‘THE WORLD’S BEST KEPT SECRET’
The Fairway Group Hosts Seminar on Investment & Citizenship in St. Kitts & Nevis
The cavernous ambience of the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in downtown Lagos was the setting for a seminar focused on the exotic Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.Organized by the Fairway Group –an organization which provides exclusive access to high-end Caribbean investment opportunities curated for the discerning investor – in partnership with the Citizenship and Investment Unit of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, as well as Punuka Consulting Limited, the event was designed to bring to Nigerian stakeholders (especially prospective investors and high networth individuals) the many multidimensional investment opportunities available in St. Kitts and Nevis. These investment opportunities come with the tantalizing prospect of citizenship of St. Kitts and Nevis – a privileged nationality which, as speaker after speaker was careful to emphasize, confers on the investor a host of advantages matched by only a handful of other countries in the world.
Welcoming guests to the event, a co-founder of the Fairway Group, Mr. Anthony Idigbe, SAN, whose serves as the Senior partner of the law firm of Punuka, expressed his delight at the rising profile and fortunes of St. Kitts and Nevis as a preferred destination for business investment and tourism in the West Indies, and the rising interest by Nigerians on the desirability and feasibility of dual or multiple citizenships in a dynamic and unpredictable global environment. He urged his compatriots to explore the benefits of Kittitian citizenship (via investment). It is an investment, he said, for which there are no downsides.
Also speaking, Mr. Andrew Skerritt, who is a permanent secretary and special advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, brought greetings from his principal, the Honorable Dr. Timothy Harris, and the people of the island nation, who, he said, shared an uncanny cultural affinity with their West African cousins – and Nigerians in particular. Officially known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, SKN as the country is known by its 55,000 citizens and the millions of tourists that throng its many attractions every year, gained its independence from Great Britain on September 19, 1983; before the British, it was also at one time a colony of France. Its capital, Basseterre, is the country’s largest city, while its official language is English (complemented with Saint Kitts Creole, a widely-spoken form of pidgin). Over 92% of Kittitians (or Nevisians) are of black African descent, while 2.1% are of white European descent; 1.5 % are of Indian 3% descent, while are 3% are of mixed-race background. The country is a parliamentary democracy patterned after the UK system; Elizabeth II, Queen of England is the country’s constitutional monarchy. Covering an area of just 261 square kilometres, the country is one of the smallest in the world; indeed, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both area and population. But there is nothing negligible about its economic status, not with a per capita income which stands at a whopping $31,095. It uses the East Caribbean dollar (XCD) as its currency. Saint Kitts and Nevis has a defence force of 300 personnel, mostly involved in policing and drug-trade interception.
The country is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and the Organization of American States (OAS), the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations.
The people of St. Kitts and Nevis are mostly Christians, mainly Anglicans and other Protestants denominations, with a smaller population of Catholics. They are also an exuberant and fun-loving people; the country is known for its musical celebrations, most notably its annual Carnival (which runs from December 18 to January 3), the St Kitts Music Festival in the last week of June, as well as the week-long Culturama which lasts from the end of July into early August. These celebrations typically feature parades, street dances and salsa, jazz, soca, calypso and steel-pan music.
Kittitians and Nevisians also love the games of cricket and rugby. Saint Kitts and Nevis holds the record as the smallest country to host the Cricket World Cup – back in 2007. The St. Kitts and Nevis national football team (known as the “Sugar Boyz”) has also experienced some international success. In recent years, the game of football has experienced a great boost in the country, thanks to the exploits of England and Manchester United United striker Marcus Rashford, who is of St. Kitts and Nevis descent.
The country’s economy is characterized by 3 key industries: tourism, agriculture, and light manufacturing. Sugar was once the country’s economic mainstay, but was closed down in 2005, thanks to tremendous economic losses and a huge budget deficit occasioned by the country’s long dependence on the crop. By contrast, the tourism sector has expanded significantly since the 1970s – to the point where, today, the country is home to some of the most prestigious hotel chains in the world: Marriott, Hyatt Regency, Hilton, Sheraton, etc.
Saint Kitts and Nevis has two international airports. Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport provides services to the Caribbean, North America, and Europe, while the Vance W. Amory International Airport, services flights to other parts of the Caribbean.
SKN also boasts of a robust and globally-competitive educational system. Schooling from kindergarten to high school is free and compulsory, and the country’s universities and colleges of medicine are among the best in the Caribbean region. Windsor College, Mr. Skerritt pointed, has amongst its diverse student population, over 150 Nigerian students.
Skerritt, whose presentation was laced with a series of colourful slides, invited his Nigerian audience to sample the numerous delights of his country, a slice of paradise where business and pleasure are extremely rewarding.
Mr. Skerritt’s remarks were corroborated by Chief Anthony Ojeshina, a Nigerian engineer and a former commissioner for the environment in Ogun State, who has maintained a personal and business relationship with both the public and private sectors in St. Kitts and Nevis. In a presentation entitled, ‘The World’s Best-Kept Secret,’ Chief Ojeshina painted a glowing picture of a country where a booming and advanced tourist industry is matched only by the government’s innovative investment drive, complete with mouth-watering incentives that no right-thinking businessperson or entity desirous of exponential growth and global impact can readily refuse.
St. Kitts and Nevis, according to the next speaker, Mr. Les Khan (the CEO, Citizenship by Investment Unandt of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis) allows foreigners to obtain SKN citizenship by means of a government-sponsored investment programme called Citizenship-by-Investment. Established back in 1984, this citizenship programme is the oldest prevailing such programme of this kind in the world – though it only catapulted in 2006 when a global citizenship advisory firm restructured the programme to incorporate donations to the country’s ailing sugar industry. Mr. Khan elaborated on the ‘technical’ nitty-gritty of the programme and its multiple benefits to individual applicants, as well as their family members and dependents (especially below the age of 30), which includes: full citizenship for life, which can be passed on to future generations by descent. This status, Khan continued, affords beneficiaries passports visa-free travel to more than 150 countries and territories worldwide, including all the countries of the European Union, as well as the right of residency in St. Kitts & Nevis and most of the CARICOM member countries at any time and for any length of time. He went on to enumerate the legal steps and qualifying investments into the country (either an approved real estate or in the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund) an applicant must undertake in order to qualify for SKN’s ‘economic citizenship’. According to Mr. Khan, this investment comes down to the following, among others:
An investment in designated real estate with a minimum value of US$400,000, plus the payment of government fees and other fees and taxes.
A contribution to the SWF of at least US$250,000, inclusive of all government fees but exclusive of due diligence fees which are the same for the real estate option.
Khan concluded his presentation by listing the 5 key benefits of SKN’s second-citizenship option: Security; a healthy Return on Investment; Mobility (as in the aforementioned visa-free travel); top-quality Education for oneself and one’s dependents; and an enhanced Lifestyle surrounded by the best of Nature’s bounty and a hospitable populace.
The Fairway Group, which was the main driver of this event, operates the Fairway Condominium Development Limited, a real estate development formed in 2019 to rehabilitate, refurbish and sell shares in prime property around the two-island, most notably the Fairway Condominiums located on Zenway Boulevard in Frigate Bay on St. Kitts. One of the highlights of the seminar was a promotional presentation of these Condominiums by Mr. Carl and his sister, Donna. The Walwyns took the assembled guests through the geography and economics of the property, and what additional benefits the properties offer the wise investor – in light of the foregoing ‘economic citizenship’ programme.
In addition to the Lagos seminar, the Fairway team will hold another in Abuja shortly after, and will also be available in Nigeria until the 10th of March, 2020 in order to meet with interested Nigerians, in a series of scheduled one-on-one appointments across various locations in the country.
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