Ministry allocates $20-$30k to boost small hotel vision
The Ministry of Tourism is allocating $20,000-$30,000 to help provide small hotel properties, particularly in the southern Bahamas, with the technical support to improve their marketing and on-line visibility.
BORCO: 65% of first phase growth leased
Some 65 per cent of the Bahamas Oil Refining Company’s (BORCO) first phase expansion has been leased, with the 1.9 million barrels of new storage capacity already operational set to generate $5-$7 million in extra second half operating income.
Cruise arrivals increase by 9.4%
Cruise visitors to the Bahamas are up 9.4 per cent for the five months to end-May 2012, with the Ministry of Tourism expecting current trends will enable this nation to beat 2011 comparatives.
PI residents face losing condo over alleged $22m fraud
Two Paradise Island residents accused of committing a $22 million fraud may lose their multi-million dollar Ocean Club condominium home after the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the receiver for their alleged scheme.
Bahamas must avoid 'knee jerk' policy over manufacturing
The Bahamas must use “a holistic approach, not a knee jerk reaction” to provide long-term sustainable support for its manufacturers, a senior Chamber official telling Tribune Business the former government’s five-year incentives limit policy should have been more nuanced.
'We haven't been making money no matter the day'
BAY Street merchants expressed mixed reaction to the Cabinet Office notice telling them they had to close their businesses yesterday, one telling Tribune Business: “We haven’t been making money no matter what day it is.”
Accountants meet leading officials
Members of the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (BICA) newly-elected Council recently paid courtesy calls on Michael Halkitis, minister of state for finance, and the Superintendent of the Insurance Commission, Michele Fields. These meetings were held on July 30 and July 31, 2012, respectively.
Small business expert: 700 new jobs needed per month for 3 years
The Government yesterday pledged to bring the long-awaited Small and Medium-Sized Business Development Bill to Parliament by January 2013 at latest, as a sector consultant said the Bahamas needed to create 700 net new jobs a month for the next three years to “dent” the unemployment rate.
GOV'T SET TO 'LAY BTC CARDS 0N THE TABLE' WITH MOODY'S
A government minister yesterday slammed Moody’s for being “uninformed” on the Government’s policy for regaining majority ownership of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), adding that the administration would “lay all of the cards on the table” with the Wall Street credit rating agency next week.
Bay Street faces shop closure threat
With thousands of cruise ship visitors expected in Nassau on Monday, the Downtown Nassau Partnership (DNP) said it was “critical” that the Cabinet Office relent and allow Bay Street retailers and other amenities to open on the Emancipation Day holiday.
HOW WE GOT INTO THIS MESS TO START WITH
THERE’S a story doing the rounds that bears repeating. The location is a small town somewhere.
Ex-AG: FATCA IGA 'not appropriate' for the Bahamas
A former Attorney General yesterday said meeting the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act’s (FATCA) requirements via an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) may not be in the Bahamas’ best interests, due to the “substantial infrastructure investment” needed for tax information exchange.
BIMINI BAY TARGETS $35M GROSS REVENUES
THE Bimini Bay Resort’s developers yesterday said close to $10 million has been invested to date in the high-end Rockwell Island real estate development, with significant process made on the first phase thus far.
CIBC SAYS CARMICHAEL OPENING 'IMPERATIVE'
WITH the proliferation of small businesses and retail outlets in the Carmichael Road area, CIBC First Caribbean International Bank (Bahamas) managing director, Marie Rodland-Allen, told Tribune Business yesterday it was “imperative” that the bank have a presence in the area.
Contractors fear 35% labour cost increase
Construction industry labour costs will increase by 32-35 per cent if proposed Employment Act amendments are passed, the Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president yesterday warning the changes would “have a far-reaching, negative impact” on the sector and wider economy.
