With the multi-billion dollar Baha Mar project set to open its doors later this year, the Ministry of Financial Services is eyeing high-net-worth Asians in an effort to strengthen the country's investment funds business.Following a trip to New York last week, Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder confirmed to Guardian Business that he met with a prominent law firm that represents a number of these individuals and which is looking at the possibility of operating in The Bahamas, given the proximity to the United States. He pointed out how "a lot" of investment funds are managed from northeastern cities like New York and Connecticut."That's certainly something that we're committed to and look forward to developing. The Bahamas could be a platform for many of [his] clientele from China to conduct business and manage their assets," he said."Given the exposure that Baha Mar is giving The Bahamas, it presents us with an opportunity that we leverage, using those assets to further develop the financial services in China, especially with the cooperation of the senior practitioners, along with their legal and investment advisors who primarily may be in New York."While not revealing who the firm is, he did say that it is world-renowned and multinational. In the meantime, Pinder said he continues to encourage industry stakeholders to look to the U.S. to advance their business, whether it's investment funds or wealth management."I had an opportunity to speak with some senior practitioners that have a number of high-net-worth Asian/Chinese clientele who are very interested in working closely with The Bahamas to provide a platform to attract Asian persons to The Bahamas, not only to utilize the country to manage their assets but to even move to The Bahamas and be able to base some of their business activities from within The Bahamas," he explained."While in New York, I took the opportunity to set up a number of meetings with some attorneys and other relevant financial services practitioners. And it was very encouraging to know that these practitioners wanted to work in partnership with The Bahamas to develop products and platforms to attract high net worth Chinese persons to The Bahamas."Pinder also addressed the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists' International Financial Crime Conference & Exhibition at the Marriott Marquis while in New York. That two-day conference ended last Friday.

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