Tuesday, December 1, 2009

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Can the bahamas thrive: "yes we can!" By Scott Armstrong ~ Guardian Business Editor ~ scott@nasguard.com: PRESIDENT Obama said it to the Americans - now The Bahamas' banking institutions have been told it too - "Yes We Can!" That was the rallying cry at the Nassau Conference from the Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, as he addressed a room full of the nation's banking and financial industry high-fliers. He spoke about his government's commitment to the industry, updated those gathered on the progress made on the tax information exchange agreement process, and outlined a strategic vision for The Bahamas to make the most of opportunities presented by the global economic crisis. He told the conference, at the British Colonial Hilton that: "Financial services is the most significant contributor to the national income of our nation, being about 15% of our gross domestic product. "It employs some 5,000 persons, 80% of whom are Bahamians and pays an average salary of some $50,000. This industry has been good for The Bahamas and The Bahamas has been good for it. "Notwithstanding our accomplishments in this sector over the past decades, we are persuaded that we can make even greater strides, as we seize the opportunities presented by the historic changes occurring across the globe on almost every front. "With renewed focus, we can rise to the challenge of the demands of the evolving global standards and the present economic fallout. Partnering with industry and a solid group of service providers, we can advance to new heights in the new global order. "By competing on the basis of value, efficiency and cost, no matter the global environment that evolves, what standards are erected or whose centers globally we must compete with, we can be a financial centre of choice for sophisticated and demanding clients. "We are up for this challenge. Can we compete in the 21st Century in the new and evolved global regulatory environment that we are in? "Yes we can! Must we compete in the 21st Century? Yes we must! Will we compete? Together we will answer this question." He outlined a series of growth areas and sector which government was keen to see The Bahamas take advantage of, including: *Private Wealth Management; International Insurance *Fund Management and Administration *International Maritime Services (Yacht Registry) *International Aviation Services (Aircraft Registry) *Corporate Headquarters (IBCs with Physical Presence) *E-commerce/Data Services *Arbitration Centre *Fulfillment Centre (Freeport Air/Sea Port) And the minister again confirmed that the Bahamas now had agreements in principal with enough countries to meet the minimum number of 12 TIEAs required by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and that all the official paperwork from this end had been done. He told the room it was vital that The Bahamas is taken off the OECD's gray list, and said more progress would be made in the coming weeks. He cited the four already signed with the US, the UK, San Marino and Monaco - Guardian business revealed earlier this week that The Bahamas is poised to sign another such agreement with New Zealand. He said: "We are committed to preserving the financial services of this nation by getting us off any list which results in sanctions for the Bahamas. "We need to get off that list by the end of the year or hope will be hard to find, we need to get off that list. "The Government is doing the best we can to achieve the best end for Bahamians and our clients." you can use pic of Zhivargo if wanted, but we've used him a lot this week. Thursday, November 19, 2009