For the fourth year in a row the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) and many of its member firms will be actively seeking business opportunities in Brazil through participation in the Brasil Investment Summit (BIS) in Sao Paolo, May 3-6. BFSB is a Gold Sponsor of BIS, Brazil’s leading investment fund conference.

Under the banner “Investment Strategy for Funds and Investors,” BIS is the largest and most influential conference of its kind in Brazil, with more than 600 participants and more than 85 speakers expected to be in attendance for this year’s event.

BFSB’s chief executive officer and executive director, Wendy Warren, will speak on the third day of the conference, which has been themed “Investments Inbound and Outbound – Brasil on the Global Stage.”

Warren’s presentation will focus on “Offshore Domiciles and their Impacts on International Funds and Investors.”

“Brazil continues to emerge as one of the global economic powerhouses,” says Warren. “We see great opportunity for The Bahamas to present itself as an ideal domicile for business and other investment opportunities for Brazilian and other Latin American entities.”

The introduction of direct airline service between The Bahamas and Panama by Copa Airlines in June of this year is also seen as a positive stimulus for Latin American business interest in The Bahamas. “Ease of access is an important consideration for any business looking to expand beyond its home borders,” says Warren. “Copa’s service will make it much easier for the Latin American market to do business in The Bahamas.”

Participation in BIS follows up on a “Fall 2010 Bahamas Landfall: Destination Brasil” event coordinated by BFSB, and it is likely a second Bahamas Landfall event will take place in Brazil this autumn to build on the momentum that will be generated at the May conference.

In addition to BFSB representatives, others attending BIS include Anthony Ferguson, CFAL; Christel Sands-Feaste, Higgs and Johnson; Paul Winder, ATC Trustees (Bahamas) Ltd; Ricardo Romero, The Winterbotham Trust Company Ltd; Stephen Coakley-Wells, Butterfield Bank (Bahamas) Ltd.; and Terah Rahming and Rawiya Rahming, Premier Fund Services.