Attracting foreign investments into the country is the only short-term option for The Bahamas, especially with the war between the United States and Iraq threatening long-term fallout, according to Colina Financial Advisors principal Larry Gibson.
“That is absolutely the right thing to do. We need foreign investments. Our economy is driven by foreign investments and new money coming in,” he told The Guardian over the weekend.
Mr. Gibson was responding to an invitation Prime Minister Perry Christie threw out to mostly Canadian delegates at the Imperial Life Financial two-day conference at the Atlantis Resort.
The Bahamas, in a bid to expand its economic relationship with Canada, is encouraging Canadians to visit, maintain second homes and consider expanding investments in tourism, resort development, financial services and light manufacturing, according to Prime Minister Christie.
“There is very little domestic things we can do to stimulate the economy. You can reduce mortgage rates, stamp duties, refinancing, but if you want a quick fix, you want a large amount of foreign investments,” Mr. Gibson said.
Responding to foreign investors’ concerns of too much red tape, Mr. Gibson said what they seek is a jurisdiction where they can get speedy approval.
“They don’t want to be dragging on for six months, and then to be told no, when they could have pursued opportunities elsewhere,” he said.
At the Imperial Life gathering, the Prime Minister also said his Government is “fine tuning” its draft Domestic Insurance Bill, which is expected to be presented in Parliament this fiscal period.
“We were pleased with the participation of stakeholders in this process, including Imperial Life, in reacting to the bill and providing constructive comments. It is envisaged that the new legislation will support the government’s declared thrust towards e-commerce, which will play an ever-increasing role in competition in the financial services industry,” he said.
The Prime Minister told some 50 member group managers who were visiting the capital, that the relationship between The Bahamas and Canada goes back to when both countries were British colonies.
He said Imperial Life has been in The Bahamas for 104 years and “my government is confident that this long relationship with The Bahamas will continue into the foreseeable future. Today, we pride ourselves on being a sophisticated, well-regulated financial centre that is comfortable and competent in dealing with multi-national and cosmopolitan business requirements and is also experienced in providing necessary support and ancillary services.”
The Prime Minister said Canadian banking and financial services first came to The Bahamas in the late 19th century and early 20th century and have been an important factor in The development of The Bahamas, but said Canadian banks were preceded by Canadian insurance companies, which have dominated the Bahamian insurance market.
The Prime Minister said few companies operating in The Bahamas today have such a long and auspicious history as Imperial, a major provider of financial-security products, residential and commercial mortgages, pension and education plans, annuity products and a full range of individual and group life insurance and health insurance.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
(Lindsay Thompson, Guardian Business Editor also contributed to this story.)
