Business

Commonwealth buying local merchant bank

The MF&G building in downtown Kingston.

NEW York-based Commonwealth Partners (CWP) has inked a deal to buy a majority stake in local merchant bank, MF&G Trust Finance Limited. The recently formed private equity firm, which is led by former Financial Services Commission head Rohan Barnett, will acquire the shares from Merban Limited a ... Read More

Gaudia Chevannes-Aquart, owner of Spa Aesthetic and a partner of the Paymaster Loyalty Reward Programme, said that many small businesses in Jamaica are not able to provide insurance benefits for staff. Paymaster relaunches improved Loyalty Rewards Programme
PAYMASTER Jamaica Limited yesterday relaunched its Loyalty Rewards Programme, offering members up to ... Read More

This photo released by DreamWorks Animation shows Oh (left) (voiced by Jim Parsons) and Tip (voiced by Rihanna) in DreamWorks Animation’s Home. The movie is scheduled for release in the US on March 27, 2015. (PHOTO: AP) Jamaica can earn big money from animation
The World Bank thinks the local animation industry can grow to US$69 million ($7.7 billion) in value ... Read More

IT’S A DEAL: Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) General manager Earl Jarrett (left) and Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association President Brian Pengelley shake hands after signing a US$50-million deal that will grant JMA members easier access to foreign exchange through a ‘Special Member FX Window’ established by JNBS that will set aside US$10 million per month, for five months, for small and medium-sized manufacturers. (PHOTO: TYRONE SIMMS) JMA/JNBS open FX window for businesses
The Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA) has inked a US$50-million deal with Jamaica National Bu ... Read More

ATL now authorised Daikin dealer in the Caribbean

BY TERRON DEWAR Business reporter dewart@jamaicaobserver.com | Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

ATL Group Managing Director Danville Walker (left) welcomes Daikin Applied Latin America Caribbean Sales Manager Juan Carlos Gonzalez.

APPLIANCE Traders Limited (ATL) is now the authorised dealer for Daikin applied systems in the Caribbean. The announcement was made on July 18 by Danville Walker, managing director of the ATL Group, as he introduced the newly crafted ATL engineering team that he said "will strengthen the service delivery that ATL is famous for, while ensuring that we have depth on our bench in the engineering department". This partnership will see ATL distributing variant refrigerant volume (VRV), direct expan ... Read More

Pay your taxes, JMA head tells businesses

Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

JMA President Brian Pengelley addressing Monday’s press conference. (PHOTO: TYRONE SIMMS)

Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA) President Brian Pengelley had nothing but unsettling words for business operators who choose not to pay their taxes. Tax evasion, Pengelley insisted, creates ripple effects that result in some of Jamaica's biggest problems. "Look, if we are going to work our way out of things... [in an effort] to improve this country, every single person and business must pay taxes," Pengelley said in his address at a JMA press conference to unveil a US$50-million foreign exchange (F ... Read More

Drought hits business owners

BY KARENA BENNETT Business reporter bennettk@jamaicaobserver.com | Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

The NWC’s restriction on the washing of vehicles with piped water has forced car wash operators to buy the commodity from trucks.

AS Jamaica's dry spell continues, some business owners are now forced to dig deeper in their pockets to purchase trucked water to continue operations. According to the operators, since the start of the drought they have received little or no water from the National Water Commission (NWC) and are forced to resort to trucking water. Andrew Osbourne, owner of A&C Décor at Baron's Plaza, Constant Spring Road, explained that he has already seen an increase of 116 per cent in his water bi ... Read More

NCB reports 2Q $2.9b net profit

Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

The NCB branch in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew. The bank has reported that its performance for the six months ended March 31, 2014 reflects strong growth in key areas such as loans, deposits, net interest income as well as improvement in key performance ratios such as return on average assets, return on average equity and earnings per share.

National Commercial Bank (NCB) made $2.9 billion in net profit for its second quarter ending March or three-quarters more year on year, led by foreign currency gains and investment activities. Foreign currency and investment activities skyrocketed to $344 million from a loss of $728 million in the quarter ending March 2013. The bank blamed the hit it took on the National Debt Exchange (NDX) last year for the losses recorded. "Gain on foreign currency and investment activities increased by $440 ... Read More

LIME Ja praised for 37% increase in 1Q mobile revenues

BY STEVEN JACKSON Business reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com | Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

The LIME store on Half-Way-Tree Road in St Andrew. LIME’s parent company, Cable & Wireless Communications, has reported that LIME Jamaica’s growth was driven by continued strong subscriber additions in Jamaica, where revenue grew 34 per cent at constant currency.

CABLE & Wireless Communications (CWC), the parent company of LIME, has lauded the Jamaica operations for achieving June 2014 first-quarter growth in mobile revenues up 37 per cent over year earlier levels. The results beat the other LIME operations across the region. The Jamaica operation's mobile subscriber base increased by double-digit levels since it launched marketing campaigns facilitated by regulatory rate cuts a year ago. "Mobile revenue was up 4.0 per cent across the group in the ... Read More

PHOTO: Rush on Active Yard Sale

Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

RUSH ON ACTIVE YARD SALE

Shoppers sprint to be the first to grab great deals in Active Home Centre's first Annual Yard Sale held last Sunday at the company's Constant Spring Road location. The home enhancement retailer offered discounts up to 75 per cent off on new, overstocked, slightly damaged and showroom display items including tiles, bathroom fixtures, furniture, lighting, windows and doors. Read More

NCB honours 259 long-serving staff members

Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

Maxia Fairweather, senior relationship manager, Corporate Banking Division, receives her award for 25 years’ service from Dennis Cohen, group finance and deputy managing director.

National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB) last Thursday honoured 259 employees for service ranging from 10 to 40 years. The 2014 Long Service Awards was held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston and formed part of what the bank said was its ongoing efforts to recognise and reward its human resource. The awardees, who represented different branches, business lines and subsidiaries across the NCB group of companies, expressed pride and fulfilment resulting from their long association w ... Read More

IDB praises Ja for leadership in regional venture capital market

Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

Venture Capital Programme Project Co-ordinator Audrey Richards (right) outlines the programme for the Venture Capital Conference to be held in September, at a press conference hosted by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) in Kingston. Others are (from left) Milverton Reynolds, DBJ managing director; Joe Matalon, DBJ chairman; and Therese Turner- Jones, Inter-American Development Bank country representative in Jamaica.

Jamaica has jumped ahead of the English-speaking Caribbean in development of a venture capital industry, earning the effusive praise of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). "Other Caribbean countries can learn from what Jamaica is doing," said Therese Turner-Jones, the IDB country representative in Jamaica. "The partnership that exists between the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the private sector can be used as a model by other countries seeking to establish a venture capital indus ... Read More

Operational changes improve efficiency at JN, says Jarrett

Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

A JNBS representative assisting a member.

The Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) says several measures, including rationalisation of some of its rural locations and upgrades to its systems, assisted in improving operational efficiency and enhanced the banking experience of its members and customers. According to General Manager Earl Jarrett, JNBS returned to pre-NDX performance with a surplus of $1.8 billion and an increase in group assets to $162.4 billion from $144.6 billion. Surplus for the previous financial year was just ove ... Read More

Strong euro, taxes take bite out of Puma results

Wednesday, July 30, 2014    

Usain Bolt wearing a Puma track top.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — Puma, the German maker of sportswear and equipment, said yesterday that its sales and profit dropped in the second quarter due to currency pressures and a heavy tax bill. But the world's number-three sports supplier, which works with Jamaican track superstar Usain Bolt and British football club Arsenal, said it would be able to maintain its full-year forecast. Net profit for the period from April to June sank 78 per cent from last year to 4.0 million euros (US$ ... Read More



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