Bahamas financial services industry continues to target Asia’s wealth economy
The Bahamas Ministry of Financial Services (MoFS) and the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) once again are collaborating on a broad outreach in Asia, using the 2015 China Offshore Summit series as an anchor event, reports The Bahamas Weekly.
The Summit series (2 events annually) is designed specifically to educate Chinese financial intermediaries on the effective use of tax planning and asset management tools available in low-tax jurisdictions. With an average of more than 500 attendees per event, the China Offshore Summit provides a premium platform for information exchange, business development and much-needed education for Chinese intermediaries in this burgeoning market. Already, The Bahamas was represented in Shenzhen, China on May 27-28 at the mid-year China Offshore Summit there.
The upcoming promotion includes a schedule of four events in four cities, starting with a Bahamas Landfall event in Beijing on October 29, followed by a second Landfall event in Hong Kong on November 2. The fall China Offshore Summit will take place on November 4-5 in Shanghai; here, the MoFS serves as Platinum Sponsor. The Bahamas team then travels to Singapore for STEP Asia on November 11-12. The Ministry of Financial Services is a Silver and Gala Dinner Sponsor for the award-winning STEP Asia. To complement the events, the Ministry and BFSB have engaged local expertise in scheduling one-on-one meetings in each of the cities, targeting financial services intermediaries such as tax advisers and wealth management managers. Sponsoring agencies will have their own contacts for private meetings as well, of course.
China is the world’s second largest HNWI base, with over two million USD millionaire households, representing reported wealth of almost US$4 trillion. The Hon CV Hope Strachan, MP, Minister of Financial Services, points out “ This Summit provides an opportunity to sensitize China’s High Net Worth Individuals and institutional investors about The Bahamas and its reputation as a world class international financial centre.”
Current estimates indicate that in the next 5-10 years more than three million Chinese will have to “succeed” their personal assets and corporate matters. “The relaxation of China’s regulatory regime for outbound investment augurs well for the business development opportunities this huge market represents for The Bahamas”, says BFSB CEO Aliya Allen.
The Bahamas Landfall portion of the 2 ½-week promotional exercise will attract corporate sponsorship from BFSB member firms, while the Ministry has earmarked key national agencies to come on board as sponsors as well. It is anticipated that these sponsors also will participate in the China Offshore Summit, ensuring the jurisdiction will have strong representation across all events.
