Bran reaffirms 2017 open for Baha Mar
The $3.5 billion Baha Mar project will “continue to crumble” the longer it remains unopened, the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader warned yesterday, reaffirming his prediction that the resort will likely not open until 2017.
Tourism standards must ‘runneth over’
The Bahamas must improve its customer services and ‘value for money’ standards if the tourism industry is to remain competitive, an Atlantis executive said yesterday.
Baha Mar accuses CCA of ‘still witholding documents’
CHINA Construction America (CCA) should be compelled to produce over 300 documents relative to discovery in Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case the developer’s lawyer has argued, describing the contructors’ decision to withhold the documents on the basis of “common interest” with the Bahamian government and the China Export Import (CEXIM) Bank as unsupportable.
Hollywood producer says saga threatens Baha Mar tv series
THE battle over the $3.5 billion Baha Mar development is jeopardising what a well-known Hollywood producer described as a “major opportunity” for the promotion of the Bahamas internationally as well as the advancement of the local film industry.
Landfill manager developing ‘very extensive’ plans for dump site
RENEW Bahamas, the landfill operator, said that it was putting together a “very extensive” remediation and reconstruction proposal to submit to the government.
BIA: Public health insurer 'expensive and unnecessary'
THE Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) has urged the government not to waste taxpayer funds to create an “expensive and unnecessary” public insurer, warning that it would be “unwise” for it to create such an entity in light of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) warnings about the problems related to state-owned enterprises.
Rosewood’s Baha Mar exit plan ‘not surprising’, says Turnquest
THE Opposition’s finance spokesman said yesterday that it was “unfortunate” but “not surprising” that Rosewood was seeking to terminate its hotel agreements with Baha Mar, saying “we hope that this isn’t the first domino”.
Rosewood brand ‘tarnished daily’ by Baha Mar association
ROSEWOOD said yesterday that its brand is being tarnished daily as a result of its ongoing association with the stalled Baha Mar development, saying that it continues to incur costs and expenses for which it is not being compensated.
EU blacklisting over financial services transparency was ‘unfair’
A HIGH-ranking Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) official yesterday acknowledged that the Bahamas has made “tremendous progress” towards financial services transparency and claimed that it was “unfair” that the country has still been included on the European Union (EU) blacklist.
McCartney blames ‘astronomical’ business costs for financial services decline
THE Bahamas has been losing ground in the financial services sector for more than two decades and that decline continues to get worse, according to Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader Branville McCartney.
IAN FERGUSON: Enjoy the restful delights closer to home with a Family Island vacation
SUMMER time for many means vacation, and vacation time for the typical Bahamian means a trip to Florida, Georgia or the North East United States to catch up on summertime shopping, theme parks and other attractions.
Baha Mar dispute has ‘dampened mood’ for Bahamas investment
THE public spat between the government and Baha Mar investor Sarkis Izmirlian has “dampened the mood” for investment in the Bahamas, an outspoken businessman said yesterday, arguing that the country should be “hungry” for foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and not scare off developers.
BIBA blasts NHI consultant over ‘divisive comments’
THE Bahamas Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) yesterday called on the government to “disassociate” itself from what it called “divisive comments” made by its technical consultants Sanigest Internacional on the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, suggesting that its proposals threaten to bankrupt the private health insurance sector.
‘Spluttering’ economy needs change to achieve growth, says D’Aguilar
THE Bahamian economy is sputtering along and needs to to see “dynamic growth” as the effects of Value-Added Tax (VAT) are being felt by businesses and consumers throughout the country, according to Dionisio D’Aguilar, the Superwash president.
BIA says NHI consultation is ‘more illusive than inclusive’
THE Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) yesterday dismissed claims by the government and its National Health Insurance (NHI) consultants of an ongoing consultative process over the proposed scheme as being “disingenuous at best”, stating that there has been no forum provided for the local private sector to either fully understand the proposals or to present alternative scenarios.
