Antigua Immigration: On June 13, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Corporate Governance of Antigua and Barbuda, appointed Chinese billionaire Xiao Jianhua as Ambassador-at-Large for Antigua and Barbuda.
Upon presenting the letter of appointment to Xiao Jianhua, Prime Minister Browne noted that Xiao could leverage his reputation in the investment community to promote investment, trade, commerce, and tourism development for Antigua and Barbuda, including negotiating with relevant agencies and business entities in all countries and regions.
The country's leader also pointed out that Xiao will provide advisory opinions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Tourism regarding potential economic cooperation, trade, and investment between Antigua and Barbuda and other countries and regions.
Xiao Jianhua is the founder and owner of China's renowned Tomorrow Group, which controls nearly 1 trillion yuan (approximately 160 billion USD) in assets, including banks and securities firms.
The Tomorrow Group controls nine listed companies and holds equity in over 30 financial institutions, including 12 city commercial banks, 6 securities firms, as well as trust, insurance, fund, futures, and asset management companies.
During his visit to St. John's, Xiao Jianhua and Prime Minister Browne also discussed various investment areas, including the expansion of the West Indies Oil Company and cooperation in promoting Antigua and Barbuda.
Currently, the government of Antigua and Barbuda is vigorously promoting infrastructure construction and improving the investment environment. The new airport terminal built with Chinese aid has been completed, the Caribbean Free Trade Zone has been approved for construction, and the Antigua Investment Service Center has launched global investment promotion activities for solar power plants, offshore financial industrial parks, and film industrial parks, which have already attracted a large number of investors from around the world.
The Caribbean Free Trade Zone is a free trade business park initiated by Antigua and Barbuda with the participation of member states of the Caribbean Community. The long-term plan for the Caribbean Free Trade Zone covers a total area of 165 square kilometers and consists of 15 national parks.