Curaçao Attended The STEP Latin America Conference 2015
WILLEMSTAD – A 20-member delegation from Curaçao participated in the STEP Latin America Conference (STEPLatAm) 2015, which was held on the 22nd and 23rdof October at the Renaissance Hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The STEPLatAm conference is a leading conference for wealth structuring and trust and estate practitioners. During the conference there were speeches by renowned speakers, as well as a program that was specifically designed to inform and engage. The conference was also a unique opportunity for participants to network.
Curaçao was well represented during this event, which was attended by over 350 professionals from different countries. Among the participants were professionals from the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States and Europe. Outgoing Minister of Finance, José Jardim, joined the delegation from Curaçao and welcomed those present at the Meet & Greet reception in Sao Paulo. The Minister impressed the audience by giving his opening speech in Portuguese. He then stressed the importance of complying with the FATCA requirements, as well as the effects thereof. The next day, in front of a packed audience the Curaçao Minister of Finance introduced the speaker of the FATCA session.
Main sponsors for the Curaçao delegation at the STEPLatAm 2015 conference were the Curaçao International Financial Center Foundation (CIFC) and Curaçao International Financial Association (CIFA). As a public-private partnership, CIFC organizes these events while seeking to encourage businesses in Curaçao that are active in the international financial services sector, to sell their products by associating themselves with Curaçao as a ‘brand’. Other co-sponsors were BK Group, CINEX, DCSX, ENNIA, HBM Group, Sadekya Fiduciary Partners B.V., SAI-Bank, SGG Group, the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten and VBK + CO Fund Services.
After the event the president of CIFA, Anuschka Cova, spoke enthusiastically about the participation of the island at this important event. She stated: “Curaçao has been able to position itself as a solid and transparent jurisdiction that does everything that’s possible to continue to operate in accordance with international requirements. That in itself is already a great achievement. It was also quite extraordinary that the Minister of Finance was the only minister present at the conference (where other countries such as the Bahamas, Anguilla, Gernsey and Bermuda were represented) and the message that Curaçao takes financial services very seriously, was made very clear. The Minister also opened the FATCA session. During his introduction he explained the importance of complying with the FATCA requirements, as well as the effects thereof. Altogether, Curaçao was well represented and we have received many compliments for the diverse array of financial services, which were presented in conjunction with a solid infrastructure.”
