Timor Leste (East Timor) a country with a population of only 900,000 is one of Asia's poorest, emerging into nationhood only in May 20th 2002 after a period of occupation by Indonesia. In terms of nation forming, the government is very pro-business and is looking at making rather exceptional incentives for businesses to invest in the country. The economic credentials seem to be off to a sound start due to fiscal responsibility that is not the case in other developing nations.
East Timor has untapped resources for agriculture, fisheries and tourism. It is also has world class diving and flights linking the country to Singapore, Indonesia and Darwin will significantly open the market for tourism.
Fortunately, the presence of significant oil and gas revenues has laid a strong foundation for nation building. Significant investments from oil revenues are to be made in infrastructure such as roads and utilities. The presence of strong international support from Australia, Brazil, Portugal, Singapore, the Philippines and Kuwait as well as the World Bank, IMF and the UN. The government of Timor Leste is talking the language of pro-business economic development. They are proposing to reduce taxes to a level one would expect from places such as Dubai by having a tax free state! Could this potentially create a little Dubai in South East Asia? Certainly, this is something of interest to Asia's business community.
Some of the incentives currently on offer to foreign investors (outside petroleum & gas) include:
- Rent exemption on land
- An annual US$300 tax exemption for every East Timor worker
- No tax on capital inputs
The corporate tax rate is 30%.
Given these incentives, Asia's entrepreneurs should explore business and investment opportunities. Some of the more immediate projects will be related to agriculture potentially coffee, palm oil and vanilla production just to mention a few. Palm oil or biofuel may be very interest projects to explore there. In terms of tourism, there would appear to be quite a few very interesting opportunities.
It looks like the world's newest nation is going in the right direction.
This article was prepared by Nicholas Cameron from Asia Business Investor. Current investment projects for investors and those seeking investment in Asia can be viewed at http://asiabusinessinvestor.com/Angel/AngelInvestor.aspx
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicholas_J_Cameron
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