Toribiong introduced a piece of legislation which will prescribe a new framework for foreign investment in Palau and to repeal the existing Foreign Investment Act.
“I made my intentions clear in my inaugural address when I emphasized the need for Palau to take immediate action to grow its private sector economy and my intention to at least partially accomplish that goal by vigorous courting of foreign investors,” Toribiong said.Toribiong said there is a need to change the foreign investment law because the economy is bad.Toribiong said that the current foreign investment law is not only “burdensome but intrusive.”He added that international experts such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund have recommended the repeal of the current laws and the institution of a “transparent, straightforward and speedy licensing procedure for foreign investors with few, if any, areas reserved exclusively for citizens.”In a letter to House Speaker Noah Idechong, the president said that although the measure totally repeals the current laws it still retains the one-stop licensing procedure for non-citizens to invest in Palau.He said under the proposed measure, the approach will be a “transparent, free market approach where the success of any particular investment will be determined by the market.”The measure also creates an advisory board to assist the president and the OEK going forward with the investment policy. The board however will not be directly involved in proposed investments.The measure will also require all other non-citizen investors to do business in Palau in the form of a corporation and it will not restrict non-citizens from conducting some business activities but will not totally exclude non-citizens as what the current law does.“This measure has been needed for years. It is needed now more than ever. Not overnight for sure, but the attached measure will eventually result in an expanded private sector economy, more jobs and business opportunities and enhanced government revenues,” Toribiong said.
