Guide to Doing Business
in St. Eustatius

Regulated industries

The most relevant regulated industries of St. Eustatius are:

Banking

The monetary system of the island is regulated by the Bank of the Netherlands (de Nederlandsche Bank).The Bank of the Netherlands is responsible for safeguarding financial stability. The Bank’s duties on the island are different from those it performs in the Netherlands and in the European System of Central Banks and the Euro System.

Education

As of 10 October 2010 the Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) of the Netherlands is responsible for the education policy on St. Eustatius. This means that the schools in St. Eustatius form part of the Dutch educational system and receive a budget as such. The objective is that by 2016 the quality of education at schools in St. Eustatius should meet the Dutch educational standards. St. Eustatius is also home to the University of St. Eustatius School of Medicine.

Energy

Due to the favorable climate there are good opportunities for sustainable energy (particularly wind and solar). The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (EL&I) will finance a technical and spatial preliminary research on wind energy on the island. Furthermore, it will also be considered if an energy saving program can be started with local parties so that energy cost for residents and businesses can be lowered.

Healthcare

St. Eustatius has a hospital that is called the Queen Beatrix Hospital with two doctors on 24-hour call.

Infrastructure

FD Roosevelt Airport is the small airport of St. Eustatius, with flights to and from the nearby island of St. Maarten and Saba. There is also a ferry service from and to St. Maarten. Currently there are two ferry services offering transportation between St. Eustatius and St. Maarten several times a week.

Telecom

The BES Telecommunications Act is the basis for offering telecommunications services. The operator and supervisor in the field of telecommunications in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Radio Communications Agency (Agentschap Telecom), has been appointed as supervisor and implementer of the telecommunications and postal regulations in St. Eustatius. For the execution of these tasks the Netherlands Radio Communications Agency has partnered with the Bureau Telecommunicatie en Post of Curacao.