Last week Premier Andrew Fahie took responsibility for the implementation and quick reversal of a wharfage fee hike on petroleum products that would have raised electricity bills in the territory. …
May 30, 2021
May 25, 2021
Premier: Financial services helping VI through Covid
With only a modest dip in revenue so far this year compared to early 2020, the financial services industry has continued to buoy the territory’s economy while other sectors have …
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May 22, 2021
Premier details port purchases, finances
The BVI Ports Authority has enhanced its patrolling capabilities with the acquisition of a new speedboat, Premier Andrew Fahie announced in a House of Assembly sitting last Thursday, during which …
May 15, 2021
$300k contract signed for EE centre
Community centres in the Virgin Islands serve as gathering spaces in good times and as vital shelters during storms, but many of them have sat in ruins since taking severe …
May 15, 2021
FATF review set to get under way in July 2022
The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s long-delayed onsite visit to the the Virgin Islands is scheduled for July 2022, and Financial Services Commission officials said a flurry of activity is …
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May 8, 2021
Minister warns about ‘unfair’ redundancies
Employers must be “transparent, fair and reasonable” when making workers redundant, Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Minister Vincent Wheatley told the House of Assembly last Thursday in a statement he …
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May 5, 2021
2020 tourism industry revenue dipped nearly $280m
Although the dramatic pandemic-related slowdown in the tourism industry is evident from the Virgin Islands’ uncrowded beaches and vacant hotel rooms, statistics Premier Andrew Fahie presented to the House of …
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May 5, 2021
Deposit insurance programme delayed
A regime designed to protect bank customers’ deposits has a new target date of 2022, as a consultant hired last year continues her work on subsidiary legislation to the Virgin …
April 27, 2021
Construction is booming, premier says
Despite the economic downturn in 2020 related to the Covid-19 pandemic, Premier Andrew Fahie called 2020 “an extremely busy year” for the construction industry in the Virgin Islands. The Town …
April 26, 2021
Work permit exemptions revised
After a recent review, work permit exemptions will look different when the Department of Labour and Workforce Development resumes granting them, according to Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Minster Vincent …
April 23, 2021
Construction is booming, premier says
Despite the economic downturn in 2020 related to the Covid-19 pandemic, Premier Andrew Fahie called 2020 “an extremely busy year” for the construction industry in the Virgin Islands. The Town …
April 20, 2021
VI tops financial centre ranking in region
The Virgin Islands climbed four places to regain its title as the top financial centre out of 13 in the Latin America and Caribbean region in the 29th edition of …
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April 20, 2021
Premier flip-flops on port fees
Premier Andrew Fahie has abruptly reversed most of the controversial fee hikes from the BVI Ports Authority that have put the business community in an uproar. “The majority of the …
April 14, 2021
Sopers Hole is reborn
Opening a new business in the midst of a global pandemic may seem risky, but entrepreneurs in Sopers Hole, an area that has been recovering steadily from the devastation of …
April 8, 2021
Public battle over port fee hikes rages on
Opposition Leader Marlon Penn has now weighed in on the heated debate over the BVI Ports Authority’s ongoing fee increases, which have caused consternation among business owners who were already …
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April 8, 2021
Premier isolates, tests negative after Covid-19 exposure
As elected officials self-isolated due to potential exposure to Covid-19 at a Sea Cows Bay funeral and active cases rose to their highest level in months, Health and Social Development …
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April 5, 2021
Ernst & Young survey: Global profits likely up next year
A recent survey of 2,400 CEOs and other top executives in 52 countries worldwide found that most of the respondents expect revenues to return to pre-pandemic levels this year with …
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April 3, 2021
Mark Vanterpool buys Pusser’s
An iconic Virgin Islands brand has entered a new chapter. Mark Vanterpool, Fourth District representative and the owner of the One Mart chain, on Monday announced his purchase of the …
April 2, 2021
Saba Rock owner dies in Alaska copter crash
Petr Kellner was someone who knew the value of a simple glass of cold water. “I remember him bringing in a container of ice after the hurricanes,” Virgin Gorda resident …
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March 26, 2021
Commission to be “one-stop shop” for trade
Two proposed laws will reclassify businesses, up some fees, and implement new processes related to investment, work permits and trade licenses under the umbrella of the new Trade Commission, establishing …
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March 26, 2021
VI again fires back at ‘tax haven’ index
Although the Virgin Islands topped the Tax Justice Network’s “Corporate Tax Haven Index” for the second time in a row, BVI Finance swiftly struck back against the ranking, calling the …
March 23, 2021
Layoff extensions nearly over
Time is nearly up for employers who have managed to avoid paying severance to their furloughed employees for nearly a year, Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Minister Vincent Wheatley announced …
March 18, 2021
CDB: VI sees major GDP decline
The Virgin Islands experienced the fourth-highest decline in gross domestic product of the Caribbean Development Bank’s 19 borrowing member countries in 2020, according to the CDB’s Regional Report: 2020 Review …
March 18, 2021
Port fee hike being phased in
After the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association called the first planned port fee hike in at least 20 years “borderline madness,” the BVI Ports Authority is attempting to …
March 11, 2021
Territory avoids EU blacklist again
Despite threats from the European Council in the wake of Brexit, the Virgin Islands has once again escaped the latest EU blacklist of non cooperative tax jurisdictions. Instead, the EU …
