News > 2009 Construction Seminar
2009 Construction Seminar Explores Foreign Direct Investment Although hailed as an avenue for economic empowerment, disproportionately large levels of foreign direct investment have the potential to erode national sovereignty, presenters shared during the 2009 Construction Seminar held at The College of The Bahamas Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute. Speakers including the Caribbean's first Nobel Laureate for Literature Derek Walcott shared comprehensive perspectives on the timely and relevant subject of "The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment [FDI] on the Development of the Caribbean", while exploring associated issues like poverty, industry, and national development. FDI has far reaching implications for the region and many proponents have classified it as a fundamental part of economic leadership and competitiveness. When he addressed the seminar held on November 13th, Chairman of Colina Financial Advisors Ltd. and former Minister of State for Finance James Smith touted the benefits of FDI to economic development and prosperity. "In many important areas there seems to be an emerging consensus that countries large and small both developed and developing generally benefit from foreign direct investment," Mr. Smith noted. "Those benefits, however, would tend to depend on what assumptions are made by the country concerned regarding the effect of the investment, however, on some macro-economic variables such as employment, GDP growth rates, trade and taxes."  Mr. Smith pointed out that opposing views about the impact of foreign investment date as far back as the Colonial and Neo-Colonial periods. Critics have argued that this pattern of investment has created a poverty trap for developing countries while providing large financial returns for the investors. "There is little doubt that any disproportionately large foreign direct investment project could pose a threat to national sovereignty particularly in small states…Indeed, many large states have also introduced policies to protect against foreign direct investment in certain sensitive areas of the economy," Mr. Smith said. According to the current Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, over the last 15 years The Bahamas has attracted inward foreign direct investment of at least $10 billion. This is unmatched in any regional economy and has catalyzed historic levels of economic prosperity for the country, he said. Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott is a fierce proponent of local protection and preservation of national identities in the Caribbean region. The keynote speaker at the seminar, Mr. Walcott read excerpts from various writers and historians on economic development, poverty and religion.  According to the Construction Seminar Group (CSG), which sponsors the Construction Seminar, due to unprecedented levels of foreign direct investment inflows, The Bahamas experienced a tourist and residential construction boom. However, many local contractors had to grapple with how to position themselves to win construction contracts over numerous foreign contenders. The aim of the seminar is to inform contractors, engineers and architects of the latest technology available in the construction industry, while addressing critical issues related to The Bahamas' overall growth and development.
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