The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development has issued a statement to Global Forum Members regarding the recent blacklisting by European Union member countries of offshore jurisdictions, including The Bahamas, the Bahamas Financial Services Board has reported.

Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and Monica Bhatia, head of the Global Forum Secretariat, have issued a joint statement (to members of the Global Forum) on the EU blacklists released last week.

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Pictured: Commonwealth Brewery Ltd chairman Julian Francis. (Photo courtesy CBL)

Commonwealth Brewery Ltd chairman Julian Francis announced revenue of $124.2 million and plans for growth during the company’s fourth annual general meeting June 16 at the British Colonial Hilton.

Francis noted that the nation’s largest manufacturer and distributor of spirits, wine and beer was a debt-free company with ownership that included more than 3,000 Bahamians.

Revenue increased $5 million from $119 million in 2013 to $124 million in 2014, a hike of 4.2 per cent. Net income stood at $18.2 million, earnings per share were $0.61 and the company paid $18.3 million in dividends.

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ORLANDO, Fla., June 2015 /PRNewswire/ — This summer is an ideal time to travel toEurope as the U.S. dollar is nearly equal in value to the euro, helping travelers stretch their vacation budgets further. In addition to warm-weather destinations across the U.S. and Caribbean, European cities including Rome, Dublin and Paris are among AAA’s top vacation destinations this summer. According to the U.S. Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, the number of Americans traveling to Europe so far in 2015 has increased 2.4 percent over last year.

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Representatives of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism were on hand in London recently to accept the ESQR Award for management and customer service.
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NEW YORK, NY – RLTY International Marketing, the global marketing parent company of RLTY NYC has announced it has been appointed to lead sales at One Cable Beach condominiums in Nassau, The Bahamas.

In addition to several other projects by Artisto Development, One Cable Beach is a new beachfront development on New Providence.

The property offers 69 luxury condominiums, featuring one bedroom, two bedroom, and three bedroom retreats.

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Pictured: Escipion Oliveira, deputy executive director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency addresses EU-CELAC Summit 2015 in Brussels last week. (Photo courtesy Caribbean Export. Click the photo or click here to view full size)

The Caribbean region was well represented at the EU-CELAC Summit 2015 in Brussels last week where over 500 delegates from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean region convened under the theme “Promoting inclusive and sustainable growth by enhancing the role of small and medium sized enterprises”.

The event hosted by the European Commission, was attended by a delegation from the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), the regional trade, export development and investment promotions agency of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group.

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KRyS Global, a forensic accounting firm with a presence in The Bahamas, has announced the appointment of two new managing directors to its global Leadership team: Casey McDonald in the Cayman Islands and Lee Coles in its new location, Cyprus.

Both Casey and Lee have experience in conducting fraud investigations, dispute resolution and asset recovery.

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Pictured: Minister for Tourism Obie Wilchcombe with Student of The year Letitia Bullard during the Grand Bahama Academy 7th Annual Graduation Ceremony at the Our Lucaya Resort June 14, 2015. (BIS photo)

Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe was the featured speaker at the Commencement Exercise for the Grand Bahama Academy of Seventh-Day Adventists June 14, 2015.

Twenty-four persons graduated during the ceremony, which took place at the Our Lucaya Resort.

Minister Wilchcombe said he was pleased to participate in the event and noted the graduates’ achievements. He reminded the students that they can become anything their heart desires once they have the right attitude.

Letitia Bullard was named Student of The Year and Class Valedictorian.

Aristo Development, a Bahamian real estate development company, broke ground on the One Cable Beach luxury boutique residency project in Nassau, Bahamas last week.

One Cable Beach is a $40 million, 69 unit, development due to be completed in the next 20-24 months. The developers anticipate employing around 200 workers, qualified sub-contractors, and other professionals related in the field over the life of the project.

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Here follows remarks by Prime Minister Perry Christie at the official opening of The Bahamas Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland 12 June, 2015:

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