Invest in St Helena – Update to Investment Policy and Strategy

Executive Council have endorsed updates to the Investment Policy and Investment Strategy. These updates were focused on clarifying the changes to the Investment process after Enterprise St Helena (ESH) ceases operation after 31 March 2021, and includes:

  • SHG’s new Investment Coordinator within the Sustainable Development Team taking the responsibility for being the first point of contact for Investment after 1 April 2021. They will be contactable at the Castle or by email to: invest@sainthelena.gov.sh
  • The Investment Enabling Group continuing to operate. This Group has been established to help enable investment, manage practical issues and as a conduit for communication between different teams within SHG and the Bank of St Helena. 

The Investment Policy and Investment Strategy were previously endorsed in June 2018 and April 2019 respectively. These documents set out how SHG approach investment, and outlined the following incentives:

  1. A reduction in Income Tax for companies and self-employed persons who generate income in certain sectors which are promoted within the Sustainable Economic Development Plan as export or import substitution sectors. This is automatically applied to companies.
  2. All businesses can carry losses forward to offset against profit in any future financial years.
  3. A reduction or exemption from Import Duty on specific capital items for Approved Investments which meet certain scoring criteria relating to economic, social and environmental sustainability. These include providing employment, social cohesion improvements, and using renewable energy. Approved Investment Status is awarded to enterprises through an application process.

These incentives will all continue to be available as per the updated Investment Strategy.

Five businesses have received Approved Investor Status since the incentive was made available in 2019. These include a project which increases salad production; a Fun Park project; a campsite project; an eco-friendly tour accommodation and payment system project; and a coffee farm. Most of these projects are in the start-up stage at present.

It should be noted that Approved Investor Status awards import duty exemption; but any request for land, planning or immigration services would require Investors to go through the usual land, planning and immigration processes.   

If you run a business which would benefit from import duty concessions to help start or expand and provide a new product or service, you can apply for Approved Investor Status. More information is available within the Investment Strategy which can be found on the SHG website at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/invest-in-st-helena/.

For more information, you can contact SHG’s Chief Economist, Nicole Shamier, via email to: nicole.shamier@sainthelena.gov.sh or tel: 22470.

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SHG
22 March 2021

St Helena Government Communications Hub

Telephone: 22470
Email: kimberley.peters@sainthelena.gov.sh