The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Organisers of the first UK trade mission to The Bahamas in 20 years say the possibility it will yield some $1.3bn worth of business deals is “conservative” given the multiple opportunities that arose.

Chris Bennet, the Caribbean Council’s managing director, said: “I think that the $1.3bn is probably conservative. I think all of our delegation has found that, as they’ve entered into commercial conversations with the different parties, they found that there are actually other projects and more opportunities.

“And one of our port companies, for example, came with one port in mind. He’s gone back with three ports in mind. So, lots and lots of opportunity.” Mr Bennett explained that some UK companies extended their stay to discuss further opportunities, while a group of Bahamian merchants is planning to travel to London next month to continue discussions.

He said: “I think there’s a huge excitement amongst the delegation to see what they can do next. Many of them are planning to be back here very soon indeed. Some have actually stayed on over the weekend so that they can carry on with meetings next week, which they hadn’t planned to originally.

“And we’re now looking at potentially receiving a Bahamian business group in London in November, which is hugely exciting.” Mr Bennet said officials and companies that were part of the UK trade mission also met with several Cabinet ministers during last week, and discussed further opportunities for collaboration with The Bahamas including the possibility of financing from UK Export Finance, the British government’s trade financing arm.

He added: “We were really delighted at the access, which the ministers were able to give to us this week. We were very grateful to them for making the time to meet with us. We felt that there was a real ambition from the Bahamian government to engage and to try and see where the UK can bring new sources of finance and new skill sets to The Bahamas.

“There is a programme called UK Export Finance, which can be very generous towards funding projects, financing projects, and I think we’re all interested in seeing how we can make the most of that opportunity to the benefit of The Bahamas but also in a way that works for everybody.”

The UK delegation spent a day visiting Grand Bahama, and Mr Bennet said there are “definite opportunities” for partnerships on the island in many sectors including energy, construction and transportation.

He said: “It was a busy day and we had a very comprehensive tour of all of the facilities on Grand Bahama. There’s obviously a huge opportunity in Grand Bahama to convert what is already a well-planned master planned site into something much larger, and with a diversified range of economic activities.

“And some of the companies that we have on board could definitely be part of that. Whether it’s on the port side, whether it’s on the energy side, whether it’s on the hurricane-proof steel buildings side, there are some definite opportunities.”