The US$1.21 billion purchase of a 75 per cent stake in the Barbadian SOL Group by a Canadian-based firm is being hailed by a consumer rights advocate as a welcomed injection of foreign exchange into the beleaguered economy. It emerged this morning that SOL, which came close to buying the state oil importer, the Barbados […]
Category: Business
Thumbs are up – way up – for the way the new administration has made some tough decisions as it wrestles with Barbados’ massive debt, one of the development partners it helped create has said. The praise has come from a key official of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), whose permanent headquarters and sole […]
Banking in Barbados could become even less profitable than it was prior to the global recession – the likely fallout of Government’s ongoing debt restructuring exercise, the head of the economics society has strongly hinted. Economics Society president Shane Lowe gave the assessment on Monday night as he addressed an economic symposium at the Errol […]
Merchants in Bridgetown have given a mixed outlook for the Christmas shopping season. This, amid some Barbadians’ continuing outcries that their spending power has been reduced as a raft of taxes and fees take effect. But as Government workers receive a five per cent wage increase and with the removal of the controversial 10-per cent […]
The Government’s debt restructuring exercise may have shattered investor confidence in buying Government securities in the future, a noted economist has said. And Jeremy Stephen is predicting that the Government’s parlous finances are threatening the future pensions of civil servants. Stephen has predicted that unless Government increased the amount of Government paper commercial banks are […]
In an historic move, decades-old foreign exchange controls are to be dismantled in a bid to bring in billions of dollars in new foreign exchange, one of the government’s top economic advisors revealed today. But the “long-term” relaxation of Barbados’ tight grip on the outflows of US dollars won’t be rushed, and depends on the […]
Barbados is to be the first country in the Americas to benefit from the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) newest lending facility for nations in economic crisis, the bank’s Barbados representative announced today. The IDB board is expected to approve by mid-November US$100 million as a single tranche from its Special Development Lending (SDL) window to […]
The Government is expected to offer loans for small businesses start-ups in the next four weeks, Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Commerce Dwight Sutherland said today. The Minister gave the reassurance as he toured Jordan’s Supermarket at Fitts Village, noting that the funding would be available for business start-ups. “We recognize that people need […]
Taxes on the tourism industry in Barbados and other Caribbean destinations should not be seen as a bad thing, says St Lucia’s minister of tourism Dominic Fedee. Responding to questions during the State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) this week, Fedee said taxes were necessary to help develop the industry. “Tourism has to play a […]
Just as Barbados added more taxes to airline tickets, Caribbean governments are being told lower taxes and a single airspace would “free up the Caribbean skies” and encourage more intra-regional travel. High taxes and a lack of cohesive legislation continue to be the major hindrances to the expansion of the airline industry and inter-regional travel […]
LIAT is bouncing back a year after suffering a 30 per cent fall-off in flights, when the region was hit by extreme weather events, a senior official of the cash-strapped regional airline said here today. Legal Counsel for the Antigua and Barbuda-based carrier Diane Shurland told the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) State of the Industry […]
A 50-million-dollar war chest and a guaranteed market for entrepreneurs are included in a three-prong wishlist to boost small businesses that their association wants Government to implement. And the President of the Small Business Association (SBA), Dean Straker, has urged an end to “piecemeal” approaches and broken promises in boosting money, markets and management for […]
If time is money, then one hospitality industry specialist believes Barbados and other regional tourist destinations are losing significant sums each year due to time wasted at certain points along travellers’ journeys. Tourists visiting the Caribbean could spend less time going through fast tracked processes like clearing immigration and checking in at hotels, according to […]
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Barbados and other Caribbean tourist destinations are being challenged to transform the region into a global centre for tourism excellence that drives innovation in the industry. Bahamas Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has urged regional officials to explore “ground-breaking” ways to improve the tourism product, saying that he was confident Caribbean […]
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Bringing more high-end travellers to Caribbean shores rather than simply growing visitor arrival numbers could be the key to boosting tourism fortunes, a leading figure in the travel industry has suggested here. “It is not that you need more customers during peak season. You need the right customers – high yielding […]
Bridgetown Taxi operators today shouted a loud no to the suggestion that ride-sharing phenomenon Uber could soon reach Barbadian shores. When Barbados TODAY visited the Independence Square Taxi stand this morning, drivers said they feared Uber would deprive them of their livelihoods. Taxi operator Steve Yarde said that the industry was already unsustainable, adding that […]
Going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was the correct thing to do under the current circumstances. And in the next two to three years Barbados will be transformed as a result, according to the Government’s economic advisor Dr Kevin Greenidge, the Barbadian IMF official who is on secondment from the Fund. “The IMF has […]
