Low tax rates, double taxation agreements and exchange of information treaties, have provided Barbados with an ideal environment for its development into a major international business and financial services centre. The key components of this sector are the banking and financial institutions and offshore businesses.

The last three years have been challenging for all sectors of the Barbados economy and the international business sector has been no exception. However, there are encouraging signs that the sector is on the way to recovery, certainly in terms of the number of international business entities that have been incorporated during 2010. In addition, it would appear that a large percentage of the existing international business entities have renewed their licenses for 2011.