United States Department of State

Belize United States Department of State

The Government of Belize (GOB) and its Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE; http: //www.belizeinvest.org.bz/) identified Belize's priority sectors for investment for 2015 as agriculture, agro-processing, aquaculture, light manufacturing, food processing and packaging, tourism and tourism-related industries, business process outsourcing (BPOs), and renewable energy. The GOB continues to promote foreign direct investment with generous incentives packages coupled with its availability of good land and a resource-abundant natural environment. In practice, however, investors have complained that they do not always receive the full extent of the incentives available, that land title is not always reliably secure, and that bureaucratic delays or corruption can be hindrances to starting a business in Belize. There is a sense among investors that incentives can be very beneficial but currently they are administered in an ad hoc manner, with frequent delays or payment not issued as originally guaranteed