Virgin Islands
The Department of Inland Revenue announced last week that unpaid liquor licence fees have to be paid by May 27. Businesses that do not pay the fees related to the Dec. 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011 term and previous periods may face further enforcement measures, the department said in a press release.
Region
Telecommunications provider LIME announced Tuesday that is investing $80 million in the Caribbean to upgrade mobile networks to “4G” technology. The upgrade, which the company said could be rolled out beginning this summer, will increase upload and download speeds, meeting customers’ needs for mobile Internet in the Virgin Islands, according to a press release. VI customers will be able to send and receive large video and photo files from wireless devices as well as “video streaming, online gaming and social networking while on the go — all at the same time as making a phone call,” the release stated.
Barbados
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s affirmed a BBB-/A-3 rating on Barbados’ debt, a move the company said was due to the country’s slow recovery from the global financial crisis. The company predicted the economy would grow by two percent this year, as the Barbados government’s deficit narrowed 5.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2010. The deficit is projected to decrease further to 4.6 percent of GDP this year, according to Standard & Poor’s.