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China provides 'no Baha Mar comfort'
Baha Mar's Bahamian creditors and former employees "can't take much comfort" from the project's financier breaking its silence, the FNM's deputy leader arguing that it merely confirmed "no deal is in hand".
Bahamian insurers eye TCI CLICO deal
Two Bahamian insurance companies are in negotiations to acquire CLICO’s Turks & Caicos business, Tribune Business can reveal, with the deadline for the cancellation of the insolvent insurer’s local medical policies just two weeks away.
Payroll tax unable to cover NHI
A 3 per cent payroll tax will not be sufficient to cover the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme’s total costs, the private sector yesterday warning that sticking to a January 2016 implementation will create a “challenging sprint to the finish”.
Mortgage finance 'biggest hurdle' to housing recovery
Mortgage financing access remains "the biggest hurdle" to reviving the domestic real estate market, causing up to three deals for the same property to fall through.
Bran: 'Very dodgy' to interfere with business pricing
The Government will be "in very dodgy territory" should it seek to interfere with how Bahamian businesses price their goods and services, the DNA leader has warned.
Gov’t ‘accelerates’ WTO member push
The Government’s reconstituted trade negotiating bodies face a “huge task”, its chief negotiator acknowledged yesterday, adding that his appointment showed it wanted to “accelerate” the Bahamas’ accession to full World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership.
BOB rights offering takes Govt further down ‘wrong road’
The Government has been pushed further down “the wrong road” on Bank of the Bahamas by the recent $40 million rights offering, an outspoken shareholder said yesterday.
Baha Mar expat staff face October 31 wait
Former foreign employees of Baha Mar have to wait until October 31 to see if they will recover what is owed to them, while their Bahamian counterparts have been reminded of the “take it or leave it” approach.
VAT readiness: PM warned that 'Clock ticking'
Prime Minister Perry Christie has been warned that “the clock is ticking” on the private sector’s Value-Added Tax (VAT) readiness, a Tax Coalition co-chair yesterday calling for the revised legislation and regulations to be published “as soon as possible”.
Bahamas ‘must get it right first time’ on tourism value
The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president has warned that this nation will suffer reduced stopover arrivals unless its product value improves, adding: “We need to get it right first time.”
All Govt’s ‘committed sins’ managing nation
A Cabinet Minister yesterday admitted that successive governments had “committed some sins” in failing to properly manage the Bahamas, as he warned: “The world is leaving us behind.”
Moody’s to make Govt ‘come clean’
Moody’s downgrade threat will force the Government “to come clean”, the DNA’s leader said yesterday, and be more accountable and transparent than it has been with the Bahamian people on the nation’s fiscal crisis.
Enterprises Bill compared to ‘fighting cancer with band-aid’
A well-known businessman has compared the Government’s Commercial Enterprises Bill to “fighting cancer with a band-aid”.
Baha Mar avoids damages on $10m 'credit letter'
Baha Mar has reached a legal settlement that prevents a former hotel partner seeking specific damages against it for trying to draw down a $10 million Letter of Credit, although arbitration proceedings remain alive.
Superwash chief: VAT bites 12-14% off key products
A leading businessman says the Bahamian economy is stuck "in a funk" as Value-Added Tax's (VAT) full impact starts to bite, with sales in two of his key product categories down 12-14 per cent. Dionisio D'Aguilar, Superwash's president, told Tribune Business that the Bahamas desperately needed to change its attitude towards "rebooting the economy" and making it easier to conduct business.
Bahamians overlook ‘significant progress’
Too many Bahamians are overlooking this nation’s “significant economic progress” because they are focusing on issues that “have not a Christ thing to do with sustainable development”, a leading businessman believes.
Gov’t is warned: Don’t fall in love with VAT monies
The Government has been warned not to become “too enamoured” with Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) relatively successful start in preparing next week’s 2015-2016 Budget.
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”.
Bahamas’ debt to ‘stabilise’ near 70%
The Bahamas’ debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to hover near the IMF”s 70 per cent ‘danger threshold’ in 2016, although an international credit rating agency believes it has “stabilised”.
Cable slams ‘ill-timed’ INternet, TV price caps
Cable Bahamas warned regulators that their decision to impose price caps on its pay-TV and Internet services would be “ill-timed, intrusive and disproportionate”, arguing that these controls were unnecessary due to emerging competition.
