By Steve Thomas
Observer Nevis Editor
(Charlestown, Nevis) – In its first sitting of the year, the Nevis Island Assembly passed bills aimed at creating greater accountability for stock-owned companies and bringing new investment money to Nevis.
The assembly met at 10 a.m. on Feb. 28 in the chambers in Hamilton House.
Following ministers’ reports, Premier the Hon. Joseph Parry, spoke on the need to amend the Companies Ordinance.
Currently, companies can wait up to a year before filing any information on the identities of shareholders.
Under the amendment, companies would be required to file information on shareholders a month after incorporation. The information would include the names and addresses of shareholders, the number of shares held by individuals and the class of the shares.
Companies failing to meet the requirements would be subject to financial penalties.
The amendment would also increase fees to re-register companies.
Opposition leader the Hon. Vance Amory expressed concern that the bill did not protect stock purchasers if, after shares were bought, it turned out that the seller had failed to make sure all the papers legally correct. The amendment would allow the seller to keep the buyer’s money, he said.
Vice-Premier the Hon. Hensley Daniel said the bill would better protect the public from unscrupulous operators.
“We’re saying the public must know who the shareholders are,” Mr. Daniel said.
“We need to say to the rest of the world,” he said, “that people will not take us for a ride.”
Better controls will enhance the image of Nevis as a place to do business, he said.
“We must never send the message that we are for sale,” Mr. Daniel said. “I say this: We are not for sale.”
The second ordinance passed by the assembly creates a Nevis Investment Promotion Agency.
The agency’s functions will include: marketing Nevis as a good place for investment; assist investors in getting needed licenses; advising the government on methods of investment; and offering information on public-private partnerships.
The agency would have its own board and an executive director with the power to borrow money and engage in litigation.
Speaking in support of the bill, Junior Minister the Hon. Dwight Cozier said the agency “will become the engine that drives economic growth on Nevis.”
