Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 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
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×