Invest P.R. CEO: Investors must be assured things are moving forward
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The political turmoil Puerto Rico has been experiencing in recent weeks is similar to what has happened in other jurisdictions, and investors must be assured that “things will continue to move forward,” Invest Puerto Rico CEO Rodrick Miller said.
In an exclusive interview with News is my Business, Miller said it is very early to tell whether things on the island are fine after massive protests resulted in the ousting of former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and the swearing-in of two new governors in about a week.
“I do think we have to show a track record over the next few months — over the next year — that things are continuing to move along,” he said.
Invest Puerto Rico is an independent economic development organization established under Law 13 of 2017 to promote Puerto Rico as a competitive jurisdiction to attract business investment and create well-paying jobs.
Aside from putting the final touches on its formal strategy for 2020, Miller said the organization has been fielding concerns from investors wanting to know how the current events will affect them.
“We’ve had to put out fires. But the fire is mostly companies that are saying, what does this mean for us? And when we talk to them, we tell them that everything is still working in the economic development ecosystem, and that the project they want to carry out can still move forward and the partners they have on the ground still want to make things happen,” Miller said.
“When we’ve answered those questions with clarity companies say, great we have what we need and we can continue to move forward,” he said.
In the next couple of months, Invest Puerto Rico will be rolling out its promotional plan for Puerto Rico, which for the first time will be out of the government’s hands.
“Historically the function [of promoting the island] has been in government. But it’s a global best practice to have a private sector-led entity that focuses on attracting new capital and new jobs to the market,” Miller said.
For the FULL interview with Miller, check out the latest episode of our “Dollars & Sense” podcast clicking on the audio above, or by downloading it from your favorite streaming platform.
