The Bahamas was "well-received" at the 2014 World Investment Forum (WIF), and is "well-positioned" as a jurisdiction to attract foreign direct investment, particularly in pharmaceuticals, according to Minister of State for Investments Khaalis Rolle.
Rolle spoke with Guardian Business in the margins of the 2014 Nassau Conference, an annual gathering of financial services professionals sponsored by the Association of International Banks and Trust Companies in The Bahamas (AIBT) and the Ministry of Financial Services. The theme for this year's conference was "Engaging in a Transparent World".
Rolle and Minister for Grand Bahama Michael Darville attended the WIF in Geneva, Switzerland, last week.
"There were a number of people who wanted to speak with us about investment opportunities in The Bahamas. I participated on a panel highlighting investment opportunities in the Caribbean, and in particular in The Bahamas," he said.
"I spent a short time talking about the staple - the tourism sector - but I also spoke about the manufacturing opportunities because of our strategic location and the fact that we have infrastructure that is superior to most."
Rolle also reported that he and Darville had participated in "an audience" with leaders in the global pharmaceuticals industry, specifically those in the developing world.
"What we wanted to highlight was that The Bahamas is already playing a major role in the developing and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, particularly drugs related to AIDS treatment," he said. "We spoke about the opportunities (that exist) because Freeport is a tax-free zone, and we have shipping and logistics that is comparable to none in the Caribbean."
PharmaChem Technologies (Grand Bahama) Ltd. is one of the key suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and registered intermediates in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Founder and President Pietro Stefanutti bought the property where the company is located in 1996 and has invested around $50 million in creating a state-of-the-art plant on the 62-acre site. PharmaChem produces tenofovir disoproxil fumarate -- the active ingredient in HIV/AIDS drugs Atripla, Truvada and Viread.
Rolle said many more discussions would be needed to truly drum up interest from more pharmaceutical companies in what The Bahamas has to offer.
The minister said he hadn't really expected to bring back a deal.
"It starts with the discussion and the introduction, and making the contact," he said. "And we made contact. After that happens, we have to carry on the discussion and make sure people understand (what we have to offer).
"People don't immediately change their patterns for unknowns, so we have to become known in their minds."
He said they were able to promote The Bahamas and the strategic advantages it has to offer the pharmaceuticals industry.
"I suspect that many of those people are going to look at what The Bahamas has to offer. We're going to work hard to ensure that The Bahamas remains competitive (even with the imposition of value-added tax) and remains a choice destination for investments."

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