Antigua and Barbuda is a small twin-island democracy located within the heart of the Eastern Caribbean archipelago. Antigua’s history can be dated to 1775 B.C. when its first inhabitants, the Siboney (or ‘stone people’) lived there. The Arawaks later settled in Antigua at about the time of Christ or the beginning of the Common Era. The Arawaks reputedly paddled across from South America and introduced agriculture to the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, bringing with them a host of goods ranging from pineapples and tobacco and cotton. Most of the Arawaks left around 1100 A.D but some stayed on to be raided by the Caribs, an Indian tribe based in Dominica. The earliest recorded European contact with Antigua was made when Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage of discovery in 1493, discovered Antigua and named it Santa Maria de la Antigua. Columbus named the island after Santa Maria la Antigua, the miracle-working saint of the Spanish city of Seville.

Except for a brief period of occupancy by the French in 1652, the island, with an area of 108 square miles, remained British until its independence. Names such as Sir Christopher Codrington who arrived in Antigua in 1684 and Horatio Nelson who arrived in 1784 are inextricably linked to the history and lore of Antigua and Barbuda. Lying 28 miles to the north of Antigua is the sister-island of Barbuda, with an area of 75 square miles. The Twin-island State of Antigua and Barbuda attained its independence from the United Kingdom on November 1st, 1981. The country is a member state of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS.), using a common monetary system the East Caribbean Dollar (EC $). Antigua is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) an economic organization of Caribbean States. It is also a member of the British Commonwealth, Organization of American States (OAS), the Association of American States (ACS), and the ACP grouping (signatories of the Lome Convention).

According to the last official census in May 1991, Antigua and Barbuda has a total population of 63,896. Of a labour force of 26,753 the tourist sector employs some 35% of the labor force and contributes approximately 65% to the GDP. Current estimates suggest that the total population has passed the 75,000 mark and counting. Antigua was one of the pioneers of Caribbean tourism from the late 1960’s, having the important components of popular tourism: a hot pleasant climate (average annual rainfall is 45 inches), good travel links, skilled and friendly tourism staff, attractive beaches (it has some 365 beaches of coral-sand giving on to clear turquoise-colored sea), and a range of hotels. Additionally, agriculture, which contributed approximately 40% to GDP during the early 1960’s, was, during 1995 contributing 3.8% of GDP.

Antigua has a history of political stability with a parliamentary democracy fashioned from the British Parliamentary System. The recently elected government led by the Honourable Baldwin Spencer of the United Progressive Party strongly supports transparent governance and “government in the sunshine” principles. While English is the official language, AIT Management Services can arrange for Italian, Spanish and French speaking clients to communicate in their mother tongues.

Antigua possesses perhaps the most thriving tourist industry in the Eastern Caribbean and with its modern, multinational and multi-ethnic community, enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean. Indeed, the 1998 Human Development Report produced by the United Nations Development Program rated Antigua at number 29 from a total of 208 countries who are members of the United Nations. This is interesting since the Human Development Index (HDI) is a combination of GDP per capita, life expectancy and literacy rate. This rating has placed Antigua and Barbuda at a higher level than countries such as Argentina, the Bahamas, Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia to name a few.

Its international financial industry and commercial activities have grown tremendously since its Independence and there has been the collateral development of a unique infrastructure to support its commercial and financial activities.
Communication systems in Antigua are state of the art, very modern and excellent. Worldwide direct dialing systems of telephone, telex and facsimile is supported by daily air links to the major cities of the USA, Canada and Europe and to the world’s major capital markets.

The currency in Antigua is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar which is fixed to the United States Dollar at the rate of US$1.00 to EC$2.70.

The combination of excellent service, modern corporate and fiscal legislation affords an extremely attractive environment for the establishment of International Business Corporations and its international banks, local banks, law firms, tax advisors, accounting firms and trust companies provide a high level of support service suitable to the needs of the international financial industry.