The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Government is aiming to revamp the National Investment Policy (NIP) and is holding consultations with industry in a bid to eliminate approval process red-tape, a senior official said yesterday.

Phylicia Hanna-Woods, the director of investments and Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) head, told the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly media briefing that her office is currently undertaking “stakeholder consultations" with various sectors and professional bodies to ensure the approvals process becomes more efficient and turnaround time is reduced.

“We are currently, as we speak, having our first consultation with the financial services industry to see how we can cut down on the turnaround time for financial service-related applications," she said.

The Government is also looking at expanding the list of sectors reserved for Bahamian ownership only, too. “We're looking at the local capacity. We're trying to get an assessment of what local capacity exists within the country so that we can review the sectors that are under the National Investment Policy reserved for Bahamians,” Mrs Hanna-Woods said.

The long-promised transformation of the BIA into Bahamas Invest, an investment promotions agency similar to Jamaica's JAMPRO, will be part of these stakeholder consultations. “We do not want to risk The Bahamas introducing a new entity with no changes in the efficiency of the way we do business in The Bahamas,” Mrs Hanna-Woods said.

“We are also looking to develop the promotional arm of the BIA. The National Investment Policy that establishes the BIA speaks to the BIA being a one-stop shop, but really and truly we need to make sure that functions as that. The transition to Bahamas Invest is to do that.

"However, we must make sure that the necessary policy and legislative reforms take place so that we don't risk a rebrand without the general public and the global stage seeing a change in the way The Bahamas does business.”

The consultations are due to conclude by the 2024 first quarter's close. The purpose of the consultations is so that there can be a “balance” between the public sector and private sector, and the new National Investment Policy can take into account multiple recommendations when it is formed.

The BIA will also be digitising its processes as part of this revamp. “We hope that as of December 2023 we can stop the hard copies of the International Persons Landholding Act applications,” Mrs Hanna-Woods said, adding that this will help to cut the processing time for applications from one month to no more than two weeks.

The BIA has also opened up US and Bahamian dollar accounts. It is now able to accept payments, and applicants will no longer have to make these at the Department of Inland Revenue and then present a receipt of payment to the BIA.