Energy woes ‘main deterrent’ to FDI coming to Bahamas
Foreign investors have unanimously cited energy costs and reliability as the “main deterrent” to coming to the Bahamas, a leading private sector executive yesterday describing BEC’s latest woes as “absolutely ridiculous”.
CIBC: Bahamas stands tall versus rest of Caribbean
The Government’s fiscal reform efforts have been praised by CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Canadian parent, which believes the Bahamas’ sovereign rating “measures up pretty well against” over Caribbean nations.
100 MW outsource ‘fastest way out’ of BEC energy crisis
Inviting bids to provide 100 Mega Watts (MW) of extra power to the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) was yesterday proposed as “the fastest way out” of this nation’s energy crisis, which a former chairman said is now “past the 11th hour”.
$30m impact of Carnival expected to be exceeded
PAUL Major, the Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) Chairman, said yesterday that the inaugural Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival next month would exceed the initial projections of a $30m impact on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) .
Gov’t: Gas spill fallout may last ‘for 10 years’
The Government believes contamination from the Robinson Road gasoline leak could last for up to 10 years, having “recommended” last summer that Rubis conduct bi-annual health assessments of all impacted residents living in the vicinity.
Bahamas Waste eyes ‘all options’ for loss making recyclings
Bahamas Waste is “looking at all the options” for its two recycling ventures that lost a combined $329,000 in 2014, warning that it could not continue “great environmental initiatives” with losses of such magnitude.
Landfill ‘fire stop’ investments would eliminate NHI need
Bahamas Waste’s chairman believes investments such as the “several million dollars” needed to prevent further fires at the New Providence landfill would eliminate the need for National Health Insurance (NHI).
Union chief brands BTC downsizing ‘inhumane’
The trade union leader representing Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) line staff has described the company’s protracted downsizing process as “inhumane”, adding: “Morale is in the tank”.
Cable blasts URCA’s ‘unprecedented’ bar
Cable Bahamas was last night locked in a new battle with its regulator, as it accused the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) of stifling wireless broadband competition via an “unprecedented’ order halting construction of its new communications towers.
‘Great’ if quarterly VAT filers achieve 80-90% compliance
A top Ministry of Finance official believes the compliance rate for quarterly Value-Added Tax (VAT) filers will “not be as high” as that for larger companies, suggesting an 80-90 per cent level would be “great”.
Gov’t urged: Save BTC jobs by giving up your dividends
The Government has been urged by the union leader representing Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) line staff to reduce the dividends it takes from the company to save jobs, as he told Tribune Business: “They can’t just sit idly by”.
Ex-finance minister slams ‘misplaced’ Moody’s report
A former finance minister believes the Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating will improve within the next five years, as he slammed a “misplaced” Moody’s report for under-estimating the impact of Value-Added Tax (VAT) and other fiscal reforms.
Moody’s: Bahamas rating won’t improve for five years
The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating is unlikely to improve for at least three to five years, with this nation having suffered the greatest loss of stopover tourist market share in the Caribbean - 2.6 percentage points - since the recession.
Gas leak evidence ‘strike out’ fails
Cable Bahamas yesterday pressed ahead with its bid for summary judgment over its initial $15 million damages claim relating to the Robinson Road gasoline leak, after efforts to strike out key evidence failed.
Judicial review threat to talks on Freeport future
A well-known QC is threatening to turn his Judicial Review fire on the consultation process that will help determine Freeport’s future, due to the Government’s failure to publish a study conducted for it by a leading consultancy firm.
