Local businessman Robert Myers has been elected as chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation.
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Pictured: Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder speaking at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. (Photo Harry Cutting/©Dupuch)

The diversity of product offerings in the Bahamas’ financial services sector will help insulate the jurisdiction against market volatility and increasingly burdensome regulation, Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder told attendees at the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Caribbean Conference today.

In his address, the Minister said one of the biggest challenges facing The Bahamas, and other Caribbean international financial centres (IFCs), is the move towards a global standard of automatic exchange of information. He indicated that jurisdictions needed five key elements to ensure growth in the face of pressure from multilateral bodies concerned with transparency: independence and sovereignty; a sound reputation; new product development; sustained engagement with the international community; and diversity of offerings.

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The global economic outlook is “sunny,” according to chief economist with Berenberg Bank Dr Holger Schmieding, who says the major markets of China, the US and the Eurozone are rebounding after a difficult year.

“The situation is not bad,” Dr Schmieding said. “We are in a global economic rebound.”

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KRyS Global, fraud investigation, dispute resolution and corporate recovery firm, is expanding its reach into the US market with the launch of a New York office May 12, 2014.

KRyS Global USA, Inc will provide a wide range of restructuring advisory and capital markets services, primarily related to complex distressed situations.

Specifically, KRyS Global USA will focus on three advisory business lines: financial restructuring and distressed situation advisory; capital markets advisory and mergers; and acquisitions advisory services.

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To safeguard its future, the Bahamian financial services industry must learn key lessons from its prosperous past, according to Sean McWeeney, senior partner with law firm Graham Thompson, who spoke today at the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Caribbean Conference.

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GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS — (Marketwire) — Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. CWCO -9.12% (“Consolidated Water” or “the Company”), which develops and operates seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas of the world where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent, today reported its operating results for the first quarter of 2014. The Company will host an investor conference call on Tuesday, May 13, at 11:00 a.m. EDT (see details below) to discuss its operating results and other topics of interest.

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Speaking at the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) annual Caribbean Conference yesterday, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie said that The Bahamas is employing “bold and creative” strategies in financial services.
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The Bahamas’ financial services industry is “at a crossroads”, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie, who believes the future of the sector lies in innovation, creativity and regional co-operation.

Addressing the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)’s annual Caribbean Conference today, the Prime Minister said: “We meet at a time when the financial services industry is at a major crossroads. The global financial crisis and the ensuing slow recovery has left an uneasy equilibrium.”

Christie spoke of the burden of international regulation, such as the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), as well as “ever present domestic challenges” as some of the obstacles facing the sector. but added that he remained optimistic in the long term.

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Nassau, Bahamas, May 2014 (RealWire) – International Private Banking Systems (IPBS, www.ipbs.com), the specialist provider of wealth management software for the private banking sector, today announced that it has joined forces with Objectway, a leader in software applications and technology services for financial markets. The two companies will work together on marketing and sales activities for the OFS eXimius Portfolio Manager solution in the offshore, Central and South American markets where IPBS already has a presence.

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[Note: Any reference to stocks and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of The Bahamas Investor or any of its contributors.]

StockMarketWire.com – Bahamas Petroleum posts pre-tax losses of $5.2m for the year to the end of December – down from $6.3m last time.

Chief executive Simon Potter [right] said: “Whilst the pace of progress towards initiating drilling has been slower than I and my shareholders expect, 2013 brought about several positive movements towards achieving our goals.

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