The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) made its strongest push to date into Brasil in late November with a major event that targeted asset managers and sought to explore wider business relationships through the use of Freeport as a transshipment and logistics centre.
***Bahamas Landfall: Destination Brasil*** caught the imagination of 20 Bahamian service providers who traveled to Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro for the event.
BFSB has been increasing its efforts gradually over the past five years in this growing South American economy, through participation in the annual Brasil Investment Summit and referrals from friends of The Bahamas living in Brasil and The Bahamas.
*”Emerging economies from Brasil to China are encouraging their asset managers to focus beyond their domestic markets,”* says Wendy Warren, BFSB’s CEO and Executive Director. *“This has provided jurisdictions such as The Bahamas with an opportunity to provide a range of services to these asset management companies. The **Bahamas Landfall** event was designed to increase the momentum for interest in The Bahamas that we have been building for the past five years.”* She adds *“It was also designed to establish the idea that there is a natural linkage between Brasil and Freeport’s transshipment zone, readily demonstrated by the investment and operations of Statoil Hydro.”*
Ms. Warren notes that BFSB was particularly pleased that the Grand Bahama Port Authority agreed to be one of the sponsors of the event. This indicates, she says, growing support and recognition for the country’s vision statement for the financial services industry, which positions The Bahamas as an ideal location for international business and finance.
*“We have redoubled our efforts to coordinate and partner on joint initiatives with the Port Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, the Bahamas Investment Authority and the Bahamas Maritime Authority,”* says Ms Warren. *“This has led to BFSB supporting and becoming actively involved in events such as BIMCATs, Posidonia –- a major shipping conference in Greece — the recent opening of the BMA office in Hong Kong and our lead sponsorship of the Caribbean Investment and Finance conference held in Nassau last month and presented by The Banker, an FT publication.”*
Other sponsors of ***Bahamas Landfall*** were Ansbacher Bahamas Ltd., Butterfield Fund Services, Ernst & Young, Genesis Funds Services, Graham Thompson, Premier Fund Services, Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management and Swiss Financial Services. HFM Week, publishers of the HFMWeek, PAM and Latin American magazine was the official media partner of the event.
Ms. Warren expressed BFSB’s appreciation in the response received from the Bahamian industry noting that *”as The Bahamas continues to position itself as a global leader for financial services, events like **Bahamas Landfall** in key economies like Brasil are very important”.*