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Bahamas shrugs off FTX for perfect ‘40 out of 40’
The Bahamas yesterday shrugged off FTX’s implosion through what the attorney general hailed as the “enormous accomplishment” of a perfect score in the fight against financial crime.
Investor seeking $2.7bn in South Ocean dispute
A controversial Austrian investor is pledging to seek an extraordinary $2.7bn in damages if his attempted acquisition of New Providence’s 384-acre South Ocean resort is ultimately thwarted.
Gas station warning of New Year lay-offs
A gas station operator yesterday warned the 24 percent minimum wage increase will “almost certainly” force the sector to cut staffing levels unless the Government grants a long-awaited margin increase.
‘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.
Water Corp: $1.2m claim was resort financing ploy
The Water & Sewerage Corporation has defeated a $1.227m damages claim for trespass that it alleges was merely a ploy attempting to force it to finance a planned Andros eco-resort.
‘I want Schooner Bay progress’, says ex-PM
An ex-prime minister yesterday asserted he wants to see “progress and development” at an Abaco community once held up as sustainable development model following its baffling break with a former management partner.
Skills transfer woe still a ‘sad reality’
The Bahamas must change “the sad reality” that key skills and knowledge are not being passed on to local workers by expatriate work permit holders, a prominent contractor argued yesterday.
CCA: WE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BAHAMAS – Contractor reached out for help to son of top govt advisor
Baha Mar's main contractor asked the son of Perry Christie's top policy adviser to intervene when his father proposed changing The Pointe's Heads of Agreement over how many Bahamian construction workers would be employed.
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.
Insurers ‘not oblivious’ to Bahamas sanctions threat
THE insurance industry “is not oblivious” to the need for the Bahamas to comply with global anti-financial crime standards and avoid sanctions, its chairman said 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.
Development Bank fund ‘sinking’: Covers 1/3 of $46m bonds
* Just 28.4% of loans ‘performing’ * Accumulated losses over $60m * Solvency deficiency at $31.31m
THE Bahamas Development Bank’s (BDB) ‘sinking fund’ covered just one-third of its $46 million outstanding bond debt at year-end 2016, with only 28.4 per cent of its loans ‘performing’. The BDB’s 2016 financial statements, tabled in the House of Assembly in Wednesday by the Prime Minister, reveal the parlous state of another state-owned enterprise (SOE) that has racked up more than $60 million in losses for the Bahamian taxpayer during its 43-year existence.
S&P: Gov’ts fiscal, economic reforms ‘will take time’ to work
* 1.5% average growth forecast lower than IMF’s * Grand Lucayan closure takes out 7% of rooms * Debt to rise through 2020 to 52% of GDP
THE Government’s fiscal and economic reforms will take time to “pay dividends”, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) warned yesterday, as it took a more ‘bearish’ view of the Bahamas’ growth prospects. The rating agency, in its latest Bahamas country assessment, expressed confidence that the Minnis administration’s fiscal reforms will “arrest the deterioration” in the Government’s deficit and the national debt.
Bahamas ‘shooting ourselves in foot’ on insurance regulation
* Bahamas ‘going beyond’ AML standard * AG: ‘We’ll give general insurers one year’ * Fears captive revival undermined
FEARS were raised again yesterday that the Bahamas could be “shooting ourselves in the foot” by including general and captive insurers within its anti-money laundering regime. Emmanuel Komolafe, the Bahamas Insurance Association’s (BIA) chairman, urged the Government to provide the “benchmarking” studies and data to support its decision to define both market segments as financial institutions under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA).
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.
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.
Bahamians urged: Show ‘more ‘outrage’ over financial crimes
BAHAMIANS were yesterday urged to show “more outrage” over financial crime and poor business practices, a prominent cleric arguing that these had become “entrenched in our culture”.
‘Don’t squander’ tax reform opportunity
THE Bahamas was yesterday urged “not to squander the opportunity” presented by outside pressures to undertake comprehensive tax reform and reposition its economy.
Kosoy, Sterling eye Hurricane Hole deal
David Kosoy’s Sterling Global Financial is in negotiations to acquire Paradise Island’s Hurricane Hole property from Atlantis’s owner, Tribune Business can reveal.
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