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WE CONNECT BUSINESS PEOPLE
SPECIAL SPONSORED SECTION
THE HON. C.V. HOPE STRACHAN
Minister of Financial
Services
THE HON. DR. MICHAEL DARVILLE
Minister for Grand
Bahama
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THE BAHAMAS
A Second Home for Business and Pleasure
W
ith capital city Nassau less
than one hour from the world’s
largest economy, The Bahamas’
location is the key to its attractiveness for
investment. In addition to being on Eastern
Standard Time and having an English-
speaking workforce, the archipelago has
built on its proximity to the United States
by establishing a business-friendly legal
framework and pegging the Bahamian
dollar (BSD) to the US dollar.
“Our closeness to mainland USAaffords the
investor easy access to the mainland when
procuring building material and supplies for
business purposes,” says Bahamas Consul
General to NewYork, Forrester Carroll.
The Bahamas’ location makes it, however,
more than a business or tourist destination.
“Whereas tourists can fly anywhere and go
by cruise ships anywhere in the Caribbean,
they choose in large numbers to have
a second home here in The Bahamas,”
says Prime Minister Perry Christie,
highlighting the country’s investments in
infrastructure, especially in the areas of
telecommunications, energy and medical
facilities.
ADiversifying Financial Sector
T
he country’s financial sector has
traditionally been focused on
trusts and private banking, and
while the trust product continues to grow,
private banking has been contracting due
to continuing effects of the 2008 crisis and
international pressures.
Christina Rolle, Executive Director of the
Securities Commission of The Bahamas,
says, “Despite these challenges, I see a
tremendously good opportunity for The
Bahamas to reshape and guide the sector
into new areas.”
The Bahamas and industry players are
diversifying into other areas within financial
services, as explained by independent
private bank and trust group Deltec’s CEO,
David Muñoz: “Every person in the world
has problems whether they have money or
they don’t. We just happen to work with
clients that have a lot of money and they
have problems too but you have to listen
to their problems, you can’t just force them
into a solution that fits your bank or your
own interests, you really have to focus on
their interests.”
Focusing on emerging markets in Latin
America and Asia, Minister of Financial
Services Hope Strachan sees plenty of room
to grow. “We have to continue to reinvent
ourselves by identifying new niche markets,
creating new and innovative products while
maintaining our professional service level,”
she says.
While the country is known for its favorable
taxation framework, policy stakeholders also
point out the jurisdiction’s compliance and
tight regulations. Insurance Commission
Superintendent Michele Fields insists it’s
not business at any cost in The Bahamas.
“We are very aware of the need to do all
of our due diligence on persons who are
coming to the jurisdiction.”
“Our insurance sector is a vibrant mix of
local, regional and international players
with local companies dominating the
landscape,” says Lyrone Burrows, President
of FamGuard which has, in its 50 years of
existence, managed to garner a sizeable
share of the insurance market. “Our focus
was to provide security to an underserved
market, our low to low-middle income
population.”
More
opportunities
for
Bahamian
growth lie in the potential to become an
international arbitration center, as well in
Public Private Partnerships (PPP), which
have already shown their potential in the
city of Freeport, the second largest city of
The Bahamas.
“The dream in 1955 was to connect the
island of Grand Bahama globally; we
achieved that by way of a private public
partnership initiative called the Hawksbill
Creek Agreement which, with numerous
and generous concessions from the
government, created all that you see in
Freeport from 1955 to the present,” says
Dr. Michael Darville, Minister for Grand
Bahama.
Tourism contributes some 70-75%
to GDP and financial services are
15-20%
Prime Minister Perry Christie
Albany - albanybahamas.com
THE RT. HON. PERRY G. CHRISTIE
Prime Minister and Minister
of Finance
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COUNTRY STUDY
SPECIAL SPONSORED SECTION
THE HON. FORRESTER J. CARROLL
Bahamas Consul General
to New York
