Premier Oil expects to raise at least £100 million in a bond offer scheduled to close on 6 December. The FTSE 250 oil and gas company, with interests in the Falkland Islands, the North Sea, and South-East Asia, said its 5% sterling bonds auction has already built a book value of at least £100 million.
Argentina has threatened oil firms seeking to operate off the Falkland Islands with 15-year jail terms, huge fines and confiscation of assets in a fresh salvo in the dispute with Britain over South Atlantic islands sovereignty. But UK reiterated that Argentine law does not apply to Falklands or British Overseas Territories.
Praise for the Falkland Islands last March referendum and encouragement for other Overseas Territories to hold similar referendums on their future, was included in the final communiqué from the annual UK/British Overseas Territories joint Ministerial Council held this week in London.
The annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) which brings together political leaders from the Overseas Territories and UK Ministers takes off in London on Tuesday, hosted by the FCO Minister for the Overseas Territories Mark Simmonds MP.
Falkland Island Holdings PLC announced on Monday that its pre-tax profit increased slightly in its first half as strong sales at the company's London-based Momart operations offset increased costs at its Falkland operations. The international services group, which focuses on transport and logistics, said its underlying profit before tax was up 14.8% to £ 1.37 million for the six months ended September 30 compared to £ 1.19 million the previous year.
The U.S. Geological Survey says a powerful magnitude-7.0 earthquake has struck in the South Atlantic, southwest of the Falkland Islands. It says the quake struck at 2:27 a.m. Monday (0627 GMT), about 314 kilometres southeast of the Falklands’ capital, Stanley, and 545 miles east of Ushuaia, Argentina. The depth was a shallow 10 kilometres.
A Falkland Islands delegation made up of two members of the Legislative Assembly, Roger Edwards and Ian Hansen will be attending the second annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Conference (JMC) in London next week. The Falkland Islands’ delegation will also include HE the Governor Nigel Haywood, Jamie Fotheringham (Head of Policy), and Sukey Cameron (Representative in UK).
One of the Falklands leading Seafood Companies, Fortuna, has invested in a pilot brown trout farm facility in the Falkland Islands. The project is lead by Simon Hardcastle, a Falkland Islander with experience of fish farming both in Scotland and in earlier projects in the Islands.
Pickets organized by the Argentine fundamentalist group Quebracho to protest the docking in the port of Buenos Aires of the Bahamas flagged cruise Seabourn Quest which includes the Falkland Islands in its route were displaced by the union of winch operators in conflict over pay, work conditions and official registry of their grouping.
Sunday 1st December 2013 marks the introduction of the new National Minimum Wage legislation for the Falkland Islands. From this date, employers are required by law to pay their workers aged 18 years and over a minimum of £5.05 per hour, equivalent to approximately 8.13 dollars (or £3.10 per hour for workers aged 16 or 17 years).