Timor-Leste becoming more attractive for investment and business according to Conference presenters
The beating of a drum marked the official opening of the Timor-Leste International Investment Conference this morning in the Suai Room at Timor Plaza. Over one hundred participants gathered for the first day of a two-day program organized by Australian conference company ‘Informa’ in partnership with TradeInvest Timor-Leste.
In his opening remarks Prime Minister, Rui Maria de Araújo, recognized that investors need to anticipate good returns on their investment. He said that barriers to investment, real and perceived, were being addressed by the Sixth Constitutional Government.
Some of this work of the Government was outlined by the Executive Director of TradeInvest Timor-Leste, Arcanjo da Silva, who talked about the ‘one-stop-service’ being offered by the Agency to investors in Timor-Leste. Fernanda Borges, Senior Coordinator for Fiscal Reform in the Ministry of Finance, described the reforms going on in Customs to facilitate trade to ease congestion, reduce delays and create the transparency that importers need.
After lunch current investors Heineken, TL Cement and Jape Group International talked about their own experiences as groundbreaking investors. Heineken are due to begin production by December 2016. TL Cement are anticipating the production of cement for domestic use in Timor-Leste by December 2018.
The Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment, Xanana Gusmão, welcomed delegates of the conference at a reception on Sunday evening.
The conference concludes on Tuesday evening.
