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BIBA（https://biba.bb） > BIBA Press Releases（https://biba.bb/category/biba-press-releases/） > Compliance can be Barbados’ competitive advantage, says PS Hunte
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Compliance can be Barbados’ competitive advantage, says PS Hunte
Posted on September 28, 2026 Categories: BIBA Press Releases（https://biba.bb/category/biba-press-releases/）, Featured Press Releases（https://biba.bb/category/featured-press-releases/） Comments are off for this post
Barbados’ ability to attract and retain quality international investment will depend increasingly on its ability to demonstrate transparency, embrace innovation and make it easier to do business, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Business Development and Commerce Kevin Hunte has said.
Hunte made the point while addressing the September 23 media launch of the 2026 Global Business Week , organised by the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) in partnership with Invest Barbados and the Ministry’s Business Compliance Division. Global Business Week takes place from October 18 to 24 under the theme “Resilience: Adapting, Transforming, Thriving.”
A major focus of Hunte’s remarks was Barbados’ new beneficial ownership framework and the importance of businesses ensuring that their information is accurate, complete and up to date.
He noted that the Beneficial Ownership Transparency and Register Act, 2026 , passed by Parliament in August, applies to all legal persons incorporated, organised or registered in Barbados – not only international business entities.
Under the new framework, businesses are required to identify their beneficial owners, maintain the relevant information at their registered office, file it with the Register, confirm it annually and notify the Beneficial Ownership Unit of changes.
While speaking at the launch staged at CIBC Caribbean Warrens Great House, Warrens, St Michael, Hunte urged directors, corporate secretaries, corporate and trust service providers and business owners to review their records and ensure that their filings meet the requirements.
“Transparency is no longer optional; it is the price of admission,” he said, while stressing that the quality of information in the Register has implications for Barbados’ international reputation.
He also rejected the idea that compliance and competitiveness are opposing objectives.
“Compliance and competitiveness are not rivals. They are mutually reinforcing pillars,” Hunte said, arguing that a jurisdiction able to demonstrate its integrity is better positioned to attract quality investment.
Director, Business Compliance Division, Sangene Watkins-Diagne
Director of the Ministry’s Business Compliance Division, Sangene Watkins-Diagne, reinforced the call for businesses to act, particularly smaller companies.
She explained that companies earning less than $1 million can file their beneficial ownership information through Business Barbados. However, the response from this group has so far been less robust than expected.
Watkins-Diagne encouraged small companies and limited partnerships without a corporate and trust service provider to come forward and complete their filings.
She said officers at Business Barbados are available to assist businesses with the process and urged companies not to allow concerns about outstanding annual returns to prevent them from addressing their beneficial ownership obligations.
Meanwhile, BIBA President Joanna M. Austin also reiterated the compliance focus and directly connected it to one of the priorities she identified on taking office in July – business facilitation.
“We must make it easier to do business in Barbados while maintaining a strong and effective compliance framework,” Austin said.