All results / Stories / Neil Hartnell

The bigger picture on local buying

Use Chamber voice logo. Byline 'By Ian Ferguson', and use Pic of him The expression 'Buy Bahamian' was uttered many years ago in a desperate plea to encourage locals to support, and buy goods and services, produced in the Bahamas. I believe it was Clevel

Tease photo

$112m spent with 'no due process'

$112m spent with 'no due process' By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor With more than $112 million in public monies spent "without any evidence of due process", the Bahamian Contractors Association's (BCA) president has urged the Government to use t

Tease photo

BTC to complete Abaco cell overhaul in mid-May

THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is set to complete its wireless system overhaul on Abaco and the northern Bahamas by mid-May, giving customers improved cellular service, including faster speeds for downloads and browsing on smart phones.

Tax break may help 41,000 homeowners

Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday said more than 41,000 homeowners could benefit from the Government’s decision to waive real property tax arrears for owner-occupied homes valued at less than $250,000.

Just 12% of mortgages finance 'new buildings'

New Central Bank of the Bahamas date has provided a further insight into the sluggish home construction market, with just 12 per cent of mortgage applications involving 'new builds'.

Tease photo

Baha May delay’s 50% cut to growth

Baha Mar’s delayed opening could potentially slash 50 per cent off the Bahamas’ 2015 economic growth forecast, a well-known businessman has warned.

$20-$30M INVESTMENT AT LAST HOTEL CORP HOTEL

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor An Illinois-based investor is eyeing a $20-$30 million investment during the first two phases of its plans to transform the last Hotel Corporation-owned property into an upscale boutique resort, with talks aiming

MONTAQUE LIQUIDATORS 'FULL FORCE' IN CANADA

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Liquidators for Owen Bethel's Montaque Capital Partners have been recognised by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice through a ruling given "full force and effect" throughout Canada, a move critical to enabling t

FIELDS NAMED AS TOP INSURANCE REGULATOR

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Former ColinaImperial executive Michele Fields has been appointed as the Bahamas' chief insurance regulator, Tribune Business can reveal, the Government believing her industry background will allow enhanced superv

SUPERVALUE IN 'OVER 20%' XMAS SALES RISE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Supervalue supermarket chain saw a more than 20 per cent year-over-year increase in its Christmas sales figures, its owner and president telling Tribune Business yesterday the company was likely to invest a fu

Tease photo

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.

Redesigned BTC store beats goals

Redesigned BTC store beats goals The Bahamas Telecommunications Company's (BTC) re-opened store on Pioneer's Way in Grand Bahama has "exceeded all targets" after its retail transformation. "We set targets for Grand Bahama and all of our targets have exce

Redesigned BTC store beats goals

Redesigned BTC store beats goals The Bahamas Telecommunications Company's (BTC) re-opened store on Pioneer's Way in Grand Bahama has "exceeded all targets" after its retail transformation. "We set targets for Grand Bahama and all of our targets have exce

Tease photo

Atlantis eyes 100k extra room nights in Marriott tie-up

Atlantis is hoping its 10-year franchise deal with Marriott International will generate an extra 50,000-100,000 room nights per year, its top executive describing the agreement as “the most significant tourism stimulus for the Bahamas this decade”.

Tease photo

Gov’t agrees ‘few hundred thousand’ in VAT credits

The Government has approved “several hundred thousand dollars” of Value-Added Tax (VAT) credit refunds, a top official yesterday promising that businesses would not endure “a protracted wait” to receive them.

Oil explorer: New fiscal regime does not apply to us

The Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) chief executive yesterday said the Government’s increased ‘take’ from oil exploration would not apply to its activities, because its fiscal terms were already set.

BAHAMAS URGED: ADDRESS FINANCIAL LAW WEAKNESSES

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The US government has again urged the Bahamas to strengthen its anti-terror financing laws and make membership of organised criminal gangs a criminal offence, according to a recently-released US State Department r

Insurers ‘not oblivious’ to Bahamas sanctions threat

THE insurance industry “is not oblivious” to the need for the Bahamas to comply with global anti-financial crime standards and avoid sanctions, its chairman said yesterday.

74% 'PERSONAL' CREDIT IMPEDES DEVELOPMENT

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamas' development is being "seriously impacted" because its citizens are unable to invest in key productive areas, such as energy and transportation, due to almost 74 per cent of credit going on 'personal'

'GET YOUR POUND OF FLESH IN THE CORRECT ABATTOIR'

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor A leading QC told homeowners embroiled in an ongoing battle with the developers of their $52 million project to "seek their pound of flesh in the appropriate abattoir", rather than trouble Prime Minister Hubert In