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‘Breath of fresh air’: 150k cruise arrivals over Xmas
The Downtown Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) co-chair yesterday hailed the increase in cruise ship traffic as a “breath of fresh air” for business with close to 150,000 passenger arrivals forecast for Christmas week.
CCA: Sarkis ‘inflaming anti-Chinese sentiment’
Baha Mar’s main contractor has accused Sarkis Izmirlian of “a nakedly xenophobic attempt to inflame anti-Chinese sentiment” while asserting there is “no evidence” it misused $54m to acquire the then-British Colonial Hilton.
Bank payment charges need ‘legitimate redress’
THE Central Bank yesterday appeared to concede that fees for payment services were too high and “require legitimate redress”, a view shared by 78 per cent of Bahamians.
Pensioners left with 30% in City Markets HQ sale
* Claim trustees ‘not acting in our best interest’ * Trustees retain 27% of $3m sale to AML Foods * And lawyer paid almost one-third of proceeds
City Markets pensioners have been “kept in the dark” over the $3 million sale of the plan’s main asset, with just 30 per cent of the proceeds seemingly left for their benefit.
Title questions raised over $3m AML deal
CITY Markets pension fund trustees have no legal standing to sell the defunct supermarket chain’s former head office to AML Foods for $3 million, it was alleged yesterday.
AML chief: ‘Size of pie yet to be seen’
* Uncertainties over Xmas spending * Hopes December ‘uptick’ will persist * All retailers see October/November fall-off
BISX-listed AML Foods has warned that “the size of the pie” remains unknown when it comes to Bahamian consumer spending this Christmas. Gavin Watchorn, the group’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that while it was “very confident” of gaining its due share, the extent of holiday expenditure was difficult to predict given continued economic uncertainty and fragile confidence.
Gaming Board lacks ‘oversight structure’ for numbers houses
* Minister: Changes to make regulator ‘more relevant’ * Gaming Board will ‘look very different’ in five years * ‘92,000 didn’t vote for us to maintain status quo’
RECENT downsizings are intended to make the Gaming Board “more relevant” and help it cope with the “seismic changes” created by web shops, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. Dionisio D’Aguilar, who has ministerial responsibility for gaming, told Tribune Business that the industry regulator will “look extremely different from the Gaming Board of today within five years”.
‘Wild Wild West’ web shop oversight hits Gaming Board
* AG: ‘Difficulty’ undermines ‘blue ribbon’ status * Gov’t ‘seconding’ anti-money launder specialists * Will ‘address forthwith’ web shop money transfers
THE Gaming Board’s “blue ribbon” reputation has been hurt by taking on regulation of the “Wild Wild West” web shop sector, the Attorney General said yesterday. Carl Bethel QC told Tribune Business that the Government was now seconding more experienced anti-money laundering regulators from other agencies to the Gaming Board in a bid to get to grips with a sector deemed “high risk”.
Bahamas faces major tax, exchange control shake-up
The Bahamas may have to completely overhaul its corporate and taxation structure to escape European Union/OECD ‘blacklisting’ threats, the Attorney General revealed yesterday.
AG: We’ll deal with ‘major slippage’ in anti-launder regime
THE Attorney General yesterday pledged to address the Bahamas’ “significant slippage” in the battle against financial crime through roll-out of its National Risk framework before year-end.
CIBC FirstCaribbean explores US listing
CIBC FirstCaribbean’s parent yesterday confirmed its subsidiary is exploring a US stock exchange listing, a move likely to stoke speculation of a Canadian bank withdrawal from the region.
Bahamas ‘on probation’: 17-step action plan cure
The Government has detailed a 17-step ‘action plan’ to strengthen the Bahamas’ anti-money laundering regime, with a top regulator describing this nation as “on probation” over increasing weaknesses.
Income-type tax ‘likely inevitable’, warns ex-minister
A FORMER financial services minister believes it is “probably inevitable” that the Bahamas will have to introduce some form of low-rate income tax, warning: “We’re not in the clear yet.”
‘Absolutely imperative’ Baha Mar doesn’t fail
BAHA Mar’s transformation into a sustainable mega-resort is an “absolute imperative” for the Bahamas and its economy, the Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive says.
Gov’t narrows inner city taxation breaks
The Government yesterday appeared to narrow its planned VAT and inner-city ‘tax breaks’, while seeking to deliver on campaign promises of accountability, transparency and good governance.
Governor to ‘bridge gap’ between banks, web shops
The Central Bank’s governor has reaffirmed his commitment to “bridge the gap” between the commercial banking industry and web shop operators, and help ease his licensees’ compliance concerns.
QC: Legalisation of web shops has defied the critics
The web shop industry’s legalisastion has produced the opposite effect to the predictions of many critcs, a well-known QC has argued.
Freeport investment law blasted as ‘anti-business’
Freeport’s new tax incentives law was yesterday branded an “abomination” and “anti-business” by an FNM Senator, who argued that it will undermine both the city’s founding agreement and economic growth.
Corporate redress regime upheld with $33m verdict
The Supreme Court has prevented the Bahamas being perceived as “a parochial, quirky jurisdiction” for international business through its recent ruling on a $33 million insolvency dispute, a former attorney general said yesterday.
800 job applications for new mobile player
Cable Bahamas had received around 800 applications for jobs with the nation's second mobile provider by end-last week, it was revealed yesterday, and is confident the new operator can beat its financial targets.
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