The year 2018 was definitely not a sweet one for local ice cream producer BICO Limited. In its Annual Report 2018, the company reported that sales and revenues were down by 0.9 per cent. Executive chairman Edwin Thirwell said this was due to several factors including the implementation of the controversial National Social Responsibility Levy […]
Category: Business
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has weighed in on the slow pace of restructuring of regional airline LIAT, which is owned by Barbados and three other Eastern Caribbean Governments. In an interview with Barbados TODAY, CDB President Warren Smith said he was “disappointed” with progress towards executing a plan the bank funded to stem losses, improve efficiency and […]
Government has asked the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to help reform its indirect tax system, Director of Finance and Planning Ian Carrington has disclosed. The multilateral lending agencies have been invited to advise on how to bring indirect taxes into balance corporate taxes, he said. IMF tax officials were currently here examining the Value […]
Government is heading north with a cruise ship berth expansion plan and ditching, for now, a sprawling Sugar Point Cruise Pier project which was proposed by the former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration to transform the Princess Alice Highway/Harbour Road area. This was revealed by Minister of Tourism and International Transport Kerrie Symmonds, who said […]
The jury is still out on whether the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme will be enough to stem the tide of economic turmoil, the Caribbean Development Bank’s chief economist told journalists today. The CDB’s Director of Economics Dr Justin Ram said while it was critical that the Mia Mottley administration stick to its […]
The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is giving the assurance that its relationship with the embattled Spanish-speaking nation of Venezuela has not changed because of the current situation it faces. This assurance has come as Barbados and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states hunker down in Uruguay with officials from that country and from Mexico […]
One regional financial institution is calling on Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states to come up with a targeted approach to effectively tackle the crime situation facing the region. This suggestion has come from the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB’s) Director of Projects Daniel Best, who said underlying issues such as high youth unemployment and the […]
Former employees of telecommunications company, Ozone Wireless who were laid off last year feel betrayed by their former employer and left in the dark about thousands of dollars owed them and which have been outstanding since last May when they were dismissed. Irate employees are also up in arms about what they believe is a […]
A wealth management firm’s leader is urging the Government to continuously weed out corrupt practices and make it easier to do business in Barbados. While praising the Barbados Labour Party administration for implementing measures to stabilize the economy, co-chairman and founder of Cidel Bank & Trust, Adrian Meyer, told Prime Minister Mia Mottley: “We need you […]
Barbados’ international business and financial services sector is about to get a major boost. Prime Minister Mia Mottley revealed that the state-owned economic development agency, Invest Barbados, would be given additional resources to adequately market the jurisdiction “in a very aggressive way” in order to attract more international business. This marketing effort, she said, would […]
Newly formed Bahamian holding company RF Holdings Limited has agreed to acquire 100 per cent of Royal Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust Limited, as a result of a “management led buyout”. In a release on Tuesday, the company said the acquisition would result in RF Holdings owning 100 per cent of Royal Fidelity’s operations in […]
Barbados is losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in investment due mainly to “antiquated” and “dysfunctional” administrative processes, says former Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell. He complained that at the end of 2016 the Central Bank outlined a number of major investment projects, the majority of which were foreign-funded to the tune […]
As Barbados continues the exercise to restructure its economy, the locally-based investment firm Fortress Fund Managers says it is cautiously optimistic about the future of its investments. In the company’s 2018 annual report, which were recently made available to investors, Investment Director Roger Cave acknowledged that Barbados, Trinidad and some Eastern Caribbean countries were struggling […]
A major shake-up is coming for struggling regional airline LIAT, as main shareholder governments await a detailed report on the airline’s operations. The pending changes which could determine the airline’s fate are expected in a matter of months. Among the changes will be the implementation of a performance index to help determine promotion and pay […]
With Barbados’ tourism product a little more expensive as a result of recent taxes, Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds is giving the assurance that careful and vigorous work is being undertaken so the destination could offer better value for money. Pointing to some measures that have already been put in place by the eight-month-old Mia […]
The University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Cave Hill Campus is being called upon to rally its intellectual resources to help guide the country’s at-risk men away from crime. Minister of Entrepreneurship, Small Business and Commerce was reacting to January’s unprecedented spate of violence, which claimed the lives of nine people and which this weekend […]
Local fisherman and vendors at the country’s fish markets are becoming increasingly agitated about rising costs, dwindling profits and poor facilities, as they operate in an increasingly hostile marine environment. According to reports, the increased cost of diesel which was imposed when government replaced road tax with a fuel tax last year has been sinking […]
