The Vanuatu Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (VFIPA) formely launched its online FDI Registry (https://registry.investvanuatu.vu ) on 19^th October, 2023. This is a major milestone achieved by the Agency through commitment, hard work and a strong teamwork by staff and their Board of Directors – an initiative strongly commended by Mr. Jimmy Rantes, Director General for the Ministry of Trade & Commerce (MTC) and Chairman of the VFIPA Board of Directors (BOD).

Given that global uncertainty is damaging investors confidence and slowing down or delaying Foreign direct Investment (FDI), it is so encouraging to note that with this tool in place, potential investors do not have to physically come to Vanuatu to register their investment applications. They can still have their applications registered wherever they are – “DG Rantes continued”.

Through this online registry tool, foreign investors in Vanuatu and abroad can file and pay for their new, variations and annual survey applications online using payments options like credit card and bank transfer and allows the VFIPA staff to assess applications online including real-time communication with users of the system. Prior to this processing of all applications was done manually which as result the processing time was quite lengthy. Although the target was 15 working days, in most cases it took longer.

Good news is the processing time of foreign investment certificate registration will now be faster, transparent and cheaper. Investors are expected to receive their registration certificates within 3-5 working days, once an application is submitted and payment is made, the investor can track the status of the application in the system until the certificate is ready. A practical demonstration by one of the Service Providers during the launching shows how easy and user-friendly the system is. Over 50 participants attended the launching and were happy and quite impressed with system.

Improving business environment and promote economic opportunities has been and remains a priority focus for the Government. VFIPA as the gateway to foreign investments in Vanuatu is pleased to note that successful implementation of this online system will contribute to improving Vanuatu’s ranking in the ease of doing business and making it more competitive.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Rantes called for stronger collaborations between institutions that are involved in facilitating FDIs and requesting them to appreciate what VFIPA has achieved, emphasizing that all should shift to digital platforms with their customer service deliveries. He encouraged the VFIPA staff to take ownership of the system and ensure the system serves its purpose. Foreign investors and Service providers as the main users of the system are also encouraged to make is use of it and request for their feed backs that will help in improving the system.