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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2017 - 11:47:19 AM |
 2017/2018 Budget Contribution by The Hon. Brent Symonette Member of Parliament for The St.Anne’s Constituency and Minister Of Financial Services, Trade & Industry And Immigration House Of Assembly 20th June, 2017:
Mr. Speaker,
It is my privilege to rise in this Honourable House to provide my contribution to this 2017/2018 Budget Debate as the representative for the great people of the Constituency of St. Anne’s.
MINISTRY OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, TRADE & INDUSTRY, HEAD 49
In the Ministry of Financial Services, I am charged with the following responsibilities: the promotion of Financial Services Sector, International Trade, the Industries Encouragement Act, and the establishment of an International Commercial Arbitration Centre in The Bahamas.
The Ministry received an allocation of $2,858,750 during the 2017/2018 fiscal year, in order to achieve this mandate.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Mr. Speaker,
Financial Services, the second pillar of our economy, second only to tourism accounts for more than 17% of the GDP of The Bahamas and more than 4,000 jobs directly and some 16,000 indirectly, representing more than 13% of total employment. Financial services also generate substantial government revenues of approximately $200 million accounting for up to 19% of the tax base.
Mr. Speaker,
With over 250 licensed banks and trust companies originating from some 210 countries with over $300 billion in balance sheet assets, job opportunities in the financial services sector continue to support the middle-class in The Bahamas and are among the most highly paid and rewarded jobs in the country. It is the middle class of course, that provides the pulse for the creation of new businesses and opportunities to the rest of the Bahamian society. Further, it is these same financial institutions that invest in the professional training of their employees to improve and grow their intellectual capital resources, resulting in an increase of human resource capital in The Bahamas, thus providing an invaluable contribution to continued professional development in financial services.
Mr. Speaker,
As one of the world’s most important financial centres, The Bahamas has a responsibility to uphold investor confidence by maintaining a stable business environment where conducting business is friendly and efficient, and where the rule of law is clear coupled with a sound regulatory framework.
The Bahamas must send the message to the world, that we are a reputable offshore international financial centre. We must focus on ensuring that the integrity of the country’s second economic pillar remains intact. And we must continue to ensure that we meet our international regulatory commitments as we work to place ourselves ahead of other offshore international financial centres, by taking the lead and setting the standard which others must follow.
We must take bold, decisive and innovative steps to manage our way through the ever-changing global regulatory landscape, technological advances in the way business is conducted and the increase in competition among our regional counterparts to meet the needs of investors. It must be our priority, in all of our actions, to protect jobs, to create policies that facilitate the ease of doing business for investments and the provision of financial services, and to return our Bahamian economy to the path of sustainable growth. We will seek to do this in a manner that is fair and equitable, and that protects the most vulnerable, for the greater good of our Bahamian society...
Click here for Full 2017-2018 BUDGET CONTRIBUTION
© Copyright 2017 by thebahamasweekly.com
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