General Information Netherlands Antilles

Location and Climate
The Netherlands Antilles consists of five islands in the Caribbean. The Leeward Islands Bonaire and Curaçao are located just off the Venezuelan coast in the South of the Caribbean Sea. The Windward Islands St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba lay about 550 miles to the north, about 100 miles east of Puerto Rico and very close to the British island of Anguila and the French St. Bartolomy (St. Barth’s). St. Maarten consists of a Dutch and a French part, the latter of which does not form part of the Netherlands Antilles.

The Netherlands Antilles time zone is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The Netherlands Antilles have a tropical maritime climate. Average annual precipitation is 560 mm (22 inches ) on the Leeward Islands and 1,000 mm (39 inches) on the Windward Islands. There is also a short rainy season from October to January. Average temperature ranges are from 24 degrees Celsius (76 degrees Fahrenheit) to 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) all year.

Languages
The official languages of the Leeward islands are Dutch, English and an own language called Papiamento. Papiamento is a Creole language based upon Spanish and Portuguese, with Dutch, English and African influences. On the Windward Islands the official and local language is English.

Currency
The monetary unit of the Netherlands Antilles is the Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG). The Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles (the Bank) is the only institution entitled by law to issue paper money in the Netherlands Antilles. The Bank also is charged with the circulation of coins. The exchange rate has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1971. The exchange rate is ANG. 1.79 per 1.00 U.S. dollar.

Transport
The Netherlands Antilles have good air travel links with Europe, the U.S., South and Central America and other Caribbean islands. Various airlines maintain facilities, both for passengers and airfreight.

Curaçao, Bonaire and St. Maarten have international airports and all have one or more port facilities.

Constitution and Governance
The Netherlands Antilles form part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The other members of the Kingdom are Aruba and the Netherlands. Apart from certain affairs that are considered to be affairs of the Kingdom (such as defence, foreign affairs and citizenship), the Netherlands Antilles have full autonomy. The Netherlands Antilles are a so-called associate member of the European Community. The purpose of such association is to promote the economic and social development of the Netherlands Antilles and to establish close economic relations between them and the European Community as a whole.

The system of government of the Netherlands Antilles is a parliamentary democracy based on the Dutch model and free elections are held every four years.

It is noted that the Netherlands Antilles currently are on the verge of profound constitutional changes; both St. Maarten and Curaçao are about to become autonomous countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Legal System
The Netherlands Antilles have a civil law system. The main body of law is the Civil Code. Nearly all laws and regulations are, to a large extent, based on their equivalent in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands Antilles have a Court of First Instance and a Court of Appeal which are both established in Curaçao. The Supreme Court for the Netherlands Antilles is the Supreme Court in The Hague, the Netherlands, which is also the Supreme Court for the Netherlands itself.

Economy
The economy of the Netherlands Antilles is based on tourism, telecommunication and transport, the financial service sector and trade and industry. Both government and private organizations have decided to concentrate on developing all these industries through various investment incentives including tax holidays.

Other than exchange control and currency regulations, there are no specific restrictions or authorisations required for foreign investment. However, authorisation may be required in certain regulated areas, such as banking and financial services.

The rate of inflation differs per island in the Netherlands Antilles. The rate of inflation for Curaçao for 2005 was 3,4%, for Bonaire 1,3% and for St. Maarten 3,1%.