The Bahamas Investor

...Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation, and the director of the Office for International Relations of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, Celia Labora. As Sumner evaluated, existing agreements between the chambers of commerce of two nations are useful in order to increase the exchange of goods and services and encourage the injection of capital for specific works. “It is interesting to us to know the opportunities to invest in Cuba an......

...hy have helped speed the march towards transparency and automatic exchange of information. This is the new normal for everyone, and smaller Swiss banks such as Pictet, perhaps paradoxically, are best positioned to keep a firm hand on the tiller and steady the ship. “We still have a lot of money under management and although returns are not what we used to see, we believe we provide an excellent service,” says Lourdin, who has lived through the hig......

...itise preservation of the economy’s capacity to maintain adequate supplies of foreign exchange for trade-related payments, and to ensure safeguards around the stability of the Bahamian dollar fixed exchange rate. The trade related measures are intended to further reduce the need for direct Central Bank approvals for international business payments. The capital account measures target a prudent balance, while promoting more economic dynamism throug......

...The PM remains bullish on the state of the economy in 2017 on the back of prospects that Baha Mar will be open by April this year and other large infrastructure investments will start to reap benefits.......

...e, where their money is spent on public infrastructure. He said that while Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest was clear that administration officials have had to “hold the reins” on capital expenditure so far this fiscal year, infrastructure development is an area of government activity that will require priority attention going forward. “Growth-friendly and growth enhancing public investments will need to be a particular priority,” he continued.......

...founder of the Leon Levy Native Plant Reserve, Shelby White; and daughter of former US president Lyndon Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson, who owns a second home on the island. Local businessman Craig Symonette serves as chairman. Working from a report drawn up by a committee opposing a development at Lighthouse Point and a previous government strategy for the island, the board has now written an extensive three-year master plan. “We had two very good......

...rs for Bahamians to enjoy greater opportunities for investment than ever before. For the first time, people of ordinary means would have the right to participate in world markets. No longer are we just consumers, we can be owners.” Ready for change If suddenly Bahamians were being allowed to seek a piece of the global economic pie without paying prohibitively high repatriation fees, entities had to be ready to serve that public, and it was little......

...Western markets. Chinese UHNW individuals make up the third largest share of foreign UHNW homeowners in the United States, behind only Canada and the United Kingdom. Twenty nations in Europe and the Americas now offer citizenship or residency programs to individuals willing to invest in domestic residential real estate. Many residential real estate markets with such programs – including Sao Paulo, Malta, and the Bahamas– offer good long-term inve......

...et-worth market overseas. “We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of foreign investors expressing interest in properties priced above $500,000,” says vice president of sales and marketing Gustaf Hernqvist. “The demand for these condos is extremely high now there is an increased awareness of the strong investment potential in The Bahamas, with the remaining available units now becoming an exclusive commodity.” In Lyford Cay, Nassau’s premi......

...ars to study towards an Associate in Captive Insurance. To raise the level of professionalism in the industry, IIB is advocating for increased insurance qualification requirements for persons working in the industry and has submitted a proposal to ICB for implementation of minimum education standards and insurance qualifications for insurance practitioners. IIB’s belief is that if client-facing employees are more knowledgeable about insurance and......

...ou will not find us to be a fly-by-night jurisdiction.” The BIIBF, which ran February 20-22, also heard from Prime Minister Perry Christie , who delivered the keynote speech, director of investments with the Bahamas Investment Authority Joy Jibrilu and chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority Ian Fair. cmorris@dupuch.com......

...attributable to international boycotts. Income attributable to the bribery of foreign government officials. Income that is foreign oil or gas-related. Even so, there are many exceptions and exclusions to the above. For example, if such income comprises less than 5% of a Bahamian company’s adjusted gross income (and less than $1,000,000), none of the company’s income will be taxable by the US. In most cases, however, every other kind of foreign inc......

...previous year; and original receipt from the Public Treasury evidencing proof of payment of the requisite fee of $250. 2. Upon receipt of the above, the acquisition is registered and a certificate of registration issued. 3. A permit to acquire property is required if the property is undeveloped land and the purchaser would become the owner of two or more contiguous acres. A permit is also required if the non-Bahamian intends to acquire land or an......

...nancial support for this period. Visitors are not allowed to engage in any form of gainful occupation while in The Bahamas. Obtaining an annual residence permit People who wish to reside in The Bahamas on an annual basis may qualify under one of four categories, subject to a formal application and approval process: 1. Spouse or dependent of a citizen of The Bahamas. If an applicant is married to a Bahamian citizen, a resident spouse permit may be......

...ted arbitrators and mediators within five years. “This will create the platform for the continuation of the government’s national mandate to establish The Bahamas as an International Commercial Arbitration Center,” said Bertha Cooper-Rousseau , chairperson of The Bahamas Branch of CIArb. Arbitration is a mechanism by which a dispute is referred to a neutral third party for a decision. The decision is called an award, which is legally binding and e......