BUSINESS BRIEFS
BancWest profit up 26.7 percent
Advertiser Staff
BancWest Corp., parent company of Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, yesterday reported net income of $148.6 million for the third quarter, up 26.7 percent from the same quarter last year.
BancWest had total assets of $54.6 billion at the end of the quarter, up 32 percent from a year earlier. Loans and leases totaled $35.1 billion, up 26.2 percent. Deposits were $35.6 billion, up 25.3 percent. The increases resulted from internal growth and the acquisitions completed in the fourth quarter of 2004.
MAUI NAMED TOP PACIFIC RIM ISLE
Maui was named top Pacific Rim island in the Conde Nast Traveler's 18th annual Readers' Choice Awards, while the Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island was picked top Pacific Rim resort.
Kaua'i finished second behind Maui, the Big Island was fourth, O'ahu sixth and Lana'i seventh. The Lodge at Ko'ele on Lana'i and the Halekulani in Waikiki claimed the second and third spots on the Pacific Rim resort list.
The magazine said 28,000 readers participated in the poll.
Officials at the Maui Visitors Bureau said Maui's score in the Pacific Rim category was the highest of any island in the world, a distinction it has enjoyed 12 years running. Maui also scored higher than any other destination, followed by Sydney, Australia; Phuket, Thailand; San Francisco; Florence, Italy; and Bangkok, Thailand.
Results will be published in the November issue of Conde Nast Traveler.
BUYERS SNAP UP KO OLINA HOMES
Centex Destination Properties has secured commitments from buyers for 72 homes in the first phase of its Beach Villas at Ko Olina.
The homes are part of the 247-unit project fronting Lagoon No. 2 midway between the resort's hotel and time-share complex. The average price for the units is around $2.5 million.
Most buyers — 45 percent — were from the Mainland, 35 percent were from Hawai'i, and 25 percent were from Japan. Residents are expected to move in by early 2008.
