Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 31, 2025

No Plans To Sell Out To Investors—Fahie Scolds Misleading Opposition

No Plans To Sell Out To Investors—Fahie Scolds Misleading Opposition

Members of the Opposition are accused of misleading residents by falsely portraying that the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) administration plans to ‘sell out’ the country to foreign investors through the proposed Virgin Islands Investment Act, 2020.
Premier and Finance Minister Hon. Andrew Fahie said that based on the contributions made by the members during the debate, they did not read the bill.

“There are persons who are out there trying to scandalize this bill as if it’s only looking to bring in foreign investment because the word investment is there…we were programmed to think investment only means foreign investment…that we as locals cannot be investors in our own country…persons get up in this House and play and pray on that,” he said during the wrap of the debate this afternoon, August 23.

Premier Fahie said government has no intentions of selling out the BVI. He said the bill is aimed at setting clear perimeters for both local and foreign investments.

“What this Act does is create a transparent and clear framework for investment in the territory thereby strengthening good governance. Right now, there are no existing guidelines on how to invest in the BVI whether foreign or local or a combination of both. So, the Act doesn’t lean on one side alone of foreign investment, it has a section on that,” he explained.

Premier Fahie said the actions of the members of the opposition were unfortunate and clearly to mislead the people.

“I challenge them to go to the public, they did not read this bill. There is no way in this bill that you were giving away the Virgin Islands…to hear the opposition get up and making it sound that way, except for the leader of the opposition (Hon. Marlon Penn) who kind of said he worked on it,” he said. Hon. Penn had indicated his support for the bill and pointed out that he had worked on the bill under the former National Democratic Party (NDP) administration.

Premier Fahie reiterated that his government is focused on bringing good governance as it relates to investment.

“Whether it is local investment only, local and foreign investment as a partnership or if a foreign investor comes in so they will know clearly what the rules are even before they invest,” he explained.

He added, “they will know clearly too what are some of the incentives for the local investors, the partnership investors and the foreign investors if they come to invest. Right now, there are hardly any laws that helps local investors that you could use.”

Members are now in committee examining the bill clause by clause.

“When I heard the preaching as if we are selling away the BVI with this Act, we giving away the country to investors, we are not going to recognize the country in years to come, I can unequivocally say that they didn’t read the bill but they sound good,” the Finance Minister opined.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×