09/2019: The Long Road to Repatriate PR’s Capital

Can PR create the conditions for local investors to return?

Long before the onset of PR’s current debacle, the economy used to generate consistent savings that in part justified its status as an attractive investment destination. In effect, personal savings ranged between 8% to 15% of personal income during the 1980s (the golden years for S.936 companies) and 1990s (the golden years of construction), most of which were channeled towards financial investment on the Island. Fast forward 15 years and those same assets under management are now almost entirely outside PR, the majority of them under tight institutional restrictions on questions such as geography, risk and return. Despite this, there is still a window of opportunity if the government is able to develop an investment plan articulated through the Opportunity Zones (OZ) initiative. Such a repatriation of capital requires an active risk-mitigation role from the government and, above all, allowing the economy to expand through stimulus rather than austerity. The final decision will have long lasting implications.