The Brasil Investment Summit took place earlier this year in São Paulo, and saw nearly 600 delegates come together to discuss Brazilian investment opportunities.

The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) attended the conference, held last May at the Hotel Unique, to promote The Bahamas and expand upon investment opportunities between the two nations.

With a population of around 200 million and an economic growth rate of more than 7 per cent, Brazil is a potentially enormous market for The Bahamas. Ideally located to serve Brazilian High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs), the jurisdiction has concentrated its efforts in recent years on promoting its offerings in offshore financial services to the Latin American giant.

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Hurricane Irene, which has developed into a Category 3 storm, with winds reaching up to 120 miles per hour (195 km/h), has made landfall in the southern and central parts of the tropical island chain, bringing structural damage and flooding to Rum Cay, Cat Island, San Salvador and parts of New Providence.

Cruise line operators have cancelled scheduled stops in the region and flights to the Family Islands have been temporarily halted. Revenue losses for the crucial tourism industry are already estimated to be $2-3 million in taxes alone.

A summary of conditions by the National Hurricane Centre put wind speeds at 115 mph (185km/h) as the eye of the storm passed the capital Nassau and proceeded on towards Abaco and Grand Bahama islands. A hurricane watch is in effect for north of Surf City, North Carolina, to the north Carolina-Virginia border including the Pamlico, Albemarle and Currituck Sounds, as the hurricane heads towards the US eastern seaboard.

The path of hurricane Irene can be tracked at the National Hurricane Centre.

scotterill@dupuch.com

After a summer respite, this fall will see a resurgence of international financial services sector conferences and summits.

The season gets underway with the increasingly well-attended Private Equity World Brasil summit to be held in Sao Paulo from September 14-16.

The three-day conference is one of Brazil’s most established financial events, bringing together leading Brazilian and international investors and fund managers to discuss sourcing deals, growing investments and managing funds, among other things.

Experts speaking at the summit include senior executives from private equity firms, institutional investors and leading legal and financial advisors. The topics to be covered range from how to raise funds in Brazil and get the most from the emerging Latin American market to maximizing returns through new vehicles and structures and reducing the tax burden on Brazilian income.

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The July-December 2011 issue of The Bahamas Investor is now out. Weighing in at 138 pages, this issue is the biggest yet. Offering insight and information for high-net-worth individuals and financial services providers, The Bahamas Investor, produced by Etienne Dupuch Jr Publications Ltd, is the jurisdiction’s premier investing and wealth management publication.

The new issue features on the cover the chief executive officer of Nassau Airport Development Co, Stewart Steeves, to mark the opening of the new state-of-the-art US Departures Terminal at Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Speaking on the multi-million-dollar airport-wide redevelopment Steeves believes that “the customer experience–for the size and type of facility–is becoming the best in the region, if not the world.”

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Long Island needs further investment to fulfill its economic potential, according to the head of the island’s Chamber of Commerce.

Mario Cartwright, who was appointed president of the chamber in spring 2010, is calling for greater investment in the island to help grow the local economy and, in particular, the tourism industry.

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The Securities Commission of The Bahamas recently announced the launch of its redesigned website, www.scb.gov.bs.

The website overhaul is in-line with the commission’s 2011 priorities statement to improve the efficiency of the organization.

The site provides vital information for investors and wealth managers on a range of topics including:

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Although the pace at which The Bahamas is entering into tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) has slowed since a fevered spell of negotiations last year, the jurisdiction is still working hard to forge ties with other jurisdictions on taxes, as per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) mandate.

Recently, OECD member countries have made it a priority to retrieve tax information about their citizens, especially those who are holding offshore or overseas accounts.

The Bahamas was quick to react to last year’s directives, signing 22 TIEAs by the March 2010 deadline.

This year has seen the signing of further such agreements.

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Lyford Cay Hospital’s $25 million expansion is set to get underway next year.

Cardiologist Dr Dean Tseretopoulos is spearheading the development, which will be built adjacent to the existing Lyford Cay Hospital site in western New Providence. He is aiming to attract patients from abroad, with physicians providing highly specialized treatments that may not be available in the patients’ home countries.

“It will be larger than Doctors Hospital and medical tourism will be a central component. We need to maintain standards and quality and make people comfortable with coming from abroad.”

The 60,000 sq ft facility will include around 20 exam rooms, a CAT scan facility, an underground parking garage and an area dedicated to clinical research. Groundbreaking on the development, which is privately funded, is scheduled to take place in January 2012.

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Importers, businessmen and other relevant stakeholders were briefed at a luncheon meeting yesterday on the numerous benefits associated with the relocation of commercial shipping from the confines of busy, downtown Nassau to a $70-million, state-of-the-art port facility.

The relocation of the Nassau Container Port to the new 56-acre complex on nearby Arawak Cay frees over 20 acres of prime real estate for the redevelopment and revitalization of downtown. The relocation will provide members of the public with their first opportunity to invest in the shipping sector with a projected 10 per cent return on investments.

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Increased tourism combined with a rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) is helping to sustain The Bahamas economy, according to the latest report from The Central Bank of The Bahamas.

Despite anemic economic conditions worldwide, The Bahamas has shown sustained growth in the first half of 2011, in part due to an increase in foreign investment, which includes the government’s sale of its 51 per cent stake in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company in April.

Investment in public infrastructure is also a contributing factor, with related spending reaching $12.2 million, according to the Central Bank’s Monthly Economic and Financial Developments Report for June 2011.

Growth was also seen in the tourism sector in the early part of the year, as it benefitted from an increase in stopover visitors and higher hotel revenues. In April 2011, air arrivals increased by 2.8 per cent, while the number of sea visitors rose 19.2 per cent.

According to the Central Bank report: “Amid an improved outlook for tourism output and foreign investment activity, the recovery in the domestic economy is expected to be maintained over the remainder of the year.”

Download a PDF of the Central Bank’s Monthly Economic and Financial Developments Report June 2011 here.