November 2012 • PILOT EDITION LISTINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR • Shopping • Dining & Entertainment • Health & Medical • Professional Services • Art Galleries & Museums Tuesday, June 30, 2012 www.broadstreetjournalbarbados.com THE BROAD STREET JOURNAL the week in business Pictured (from left) at Wednesday’s Post-Budget Breakfast Budget Session co-hosted by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry and PriceWaterhouseCoopers were Panellists Richard Cozier, CEO of Banks Holdings Ltd.; Troy Lorde, lecturer in econom- ics at UWI Cave Hill; Gloria Eduardo, partner, tax service, PwC East Caribbean, and Lalu Vaswani, BCCI president. See story, page 4. Photo by Vincent Tempro THE BUDGET Arthur: Barbados economy at “tipping point” Barbados’ Independent Business Voice Editorial: Dipping his toes in the Sea of Opportunity - page 8 By Patrick Hoyos Opposition leader Owen Arthur said ursday night in the House of Assembly that the Barbados economy was at a “tip- ping point” and until the foreign exchange position imporved, it should use some its own reserves to stimulate local demand. “e Barbados society is now confronted with a failing economy” which was “not providing for the future because we are sav- ing less,” he said. Further, Barbados’ infla- tion rate was three times higher at 9% than the inflation it imported, which was at 3%. “What started as a problem in the macro and fiscal accounts is now embedded deeply in the two sectors that ought to be taking us out of this situation. It is like flying an aircraft that has four engines but you’ve lost two and the remaining two have started to sputter,” he said. Mr. Arthur noted that people in tour- ism were now talking about a “fundamental crisis” in the sector. e largest tourism en- terprises were failing, he said, and more are likely to do so. “We are at a tipping point,” he told the House. He acknowledged that there were some “transformational” initia- tives in the budgetary proposals presented by the minister of finance, but before the country undertook them, he said, “we have to get past this tipping point (because) we can go over the brink.” e question was whether the measures before the House were enough to bring the country back from the brink, or would they Opposition leader says gov’t should stimulate domestic demand with larger tax cut See ARTHUR, Page 2 e Barbados International Business As- sociation (BIBA), not surprisingly, has wel- comed the lowering of the minimum tax rate for international business entities in the Budget. In a press release, BIBA Presi- dent Melanie Jones said it was a “meaning- ful response” to the island’s recent loss of its competitive advantage in the Canadian market. She added that having lower tax regime would enable Barbados to look for new business in other e provision for a spe- cial entry permit system for high net worth individuals and their families, was also wel- comed by BIBA. However, Ms. Jones said the new mea- sures to attract foreign investment should be part of a major effort to showcase Barba- dos as a hub for international business, and this meant more funds should be allocated to the agencies charged with foreign invest- See BIBA, Page 2 THE BUDGET BIBA welcomes offshore proposals Mottley: Hotels need half billion for refurbishment - page 3 Sinckler retains tax regime in Budget Speech - page 4 HABIB ELIAS Finally living out his dream Premiere Edition • January 2012 • From The Broad Street Journal EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK: How we can emerge stronger from recession IN Business KAYMAR JORDAN THE MAKING OF AN EDITOR MARK KING NEW MAN IN POWER PAUL ALTMAN LIMEGROVE’S VISIONARY CREATOR + in Barbados Business W ho’sWho in Barbados Business W ho’s Who 2012 Edition Photos and contact information for over 500 top business executives at your fingertips MEDIA KIT Boarded Hall House, Boarded Hall, St. George, Barbados M: 230-5687 [email protected]“At HPI, we offer targeted marketing in our Barbadian- designed, respected publications and websites to help our clients reach the Barbados business community.”
Transcript
The Barbados INSIDER • May 2012 • Page 1
November 2012 • PILOT EDITION
LISTINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR• Shopping• Dining & Entertainment• Health & Medical• Professional Services• Art Galleries & Museums
THEBROADSTREETJOURNAL June 30, 2012 1 news
Tuesday, June 30, 2012www.broadstreetjournalbarbados.com
THEBROADSTREETJOURNALtheweekinbusiness
Pictured (from left) at Wednesday’s Post-Budget Breakfast Budget Session co-hosted by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry and PriceWaterhouseCoopers were Panellists Richard Cozier, CEO of Banks Holdings Ltd.; Troy Lorde, lecturer in econom-ics at UWI Cave Hill; Gloria Eduardo, partner, tax service, PwC East Caribbean, and Lalu Vaswani, BCCI president. See story, page 4. Photo by Vincent Tempro
THE BUDGET
Arthur: Barbados economy at “tipping point”
Barbados’ Independent Business Voice
Editorial: Dipping his toes in the Sea of Opportunity - page 8
By Patrick Hoyos
Opposition leader Owen Arthur said Thursday night in the House of Assembly that the Barbados economy was at a “tip-ping point” and until the foreign exchange position imporved, it should use some its own reserves to stimulate local demand.
“The Barbados society is now confronted with a failing economy” which was “not providing for the future because we are sav-ing less,” he said. Further, Barbados’ infla-tion rate was three times higher at 9% than the inflation it imported, which was at 3%.
“What started as a problem in the macro and fiscal accounts is now embedded deeply in the two sectors that ought to be taking us out of this situation. It is like flying an aircraft that has four engines but you’ve lost two and the remaining two have started to sputter,” he said.
Mr. Arthur noted that people in tour-ism were now talking about a “fundamental crisis” in the sector. The largest tourism en-terprises were failing, he said, and more are likely to do so. “We are at a tipping point,” he told the House. He acknowledged that there were some “transformational” initia-tives in the budgetary proposals presented by the minister of finance, but before the country undertook them, he said, “we have to get past this tipping point (because) we can go over the brink.”
The question was whether the measures before the House were enough to bring the country back from the brink, or would they
Opposition leader says gov’t should stimulate domestic demand with larger tax cut
See ARTHUR, Page 2
The Barbados International Business As-sociation (BIBA), not surprisingly, has wel-comed the lowering of the minimum tax rate for international business entities in the Budget. In a press release, BIBA Presi-dent Melanie Jones said it was a “meaning-ful response” to the island’s recent loss of its competitive advantage in the Canadian market.
She added that having lower tax regime would enable Barbados to look for new
business in other The provision for a spe-cial entry permit system for high net worth individuals and their families, was also wel-comed by BIBA.
However, Ms. Jones said the new mea-sures to attract foreign investment should be part of a major effort to showcase Barba-dos as a hub for international business, and this meant more funds should be allocated to the agencies charged with foreign invest-
See BIBA, Page 2
THE BUDGET
BIBA welcomes offshore proposals
Mottley: Hotels need half billion for refurbishment - page 3
Sinckler retains tax regime in Budget Speech - page 4
HABIB ELIAS Finally living out his dream
Premiere Edition • January 2012 • From The Broad Street Journal
EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK: How we can emerge stronger from recession
InBusiness
KAYMAR JORDANTHE MAKING OF AN EDITOR
MARKKINGNEW MAN IN POWER
PAulAlTMANlIMEGROVE’S VISIONARYCREATOR
+
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in Barbados Businesswho’swho
2012 Edition
Photos and contact information for over 500 top business executives at your fingertips
“At HPI, we offer targeted marketing in our Barbadian-designed, respected publications and websites to help our clients reach the Barbados business community.”
Now in its 14th year, Who’s Who in Barba-dos Business has become one of the most sought-after local publications.
It is widely used as a research tool by middle- to upper-level executives inter-ested in reaching upmarket consumers, senior executives, entrepreneurs and buy-ers.
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Who’s Who Special:
Who’s Who in Barbados Business 2011 Edition • Page 1
1
Align Office Systems Inc.
Allan HArrISManaging DirectorForde’s RoadClapham, St. MichaelTel [email protected]
renee HArrISDirectorForde’s RoadClapham, St. MichaelTel [email protected]
Who’s Who in Barbados Business 2011 Edition • Page 1
1
Caribbean Broadcasting Union (www.caribuniononline.com)
Patrick COZIERSecretary GeneralCaribbean Media CentreSuite 1B, Bldg 6A, Harbour Industrial EstateSt. Michael T 430-1007 F 228-9524 [email protected]
Mark KingBarbados Light & Power’s new managing director
talks about renewable energy and the company’s mid-
term plans to reduce its dependency on oil, and defends
the rate hike it received in 2010 from the FTC.
By Patrick Hoyos
nEW MAn In POWER
M ark King, who became CEO of Bar-
bados Light & Power Co. Ltd. on
Nov. 1, 2011, held a meet-the-press
breakfast session in mid-December,
in which he summarised the company’s progress in
developing alternative sources of energy to reduce
its current total dependence on oil for electricity
production. According to its annual report for 2010 (yearend
Dec. 31), Light & Power Holdings Inc. (LPH)
made a net profit of Bds$45 million com-
pared to $27 million for the previous year.
$7.5 million of this was the net gain from
the sale of LPH’s 25% interest in Caribbe-
an Fibre Holdings, which LPH’s previous
owners, Leucadia National Corporation,
had purchased in the late 1990s and which
owned TeleBarbados, a local telecom, and
Atlantic Crossing, which operates a fibre
optic cable running from Barbados to St.
Croix.Setting aside the one-off revenue from
the sale would put the net profit of the
utility company at around eight million
over the previous year. The additional net
profit was attributed by LPH chairman
Wayne Crawley to a close to one percent
increase in electricity sales for a total of
nearly a million kilowatt hours, as well as
an increase in the “basic rates for electric-
ity” granted by the Fair Trading Commis-
sion, which came into effect on March 1,
2010. After purchasing Leucadia’s 38%
stake in LPH in early 2010, Emera went
on to make an offer towards the end of
that year for all the remaining shares and
currently holds 80% of LPH, with the Na-
tional Insurance Board holding 13% and
the remaining seven percent held by 1,600
other shareholders.Speaking at his introductory press
conference, held in mid-December, Mr.
King spoke about some of the options the
company was considering, and in some
instances had begun to bring on stream.
The following excerpts are from the press
conference.
Q: How do you see your major priori-
ties as CEO?Under my leadership I propose to tackle
as high priority the question of the reduc-
tion in the cost of generation and the con-
sequential reduction in the cost of electric-
ity to our customers going forward.
We will also be looking at the introduc-
tion of renewable energy sources. Every-
body has been talking about this as a pri-
ority for the country - and for the world,
by extension - because of the volatility and
the finite nature of oil as a source of energy.
Everybody is aware that we rely entirely
on oil for the generation of electricity in
Barbados, and the cost of oil worldwide
continues to rise and settling at numbers
that, generally speaking, are unsustainable
in the long term. So it is incumbent on us
InBusinessJanuary2012•13
8 InBusiness•January201
2S
oME PEoPLE ArE LUCKY ENoUGH to launch
into their dream job or career from the moment they
enter the world of work. Some never achieve it, and for
others, it can take a while. For Habib Elias, it took over
three decades.
Two years ago, on January 10, 2010, Mr. Elias’ radio station,
SLAM 101.1FM, went live on air, and quickly became one of the
most popular stations in Barbados. It was as if all of Habib’s pent-
up creativity and passion for deejaying and popular music had sud-
denly found its natural outlet, producing a soundscape that makes
it stand out among its competitors.
Habib Elias with his
star morning show
announcer Alex
Jordan at a recent
corporate event.
(Photo by Alwyn Kirk
Harding)
BROADCASTInG
Habib Elias:
Finally living
his dream
The deejay-driven, bangin’ the hits, stand-
ing-room-only sound of SLAM 101.1FM has
taken the airwaves by storm.
cover StoryInBusiness
8 InBusiness•January201
2
InBusinessJanuary2012
•9
From the moment you enter the reception area of SLAM’s stu-
dios, located in an unprepossessing building at Haggatt Hall, St.
Michael, you feel as if you are in a different world: walls painted in
solid reds, blacks and greys signal the modern approach. A quick
tour of the on-air studio reveals a deejay swaying to the beat, his
announcer sidekick beside him. Both are standing, to keep the en-
ergy level flowing. No sitting down when you’re on air at SLAM.
Large monitors show what’s going on in the news, the music scene
and in sports, allowing the on-air personalities to be aware of any
breaking story in news or entertainment.
In Habib Elias’ small corner office, he explains how he gradually
achieved his goal of translating his love of deejaying, which he ac-
quired as a teenager, through two other signature businesses to his
present million-dollar-plus investment.
It is a story with broader meaning in the overall economic con-
text as it is one example of a family’s transition out of a dying sector
in Barbados, textile retailing, into a new one, broadcasting, which is
part of the growing creative industries sector.
As was expected of him, a teenaged Habib Elias went to work
for his father, Fauzi Elias, the founder and owner of Everybody’s
Store on Swan Street. He worked there for twenty years, deejaying
on the side.
It was a very difficult time, he recalls, when he had to tell his
father that he would not be staying in the fabric business. “People
InBusinessJanuary2012
•9
DJ Fuzz live on air at SLAM. (Photo by Alwyn Kirk Harding)
INBiz Special:“Get 25% discount on your ad for our September edition if you book by the end of July.”
InBusinessMagazine
HABIB ELIAS Finally living out his dream
Premiere Edition • January 2012 • From The Broad Street Journal
EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK: How we can emerge stronger from recession
InBusiness
KAYMAR JORDANTHE MAKING OF AN EDITOR
MARKKINGNEW MAN IN POWER
PAulAlTMANlIMEGROVE’S VISIONARYCREATOR
+
Hoyos Publishing Inc. MEDIA KIT
In January thus year, Hoyos Publishing Inc. launched a new publication called INBusi-ness. The magazine focusses on achievers - business executives, entrepreneurs and professionals based in Barbados whose life and work experiences are informative, educational and inspiring.This positive, but accurate, editorial environment has made the first edition of INBusiness widely-read at all levels of the community.
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20 InBusiness•January2012
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entrepreneurS
InBusiness
P AUL ALTMAN, whose sheer te-nacity ensured that Barbados’ most advanced shopping and leisure centre be-came a reality, is looking calm and confident as he sips a smoothie concocted for him by the bartender at the new Caribbean Courtyard on its south side.It is the week before Christmas, and Lime-
grove Lifestyle Centre, which had a “soft” opening for Christmas 2010, continued to add to its list of international brand name retailers, welcoming in early December the opening of the Louis Vuitton store.But over the nearly four years since its of-
ficial launch at the end of February 2008 un-der a large tent in the middle of the cleared site that would become 85,000 square feet of luxury shopping, dining and recreation at Ho-letown, life has not always been easy for Lime-grove’s leading lights, especially Mr. Altman.
Things came to a head when the bankers cut off funding, considering the project too risky to proceed with. The financial setback was al-most too much to bear but Mr. Altman was able to regroup and find new private investors to see the project through. Today Limegrove’s largest shareholder after Mr. Altman is Jacob Hassid, the CEo of Diamonds International in Barbados; ralph “Bizzy” Williams of Wil-liams Industries Inc; British investor Peter Goldstein; and a consortium headed by busi-ness executive Tony King.“Limegrove is 95% completed and 95%
tenanted,” say Mr. Altman, “and now has the critical mass so that the shopping and lifestyle centre does not seem like it is under construc-tion, a complaint made by customers over the first year.”
A large hoarding at the southern side of the Caribbean Courtyard, where Louis Vuitton is located, shields the remaining two buildings still under construction.“The walkway will go all the way round to
link this courtyard (to a building which) will house the Burberry store and TD (Toronto Dominion) Bank,” says Mr. Altman. I asked Mr. Altman to talk about the major
challenges, the ups and downs, encountered on a project of such scale and ambition.“The hardest part was to get them here,”
he says, referring to the luxury brand com-panies whose names read like a who’s who of high-end shopping. (According to Lime-grove’s website, “International brands present
20 InBusiness•January2012
InBusinessJanuary2012•21
and scheduled for opening at Limegrove include Agent Provocateur, A|x Armani Exchange, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Cartier, Chopard, Hallmark, Louis Vuitton, M.A.C, Michael Kors, ralph Lauren and Vilebrequin. A great number of successful Barbadian brands also feature prominently: Altman real Estate, Barbados National Bank, Foster & Ince Cruiseworld, Kar-tushe, oPA! and Pure Source Barbados, to name a few”.) The effort took four years. However, Mr.
Altman says the international stores said they had all surpassed their sales projec-tions for the first year of business despite the economic downturn, but he added that there were some smaller stores which were not doing as well as they had expected. He is hoping that things will improve for
them as Limegrove had finally gotten past the “build-up process,” and was now get-ting the “foot-flow coming through here. That is what it’s all about.”I suggested to Mr. Altman that he had a
more serene look about him than I had seen previously. “The answer to that is, there’s no question that we’ve done everything we could. Josée Atkinson, Limegrove’s project coordinator, has put mind and soul and part of her into this thing, working beyond any-one’s capacity. And we pushed together step by step, with a great team of people, which we assembled, and we had that leadership and commitment. We were not going to deterred by as few mishaps along the way.”
Paul said the mishaps had to do with funding and the “negativity that surrounds
a project like this. I’ve been around a num-ber of projects - this is not my first - so the negativity has always been there.” And while he says there are indeed chal-
lenges ahead and debt to repay, “We cer-tainly are miles ahead of where we were a year or even six months ago. People are re-alising that this is a full project that is now starting to fit together, all the pieces are coming together.”Those pieces include the opening of the
175-seat cinema at Limegrove. “It is state-of-the art: You can sit in your seat and press a button and someone will come and take your order and bring food to your seat. It is the most luxurious cinema in this part of the world.” A second cinema, with 150 seats has also opened. “We went to a great extent to create a
signature-quality establishment,” he says, noting that the idea for Limegrove did not emerge overnight. As a member of the board of directors of Barbados Shipping & Trading Co. Ltd., Mr. Altman dealt with the Pierhead project for 12 years. An ambi-tious scheme to turn large tracts of ware-housing and car park space into a luxury development with a marina on the south side of the Bridgetown Careenage, the project never got off the ground in the end, but Mr. Altman, already an experienced real estate developer, spent a lot of time “assembling ideas and the know-how for a major mixed-use project,” some of which would eventually find a creative outlet in Limegrove.
He also repeats the point that he made speaking to the press at the launch of Limegrove in 2008, that while Bar-bados had many differ-ent types of ‘themed’ developments based around polo, golf, tennis and yachting, it did not have a luxury shopping and lifestyle centre. “You go to St. Barts, which is the signature high-end destination in the Ca-ribbean, and they have all of these names there, although not as big or as nice as this. Destinations that cater to that high-end still see (the value of luxury) shopping and the experience of having an environment where people can go sit at a bar or see a movie.”But he says, it is not just for visitors. “It is
meant for everyone, and that is the key to it. You know, we’ve seen more Barbadians go-ing through the door of Louis Vuitton than we have seen visitors so far. Barbadians are proud to know that the biggest retailers in the world have opened here.”I asked Mr. Altman how he was able
to attract the big names which had never come to Barbados before.“Well, we started off by talking to people
who have been in this business success-fully for many years. I went to the Urban Land Institute (ULI) conference, where all of these people meet - managers of the biggest retailers in the world - and I asked them, ‘What is the secret to making these things happen?’ You get a little information here and there. Then we brought in a re-tail specialist from Atlanta who has done these projects, and we said, ‘How do you get them in, what is the bait that you use?’ “of course, Barbados is a bait. The west
coast is a bait. (A prime) location on the west coast is another bait. But it isn’t as simple as that. “They’re not going to come in if you build a strip mall, that is, repetitive shop fronts all in a line. So you put the bait out. You say ‘We are going to design some-thing that is so enticing that when they see it and they think of something like this coming to Barbados, we can get their atten-tion.’ The first thing is to get their attention. (Then we tell them that) we are going to do
Limegrove: zen and the genius of PauL aLtman
InBusinessJanuary2012•21
InBusinessJa
nuary2
012•7
I THINK THAT BEForE we ac-
tually consider ourselves as being
competitive we need to take a step
back and engage in a candid discus-
sion - by way of a SWoT analysis
- as to what really are our strengths
and weaknesses, and therefore what are the
real opportunities and threats.
Many of the jurisdictions that compete
in the market in which we operate clearly
have done that and identified their niche,
and while Barbados’ niche has always been
negotiating double taxation and bilateral
investment treaties, I t
hink we also have to
combine that with other things that users
of both traditional and non-trad
itional fi-
nancial centres now demand, and that is a
much more agile and responsive sector in
which to operate. What we’re seeing now
is that users are no longer comparing inter-
national financial centres on, say, how many
tax information agreements they have en-
tered into, but really how quickly they can
facilitate business, w
hich is why we really
have got to do whatever is necessary to ex-
peditiously facilitate legitim
ate business in
Barbados. And that is
where we can add
value. There are so many agencies involved
in the smallest of processes in Barbados.
We need to review those processes, con-
solidate and refresh them, and make them
a lot more sensible and agile, and certainly
cut down the amount of time it t
akes to
process anything in Barbados.
So I think we need to find a way of mar-
rying our long-established strategy of ne-
gotiating treaties with a more agile frame-
work within which we can operate. I would
like to see this done very early in the year
by way of a very meaningful strategic re
-
treat for international businesses.
This imperative stra
tegic retreat sh
ould
have strong collaborative representation by
both the private and public sectors, a
nd it
should be an in-depth and candid discus-
sion on all aspects of international business
in Barbados. In doing so, we can ultim
ately
create and embrace a new stra
tegic plan for
international business. The existing plan
expires in 2012, hence why the retreat is
critical at this ju
ncture.
So it’s a good tim
e for us to redefine
what international business means to Bar-
bados, because I think that it may have
changed.
We need to look very closely at being
more inclusive in some respects, and by
that I mean dispel the mystery that inter-
national business is only for international
users to bring business here.
We have to open our doors so that Bar-
badians can use the international network
and infrastructure to sell their se
rvices. We
have a very strong cultural offering, and in
using our double taxation treaty network
we need to be able to offer more oppor-
tunities to Barbadians at the international
level.That may mean a redefining of interna-
tional business as we currently know it.
We in the private sector can meaningfully
engage with people in the public sector on
what is involved in those various processes.
They may have put some of the steps in those
processes for various reasons, and we must
understand what those reasons are and ex-
plain why some of them are perhaps unnec-
essary.
But the private sector has every opportu-
nity to recommend processes that co
uld be
improved. There are a number of agencies
that are key to us, for example, th
e Corporate
Affairs and Intel-
lectual Property
office (CAIPo),
and the Interna-
tional Business
Unit. I am aware
that there was
an EU-funded
study that was
completed earlier
this year (which
made) many
r e c ommenda -
tions on (these
two agencies) working more harmoniously,
cutting down some of the processes the us-
ers have to engage in to ultimately get an end
result. There are also a number of legislative en-
hancements that have been promised to the
industry, and while some progress h
as been
made, they aren’t act
ually on the books. These
include amendments to the Societies of re-
stricted Liabilitie
s Act, enactment of the
foundation legislation as well as the trust
companies legislation, amendments to the
Companies Act, regulations to support the
International Corporate and Trust Providers
Act, as well as amendments to
that very same
act, and updates to the mutual funds act
to
make it a meaningful piece of legislation, be-
cause it was flawed from the very outset. Both
the private and public sector have widely ac-
cepted that there were significant deficiencies
when it came in to force (in the late 1990s).
So we have not been able to use that legisla-
tion to any great advantage, so a very signifi-
cant overhaul is on the cards.
With other jurisdictions using their own
models, we now have the ability to cherry-
pick from their legislation what works best
and how we can make it better so we can have
a premium product to offer the international
market.
So I would like to see us working more
closely with the Chief Parliamentary Coun-
sel’s office so that we can understand their
processes and how we can get some of these
amendments or new pieces of legislation into
enactment in a much quicker period of tim
e. •
Connie Smith is president of the Barbados In-
ternational Business Association and managing
director of Tricor Caribbean Ltd.
we muSt facilitate all BuSineSS
by Connie Smithexecutive outlook
InBusiness How we can emerge stronger from recession?
ON DECEMBEr 15 2011,Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Mon-etary Fund has warned that the global economy
faces the prospect of “economic retraction, rising protectionism, isolation and . . . what happened in the 30s -Depression. ”
At this point, a eurozone recession is cer-tain. While its depth and length cannot be predicted, a continued credit crunch, sover-eign-debt problems, lack of competitiveness, and fiscal austerity imply a serious down-turn.
The US – growing at a snail’s pace since 2010 – faces considerable downside risks from the eurozone crisis. Elsewhere among the major advanced economies, the United Kingdom is double dipping, as front-loaded fiscal consolidation and eurozone exposure undermine growth.”
The Barbados economy is in crisis, as in-dicated by a large debt-to-GDP ratio (well over 100%); large fiscal deficit (6-8% GDP), and stagnant economic growth, with all ma-jor economic sectors stressed.
In addition, the last S&P rating indicates a negative outlook, business profits have fallen significantly (and, as a result, revenue from corporate taxes), Foreign Direct Investment falling, and unemployment is rising (12.1% according to last IMF report).
our foreign exchange reserves are weak, and there is evidence of increases in non-performing loans at banks. Slow real estate sales and falling valuations also point to a very weak outlook if we do not address our challenges.
Additionally, deferral of road maintenance and postponement of tax refunds have cre-ated their own problems. Falling incomes have lead to reduced consumer demand with negative ramifications for business.
Increased taxes and the cost of electricity add to a burden many are finding too heavy to carry.
In these circumstances Barbados has some UrGENT decisions to make. Postpone-ment or failure to act will be disastrous.
The most urgent actions are needed in the
following areas:
1.Reduction of the size and cost of Gov-ernment and Improvement in its Perfor-mance and Value for Money.
This must include downsizing of the la-bour force (with adequate separation provi-sions), much higher levels of productivity (supported by systems to measure and hold people accountable), elimination of discre-tionary expenditure (overseas travel, etc.) and reduction in some transfers to entities who rely on Government support.
Privatisation of certain state-run opera-tions must be speeded up. Disposal of some real estate owned by Government is essen-tial to generate cash, reduce debt and elimi-nate holding costs. Barbados cannot sustain a civil service of close on 30,000 people. Job one should be to create a fully empowered and dynamic civil service in a system that al-lows them to make decisions and perform. This reform should also include the reform of our national governance model to elimi-nate the burden of adversarial politics that exists today. A model built on an expanded and strengthened social partnership might be the way to go. Effectiveness, transparency and inclusiveness should guide the approach.
2.Grow the economyThe focus must be on making Barbados
the No. 1 entrepreneurial hub in the world through:
(a) Competitiveness (open economy, busi-ness facilitation, lower business costs includ-ing taxation) so that we can really engage in global trade;
(b) Attraction of international entrepre-neurs, high net-worth individuals and for-eign direct investment through innovative immigration policies to attract skills and investment and to open new export markets;
(c) Urgently reforming the agencies of government that directly impact business facilitation, including customs and immi-gration, town planning, and the corporate affairs and licensing departments.
(d) Expand ICT capacity and telecoms infrastructure
(e) Develop a new collaborative pact with
labour based on productivity and performance
(f ) open up the legal services profession to in-ternational com-petition
(g) Engage the right skills to fast track legis-lation to enable all sectors of the economy;
(h) rapidly modernize our judicial system to ensure that the administration of justice functions speedily, efficiently and effectively and provides reasonable access to justice for all persons irrespective of their means.
3.Diversify the economic base(a) New industries focused on earning
foreign exchange should be given much at-tention.
Professional services, arts/culture/enter-tainment, sport, education, health and medi-cine, biosciences, ICTs, events.
(b) Existing sectors-tourism and agricul-ture need innovation and investment. Dy-namic plans are needed to breathe life in to these struggling sectors.
(c) Focus attention on new markets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
(d) Work with the diaspora to attract in-vestment;
(e) Expand mandates of companies al-ready operating in Barbados.
4.Elimination of CorruptionWe need to introduce integrity legislation,
provide government funding for elections and make it illegal to fund elections from private contributions. There is little doubt that the next several years will be very chal-lenging for Barbados. The above actions will only happen if many more people engage in their democracy and demand and get leader-ship capable of execution. •
Peter Boos is chairman of the Barbados En-trepreneurship Foundation Inc.
WE nEEd to bE no. 1 for EntErPrisEby Peter Boos
executive outlookInBusiness
How we can emerge stronger from recession?
The Barbados INSIDER • May 2012 • Page 6
LIMEGROVE Lifestyle Centre
has emerged as the most styl-
ish place to shop, dine, and
lime for all visitors and resi-
dents of Barbados.
Limegrove, Barbados’ first
mixed use lifestyle centre, is
located in the heart of Hole-
town, covers ten acres and in-
cludes approximately 85,000
sq. ft. of retail space. It also in-
cludes The Grove Residences,
which when completed, will
featured a mix of apartments,
penthouses and townhouses.
The Centre is home to
many of the world’s leading
retail brands, while The Grove
offers the finest in contempo-
rary Caribbean living.
Revitalizing historic Hole-
town and sited in the luxury
residential belt of St James,
Limegrove is ideally located
just a stone’s throw from the
wonderful beaches of the Ca-
ribbean Sea’s platinum coast,
Sandy Lane, Royal Westmore-
land, Sugar Hill, and Apes Hill.
Limegrove provides a blend
of colonial charm together
with irresistible, exciting, so-
phisticated experience for
home owners, visitors, and
West Indian residents.
Unparalleled in Barbados
and the Caribbean region,
Limegrove incorporates a
range of local and global
retailers in a setting built
around three distinctly dif-
ferent courtyards including
boutiques, restaurants, delis,
cafes, bars, gourmet foods, an
art gallery, cinemas, a spa and
salon, and a range of special
event spaces. •
The iconic Louis Vuitton store is one of the flagship retail
outlets at the new Limegrove Lifestyle Centre.
Limegrove brings luxury
lifestyle to west coast
Shopping
The Barbados INSIDER • May 2012 • Page 7
BRIDGETOWN CRUISE TERMINALS INC.
The company operates the duty-free
shopping area at the Bridgetown Port, and
is open whenever a cruise ship is in port.
Geoffrey Roach, CEO, tel: 431-0386 groach@
bridgetowncruiseterminals.com
CAVE SHEPHERD
Cave Shepherd offers customers a wide
variety of tastes and choices, from perfumes
and jewellery to clothing, footwear, books,
and luggage.www.caveshepherd.com; Broad
Street, Bridgetown. T 227-2121. Also at
Worthing, Ch. Ch. and West Coast Mall, St.
James, and other locations.
COLOMBIAN EMERALDS INT’L
Fine jewellery featuring emeralds, diamonds
and gemstones. International jewellery and
watch brands. www.colombianemeralds.
com. Open Mon-Sat. No. 24 Broad St.,
Bridgetown. T 227-1307. Also at Vista Mall,
Worthing, Ch. Ch., T 426-7257; Sunset Crest,
St. James T419-3120 (open daily) and 9 other
locations.
DIAMONDS INTERNATIONAL
The world’s largest duty free jeweller, offer-
ing handcrafted timepieces and jewellery
from some of the world’s most iconic design-
ers has several stores in Barados. Open Mon-
Sat. www.diamondsbarbados.com. No. 8
Lwr. Broad St., Bridgetown, T 430-2400. Also
at Turtle beach Resort, Dover Woods, Ch. Ch. T
418-1331; and Limegrove Lifestyle Centre, T
271-8230 and several other locations.
DISCOVERIES
Discoveries offers unique fittings and acces-
sories for a fashionable home, as well as gifts
and baskets, decorations and gift registries.
Open Mon-Sat. Canewood, St Thomas. T
421-6412.
DWELLINGS
Dwellings offers accessories, housewares and
furniture for your home. Corporate gifts, gift
registries and online shopping. www.dwell-
ingsbarbados.com. Open daily. Canewood,
St. Thomas. T 438-5900.
GETSET MAKEUP BOUTIQUE
GetSet offers make-up and body care
products, including the e.l.f. brand. Open
Mon-Sat. Peronne Village, Ch. Ch. T 431-5440
GIFTS & THINGS
Sterling silver jewellery, scented candles,
home decor items, glass and wood orna-
ments. Open Mon-Sat. Sheraton Mall, Ch.
Ch. T 437-1196. Also at Mall 34, Bridgetown.
T 431-0870.
HARRISON’S
Duty free luxury goods, leather bags and
shoes, fragrances, make-up and accessories,
crystal and china. Open Mon-Sat. www.
dutyfreecaribbean.com. Nicholas House,
Broad St., Bridgetown T 431-5500. Also at
Shearton Centre, Ch. Ch. T 431-5566.
JEWELER’S WAREHOUSE
This store offers quality jewellery at
wholesale prices. Open Mon-Sat. Broad St,
Bridgetown. T 430-1326. Also at Cave Shep-
herd, West Mall, St. James, T 422-2338.
LILIPLUM
Upmarket store for toys, games and furniture
for kids, as well as maternity clothing
and baby changing bags for moms. Open
Mon-Sat. www.liliplum.com; Canewood St.
Thomas. T 424-1575.
__________________________
LIMEGROVE LIFESTYLE CENTRE
Barbados’ newest and most luxurious mall.
www.limegrove.com. Open daily.
T 432-0840.
Limegrove is Barbados newest, trendiest
West Coast shopping destination. It houses
some of the world’s leading luxury brands
like Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren,
alongside premium local retailers. Limegrove
offers the best in Art, Beauty, Entertain-
ment, Fashion, Film and Food something for
everyone!
MILANO DIAMOND GALLERY
Swiss timepieces, Tahitian pearls, Italian
gold, African and Brazilian gemstones.
Nicholas House, Bridgetown. Open Mon-Sat.
T 429-2900. •
The Barbados INSIDER • May 2012 • Page 10
By Nichole MurrayThe Barbados INSIDERTHE GRILLE RESTAURANT
can be considered a quaint restaurant with a Country
Club theme, featuring pho-tography of Barbados’ most
famous West Indies cricket players.
Although indoors, the large windows and open
flamed grill create the feel of an open deck where aromas
reach the nostrils and the vi-sual of Demi Chef De Partie,
André Nurse gently working the meat and seafood on the
grill whet the appetite be-fore guests even take a bite.Young Celebrity Chef An-
dré was trained at the luxuri-ous Verre by Ramsay at the
Hilton, Dubai Creek where he gained expertise in the craft
of Sous Vide. His palate and inspiration for his variety of
dishes and menus were both developed by the healthier
cooking methods in the East and the exposure to interna-
tional experiences under the watchful eye of Gordon Ram-say’s staff.
“We do a lot of grilling in Barbados and especially at the Grille, but they focus on searing and Sous Vide.” If you are not cooking champions yourself, Sous
Vide is a process of cooking at one temperature under
vacuum at lengths of time, sometimes days, retaining
colours, juices and textures of the meat whilst adding the
potency of flavour without
Chef André fires up The Hilton’s Grille
André outside The Grille at the Barbados Hilton.
Dining & Entertainment
The Barbados INSIDER • May 2012 • Page 11
overcooking it. Chef André took up the Insider challenge and recom-
mended the choice meal he would recommend for the
first time customer.“I would recommend you have the Surf and Turf which
features an 8oz Lobster and Beef Petit Filion Steak. If you
are not a seafood lover, you should have the Lamb Rack
or Cajun Chicken with a lot of spice. Here you can get good
quality certified Angus beef steak, our main brand! Guests
always love it; they know their grades of meat.”Every night when he fin-
ishes, Andre loves to greet his
guests. He interacts and gath-ers some much appreciated
feedback.“As recently as last week I
took a photo with Canadian guests who referred to me
as a celebrity as soon as they learned that I was trained
under Gordon Ramsay. Al-though I explained that Ram-
say did not train me himself, it was the environment.” The Grille is attached to
the Careenage bar, which is opened at 5pm to 11pm. The
Grille is opened at 6:30 and the kitchen is closed soon af-
ter 10pm. Visit them and ask to meet the young Celebrity
Chef André Nurse. •
The Barbados INSIDER • May 2012 • Page 11
SOUTH COAST APSARA
Indian and Thai. Dine in a the beautiful cliffside house that was formerly the home of Josef’s Res-taurant. Open Mon-Sat, D; www.apsarabarbados.com. St.Lawrence Gap, Ch. Ch. T 435-5454.BUBBA’S SPORTS BAREclectic. Bubba’s complements its ten large-screen satellite TVs with generous-sized burgers, fries,
wings, and steak. Open daily, L & D, plus Sunday breakfast buffet. www.
bubbassportsbar.net. Rockley, Ch. Ch; T 435-6217.
CAFE SOL MEXICAN GRILL Mexican. For some, the cocktails here are even spicier than the food. Open daily, D; www.cafesolbarba-dos.com. St. Lawrence Main Rd., Ch.
Ch; T 420-7655. Also at Quayside
Mall, Ch. Ch.
CARIB BEACH BAR Caribbean. Located on Worthing Beach, one of the most popular on the south coast. Live music some nights. Open daily, L & D. T 435-8542.
CHAMPERS RESTAURANTSet in a traditional Bajan home, Champers offers fine dining on two floors with beach and ocean views. Mon-Sat, L & D; Sun, D;www.champersbarbados.com. Skeete’s Hill, Rockley, Ch. Ch; T 434-3463.
CHEFETTE Barbados’ largest restaurant chain, best known for its broasted chicken and rotis, also serves pizza
at most stores. Seven have kids’ playgrounds. Open daily, B, L & D. Rockley and Warrens stores also have BBQ Barn restaurants and
ßYou can add a logo for Bds$100 plus VAT.
ßFree Basic list-ing includes Name of Establishment, brief description, website and street addresses, opening times, and telephone number.
ßYou can also add a paid-for profile, up to $50 words for Bds$100 plus VAT, with extra words for $2.00 per word plus VAT.
ßAnd you can add a photo for Bds$100 plus VAT.
You can enhance your free listing with a logo, 50-word profile or photo for $I00 each plus VAT. See sample below:
SUNBURY GREAT HOUSE
Step into history as you view this detail-rich, fully furnished old planta-tion home, complete with garments, appliances and everyday items of a bygone era. Admission: $20. St. Philip, T 423-6270. Open 9:30 - 4:30 daily (exc. Christmas Day).
Come Feast in the East!! Sunbury House is serving up a daily buffet of mouth-watering Bajan dishes on weekdays at Bds$40.00, while on Sundays, enjoy a 3-course Planta-tion Buffet feast for just $60, both prices incl. VAT & service charge. Sunbury also offers breakfast, à la carte lunch menu and afternoon teas. Reservations, call 423-6270 or email [email protected].
Our new “what’s on” publication, Barbados INSIDER Magazine will feature accurate, up-to-date information on attractions, restau-rants, nightclubs, health and medical services, shops, boutique and stores, museums and galleries, vehicle hire and tours.
It will also provide information on major events each quarter, and showcase the people and establishments in our hospitality and service sectors.
8,000 copies of the brochure-sized magazine will be distributed free every quarter in over 200 loca-tions, aimed at both locals and visitors who want to enjoy the best the island has to offer in food, drink, entertainment, culture, health services and shop-ping.Size of publication: 9” high x 4” wide Number of columns per page: 2. 16 col. inches per page 1 pg: 8” H x 3.25” W; 1/2 pg: 4” H x 3.25” W;1/4 pg: 2” H x 3.25” W; 1/8 pg: 1” H x 3.25” W
The Barbados INSIDER • May 2012 • Page 1
November 2012 • PILOT EDITION
LISTINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR• Shopping• Dining & Entertainment• Health & Medical• Professional Services• Art Galleries & Museums
Hoyos Publishing Inc. MEDIA KIT
“Get a FREE listing in INSIDER. Send us your email address and we’ll send you a form which you can fill out online.”
O N DECEMBEr 15 2011,Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Mon-etary Fund has warned that the global economy
faces the prospect of “economic retraction,
rising protectionism, isolation and . . . what
happened in the 30s -Depression. ”At this point, a eurozone recession is cer-
tain. While its depth and length cannot be
predicted, a continued credit crunch, sover-
eign-debt problems, lack of competitiveness,
and fiscal austerity imply a serious down-
turn.The US – growing at a snail’s pace since
2010 – faces considerable downside risks
from the eurozone crisis. Elsewhere among
the major advanced economies, the United
Kingdom is double dipping, as front-loaded
fiscal consolidation and eurozone exposure
undermine growth.”The Barbados economy is in crisis, as in-
dicated by a large debt-to-GDP ratio (well
over 100%); large fiscal deficit (6-8% GDP),
and stagnant economic growth, with all ma-
jor economic sectors stressed.In addition, the last S&P rating indicates a
negative outlook, business profits have fallen
significantly (and, as a result, revenue from
corporate taxes), Foreign Direct Investment
falling, and unemployment is rising (12.1%
according to last IMF report).our foreign exchange reserves are weak,
and there is evidence of increases in non-
performing loans at banks. Slow real estate
sales and falling valuations also point to a
very weak outlook if we do not address our
challenges.Additionally, deferral of road maintenance
and postponement of tax refunds have cre-
ated their own problems. Falling incomes
have lead to reduced consumer demand with
negative ramifications for business.Increased taxes and the cost of electricity
add to a burden many are finding too heavy
to carry.In these circumstances Barbados has some
UrGENT decisions to make. Postpone-
ment or failure to act will be disastrous.
The most urgent actions are needed in the
following areas:1.Reduction of the size and cost of Gov-
ernment and Improvement in its Perfor-
mance and Value for Money. This must include downsizing of the la-
bour force (with adequate separation provi-
sions), much higher levels of productivity
(supported by systems to measure and hold
people accountable), elimination of discre-
tionary expenditure (overseas travel, etc.)
and reduction in some transfers to entities
who rely on Government support. Privatisation of certain state-run opera-
tions must be speeded up. Disposal of some
real estate owned by Government is essen-
tial to generate cash, reduce debt and elimi-
nate holding costs. Barbados cannot sustain
a civil service of close on 30,000 people. Job
one should be to create a fully empowered
and dynamic civil service in a system that al-
lows them to make decisions and perform.
This reform should also include the reform
of our national governance model to elimi-
nate the burden of adversarial politics that
exists today. A model built on an expanded
and strengthened social partnership might
be the way to go. Effectiveness, transparency
and inclusiveness should guide the approach.2.Grow the economyThe focus must be on making Barbados
the No. 1 entrepreneurial hub in the world
through:(a) Competitiveness (open economy, busi-
ness facilitation, lower business costs includ-
ing taxation) so that we can really engage in
global trade;(b) Attraction of international entrepre-
neurs, high net-worth individuals and for-
eign direct investment through innovative
immigration policies to attract skills and
investment and to open new export markets;
(c) Urgently reforming the agencies of
government that directly impact business
facilitation, including customs and immi-
gration, town planning, and the corporate
affairs and licensing departments.(d) Expand ICT capacity and telecoms
infrastructure(e) Develop a new collaborative pact with
labour based on productivity and performance(f ) open up the legal services profession to in-ternational com-petition(g) Engage the right skills to fast track legis-lation to enable all sectors of the economy;(h) rapidly modernize our judicial system
to ensure that the administration of justice
functions speedily, efficiently and effectively
and provides reasonable access to justice for
all persons irrespective of their means.3.Diversify the economic base(a) New industries focused on earning
cine, biosciences, ICTs, events.(b) Existing sectors-tourism and agricul-
ture need innovation and investment. Dy-
namic plans are needed to breathe life in to
these struggling sectors.(c) Focus attention on new markets in
Latin America, Africa, and Asia.(d) Work with the diaspora to attract in-
vestment;(e) Expand mandates of companies al-
ready operating in Barbados.4.Elimination of CorruptionWe need to introduce integrity legislation,
provide government funding for elections
and make it illegal to fund elections from
private contributions. There is little doubt
that the next several years will be very chal-
lenging for Barbados. The above actions will
only happen if many more people engage in
their democracy and demand and get leader-
ship capable of execution. •Peter Boos is chairman of the Barbados En-
trepreneurship Foundation Inc.
WE nEEd to bE no. 1 for EntErPrisE
by Peter Boos
executive outlook
InBusiness
How we can emerge stronger from recession?
THEBROADSTREETJOURNAL June 30, 2012 1 news
Tuesday, June 30, 2012www.broadstreetjournalbarbados.com
THEBROADSTREETJOURNALtheweekinbusiness
Pictured (from left) at Wednesday’s Post-Budget Breakfast Budget Session co-hosted by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry and PriceWaterhouseCoopers were Panellists Richard Cozier, CEO of Banks Holdings Ltd.; Troy Lorde, lecturer in econom-ics at UWI Cave Hill; Gloria Eduardo, partner, tax service, PwC East Caribbean, and Lalu Vaswani, BCCI president. See story, page 4. Photo by Vincent Tempro
THE BUDGET
Arthur: Barbados economy at “tipping point”
Barbados’ Independent Business Voice
Editorial: Dipping his toes in the Sea of Opportunity - page 8
By Patrick Hoyos
Opposition leader Owen Arthur said Thursday night in the House of Assembly that the Barbados economy was at a “tip-ping point” and until the foreign exchange position imporved, it should use some its own reserves to stimulate local demand.
“The Barbados society is now confronted with a failing economy” which was “not providing for the future because we are sav-ing less,” he said. Further, Barbados’ infla-tion rate was three times higher at 9% than the inflation it imported, which was at 3%.
“What started as a problem in the macro and fiscal accounts is now embedded deeply in the two sectors that ought to be taking us out of this situation. It is like flying an aircraft that has four engines but you’ve lost two and the remaining two have started to sputter,” he said.
Mr. Arthur noted that people in tour-ism were now talking about a “fundamental crisis” in the sector. The largest tourism en-terprises were failing, he said, and more are likely to do so. “We are at a tipping point,” he told the House. He acknowledged that there were some “transformational” initia-tives in the budgetary proposals presented by the minister of finance, but before the country undertook them, he said, “we have to get past this tipping point (because) we can go over the brink.”
The question was whether the measures before the House were enough to bring the country back from the brink, or would they
Opposition leader says gov’t should stimulate domestic demand with larger tax cut
See ARTHUR, Page 2
The Barbados International Business As-sociation (BIBA), not surprisingly, has wel-comed the lowering of the minimum tax rate for international business entities in the Budget. In a press release, BIBA Presi-dent Melanie Jones said it was a “meaning-ful response” to the island’s recent loss of its competitive advantage in the Canadian market.
She added that having lower tax regime would enable Barbados to look for new
business in other The provision for a spe-cial entry permit system for high net worth individuals and their families, was also wel-comed by BIBA.
However, Ms. Jones said the new mea-sures to attract foreign investment should be part of a major effort to showcase Barba-dos as a hub for international business, and this meant more funds should be allocated to the agencies charged with foreign invest-
See BIBA, Page 2
THE BUDGET
BIBA welcomes offshore proposals
Mottley: Hotels need half billion for refurbishment - page 3
Sinckler retains tax regime in Budget Speech - page 4
TheBroadSTreeTJournaltheweekinbusiness
Estabished in 1993, The Broad Street Journal has been re-launched in PDF format, and is available via free subscrip-tion or online at www.issuu.com and type “bsjbarbados” in search.
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THEBROADSTREETJOURNAL June 19, 2012 6
news
Chefette Restaurants Ltd and Banks Hold-
ings Ltd (BHL) have entered into an agree-
ment to give Chefette customers the option
of ordering Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light,
Sprite, Frutee Extreme Red and Frutee
Pineapple beverages at all Chefette outlets,
starting Tuesday June 19th.
BHL subsidiary Barbados Bottling
Company Ltd (BBC) is the local producer
of Coca-Cola beverages.
Managing Director of Chefette Restau-
rants Ltd., Ryan Haloute said Friday that
“Banks offered a very good long-term con-
tract and price to supply us with Coca-Cola
beverages. This partnership solidifies our
commitment to support local manufactur-
ing and create more job security, especially
in these challenging economic times.”
CEO of the BHL Group Richard Cozier
said: “It is an honour for us to be providing
our products to an indigenous chain of res-
taurants known for quality meals, standards
and service. We are very proud of this al-
liance.”Franchise Director for The Coca-Cola
Company, Daniel Saenz, who flew into
Barbados for the occasion, said: “Through
this importance alliance, we have an ex-
quisite combination over which the main
chain restaurant in Barbados joins the most
recognised beverage brand globally: Coca-
Cola, declared by InterBrand as #1 Best
Global Brand for the past 12 years, and
Chefette being a leading brand in Barbados
since 1972. ”
In his address, Mr. Haloute noted thsat
Chefette had recently been voted by New
York-based magazine Travel & Leisure as
one of the world’s top fast food chains. “We
are proud to be able to further support the
local manufacturing market, especially in
these challenging economic times, to fur-
ther provide job security and also offer our
customers great specials at fantastic prices,”
he said. He said Chefette currently purchased the
vast majority of its supplies from the local
manufacturing market, including the fol-
lowing products:
- Pine Hill Dairy (another BHL subsid-
iary, thick shakes and soft serve ice cream
- Chickmont Foods, chicken
- HIPAC, chicken nuggets
- COT Printery, food packaging
- Roberts Manufacturing, cooking oil
- Zepherin’s Bakery, bread
- Baker’s Choice, pizza dough
- Local vegetable supplies
Added to the above list, Mr. Haloute said,
was the new alliance between Chefette Res-
taurants and Banks Holdings, “two local ti-
tans who employ over 1,300 staff combined.
Both companies have similar founding phi-
losophies of being good corporate citizens
by always giving back to the various com-
munities. The synergies between both of
our companies will continue to strengthen
and be seen in the public as we move for-
ward for the betterment of Barbados.” •
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Coca-Cola now “makes the meal” at Chefette
news
Chefette Restaurants Ltd and Banks Holdings Ltd (BHL) have entered into an agreement to give Chefette customers the option of order-
ing Coca-Cola beverages at all Chefette outlets, starting this week. Raising a toast to the deal last week were (from left) Chefette Restau-
rants Ltd.’s Executive Chairman Assad Haloute, Deputy Managing Director Janine Haloute and Managing Director Ryan Haloute, with
Barbados Bottling Co. Ltd.’s General Manager William Haslett, Coca-Cola’s Franchise Operations Director for the Caribbean, Daniel
Saenz, and CEO of the BHL Group Richard Cozier). Photo courtesy of Chefette Restaurants
THEBROADSTREETJOURNAL June 19, 2012 1
news
By Patrick Hoyos
Although acknowledging concern in the
private sector that the taxing of entertain-
ment and travel allowances by Minister
of Finance Chris Sinckler in his Novem-
ber 2010 budget had “negatively impacted
consumer spending,” the Barbados Private
Sector Association is not recommending
their urgent removal in next week’s budget
speech, saying it understood “the need for
government to raise revenue and improve
the country’s fiscal position.”
The BPSA, in its recommendations,
placed more emphasis on non-financial
ways it felt government could improve the
economy, So while “consideration should
be given to reinstating the tax deductibility
on travel and entertainment allowances,” it
could “be done on a phased basis.”
The BPSA said, for example, that it sup-
ports the Barbados International Business
Assocation’s initiatives to help the country
regain the “competitive advantage previous-
ly enjoyed by our jurisdiction.” These initia-
tives include taking quick action to “miti-
gate the loss of existing Canadian business
to competing countries that have signed
TIEA’s (Tax Information Exchange Agree-
ments) with Canada,” and giving Invest
See BPSA ON BUDGET, Page 3
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
www.broadstreetjournalbarbados.com
THEBROADSTREETJOURNALtheweekinbusiness
Body focusses instead on incentives and need to update laws
THE BUDGET
BPSA takes the pressure
off Sinckler re allowances
There are over 11,000 micro and small
businesses operating in the ‘formal sector’
in Barbados, comprising about a quarter (or
30,000 jobs) of the work force.
But there are believed to be many more in
the ‘informal’ sector, and little is known of
their contribution to the economy in terms
of employment, competitiveness and earn-
ing of foreign exchange, says Ruth Black-
man, permanent secretary in the Ministry
of Industry, Small Business and Rural De-
velopment.Speaking at the media launch of the Mi-
cro Business Sector study on Monday, Ms.
Blackman said that the MSME (Micro,
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) sec-
tor in Barbados had emerged as an “engine
of growth” for the economy. “At present,
it is the sector where employment is being
created on a sustained basis as more persons
Pictured at Monday’s launch of the study(from left): Anne Reid, CEO and John Williams,
Chairman, BPSA; Ruth Blackman, P.S., Ministry of Industry, Small Business and Rural
Development; Christel Saab and Ruth Holliston of the Inter-American Development
Bank; and Joel Richards of the BPSTT. Photo by the BSJ
SMALL BUSINESS
Blackman: “One-stop shop” needed for MSMEs
See BLACKMAN, Page 4
Barbados’ Independent Business Voice
Clebrating the Chefette-Coke alliance- page 6
Editorial: Next week’s Budget
page 5
THEBROADSTREETJOURNAL June 30, 2012 6
news
Panellists at Wednesday monrning’s
“Post-Budget Breakfast Session” held at the
Hilton Barbados and co-hosted by the Bar-
bados Chamber of Commerce & Industry
and PriceWaterhouseCoopers East Carib-
bean shared their initial reactions to the
proposals outlined by Mnister of Finance
Chris Sinckler in the House of Assembly
on Tuesday afternoon.After opening remarks by BCCI presi-
dent Lalu Vaswani, PwC Tax Partner Glo-
ria Eduardo discussed the implications of
some of the initiatives proposed as anal-
ysed by PwC’s team in its special edition
of Tax News. The report said that PwC
was “hopeful for success with the privati-
sation initiatives identified, which should
generate much needed investment dol-
lars.” However, PwC anticipated “much
discussion around the use of NIS funds” to
finance some of them, as the NIS had “a
heavy responsibility to achieve appropriate
investment returns and to maintain a level
of independence in its investment policy.”
However, it felt that the provisions to
lower taxing of international business was
“a step in the right direction,”and hoped it
would “stem the recent losses of business to
our zero-tax competitors.”Economics Lecturer Troy Lorde said he
had expected to hear more about “structural
transformation” of the economy from Mr.
Sinckler. He also note that the proposal
to increase the “chargeable value” on mo-
tor vehicles, which would make it less ex-
pensive to purchase a mid-size car, for ex-
ample, conflicted with other tax incentives
relating to “greening of the economy.” And
while he generally supported the reducing
of taxes for the offshore sector he warned
that it would only work in the short-term
as “we will also have to reduce the cost of
doing business” in order to make the en-
tire economy more competitive, and cited
the telecommunications sector as one that
needed to reduce costs to the consumer.
BHL CEO Richard Cozier, for his part,
noted that while the whole budget was
about “stabilising” the economy and keep-
ing up our foreign exchange reserves, it had
done little to increase people’s disposable
incomes. Instead, reducing such income
“takes money out of the economy ” in order
to reduce the foreign exchange component
of local business transactions and consumer
purchases. This was slowing down our eco-
nomic recovery and he therefore felt that
Mr. Sinckler had not “got the correct mix
yet” of policies that would create growth.
He added that the finance minister had
made proposals that could help businesses
over the longer term, but he should have
reduced the excise tax on diesel “there and
then,” as this would have brought immedi-
ate relief, since in Barbados, “diesel fuels
both manufacturing and distribution.” •
THE BUDGETLarge turnout of executives for BCCI-PwC
post-budget breakfast update
Business executives attending the breakfast session at the Hilton Barbados listening to the panellists discuss issues arising from the Bud-
get Speech given by Finance Minister Chris Sinckler the previous afternoon. Photo by Vincent Tempro
THEBROADSTREETJOURNAL June 30, 2012 5
newsupcomingCalendar
HERITAGE TOURISM“Ole Time Bajan” bus ride Aug. 2 If you would like to experience Barbados’
heritage and scenic locations by bus, sign up
for the Ole Time Bajan Excursion, sched-uled for Thursday, August 2, from 9:30 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m.Deputy Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign
Trade and Event Organiser of the Barbados
Network Consultation (BNC) 2012, David
Bulbulia said there would be two choices
for sightseeing, a northern and a southern
route. The cost of the excursion, including
lunch, is Bds$122.00.The team will be led by noted Barbadi-an historians, Kevin Farmer and Maurice
Greenidge and their associates. The excursion will start at the Garrison
Savannah to see the changing of the guard,
and then head to Bridgetown, where it will
divide into two separate groups, one travel-ling to the north and the other heading to
the south. The northern group will visit Holetown,
Portvale, Speightstown, St. Nicholas Ab-bey, Farley Hill, Morgan Lewis Mill, Cher-ry Tree Hill and Bathsheba, ending at River
Bay with lunch. The southern group will
visit Oistins, Christ Church Parish Church,
Callenders, Bournes’ Land, The Crane Re-sort, Ragged Point Lighthouse, Gun Hill
Signal Station and St. John’s Parish Church,
ending at the East Coast, where lunch will
be served. Reservations for the Ole Time Bajan
Excursion can be made online at www.foreign.gov.bb/barbadosnetwork or by con-tacting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at
431-2200.•
We were “mining” our own busi-ness when someone sent this via
BBM. Thanks to our friends at Trimart for making our day!
2nd Diaspora conference• The Barbados Network Consultation (BNC) 2012, also
known as the 2nd Diaspora Conference will be held Au-
gust 7 -10 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two
Mile Hill, St. Michael.In addition to a packed agenda, BNC 2012 will also
provide other recreational and business activities such
as Speed Networking sessions; Bajan Road Tennis
demonstrations and games; a Creative Economy Show-
case; a Career Forum, hosted by the Young Barbadian
Professionals Society; screenings of Barbadian films;
an Ancestry Research Workshop and a Bajan Cultural
Immersion, where participants can learn to cook the
Bajan Way.•
• The Barbados International Business Association’s July lun-cheon will be held at the Hil-ton Barbados on July 4, 2012 from noon to 2 p.m. A distin-guished panel will discuss the topic: “Selected Markets in Review: Prospects for Bar-bados as an International Business Hub.”The panel will feature new BIBA President and Partner, Lex Caribbean Melanie Jones; Russ Jones, tax partner, PwC Bar-bados; Ben Arrindell, director, Cidel Bank & Trust; and Jerome Dwight, managing director, RBC Wealth Management.They will discuss how clients and business profes-sionals from mature markets, such as Canada, and emerging markets in Latin America and China perceive Barbados; the solutions preferred by investors from those jurisdictions; and opportunities for Barbados in those markets. The cost is $95 per person for members, and $115 per person for non-members. Reg-ister via e-mail: [email protected] or call 434-2422 ext. 101 with queries.About the panellists: • Melanie Jones has 20 years’ experience serving in-ternational corporations and financial institutions; • Ben Arrindell consults on business and product
development opportunities utilizing Barbados’ treaty
network; • Russ Jones has over 32 years’ experience in advising
