Antigua's Prime Minister Browne Signs US$740 Million Deal With Chinese Firm

Antigua's Prime Minister Browne Signs US$740 Million Deal With Chinese Firm
Author

Kingsley Irish

Release Date

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

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Antigua and Barbuda’s government has signed a memorandum agreement with a Chinese company Yida International Investment Antigua
for a $740.7 million USD mixed-use tourism-focused investment project. The deal includes the development of Antigua’s Guiana Island and surrounding areas with 5 five-star hotels, 1,300 residential units, a casino and conference centre, a 27-hole golf course, a marina and a commercial/retail/sports facility.

The deal with Yida International Investment Antigua was a major prong of new Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s campaign platform, and it was signed soon after Browne was sworn in on Friday.

The lands include Guiana Island, the Crump Peninsula and a pair of smaller islands. It is being reported that the land for this massive tourism mixed use complex would be purchased from the liquidators of the former assets of Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford, who was convicted in 2012 and is currently serving a 110-year sentence.

Yida Investments would be investing more than EC$200 million annually in Antigua and Barbuda over the next 10 years, along with providing “an Antigua and Barbuda presence in the People’s Republic of China to attract additional economically viable investments.”

“I promised the people that my administration would bring the type of investments to the country that will transform Antigua and Barbuda into an economic powerhouse and I am serious about that promise,” Browne said following the signing. “This Memorandum of Agreement is the result of our determination to work in the interest of the people of the country.”


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