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Digicel plans to sell $1.4 billion of bonds February 15, 2007
DUBLIN, Ireland (Bloomberg): Digicel Group Ltd, a holding company of Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien, plans to sell $1.4 billion of bonds to help fund the purchase of the 22 percent of a Jamaica-based mobile-phone operator he doesn't already own. read more..

Caribbean venture capital industry gets boost from IDB February 1, 2007
WASHINGTON, USA: The Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund announced today the approval of a US$500,000 financing to strengthen the venture capital industry in Latin America and the Caribbean. read more..

Spanish bank expects to complete Caribbean acquisition soon January 15, 2007
MADRID, Spain (Bloomberg): Banco Sabadell SA, Spain's fourth-biggest bank, may seal the acquisition of a bank in the Caribbean region in the near future, said a spokesman. read more..

Caribbean Marketplace 2007 aims for sound business development January 5, 2007
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Two years ago, Caribbean Marketplace took a first step in its 26-year history to reduce waste by going paperless, replacing bulky printed directories, with electronic directories that are continuously updated. read more..

CIBC acquires majority stake in FirstCaribbean December 24, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited announced on Friday that CIBC has purchased 599,401,230 shares of FirstCaribbean under the previously announced plans to acquire Barclays Bank’s 43.7 per cent ownership in the regional financial institution. read more..

FirstCaribbean chalks up another strong financial performance December 21, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Another strong financial performance has been recorded by FirstCaribbean International Bank. The region's leading financial services company has recorded a net income of USD$170.6 million for the financial year November 2005 – October 2006 read more..

Danish brewer buys control of three Caribbean firms December 14, 2006
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Reuters): Denmark's second-biggest brewer, Royal Unibrew, says it has bought controlling stakes in two brewers and a bottle recycling plant in the Caribbean to strengthen its position in the region. read more..

Caribbean postal service plans share sale in London September 27, 2006
LONDON, England (Bloomberg): SkyPostal, which delivers mail in the Caribbean for clients including Deutsche Post AG and American Express Co., plans to sell shares in London to raise money to complete its satellite mail-tracking system. read more..

Digicel introduces employee reward programme September 9, 2006
KINGSTON, Jamaica: Digicel, the Caribbean mobile telecommunications operator, on Friday announced that it is granting share options to more than 2,000 employees across its existing network of 20 operations, as part of a new, first-of-its kind employee reward program. read more..

St Lucia hotelier's private sector plea September 9, 2006
CASTRIES, St Lucia: Tourism is everybody's business but business has a special obligation to get deeply involved in the main business of the region, said a Caribbean pioneer of sustainable tourism. President of the SLHTA Allen Chastanet urged more active participation from the private sector. read more..

Caribbean Star and Caribbean Sun Airlines continue to optimize costs September 9, 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE, USA: Further strengthening their respective competitive positions, Caribbean Star Airlines and Caribbean Sun Airlines on Friday announced several new measures designed to optimize costs in order to fast-track future growth. read more..

FirstCaribbean’s the best, says Euromoney August 30, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: A positive performance in 2005 and an “impressive” start this year have earned FirstCaribbean International Bank a benchmark award from Euromoney Magazine, one of the most highly regarded financial publications in the industry. read more..

Bacardi to defend 'vigorously' in Havana Club lawsuit August 17, 2006
LONDON, England (Bloomberg): Bacardi Ltd will defend itself "vigorously" against a lawsuit by Pernod Ricard SA over the U.S. rights to the Havana Club rum brand, the subject of a 10-year legal battle. read more..

Venezuela oil reserves to soar, boosted by heavy oil August 11, 2006
CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg): Venezuela's oil reserves may almost triple in two years as oil companies develop the country's Faja, or heavy-oil belt, President Hugo Chavez said. read more..

Venezuela opens bidding on Caribbean gas blocks August 10, 2006
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP): Venezuela has launched international bidding for licenses to explore and operate four potentially gas-rich offshore blocks in the Caribbean identified by the state energy group, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said. read more..

New battle lines drawn in Cuban rum wars August 10, 2006
MIAMI, USA (Reuters): With the cocktail-drinking classes thirsty for mojitos and daiquiris, a new front has opened up in a Cuban rum war that has its roots in the ailing Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. read more..

Digicel closes US$150m funding to continue market expansion and growth August 4, 2006
KINGSTON, Jamaica: Digicel Group, the fastest-growing mobile telecommunications company in the Caribbean, on Thursday announced it has raised US$150 million in capital through a corporate bond offering. read more..

US raises stakes with Internet gambling crackdown July 21, 2006
WASHINGTON, USA (AFP): US authorities are raising the stakes against Internet gambling with their biggest prosecution effort to date, but backers of online wagering are not yet ready to fold. read more..

FirstCaribbean eclipses US$5b loan mark July 7, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: At the end of the second quarter of the 2006 fiscal year, FirstCaribbean International Bank achieved a record-breaking US$5.2 billion in loans and advances to customers, breaking the $5bn mark for the first time. read more..

New fund provides major boost for businesses in St Kitts-Nevis July 5, 2006
BASSETERRE, St Kitts: St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas says last Friday’s launching of the EC$10 million “Empowerment for Ownership” Fund should prove to be a major boost to the micro, small and medium-size enterprises in the twin-island Federation. read more..

FirstCaribbean to invest US$9m in new Barbados business centre July 5, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: FirstCaribbean is investing US$9m in building a new state of the art Regional Business Centre in Barbados. This new building will house regional Operations, IT and Cards teams serving the Bank’s pan-Caribbean footprint from their location in Barbados. read more..

CIBC signs agreement to buy Barclays stake in FirstCaribbean June 30, 2006
TORONTO, Canada (Bloomberg): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Canada's fifth-biggest lender, has signed a definitive agreement to take control of FirstCaribbean International bank by acquiring a $1.08 billion stake from Barclays Plc. read more..

Caribbean auditors embrace new technology June 13, 2006
BASSETERRE, St Kitts: The Caribbean can expect auditors to sharpen their skills as it seeks to streamline budgetary extremes in financially challenging times. read more..

Guyana key to Republic Bank's growth June 9, 2006
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Republic Bank (Guyana) is being seen as the platform where Republic Bank could expand its growth in the South American region, according to the Chairman of the Board of Directors. read more..

Schering-Plough closes Puerto Rico plant, fires 1,100 June 2, 2006
CHICAGO, USA (Bloomberg): Schering-Plough Corp. is cutting 1,100 jobs, closing one manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico and streamlining operations at other plants there and in New Jersey. read more..

Bermuda's IRF European to buy stake in Greece bank June 2, 2006
Greece (Bloomberg), ATHENS: IRF European Finance Investments Ltd., a Bermuda-based investment fund, has agreed to buy as much as 30 percent of the Greek lender Proton Investment Bank. read more..

FirstCaribbean and CDERA strengthen partnership May 25, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: The commitment of FirstCaribbean International Bank to the Caribbean region, particularly in providing support for hazard mitigation and prevention, continues to be solidified through its ongoing partnership with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA). read more..

CTO, CHA launch Caribbean branding campaign May 19, 2006
NEW YORK, USA: The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) along with a group of “Charter Partners” in the Caribbean have launched a new branding campaign. read more..

Caribbean businesses drive new mechanism to strengthen relations May 10, 2006
ST GEORGE'S, Grenada: Representatives of the regional private sector, local organising committees for Cricket World Cup and other regional bodies are participating in a two day workshop to further develop the Caribbean Business Opportunities Service and Caribbean Business Club. read more..

Caribbean rum project to be extended May 3, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: ACP Caribbean (CARIFORUM) rum producers will get an extra three years in which to take advantage of funding to develop the sector. read more..

FirstCaribbean ‘Best bank in Barbados’ April 25, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: For the third time in as many years, the editors of Global Finance magazine have named FirstCaribbean “Best Bank in Barbados”. read more..

CARICOM trade ministers agree to advance trade relations with US April 17, 2006
WASHINGTON, USA: Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-US trade relations received a boost last week, as a result of a decision by the two sides to revitalize a long-dormant Trade and Investment Council (TIC). read more..

OECS discusses tourism April 10, 2006
CASTRIES, St Lucia: The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States says it will pursue the branding of the OECS as a joint yachting destination and create a company to negotiate collectively with cruise lines. Regional leaders have also agreed to establish a cruise tourism task force. read more..

Verizon to sell Caribbean operations April 4, 2006
NEW YORK, USA (AFP): US telecom giant Verizon Communications said Monday that it reached agreements to sell its Caribbean and Latin American operations in three transactions valued at 3.7 billion dollars. read more..

Oil-tanker rates in Caribbean fall on high US oil inventory April 3, 2006
NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg): Rates to ship oil in the Caribbean basin fell for the 12th straight session as high U.S. crude inventories crimped demand for shipping. read more..

Winn-Dixie to sell Bahamas supermarkets for $50m March 31, 2006
NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg): Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., the bankrupt grocery chain, said it will sell its majority stake in Bahamas Supermarkets Ltd. to a Bahamian company, BK Foods Ltd., for $50 million to focus on its U.S. business. The shares rose 7.1 percent. read more..

Caribbean private sector missing out on trade dollars March 30, 2006
KINGSTON, Jamaica: Caribbean companies are missing out on billions of dollars in potential business because they are not aggressively pursuing export opportunities opened up by trade agreements between Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments and third countries, says a spokesman for the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM). read more..

Austrian bank confirms 1 billion euro loss in Caribbean dealings March 27, 2006
VIENNA, Austria (AFP): Austrian bank BAWAG Friday confirmed it suffered losses of about 1.0 billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) between 1995 and 2000 in high-risk financial dealings in the Caribbean. read more..

HIV/AIDS report says epidemic will affect business profits March 22, 2006
KINGSTON, Jamaica: The bottom-line of businesses will be affected if HIV/AIDS related stigma and issues in the workplace are not addressed immediately. read more..

Former Caribbean diplomat calls for worker participation in LIAT March 16, 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE, USA: LIAT airlines has faced significant operating challenges since the company’s inception and a former Caribbean diplomat thinks the solution is to distribute more shares of the company to its workers. read more..

Barclays to sell stake in FirstCaribbean for 1.08 billion dollars March 14, 2006
LONDON, England (AFP): Barclays, the third-biggest British bank, said Monday that it has signed a letter of intent to sell its 43.7-percent stake in FirstCaribbean International Bank for about 1.08 billion dollars to Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). read more..

Caribbean tourism accommodations sector undertakes expenditures study February 23, 2006
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: The Caribbean Hotel Association and PRO€INVEST, an agency of the Centre for Development Enterprise of the European Union, announced the launch of a research study to gauge how much the Caribbean tourism accommodation sector spends on locally-provided goods and services, including its tax contribution to governments. read more..

Economist concerned about regional debt February 14, 2006
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent: A regional economist has expressed concerns about the size of public debts across the region and said that at the end of 2005 only Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica had a higher credit rating than in 1999. read more..

What the business sector should know about the CSM February 14, 2006
KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS): The CARICOM Single Market (CSM) is a grouping of sovereign states that provides freedom for companies to establish businesses throughout the Community. However, as in any free trade area, there are some rules of procedure. read more..

FirstCaribbean finalises acquisition of Curaçao’s ABN AMRO February 2, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: At twelve noon on Tuesday, the acquisition of ABN AMRO’s Curaçao branch by FirstCaribbean International Bank became final. read more..

Internet advances Caribbean tourism January 26, 2006
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: The Internet has become such a powerful tool that it now enables small Caribbean countries like the Cayman Islands, to act as its own travel agent rather than rely on foreign countries to drive tourists to their destinations. Furthermore, the Internet and digital technology can upscale the travel experience. read more..

Central banks approve sale of ABN Amro Curaçao to FirstCaribbean January 23, 2006
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: ABN AMRO and FirstCaribbean International Bank have announced that they have received approval from the Central Banks of Curaçao, the Cayman Islands and Barbados for the sale of ABN’s Curaçao Branch to FirstCaribbean International Bank. read more..

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