artists from the Caribbean—including his Jamaican friend Shawn Kalieba and Johann Chuckaree from Trinidad and Tobago— who were there through sponsorship from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to be part of the Open Music Initiative‘s (OMI) Summer Lab. The Summer Lab, organised by the Berklee College of Music, in partnership with IDEO, the world-renowned design firm, and with sponsorship from the IDB, TiVo, and Context Labs, gathers technology fellows and mentors whose goal is to figure out the future of music, from its creation to its experience amongst users, through to its monetization. “Yo, if a few months ago you had come to me and asked me what was blockchain, I would have stared at you and asked, ‘Are you talking to me?’ Now I only dream of playing that blockchain instrument,yo.” Chino is a 34-year-old musician; he performed in front of the Jamaican prime minister when he was twelve years old and is the son of a Grammy nominee. He was an ideal candidate for the project. Aspirants to the Summer Lab were competitively selected by experts in the OMI and the IDB following a set of criteria including proven musical talent, experience as a professional artist, technological curiosity, and the ability and intent to share

“Over this platform, many developers are going to build applications, and many of them based on blockchain,” says Ravi Gupta, an IDB specialist

what they learned with fellow Caribbean artists. Shawn Kalieba is a Jamaican reggae artist and musical engineer. He has witnessed an explosion of talented musicians in recent years on Bob Marley’s home island of Jamaica. In his recording studio, Kalieba has produced works for international artists such as Beenie Man—the world’s “King of Dancehall”, Elephant Man, Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths, and Luciano. “Technology could be a blessing or a curse. Thanks to technology today, anyone could have a recording studio with little investment and launch his work on a world stage. And

that is good because you see talent everywhere. At the same time, you could have your music copied by anyone or played through Spotify or iTunes and never see real money.”

MONETIZING MUSIC WITH BLOCKCHAIN?

When fans of Jamaican music play one of Chino’s or Kalieba’s hits, Kalieba and Chino should get a cheque to reflect the consumption of their music. Not so fast. Continued on page 8

The Saint Lucia Government Gazette Company Registration

Name: Youth of Vision Academy Inc. Description: Boys training academy

Name: EZD Inc. Description: ( a ) Property development

Directors: Jennifer Lorraine Alexis Date Incorporated: 5-Apr-18 Chamber: Carlton Amsterdamn Chambers, Saint Lucia

( b ) Architecture ( c ) Procurement ( d ) Project management

Name: Red Technologies Ltd.

Directors: Kenneth Doxerie

Description: Telecommunication

Date Incorporated: 30-Apr-18

support services Directors: Stanislaus Davidson St. Clair

Chamber: SEDU, Saint Lucia

Date Incorporated: 17-Apr-18 Chamber: Brickstone Law Chambers, Saint Lucia Name: Laurencin Lines Inc. Name: ROKAM Properties Ltd.

Description: Mooring services

Description: Real estate sales and development Directors: PIF Corporate Services Inc.; ROKAM Development Inc. Date Incorporated: 26-Apr-18 Chamber: Peter I. Foster & Associates Chambers, Saint Lucia

Directors: Richard Sayers; Florentina Alfred Date Incorporated: 30-Apr-18 Chamber: SEDU, Saint Lucia

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CAN THE COMMONWEALTH PROVIDE BRITAIN’S TRADING FUTURE? Two experts debate how best to develop a more global UK after Brexit BY FT CORRESPONDENTS ALLIE RENISON AND PETER MANDELSON

Yes — The UK does not have to choose Europe over other relationships

The gathering of the heads of the Commonwealth governments in April came as Britain considers what its relationships with the rest of the world will look like after Brexit, writes Allie Renison. Trade with the other 52 Commonwealth members has an important role to play in developing an ever more global Britain. Businesses are already taking a pragmatic approach and looking outwards at both the EU and elsewhere. So too should all politicians. The UK does not have to choose between Europe and the Commonwealth. The two blocs offer Brexit Britain different benefits, all of which could help our economy. While one is a compact, free trade zone, the other is a far-flung set of diverse countries that in many way are more different than alike. We can seek both a limited customs union with the EU, as the Institute of Directors has advocated, plus a series of bilateral deals with different parts of the Commonwealth. In fact, Britain would be foolish not to. No matter the terms on which the UK leaves the EU, the government will have to take responsibility for negotiating its own trade deals in the future. As such, it must start planning its future strategy now. While trade deals have historically been hard to broker, it would be wrong-headed to take the defeatist attitude that negotiations are a pointless exercise. We should not resort to the approach of Donald Trump, the US president, that trade policy is most useful as a defensive measure. The UK’s trade negotiators will have to set priorities, focusing on some Commonwealth countries for different purposes. Deals with Australia and New Zealand should be used to set shared liberal standards around e-commerce and state-owned enterprises that can be benchmarks for the tougher negotiations later on. Countries such as India will naturally be a challenge, as they have been for the EU. Brussels has not seen fit to dispense with the negotiating process entirely, for good reason. India’s barriers to market entry — be it tariffs on whisky or accessing its legal and insurance markets — are the kinds of things trade agreements are suited to break down. Other countries continue to try and engage with India because its market is big and lucrative, and Britain should do the same. Inevitably, the UK will have to talk to New Delhi about easing restrictions on work visas if it is serious about a trade deal, and so it should. In such a servicesheavy economy, the crossover of trade with

“We should not resort to the approach of Donald Trump, the US president, that trade policy is most useful as a defensive measure.” – Allie Renison

labour mobility cannot be ignored. Nor should more visas be a deal-breaker. Despite public scepticism about mass immigration, there is room for incremental changes to be made. This is probably not a short term prospect, given the ambivalence of India’s current leadership toward trade liberalisation. But this does not make a trade agreement any less a priority. We also should not forget the important relationship between trade and economic development. Britain has a strong tradition of working with other members of the Commonwealth. We have a new opportunity to help drive intra-regional trade in Africa. Leaving the EU could allow us to extend agricultural tariff preferences to a wider range of developing countries, including those just above the typical low-income threshold markers. Trade agreements are only one factor affecting the future prospects of UK businesses in the Commonwealth and other overseas markets. But they are important, at least according to IoD members. When asked which government actions would be most useful in facilitating more exports, our members rank trade deals and active help from local embassies as one and two. Just as we do not have to pick between Europe and the rest of the world for our future prospects, trade liberalisation and commercial diplomacy are not mutually exclusive priorities. Now is the moment to look ahead and define what “global Britain” means. Instead of making it a political punching bag, we should be trying to give contours to its shape. Let’s get to it. The writer is head of Europe and trade policy at the Institute of Directors

No — The world is not waiting for us to build ‘Empire 2.0’

In its quest for post-Brexit trade opportunities, the UK government is confusing three things: international export and investment promotion; commercial diplomacy in which we have great potential; and negotiating bilateral free trade agreements in which we should lower our expectations. This is as true for the Commonwealth as anywhere else, writes Peter Mandelson. Britain, being a medium to small geographically sized country, has always depended on the openness of foreign markets. As “global” Britain, we happily colonised and filled others’ markets with our goods. More recently, we have used Europe’s vast single market to enable our businesses to expand faster. Britain no longer has an empire and we have decided to leave the EU, so it has to use common trade rules and our innate national skills to offset our losses. Trade depends on the competitiveness of our businesses, while governments should work to remove policy barriers. We have to offer goods and services that others want to buy. This is what export promotion is about and if Brexit achieves anything, it should make the UK less complacent about chasing international orders and supply chains. Commercial diplomacy supports export promotion by seeking to ease regulatory barriers in others’ markets and to facilitate trade. Britain’s diplomatic service is among the best in the world. The depth of our historical and global relations enables us to punch above our weight. But outside the EU we will have less market size and influence to back our diplomatic efforts. This applies equally to the Commonwealth. We are living in a fool’s paradise if we imagine that the Commonwealth is waiting for us to

rediscover Empire 2.0. When Britain cut its preferential links with the Commonwealth in the 1970s, the members moved on and now sell their wares in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as in Europe. There are trade opportunities in Britain, but for most Commonwealth producers the UK was chiefly an easy route into Europe. It is not obvious what advantages post-Brexit Britain has to offer. Most Commonwealth members are African, Caribbean and Pacific developing countries. Their exports already have tariff-free trade with Britain and there is no reason why they should offer us privileged market access. Larger economies such as Nigeria and Singapore will be ambivalent. With the former, a surfeit of oil has suppressed its appetite for freer trade in goods. Singapore has already negotiated away most of its barriers to European trade. Do not hold your breath for India either, where a longstanding policy of promoting domestic manufacturing behind hightariff walls, a desire to shield services behind opaque regulation and its demand for visa-free travel will stand in the way of any trade agreement. This leaves the developed economies of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Some enduring tariffs in goods should be eliminated in our respective markets. In the main, however, trade already flows freely. The exception is agriculture and these Commonwealth countries will have designs on Britain’s food market. But there is only so much agricultural access you can give away. If we were to open up to the agricultural prowess of not just Australia and New Zealand but to other big farm producers like Brazil as well, Britain’s smaller scale farmers would struggle to survive. Take the US for instance. This is a bigger plum for Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, than the Commonwealth. Donald Trump’s top target would be agriculture and a demand that we import large quantities of American hormone-injected beef. And what could we expect in return? Britain has strong designs on the heavily protected US public procurement market. Trump’s “America First” policies will probably keep this sector under wraps. The Commonwealth is an important network with a shared history, shared values and longstanding co-operation. These are not necessarily the things that make it the right partner for trade agreements. But they can underpin commercial diplomacy, regulatory cooperation and export promotion. There is a lot more to trade than trade deals. The Commonwealth reminds us of that. The writer is a former UK cabinet minister and chairman of Global Counsel

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Continued from page 6

It could take up to two years to get paid, and for them, it would be almost impossible to know if they are fairly compensated. “The processes to register intellectual property tends to be complex and burdensome for artists. In the Caribbean the lack of supportive technologies and monetization training makes the obstacles even more difficult to overcome,” explains Ignacio de Leon, IDB’s Team Leader on a programme that seeks to expand the use and adoption of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the creative industries in the Caribbean. “Besides, everything is changing in music”, says Chino. Jamaica has a world reputation as a creative hub yet how music is consumed has been changing, and the music industry has not been keeping up. “Nowadays artists don’t rely as much on record sales as they do on tours and live performances.”

HERE IS WHERE THE OMI AND BLOCKCHAIN COME IN

OMI is a non-profit endeavour founded by Berklee’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship (BerkleeICE) in partnership with the MIT Media Lab and a number of other leading academic institutions, music and media industry organisations, creators, technologists, entrepreneurs and policy experts aimed at “creating an open-source protocol for the uniform identification of music rights holders and creators”, as stated on its mission. The OMI working group developed the supporting technology for building an API (Application Programming Interface). This API will function as a seminal platform, an open source, shared ledger of rights owners and creators that will greatly assist in “simplifying the way music rights owners are identified and compensated, resulting in sustainable business models for artists, entrepreneurs, and music businesses”. “Over this platform, many developers are going to build

applications, and many of them based on blockchain,” says Ravi Gupta, an IDB specialist who coauthored with Ignacio de Leon a paper assessing the Impact of Digital Innovation and Blockchain on the Music Industry. He elaborates: “Blockchain has evolved and today is running openly on millions of devices all over the world. Blockchain technology allows for a kind of programmable template known as smart contracts, a technology that permits for the movement and storage of anything of value securely—in the case of OMI´s API the assets that we are talking about here are music rights.” One of the beauties of blockchain is that the guarantees for payments and attribution of music rights won’t come necessarily from powerful intermediaries like big music labels or streaming services but rather through a brilliant and robust code that promotes mass collaboration in a sort of massive public ledger, as with bitcoin. “Blockchain has the potential to provide a more quick and seamless experience for anyone involved with creating or interacting with music.” Wrote Imogen Heap, a Grammywinning recording artist and founder of Mycelia. “For example, listening to a song might automatically trigger an agreement for everyone involved in the journey of a song with anyone who wants to interact or do business with it—whether that’s a fan, a digital service provider such as Spotify or iTunes, a radio station or a film production crew.”

SAVING THE MUSIC?

Indeed the Internet and the rise of the digital market has impacted not only musicians in the Caribbean but is a phenomenon that affects artists all over the world. The 2014 report of the International Federation of Phonographic Industry acknowledged that the global music market has been continuously decreasing. In 2004 it was worth US$33.6 billion. This value nosedived to US$18.4 billion in 2008 and in 2013

fell to US$15 billion. The subsequent increase in the musical revenues that came from online streaming and downloading has been far from offsetting the losses from the decline in sales of CDs and DVDs. By comparison, in 2013 online sales rose to US$5.9 billion, but the 2017 IFPI Global Music Report found the total online revenue went down to US$4.5 billion in 2016. “Only time will tell whether blockchain will achieve everything it promises: saving the music industry by transferring control directly from the creators to the users, making the market more transparent, fairer and free of the intermediaries that feed on other people’s talents without adding value,” says Ignacio de León. But blockchain or any technology won’t deliver by itself. For the OMI’s API to succeed, developers need to partner with, and think like, the artists, the producers that make music possible. And that was the purpose of McGregor, Kalieba and Chuckaree participating in OMI’s Summer Lab. The three Caribbean musicians participated alongside 20 students from across the US and the world, experimenting with applications built on top of blockchain and using artificial intelligence following a user-centred philosophy branded by IDEO that is also a partner in the initiative. Now they are more aware of the challenges and also opportunities of this new digital world. The IDB has given exceptional importance to the digital economy and the creative industries. And for a good reason: the creative economy has outperformed most other sectors in the world and it might grow exponentially in the next decade. According to a study by the World Intellectual Property Organization, copyright industries contribute over 5% to the Caribbean economy and generate a similar proportion of jobs. In the Caribbean, music is dominant in the cultural sector, which makes the OMI and its technological promises even more relevant.

FINANCIALLY SPEAKING Financial Literacy 101 presented by Bank of Saint Lucia

LET’S TALK MORTGAGES!

prepared to answer these questions accurately and honestly.

Decided to purchase or build your own home? If you have considered the latter, your approved plan from the Development Control Authority is an important requirement. Consider the term and repayment that you are comfortable with. Interest rates for mortgages are particularly competitive. Discuss with your financial institution. Discuss whether the rate is fixed for the duration of the loan or whether it is subject to review from time to time. Here are a few tips to help you along on your journey to acquiring or building your home: Mortgage loans are assessed in the same way as any other type of loan. However, the term of a mortgage is substantially longer. Most mortgage loans can run for up to 30 years until retirement age.

A down payment is a typical requirement and can range on average between 5-10% of total amount. A cost estimate from a well-regarded and experienced contractor is required. Verification of the estimate from a qualified Quantity Surveyor is advisable. Compliance letters from Inland Revenue & National Insurance Corporation are required. If you are purchasing property, these compliance letters are required for the seller as well. Some institutions require valuations from an approved Quantity Surveyor. Find out if there are any special conditions.

A comprehensive applicant evaluation must be conducted. Typical required documents include a job letter and salary slip. Your job tenure, stability and salary all play a significant role in your mortgage loan assessment.

Security required for a mortgage can include – a salary assignment/ deduction, a hold over the property (hypothecary obligation), assignment of life insurance or credit life insurance, house insurance and/or insurance under construction.

Your financial services provider will inquire about your loan/borrowing history and your monthly financial responsibilities. Go into your interview

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A hypothecary obligation is a hold over the property for which the loan is being granted. Most institutions hold a first hypothecary obligation, meaning there are no previous holds on the property. In cases where the other institution holds a first hypothecary obligation, have a discussion with your financial institution. Assignment of life insurance forms part of the mortgage security. You may opt to assign your policy to the bank or in some cases, choose credit life insurance - offered by some institutions. Full Hazard insurance is another form of security. In building your home, the insurance required during the construction phase is referred to as “Insurance under Construction,” which can be converted to full Hazard Insurance upon completion of the project. A commitment fee, which is a small percentage of your loan amount, will be required. Other fees include legal and insurance. Visit your financial today!

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