The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BISX’s first-ever listed SMART Fund will next week seek to raise capital from wealthy Dubai investors for potential Bahamian real estate investments, a businessman yesterday expressing hope this would be a “trigger” for the construction industry.

Making good on his pledge to organise a Bahamian Trade Mission to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates by this month, Tony Joudi said a 10-strong delegation - including the Sapphire Venture Fund’s administrator - will be accompanying him on the trip, leaves tomorrow.

The group includes the Bahamas International Securities Exchange’s (BISX) chief executive, Keith Davies, and top realtor Mario Carey, as they seek to build on the Government’s own visit to Dubai last year.

“I’m spearheading a business mission,” Mr Joudi confirmed, adding that the group planned to spend a week in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, meeting institutions such as both nations’ stock exchanges.

Others on the trip include Andrew Rolle of Equity Trust, the Sapphire Venture Fund’s administrator; the fund’s marketing director, Jorge Anahory; and Werner Gruner, a director of ANDBank (Bahamas).

“Andrew will be launching the Sapphire Venture Fund because Equity Trust are the administrators,” Mr Joudi explained. “He’ll be spearheading the launch, trying to bring in some more funds to the Bahamas.”

The Fund is designed to invest in Bahamas-based real estate projects, and Mr Joudi, a contractor who has his own firm, Fast Track Construction (FTC), said he was aiming to “mix in” with it via joint venture project management work.

“The funds that will be raised are going to help the local economy,” Mr Joudi told Tribune Business of Sapphire. “They will be pumped into construction.

“When people see construction taking place, it will create confidence and everything will trickle down. We want this Fund to be the trigger to start projects here and create employment.”

While Mr Davies will be exploring potential synergies and tie-ups with his counterparts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Mr Carey will likely be forging contacts and marketing the Bahamas as a place to buy high-end real estate and invest.

Mr Joudi said meetings were also planned with the local Chambers of Commerce in the Emirates, plus key financial institutions, with delegation members also likely to be interested in the financial services possibilities.

“The main objective is to start establishing good business and friendly relations with the Emirates, given that the Government is establishing diplomatic relations,” Mr Joudi told Tribune Business.

“We want to move a step ahead with the business relationship. It’s not only a fact-finding mission, but we want to inform them about what we have here.

“It can be a mutually beneficial relationship; we can benefit from them, and they can benefit from us, exchanging goodwill and expertise,” he added.

“I think we are on the right track. I think we’ll be successful with the implementation of certain things. It’s more to encourage them to come and invest in the Bahamas, as well as us invest there.”

Emphasising that the Bahamas had to be proactive, and go out and compete for investment, rather than wait for it to come to its shores, Mr Joudi said: “Nothing is going to drop in our laps unless we look for it.

“We don’t just want to keep the relationship on paper; we have to take a step forward.”

While banks and the stock exchanges are prime targets for the Bahamian delegation, Mr Joudi said they would look beyond these sectors and tourism in a bid to help this nation “move forward in a complex era”.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the markets and the world, and this is creating havoc,” he added.