Above: downtown Nassau (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The new Bahamian government is making its financial services industry a priority, according to new Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder.

“The Bahamas is open for business,” Pinder said Wednesday during his contribution to the budget debate.

Pinder said the government would be focusing on four areas: the financial services industry itself, the establishment of the Bahamas as an international arbitration sector, trade development and promotion and industrial expansion and promotion.

“For the last five reporting cycles, the Bahamas has fallen in the rankings of the Global Financial Centres Index,” Pinder said. “We have a plan — we are building a great team.”

Part of the plan includes positioning the Bahamas as a major finical centre, he said, along with the development of medium and long-term marketing plans for sectors including banking, trusts, private equity and others.

Pinder also said the Ministry would coordinate with industry groups and with the College of the Bahamas to encourage the development of international training programmes in financial services.

“These are some of our initial plans in the Ministry of Financial Services for the development of the financial services industry, providing an expanded industry, creating employment and career development opportunities, all for the best interest of the Bahamas,” he said.