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Press Release

Thursday, January 5, 2006

OPIC Insurance to Help Upgrade Land Registry in Antigua and Barbuda

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Political risk insurance from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will enable a U.S. company to introduce a state-of-the-art land registry system to Antigua and Barbuda, setting the stage for increased investment in real estate-related sectors such as tourism in the country, and potentially throughout the eastern Caribbean.

OPIC will provide $669,000 in insurance to Stewart Information International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp.(NYSE-STC), to partially cover the installation cost of the Stewart Landfolio® system for land registry, land cadastre and property taxation, according to a three-year licensing agreement with the government of Antigua and Barbuda. Working through the country’s Land and Survey Office, the system provides day-to-day processing of records and documents, and improves the entering of information and instructions, as well as the ability to locate and access documents.

Once implemented, the Landfolio system will provide Antigua and Barbuda with the registration and title infrastructure necessary for development of a transparent and sophisticated real estate market, as well as raise revenue for the government in the form of property registration fees and more effective property taxation.

The project is the pilot program for an initiative, called the Eastern Caribbean Project (ECP), that would deploy the Landfolio system to other member countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. The result of a partnership between Stewart and the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development, a division of the Organization of American States, the ECP aims to create a standardized land registry system throughout the region to encourage the introduction of investment capital.

“Establishment of a comprehensive system for property taxation and titling should encourage investment in sectors of Antigua and Barbuda’s economy such as tourism, by reducing uncertainties for investors,” said OPIC President and CEO Robert Mosbacher, Jr. “OPIC is pleased to work with a U.S. company on a project with so much developmental potential for the country and the region.”


OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution.  It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy.  Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad.  OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.

 

Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported nearly $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated $74 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 275,000 American jobs.