The “xenophobic” attitude of many Bahamians towards foreign investors is hurting this nation’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, a well-known businessman arguing that the Government needed to tackle “the bureaucracy that sits below them” as a national priority.
Dionisio D’Aguilar said it was “no surprise” that the Bahamas continued to slip annually in the World Bank’s report, given the country’s often-paradoxical attitude towards foreign direct investment, combined with what he described as a “crazy” Know Your Customer (KYC) regime and “antiquated banking system”.
The Bahamas slipped another six spots to 77th place in the World Bank’s 2013 Ease of Doing Business rankings, and Mr D’Aguilar said: “Two things concern me about that.
Mr D’Aguilar then told Tribune Business: “One of the reasons why this is happening is we are a xenophobic people. While we want foreigners to come to purchase land to invest, we don’t treat them correctly when they arrive. When they run into that bureaucarcy, it’s most off-putting.”
Identifying obtaining residence and work permits from the Immigration Department as a major headache for foreign investors and their executives, the former Chamber of Commerce president said: “People wait for months and months to hear from Immigration.
Mr D’Aguilar then turned his icy gaze to the Bahamian banking system. “The KYC rules we have in this country are absolutely crazy,” he told Tribune Business. “We have swung the pendulum too far to the other side.”
