An everlasting phenomenon is that new entrepreneurs are confronted with the bottlenecks of finance assistance. A business plan is required to illustrate the idea, and the envisioned financial benefits of the new commercial venture. The bottlenecks:When a business plan is developed it gains a very general characteristic in regards to the operation. It outlines the objectives on short and medium term goals with the hypothetical measurement on how to achieve the set goals. If the financial institution does not feel at ease with the outlined “success keys” in the presented report or possible overinflated figures, it is subject to dismissal…
Author: The Publisher
Dear Mr. Editor, Please allow me some space in your newsletter to comment on the Press Release as issued by the National Alliance for the anniversary of 10-10-10. This Press Release appears to have come about as a response to the many allegations circulating on social media. These allegations refer to the many conflicts of interest that are plaguing the present Government of Sint Maarten and by extension the inhabitants that government is called to serve. Allow me first to remark that as a voter who in the last election voted for the National Alliance, I found the tone to…
A report from our Correspondent PHILIPSBURG — Long after problems started piling up for Carbon Acquisition Group (CAG) doing business as Melbon Enterprises NV, and media reports surfaced about the Court ruling in favor of clients who demanded delivery of apartments or deposits to be returned to them, several real estate agents on St. Maarten kept advertising Carbon Grove residences. Marketing and sales continued while the hillside plot and all structures on it were encumbered with mortgage from CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank. The first sales agreements for apartments and townhouses in Carbon Grove in Cole Bay were signed in 2016. …
PHILISPBURG — St. Maarten gets its liquidity loans refinanced against 3.4 percent interest while Curacao, that has refused to accept a Dutch loan to solve problems at insurance company ENNIA, will have to pay 5.1 percent. Aruba, that so far has refused to accept a law that regulates financial supervision, will have to pay 6.9 percent. This appears from a letter State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) has sent to the Dutch parliament. “Ennia’s deficit has increased to 90 percent of the so-called technical provisions and acute liquidity problems are looming,” the letter states. “A solution in the short…
PHILIPSBURG — The solution Curacao’s Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas has presented for embattled insurance company Ennia is not an entirely done deal yet, it appears from a press release issued by the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS). Pisas stated recently that Curacao will provide an annual financial injection of 30 million guilders ($16.75 million) for the next 25 years to make sure that Ennia’s life insurance branch (Ennia Caribe Leven, ECL) can continue to make its monthly payments to pensioners. Pisas also stated that the CBCs would support this effort. But the press release issued by the…
~ Antigua and Trinidad beefing over regional airline service ~ A Report by THG News Today ST. JOHN — The Antigua and Barbuda government Friday said it intends to “fight” plans by the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to expand its operations into the Eastern Caribbean at the expense of the regional airline, LIAT 2020. A statement issued following the weekly Cabinet meeting said the government had taken note “of the scaling-up of Caribbean Airlines, including the purchase of several ATR Aircraft with the expectation of placing them on routes serviced by LIAT 1974 ltd. The statement about CAL’s expansion came…
PHILIPSBURG — The Dutch loan of €600 million (1.2 billion guilders or $636 million) to Curacao and St. Maarten to save the life insurance branch of insurance company ENNIA is off the table. Curacao’s Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas stated that his government in cooperation with the government of St. Maarten will make a serious effort to guarantee the interest of 30,000 policy holder and the employees of Ennia Caribe Leven “as much as possible” without neglecting the interest of the people of Curacao. In consultation with the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) the government of Curacao has…
PHILIPSBURG — Luciano Homemade Gelato, a renowned name with 15 locations in the Netherlands and 2 in Bonaire, has recently opened a new shop in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. The opening took place on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the St. Joseph Convent Building. The event was officiated by the owner, Juul Vredenbregt, and his business partner, Luc Blok, who is also the master ice cream maker. Juul Vredenbregt, the owner and franchise holder of Luciano Sint Maarten, shared his journey that led to the opening of the Gelato parlor. He and his wife fell in love with St. Maarten during…
PHILIPSBURG — The economy of St. Maarten is roughly twice the size of that of the French part of the island, it appears from the Economic Bulletin of September, published by the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS). The report estimates size of St. Maarten’s economy to be around $1.2 billion, while that of Saint Martin is just $650 million. CBCS-estimates show that the population on the Dutch side is rapidly increasing while that on the French side is in decline. A graph shows that St. Maarten’s population increased from around 38,000 in 2015 to above 42,000 in…
PHILIPSBURG — The economies of Curacao and St. Maarten continue to recover from the corona pandemic, the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) states in its economic Bulletin of September. The first quarter of the year shows that gross domestic product (GDP) growth was driven primarily by stay-over and cruise tourism activities. In St. Maarten, growth slowed from 9.8 percent in 2022 to 3.9 percent this year and will ease further to 2.7 percent in 2024. Inflation is projected to ease across the monetary union due to an expected decline in oil and non-oil commodity prices. Inflation in…
