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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2023
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ArawakX won’t give top investor his 22% By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS’ first-ever crowd-funding platform plans to bar its largest investor from taking a 22 percent equity stake in the business following the fall-out that triggered its present regulatory woes. D’Arcy Rahming, ArawakX’s chairman and chief executive, told Tribune Business it is preparing for a legal battle with James Campbell, the former Colina Insurance Company president, after deciding it will not honour the $1.3m “option” that will allow the latter to convert his investment into an ownership interest in the platform. Asked about the crowd-fund platform’s present relations with Mr Campbell, who sparked the events that have led to it facing a windingup petition when he went to the Securities Commission as a ‘whistleblower’, Mr Rahming replied: “The situation is that he has a legitimate
t 1MBUGPSN UP CBUUMF FY $PMJOB DIJFG PO N APQUJPO t 8PO U IPOPVS DPOWFSTJPO BGUFS IF ACMFX UIF XIJTUMF t MMFHFT IF T AOPU UIF SJHIU QFSTPO UP CF TIBSFIPMEFS option to purchase 22 percent of the firm, and he has asked for one share to be recognised and that the rest be held. “I don’t know what the correct term is, but it was for us to hold the rest of the shares until he is ready with them. Prior to this, our position was that James Campbell has a legitimate right and we are not challenging that at all. Now, we think he’s
not the right person to be given those shares because of the actions he took. We intend to make it a civil matter. It’s not a regulatory D’ARCY matter. It’s a RAHMING civil matter. We don’t think he’s the right person to be a shareholder.” Mr Campbell could not be tracked down for comment before press time last night, but any legal battle between himself and ArawakX if and when he chooses to exercise that option could, of course, be rendered moot if the Securities Commission persuades the Supreme Court to order the crowd-funding platform’s winding-up at next week’s October 13 hearing.
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Hotel expansion: ‘All our fears come true’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net TWO prominent Bahamian businessmen yesterday voiced fears their area’s property values will be undermined if a Bahamian hotel’s planned expansion worsens existing traffic and noise woes, adding: “All our fears have come true.” Fred Albury, the Auto Mall chief and former Bahamas Motor Dealers Association (BMDA) president, and Peter Bates, The Sign Man’s principal, told Tribune Business in separate interviews that they share similar concerns about the potential
FRED ALBURY negative fall-out for Tropical Gardens and Gambier Heights if A Stone’s Throw Away’s proposal receives Town Planning Committee approval. Its decision on the resort’s bid to rezone a property at the junction
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Development Plan’s ‘final 20%’ target year-end for completion By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE FINAL “20 percent” of The Bahamas’ National Development Plan (NDP) is being targeted for completion before year-end, it was revealed yesterday, as the Davis administration moves to give it the full force of statute law. Felix Stubbs, the former IBM (Bahamas) chief who is a member of the Plan’s steering committee, told Tribune Business that codifying it in law - as was pledged during yesterday’s Speech from the Throne will ensure the road map, goals and ambitions set out
are “not discarded” when administrations change following a general election. “I think it’s extremely important,” he said of the National Development Plan Bill’s unveiling. “As a matter of fact, it was the wish of the steering committee as far back as 2016 to have that done. We had proposed a draft document then for the Government to review as part of the legislation. We took that to the Government again recently, and that’s what they’re using as the basis for the legislation. “It first of all shows commitment on the Government’s part that they’re
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Central Bank drops 2024 cheque elimination target By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank has abandoned its original target of eliminating paper cheque use by year-end 2024 because “a compelling fraction” of Bahamians need more time to adjust, its governor affirmed yesterday. John Rolle, in a brief statement responding to Tribune Business questions, after the banking regulator disclosed the initial timeline has been “deferred” and will now be “reassessed” in 2026, explained that the change had resulted from
feedback provided by the public and businesses. “We will share more details in our various surveys that provided public feedback soon,” Mr Rolle told this newspaper. “However, there was a compelling fraction of the public who wanted more time to transition away from cheques. The Central Bank and financial institutions will provide more details on what the interim milestones are that are being targeted for progress on payments system developments.” The Central Bank, in a release on the issue, said the deadline shift resulted
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