Sunday, June 22, 2014

Nature Of Businesses In Belize

By Ina Hunt


Belize has tourism and agriculture as the two major industries. Therefore, most businesses in Belize are concentrated in these two industries. Fishing and the sugarcane industry are mostly reserved for the natives. On the other hand, most of the larger businesses in the tourism sector are mostly owned by non nationals such as the luxurious hotels. Other industries are basically under developed or simply underutilized thus the country provides a great opportunity for investment.

The country remains a major tourist destination in Central America thus are huge investments in the catering industry. There are many hotels and resorts, homes and villas and hostels, all offering various forms of accommodation. In San Pedro, there are many hotels and resorts located along the beach offering great professional services and an opportunity to view the best scenery the country has to offer.

A lot of business opportunities are in the agricultural sector.Production of crops like citrus, rice and bananas has been done greatly enhanced. In recent times, chocolate and papaya have been sold in foreign markets such as the US. However, a lot of this produce is consumed locally. Rojo market is one of the major retail markets where such products can be found and mostly targets the tourists. Despite all this, the agricultural sector still has potential to grow since large tracts of land still remain underutilized.

The entertainment industry and the call center sector are industries that are rapidly emerging. Because of the potential that they hold, they offer great opportunities for investors to invest in.

The transport sector a major area of investment. The largest transport enterprises are controlled by the novel siblings, and they offer transport services in major districts. Other investors in the transport sector own smaller companies that work along other routes around the country.

In the telecommunication sector, there are two dominant players: Belize Telemedia and Speednet communications limited. Telemedia, which is bigger, is an employer of hundreds of Belizeans. The government owns a part of it. Speednet has been operational since 2003, when it was formed.

Television and radio stations have attracted private investors, who have been instrumental in the development of the media. They show local programs, which help in developing the local film industry. Apart from that, they also air American and Caribbean produced shows. Other media businesses like newspapers are controlled by individual persons.

The financial sector is also quite stable with eight institutions. Four of these are local and the other four are international. The two main ones are the British Caribbean bank and the central bank of Belize. These institutions provide services such as loans, lines of credit and bank overdrafts. Such services are of importance to the businesses.

Most business enterprises are small and micro businesses and account for up to ninety percent of all the businesses in the country. In fact many businesses are owned by families or close relatives. It is a common phenomenon to see businesses, especially in tourist destinations, owned and under the management of non national couples. This has provided a great opportunity for small private investors such as retirees to venture into.




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