THE Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce is looking to broaden its search for potential new investors in Freeport to Florida, the US eastern seaboard states, the UK and Caribbean, The Tribune was told yesterday, as it looks to penetrate the "enchanted forest" surrounding the city.

Christopher Lowe, the Chamber's president, said the tour staged this week for about 10 businesses from Nassau, including the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) and Bahamas Wholesale Agencies (BWA), had gone "very well", with the exercise repeated for a different group of businesses in February 2008.

"It's something we wish to do more frequently, not just for Nassau but cities around the world," Mr Lowe said.
"One thing Freeport and Grand Bahama needs is the critical mass of people to fill in the infrastructure here. It's just not been leveraged by the country as it could be."

Describing the visit by the Nassau companies and businessmen as "a good trial run, a good preliminary shot'', in terms of broadening the Chamber's outreach and investment search, Mr Lowe said: "I think we'd go beyond Florida, but will still go there and to some of the eastern seaboard states. I think we should certainly be looking to the UK and the Caribbean."

He explained that with its investment incentives, including no import and export duties, its deep harbour, container port and logistics/distribution/transhipment characteristics, Freeport was an ideal location for Caribbean firms to set up a base close to the US, from where they could ship product to other jurisdictions.

With its "solid" infrastructure, water supply, available land mass, utilities and roads, coupled with the investment incentives - such as customs duty exemptions on goods imported for use in businesses - Mr Lowe said Freeport was "entirely set up for business".

He pointed out that had the $12 million Bahamian Brewery Company, which was set to open its doors imminently, had been located "anywhere else in the Bahamas, it would have cost $18 million. There's a direct correlation right there".

One way Nassau companies could benefit from Freeport's investment incentives, Mr Lowe suggested, would be to obtain a Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) businesslicence and establish a bond and bond number with the Customs Department.

By setting up a warehouse in Freeport. the Chamber president said Nassau businesses could import stock and inventory to it, then ship product on to Nassau and pay duty only when it was needed. In doing so, they would avoid the need to pay so much customs duty and stamp tax up front, aiding business cash flow."It alleviates tying up a lot of money in duties on inventory, which is over one/third of your inventory value," Mr Lowe said.

He explained that tours such as this week's one were designed to take Nassau businesses beyond the myths and unknowns surrounding Freeport, giving them a sense of how the city worked and the advantages it could give them and their companies.Mr Lowe said: "I've come to look at Freeport as an enchanted forest. When people walk past, they cross themselves. It's like an unknown entity.

"It's the obfuscation of its whole management structure, and what its intentions are. Was Freeport created as a national property for the benefit of citizens of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, or was it a private enclave. "People cannot fathom it because it's so much like an enchanted forest. It's unfathomable. The biggest drawback for Freeport is the lack of oversight and transparency."

When it came to attracting new investors to Freeport. Mr Lowe added: "This is one thing the licensees need to step up to the plate on and basically show we are in charge of the future as much as the people in the Port Authority Pink Building. The Government in Nassau is as clueless as anyone else."

Source: The Tribune