Trinidad and Tobago: Investing

FDI in Figures

UNCTAD lists Trinidad and Tobago among the five bottom economies in Latin America and the Caribbean region. According to the UNCTAD'S 2021 World Investment Report, FDI inflows fell from USD 184 million in 2019 to USD -439 million in 2020, with a severe impact in the energy industry, which accounts for approximately half of GDP. This decrease was mainly caused by the global economic and health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike intracompany loans, equity capital and reinvested earnings were down sharply in the country. The total stock of FDI remained high at USD 8 billion in 2020. Traditionally, hydrocarbons, petrochemicals and metals are the sectors that attract most FDI while the main investing countries include the US, China, the UK and Canada.

Trinidad and Tobago ranked 105th out of 190 countries in the World Bank's last Doing Business report, published in 2020, the same as the previous edition. The country benefits from an English-speaking population, a stable political system and access to cheap energy. The relatively flexible labour market facilitates the matching of jobs with available workers. Property rights are well protected. The judiciary is independent but somewhat subject to political pressures. The Foreign Investment Act does not discriminate against foreign investors and does not limit their ownership rights (although a license is required to own more than a 30% of a public company). However, factors that discourage foreign investment include difficult weather conditions and the country's heavy dependence on oil prices on the international market. Aware of the very limited scale of economic diversification, the government seeks to enhance local productive capabilities by attracting in FDI to energy (petrochemicals in particular) and non-energy (tourism, agri-food, finance, etc.) sectors. In fact, the government has created an investment promotion agency, InvesTT. To further promote investment, authorities seek to establish a favourable legal context for the development of public-private partnerships aimed at increasing the quality of the country’s infrastructures. Indeed, there have been some significant investments made in the country in recent years. China, in particular, has been tightening its relations with Trinidad and Tobago, with the two countries signing a Belt and Road memorandum and the Asian giant carrying on several projects in the Caribbean country (like a USD 500 million dry-dock and a USD 102 million industrial park in La Brea).

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Latest Update: February 2023