All results / Stories / Neil Hartnell
Investor group eyeing $20-$30m water sales
Investor group eyeing $20-$30m water sales By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The investor group that acquired the former Bacardi plant believes its ECH2O bottled water brand can generate $20-$30 million in annual sales in five to six years time,
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”.
IDB: Baha Mar to up jobless rate 2%
The Bahamas’ unemployment rate will jump by as much as two percentage points due to the 2,000 Baha Mar lay-offs, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is predicting, virtually eliminating the May 2015 decrease.
COMMUNICATIONS REVENUES FALL 7%
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamian communications industry's total revenues decreased by 7 per cent year-over-year in 2010, falling from $460 million to $428 million, as the sector's regulator pledged to introduce "universal service ob
Bahamas can’t afford ‘another five years’ of secretive governance
The Bahamas cannot afford “another five-year cycle” of unaccountable government spending, a governance reformer warned yesterday, arguing that a Fiscal Responsibility Act should have “preceded” Value-Added Tax (VAT).
Sixty-day termination notice ‘recipe for woe’
The National Tripartite Council’s co-chairman has branded the proposed ‘60-day advance notice’ that employers must give of impending redundancies as “a recipe for putting your business in trouble”.
FUND 'BELOW PAR' AFTER 50% VACANCY CUT FAILURE
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamas Property Fund's failure to cut the 20 per cent vacancy rate at its flagship Bahamas Financial Centre by half meant its 2011 performance fell "slightly below expectations", although last May's Bahamian
ROYALSTAR INVESTORS GET '200% PAY OUT'
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor RoyalStar Assurance is expecting to generate a $2-$3 million net profit for 2011 despite enduring a tough year, its managing director yesterday saying the company had to-date "paid out almost 200 per cent" of the
'CATASTROPHE' WARNING OVER INDUSTRIAL UNREST
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Widespread labour-related disruption "could be catastrophic" for an already-weak Bahamian economy, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation's (BCCEC) chairman yesterday warning that this was "po
BELLEVUE OPENS LATEST DIVISION
Bellevue Business Depot has opened its latest division, Bellevue Contract Furnishings & Design. "The concept of the Bellevue Contract Furnishings & Design has been quietly brewing in the background of Bellevue Business Depot," said Monique Graham, manag
Gov’t ‘ill-prepared’ on Bill amendments
An FNM MP yesterday slammed the Government’s failure to provide the Opposition with the 12 amendments to the Petroleum Bill before yesterday’s debate, saying: “It’s ridiculous the Government was so ill-prepared”.
BANK IS FACING 50,000 ACCOUNT PROBE ON FATCA
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Commonwealth Bank yesterday said it was facing the prospect of 'drilling down' into an estimated 50,000 client accounts to determine if there was any US beneficial ownership connection, while telling Tribune Busin
VAT gives Bahamas unwanted world lead
Bahamian businesses have suffered the largest worldwide increase in the time they are forced to spend on tax compliance as a result of Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) implementation, a World Bank report has found.
Colina Holdings profits 'moderated' at $5.6ms
Colina Holdings profits 'moderated' at $5.6ms BISX-listed Colina Holdings (Bahamas) last night said it achieved "moderated" net income of $5.6 million for its 2011 financial year, as its performance was impacted by the slow economy and cut in the Bahamia
CWC: BTC ‘lags’ region despite $75m investment
The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) controlling owner yesterday conceded that its network quality “lags” much of the Caribbean and wider world, despite increasing its capital investment by 47 per cent last year.
Wind farm targets 2013 'commission'
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor A renewable energy provider is looking to "commission" its Eleuthera wind farm by early 2013, having invested $250,000 in completing the first project phase involving the construction of a Meteorological tower. Th
Bahamasair eyes 'break even' despite $21m loss
Bahamasair eyes 'break even' despite $21m loss By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Despite being on target for a $21 million loss in its 2011-2012 financial year, Bahamasair's chairman says the airline is trending in the right direction and eventua
Bahamasair eyes 'break even' despite $21m loss
Bahamasair eyes 'break even' despite $21m loss By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Despite being on target for a $21 million loss in its 2011-2012 financial year, Bahamasair's chairman says the airline is trending in the right direction and eventua
DPM: Bahamas must ‘prove’ itself to S&P
* ‘Not at all’ upset nation still ‘junk’ * Blames former Govt’s failure to deliver * Nation has 12-24 months to execute
The Government must “prove” it can deliver on its fiscal and economic turnaround strategy, the Deputy Prime Minister admitted yesterday, after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) kept the Bahamas at ‘junk’ status. K P Turnquest told Tribune Business he was “not at all” disappointed at the outcome of S&P’s annual review of the Bahamas’ sovereign creditworthiness, despite having previously expressed optimism that the Government could make the case to be upgraded to ‘investment grade’ status.
'Unsustainable' costs drive Old Fort Club's 67% fee rise
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The exclusive Old Fort Bay club yesterday warned members it had "no alternative" but to implement the first ever increase in annual membership dues, raising them by 67 per cent to $5,000 per year, given that costs
