03012017 business by tribune242

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017

$4.20 Bank chief: ‘Room for improvement’ on customer relations By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Clearing Banks Association’s (CBA) chairman has conceded there is “room for improvement” in the industry’s relationship with its customers, adding that it needs to show Bahamians that they receive “value for money”. Ian Jennings, who is also Commonwealth Bank’s president, told Tribune Business that commercial banks were “challenged” by consumer misperceptions, especially over the level of bank fee charges. Speaking after he met Jerome Gomez, the Consumer Protection Commission’s (CPC) chairman, last Friday to discusss the findings of the organisation’s consumer survey on bank fees, Mr Jennings acknowledged that the sector needed to “better educate” consumers on how the industry operates. The Commission’s survey found that 72.7 per cent of Bahamians surveyed felt the bank fees/charges associated with their accounts were inappropriate for the services received, while 82.6 per cent of respond-

Industry ‘challenged’ by misperceptions over fees Determined to show offering ‘value for money’ Focused on education, reducing ‘dissatisfaction’

The FNM’s deputy leader yesterday warned that Freeport’s new ‘tax breaks’ regime was unsettling the city’s major industrial investors, and urged: “We need less government, not more.” K P Turnquest, the east Grand Bahama MP, told Tribune Business that the Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act 2016 was further unnerving the industrial sector at a time when global forces were causing them to reevaluate their presence in Freeport. While not naming the companies involved, Mr Turnquest said they had spoken to him “unofficially” to express their concerns over

The Clearing Banks Association (CBA) says any industry gains from fee rises have been more than offset by Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) imposition and the multi-million dollar Business Licence fee increases. Ian Jennings, responding to a Central Bank survey that found some commercial bank fees increased by up to 43 per cent on “a significant number of services” in the 2016 first half, said the income generated paled in comparison to the sector’s increased tax burden. Mr Jennings, who is also

$4.23

Carnival cruise port’s ‘kiss of death’ for GB By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A beach park investor yesterday warned that Carnival’s $200 million Grand Bahama cruise port will be “the kiss of death” for himself and other Bahamian entrepreneurs, with the project threatening to suck away 90 per cent of his customer base. David Wallace, a principal in the all-Bahamian group that has invested more than $1 million to develop the Pirates Cove Water Theme Park, said they

Pirates Cove chief: $1m project may ‘wither and die’ Fears loss of 90% of customer base to new facility Bahamians ‘back to employees from entrepreneurs’ Urges Govt to ‘review and rethink’ $200m project

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Ian Jennings ents believed there were too many fees. Mr Jennings, though, suggested that most persons See pg b6

Uncertainty, extra cost, bureaucracy at worst time Global changes already causing Freeport evaluation FNM deputy: ‘We need less Govt, not more’ an incentive regime that requires them to apply to the Government for renewal of tax breaks long enjoyed under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. “The industrials are now expressing concern as to what it means for them,” Mr See pg b6

Banks: Fee increases offset by taxation rise By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

$4.22

and other Freeport-based entrepreneurs will “wither and die” if Carnival shifts exclusively to its own facility. With Carnival’s vessels likely to bypass Freeport by sailing directly to the cruise line’s private port in east Grand Bahama, Mr Wallace said hundreds of jobs in Freeport - and thousands of dependents - were threatened by potential loss of employment and jobs. Estimating that 200 taxi drivers, and at least 400500 employees in businesses ranging from tour operators, excursion providers,

straw vendors to Port Lucaya retailers may be impacted, Mr Wallace urged the Christie administration to “rethink and reconsider” the Carnival project at the 11th hour. “Based on what we’ve been hearing, we’re beginning our fact-finding to find out, one, if they [the Government] have approved this port and, if they have, there should be some consultation with persons on Grand Bahama, in particular those persons greatly affected by this new cruise port,” Mr Wallace See pg b4

Bran: No VAT need if tax cheat offensive implemented earlier

Freeport tax breaks regime ‘unsettling’ industrial investors By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

$4.24

CBA chief: Burden more than revenues generated Commonwealth license up $5m; absorbing $1m VAT Price controls, regulation ‘can’t affect market forces’ Commonwealth Bank’s president, told Tribune Business that he “took the opportunity to point out See pg b5

The Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader yesterday argued that the Bahamas “would not have needed Value-Added Tax” (VAT) had successive governments cracked down on tax cheats and enacted other key reforms years ago. Branville McCartney told Tribune Business that the Government’s own forecast of realising an extra $400 million within two years via its clampdown on tax dodgers suggested there would have been no need for VAT had it acted earlier. “It should have happened prior to VAT, and should have happened some time back,” Mr McCartney said of the

DNA leader blames successive Govts for new tax Fears ‘desperate’ Govt will ‘spend the last dollar’ Daunting task’ for next administration tax evasion ‘crackdown’ that started in November 2016. Adding that he “agreed 100 per cent” with those who believe VAT would not have been needed had such policies been implemented by previous governments, the DNA leader

said: “I’ve always said that had the Government done several things, this government and previous administrations, we would not have needed VAT. Branville “That was to McCartney ensure we collected our due taxes, stop the wastage, jumpstart the economy and cut down on the corruption. We would not have needed VAT. VAT is here because of this and the previous administration. They are the reason for VAT coming into play.” See pg b5

PAGE 2, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Commonwealth unveils flat $57m profit for 2016 Commonwealth Bank yesterday unveiled a flat 2016 financial performance, with net income of $57.4 million just 0.7 per cent below prior year figures. The BISX-listed commercial bank, which specialises in personal and consumer lending, said total assets had increased by 4.8 per cent to hit $1.6 billion at year-end, based on unaudited figures. Disclosing a solid rather than spectacular year-overyear performance, Commonwealth Bank’s return on assets (ROA) ratio was 3.36 per cent, just below 2015’s 3.51 per cent. Its earnings per share (EPS) matched prior year performance at $0.54, while and return on equity (ROE) dropped from 21.13 per cent to 24.89 per cent. Commonwealth Bank said in a statement that the decrease in ROA and ROE resulted from a moderately reduced growth rate for its assets and equity, respectively, while net income was virtually unchanged. “Through continued reinforcement of the bank’s longstanding business model, coupled with a conservative risk assessment process and a sound credit administration programme, we were able to effectively weather the economic headwinds

experienced during 2016,” said executive chairman, William B. Sands, Jr.. He added that the bank had continued its strong tradition of dividend distribution to shareholders, as it paid out total dividends of more than $35 million in 2016 ($0.36 per share) to ordinary shareholders. That figure included $5.9 million from 2015 earnings. Commonwealth Bank also paid quarterly dividends totalling $5.1 million to preference shareholders. With a non-performing loan ratio of 4.22 per cent, the bank continued to report credit delinquencies that were much lower than the industry average of 12.32 per cent. In the 2016 fourth quarter, Commonwealth Bank introduced its chip-enabled VISA debit card, which offers an improved level of security and convenience to customers. With the new debit card, customers are able to perform point-of-sales and ATM transactions both in the Bahamas and internationally. To date, customer acceptance and use of the debit card has been encouraging.

THE TRIBUNE

Realtor grows in Hope Town Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty is expanding into larger premises in Hope Town, Abaco. The new Hope Town office, located on Gilliam Street, is a renovation of the familiar Ebb Tide building, and is one of four Abacobased Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty offices. The others are Guana Cay, Marsh Harbour and

Treasure Cay. Existing agents, Jane Patterson and Kerry Sullivan, will be joined by Laurie Schreiner and new agent, Shane Cash, at the Hope Town location. They have more than 70 years of combined property experience between them. The launch party for the new office was attended by Hope Town Council member, Don Cash, who said: “It’s exciting to see the continued growth of the real estate market in Hope Town. “I am excited that I could be here to celebrate this exciting new development with Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty, and the Hope Town community. As one of the most esteemed names in Bahamian real estate, we look forward to their ongoing and continued success and progress here, and the positive effect it will have on the town as a whole.” Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty’s presi-

dent, George Damianos, said of the expansion: “Our team is unparalleled in their industry knowledge, and we’re looking forward to combining the unrivalled knowledge of our existing agents with new energy in this office to showcase the unique range of property available throughout Hope Town. “The Sotheby’s name is

synonymous with exceptional expertise and quality, and being part of the Sotheby’s network provides us with extensive reach to advertise properties to the global market and secure strong contacts in the real estate market worldwide, putting us in an ideal position to market Hope Town property to the global real estate community.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, March 1, 2017, PAGE 3

Abaco airport put on ‘cutting edge’

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet Minister said yesterday that the Nassau Airport Development Company’s (NAD) operator will bring “cutting edge” airport management to Abaco’s primary gateway, and ultimately create more opportunities for Bahamians in aviation management. Glenys Hanna Martin, minister of transport and aviation, was speaking following the signing of a 4.5year agreement between the Airport Authority and Vantage Bahamas, the local subsidiary of Vancouver-based Vantage Airport Group. The company, which has provided executive management services for the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) since 2007, will now also provide technical expertise to the Leonard M. Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour. “LPIA began the foray for the Bahamas into pro-

NAD operator to provide technical expertise to island’s main gateway fessional airport management, particularly larger airports, with significant passenger throughput,” Mrs Hanna Martin said. “Marsh Harbour is a significant airport. It’s been open for a while, but in order to really bring the sort of cutting edge airport management profile that is required in airports that are viable, competitive and, to some extent, self-sustaining you have to bring a singular specialised focus. “Airport management is a singular specialised area,” she added. “The intent is to bring in technical support so that we can build local professional, technical expertise. “We’re not transplanting in persons as we did at LPIA initially. People are coming in only to support, strengthen and develop Ba-

Leonard M. Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour. hamians in these positions, as well as create new opportunities. We are likely to be engaging personnel to fill niche areas in the airport.” Under the contract with Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, technical teams from NAD will be deployed on short and long-term assignments to Marsh Harbour to share best practices and provide guidance to the airport’s management team. The Airport Author-

ity will continue to manage day-to-day operations at Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, including maintenance of the 51,000 square foot terminal facility and runway, manage parking facilities and all commercial operations at the airport. Anthony McKinney, the Airport Authority’s chairman, said: “Through this partnership with Vantage Bahamas we are committing to developing a fully

Bahamian team capable of guiding the airport to international operating and service standards. “We want Abaconians to continue to be proud of their airport. It will serve as a model for future aviation growth in the Family Island sector. We’re pleased to have the backing from NAD, as the team will provide technical support on behalf of Vantage. From a financial perspective, all of this will be done on a cost-

‘Bank on something called NHI’ by April By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A well-known physician yesterday said Bahamians can “bank on something called NHI” being rolled-out in the first week of April 2017, although he expressed serious doubt over the level of healthcare industry readiness. Dr Duane Sands, the FNM’s candidate for Elizabeth, told Tribune Business: “I think that this is an issue of definitions. Something will be done. Whether or not it makes any sense, whether or not it is a chaotic, confused mess, will not matter. “They’re [the Government] going to roll-out something and call it NHI. They have come up with an arbitrary deadline and they are not going to go beyond that deadline. The fact that very little is in place doesn’t matter. “This was a promise made by the Government. It was supposed to happen in the first year and it didn’t happen. It was supposed to happen in January 2016, then 2017. Now we have another deadline with an election looming. You can bank on it; something called NHI is going to be rolled out the first week in April.” At the end of January, the National Health Insurance (NHI) Secretariat announced the launch of the scheme’s primary care physician registration. NHI will be rolled out in five phases, according to government officials, beginning with the registration phase, which started last year with the issuance of the new NIB smart cards.

That phase is followed by the enrollment, primary healthcare coverage, select catastrophic coverage, and full benefits coverage phases, respectively, according to the NHI website. Primary care services under NHI were set to begin in April 2016. However, days before the roll-out, Dr Perry Gomez, minister of health, said it would be delayed by six months. The Government later set January 2017 as the target date, and last week Prime Minister Perry Christie said NHI would be rolled-out during the first week in April.

“It’s not the idea, it’s not the concept, it is the inability to bring these ideas to life that has been the challenge,” said Dr Sands. “We don’t even have a public insurer identified. April 1 is just weeks away. You have to set up a public insurer and sign up all of the providers. Then you have to enroll patients with particular providers.” According to the NHI Secretariat, three bids were received from unnamed Bahamian and international groups to manage the public insurer. “Let’s say you have 200

doctors and let’s say you have 100,000 patients; someone is going to have to assign those 100,000 patients to those doctors that are signed up,” Dr Sands added.

“Imagine the logistics nightmare. How do you know which provider is supposed to see which patient? Everything that we do, particularly when we’re spending hard-earned pub-

recovery basis.” Vernice Walkine, NAD’s president and chief executive, said: “This is a great opportunity for the NAD team to develop and grow. Bahamian talent will be deployed with the expectation that this transfer of knowledge will enable Leonard M. Thompson International Airport to operate at the same world-class standards that are applied at our airport here in Nassau. “It’s an excellent environment for career development within our team and speaks to the growth of the industry over the past decade.” In 2014, the government completed a $30 million upgrade to the Marsh Harbour facilities. The airport was officially renamed in July 2016 after Abaco-native and World War II veteran, Captain Leonard M. Thompson, who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Currently, the airport processes more than 125,000 passengers annually. lic funds taken form the Bahamian people, we ought to ensure that Bahamians get value for money. “Conceptually it’s a great idea. We want to improve the quality of healthcare for our people, but every technocrat would acknowledge that they are not ready.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Carnival cruise port’s ‘kiss of death’ for GB From pg B1 told Tribune Business. “We’re going to begin some dialogue with the Government, the Port Authority and the [Freeport] Harbour Company to understand the economic implications moving this port will have on Grand Bahama. “Possibly 200 taxi drivers will be affected, and maybe 400 - possibly close to 500 employees - will be affected by this move.” Besides Pirates Cove and other beach destination and excursion providers, Mr Wallace said the likes of UNEXSO, Port Lucaya Marketplace vendors, jet ski and water sports providers will all suffer a loss of business should Carnival switch its routes from Freeport to east Grand Bahama. “I’m not sure the Government has given serious thought to the implications of this,” he added of the Carnival project. “If Carnival was seeking to put a cruise port in an island that does not have a port, fine, but we have a port that’s been around for 50 years, and where many Bahamians have taken their life savings to invest in businesses down by the harbour.” Mr Wallace told Tribune Business that if the proposed east Grand Bahama port followed the example of Carnival’s Great Turks facility, where it exercised total control, including over the retail offerings and all passenger activities, “it will take Bahamians back to the position of employees, and not entrepreneurs”. He added: “Persons like myself and others in this group, who have just invest-

ed over $1 million in a water park on the beach, will be left to wither and die. “Four to five groups on the beach, not directly on the harbour, will be impacted directly.” Mr Wallace said Pirates Cove, and its water park and zip line activities, typically attracted 300 to 500 visitors whenever one of Carnival’s cruise ships was in port at Freeport Harbour for the day. He added that the cruise line generated “pretty close to about 90 per cent” of his destination’s customer traffic, highlighting the potentially devastating economic consequences that could result from the eastern Grand Bahama cruise port. “Right now, it will be the kiss of death to Grand Bahama,” Mr Wallace told Tribune Business of the Carnival project. With the island’s tourism economy already reeling from the Memories and Grand Lucayan closures, and the Vacation Express pull-out that has cost the island 30 per cent of its summer visitor business, he added that the cruise port will be “the final straw that kills Freeport and Grand Bahama from a cruise perspective”. “We need the Government to seriously review, rethink and reconsider this cruise port proposal,” Mr Wallace said. Prime Minister Perry Christie has said publicly, both in the House of Assembly and at PLP rallies, that the signing of the cruise port agreement between the Government and Carnival is imminent. Last Friday, he told his

cruise ships in the Port of Nassau. party’s candidates ratification rally that his administration was working out the final details prior to the signing with Carnival, something the Government will likely be eager to conclude ahead of the upcoming general election. Mr Christie and his have said the agreement with Carnival provides for retail, restaurant and tour/excursion activities at the new cruise port to be owned and operated by Bahamians. However, with no deal finalised, and its contents yet to be disclosed to the public, it is impossible to determine whether the agreement will be beneficial to Bahamians - both from an employment and entrepreneurial perspective. Carnival has been searching for its own Bahamas cruise port/private island for some time, as it seeks to match rival cruise lines who already possess such facilities. This desire appears to match the Christie administration’s recent cruise port drive, the Government having already sealed a similar deal with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to turn Ocean Cay into its own private facility. The Government appears to be trying to strengthen

the Bahamas’ competitive position with the cruise ship industry, given the potential threat posed by Cuba’s opening to US tourists. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) have all unveiled itineraries that involve cruises to, and overnight stays in, Havana, with the latter having dropped Nassau and Freeport as stops as a result on 25 cruises during the 2017 second half. The Government likely believes that these private island deals will help tie the cruise lines to the Bahamas in the wake of Cuba’s opening, giving them a reason to keep on coming to this nation. However, John Rolle, the Central Bank governor, recently said cruise passenger volumes were not the best measurement of the industry’s economic impact on the Bahamas. And there is a growing suspicion that the economic benefits from private cruise ports/islands are tilted towards the cruise lines, rather than the Bahamas. Mr Wallace told Tribune Business that with the Carnival port located an hour to one-and-a-half hour’s drive from Freeport, there would be little to no incen-

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tive for passengers to visit the city as they will have to spend three hours out of an eight-hour stay in port on the road. As a result, he said taxi drivers would no longer receive the $7 per head charged to take cruise passengers from Freeport Harbour to activities in the city. Should they take just 10 passengers on a round-trip, Mr Wallace said this amounted to $140 per day in fares for the drivers. He called on Obie Wilchcombe, minister of tourism, and Dr Michael Darville, minister of Grand Bahama, along with all Grand Bahama MPs to intervene “on behalf of the thousands of persons affected by this move. “I call on the Prime Minister to do the honourable thing, and come to Grand Bahama to meet with the persons greatly affected by this cruise port, them and their families,” Mr Wallace said. “Have everyone affected to a meeting with the Prime Minister. Let him hear from 800 people and the straw operators.” Mr Wallace said other tour and excursion providers shared his concerns, but were likely afraid to speak out because they all held existing contracts with Carnival, whereas he did not. He added that the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce was receptive to the sector’s concerns, though, and a meeting will be held this Thursday to determine how best to engage the Government and Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) over the Carnival project. Mr Wallace also called on Carnival to “do what is right for Grand Bahama”, arguing that it had “a moral obligation” to look out for the interests of Bahamians and local entrepreneurs given

the benefits provided by the island to cruise lines over multiple decades. Alluding to an economic model that favoured the cruise lines, he added: “Many vendors are struggling to keep their doors open because of the percentage they [the cruise lines] seek to take out of tours.” Mr Wallace also recalled how Grand Bahama was “near death” in Hurricane Matthew’s aftermath, when the cruise lines stopped called on Freeport for a month, and how many providers re-opened at great personal expense. “The Port Authority was calling everybody with a business on the beach to try and get them up and running, so passengers could visit a place of normalcy,” Mr Wallace said. “Many persons stretched their financial capacity and re-opened without insurance money, as they had yet to get settlements, to get the cruise ships back here. When the ships returned for the first time, it was like Christmas for the taxi drivers and others.” Pirates Cove employs 30 persons. Apart from Mr Wallace, its investors include Ivan Cartwright, Wendal Grant II, Philip Galanis, Clarence Wallace, Theresa Grant-Missick and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, all of whom are partners in Arawak Adventure and Commercial Tours Ltd. The Government is likely to be deeply reluctant to reconsider the Carnival project at this late stage, though, given that it went to great lengths to obtain Hutchison Whampoa’s consent to waiving Freeport Harbour Company’s port ‘exclusivity’ on Grand Bahama.

NOTICE

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION FRANCE LIMITED ________________________________________

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION VIETNAM LIMITED

________________________________________

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TURKEY (ONSHORE) LIMITED ________________________________________

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by The Registrar General on the 20th day of February, 2017.

Dated the 1st day of March, A.D., 2017.

R. W. Rice Liquidator of EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION FRANCE LIMITED

R. W. Rice Liquidator of EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION VIETNAM LIMITED

R. W. Rice Liquidator of EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TURKEY (ONSHORE) LIMITED

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, notice is hereby given that:-

LOLI POLI LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on 6th February, 2017.

ALMOND CLUSTERS LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on 1st February, 2017.

BREEZY ACRES LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on 1st February, 2017.

C. B. Strategy Ltd. Liquidator

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, notice is hereby given that:-

NIGHT IRIS LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on 1st February, 2017.

SCOODER INC. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on 6th February, 2017.

FROSH TOSH LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on 1st February, 2017.

C. B. Strategy Ltd. Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, March 1, 2017, PAGE 5

Bran: No VAT need if tax cheat offensive implemented earlier From pg B1 VAT has become the Government’s main revenue generator, producing more than $1 billion in new taxes during its first 21 months, due largely to its self-enforcing paper trail and the onus being placed on the private sector to collect it. The filings by the 6,000plus VAT registrants are now playing a key role in the crackdown on tax cheats, as the Government - having a much better handle on economic activity oc-

curring in the Bahamas - is able to compare the figures to companies’ Business License payments, and detect any discrepancies. Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, told a Chamber forum last month that the clampdown had generated an extra $15 million in revenue per month on New Providence alone since its launch. The initiative was likely undertaken only after the Government realised the extent of the ‘hole’ blown

in its finances by Hurricane Matthew. However, the results to-date, and Mr Wilson’s forecast of $400 million in extra revenues within two years, have prompted some observers to suggest - like Mr McCartney - that VAT would not have been necessary had the Government undertaken serious tax enforcement decades ago. Mr McCartney, meanwhile, said the Government would “no doubt” seek to blame the $314.2 million deficit incurred during the 2016-2017 fiscal year’s first half on Hurricane Matthew. He argued instead that the causes were numerous, and said: “The Government has failed to reduce their spending, and all the international agencies have

said they must rein in their spending. “The Government has failed to take heed. They’ve been fiscally irresponsible. They’ve failed to deal with the deficit, and the wastage coupled with the corruption. All of these add to the figures we see today.” The DNA leader added his voice to those expressing concern that rather than try and rein in the deficit, and curb spending, during the 2016-2017 fiscal year’s second half, the Christie administration may be tempted to increase it ahead of the upcoming general election. “This government is desperate,” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business. “They will do anything and everything, including

Trump orders review of Obama rule protecting small streams WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order mandating a review of an Obama-era rule aimed at protecting small streams and wetlands from development and pollution, fulfilling a campaign promise while earning the ire of environmental groups. The order, signed at the White House Tuesday, instructs the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to review a rule that redefined “waters of the United States” protected under the Clean Water Act to include smaller creeks and wetlands. The order asks the heads of the agencies to publish a proposed rule rescinding or revising the waters rule for notice and comment — the first step in what is likely to be a yearslong administrative review process that many expect to end up at the Supreme Court. At a White House signing ceremony, the president called the rule, which has never been implemented because of a series of lawsuits, “one of the worst examples of federal regulation” that he said “has truly run amok.”

“It’s been a disaster,” he went on, claiming that the EPA had decided it could regulate “nearly every puddle or every ditch on a farmer’s land or any place else that they decide.” Trump had railed against the water rule during his campaign, slamming it as an example of federal overreach. Farmers and landowners have criticized the rule, saying there are already too many government regulations that affect their businesses, and Republicans have been working to thwart it since its inception. But Democrats have argued that it safeguards drinking water for millions of Americans and clarifies confusion about which streams, tributaries and wetlands should be protected in the wake of decades-long uncertainty despite two Supreme Court rulings. The president has promised to dramatically scale back regulations that he says are holding back businesses, and has signed several orders aimed at that goal. Despite the outcry over the rule, it has never taken

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that WENSUN METINOR of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 1st day of March, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas. LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE TECHNO STAR INVESTMENTS LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, TECHNO STAR INVESTMENTS LTD. is in dissolution as of February 27th, 2017. INKA FARHANA BINTE JEFFERY situated at Blk 145 Tampines Street 12 #09-346 Singapore 521145, is the Liquidator. ______________________ LI Q U I DAT O R

Yesterday President Donald Trump speaks as he signs the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) executive order, in the Roosevelt Room in the White House in Washington, which directs the Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which expands the number of waterways that are federally protected under the Clean Water Act. (AP Photo)

effect because of lawsuits filed by Republican attorneys general and large agriculture companies. Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club have said they will sue to fight any attempt by the Trump administration to roll back the rule. Thaddeus Lightfoot, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney who has been practicing environmental law for almost 30 years, likened the order to a “paper tweet” that on a practical level will have no immediate impact. “The only way to unwind it or roll it back or rescind it or modify it,” he said, is

to go through the lengthy federal rulemaking process laid out in the federal Administrative Procedure Act. He said the process will likely takes months or years, and will likely include further legal action. He expects the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue during the current session. Trump was welcomed to the signing ceremony by applause from a group of farmers, home builders, county commissioners and lawmakers he’d invited to the White House for the occasion. He was also joined by newly-confirmed EPA chief, Scott Pruitt.

spending the last dollar, to try and stay in power. It won’t work.” He added that the next administration, regardless of which party wins the election, could be faced with having just weeks to prepare a Budget on the back of fiscal year where $600 million-plus in ‘red ink’ has been incurred. “The next government is going to be faced with a daunting task, trying to rebuild the economy in light of the spending going on now,” Mr McCartney said. “This government is going to leave the country in perhaps one of the weakest states in the last 50 years. “The figures don’t lie. The new government is going to have to be very honest and open with the Baha-

mian people and show them how we got here.” Pointing out that the Government’s fiscal projections “have not been accurate” since it took office in May 2012, Mr McCartney expressed concern that the international rating agencies may again downgrade the Bahamas’ creditworthiness if the nation remains on its present fiscal track. “It’s downright scary; it’s scary where we are, and these guys want to govern again,” the DNA leader told Tribune Business. “We have a broken economy. It has not been stimulated by this government, which has not done anything to ensure it bounces back.”

Banks: Fee increases offset by taxation rise From pg B1 that we had a very significant increase in Business License” fees when he met Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) chairman, Jerome Gomez, last week to discuss the latter’s consumer survey on banking fees. While unable to speak for other commercial banks, Mr Jennings said Commonwealth Bank alone suffered a $5 million hit when the Business License fee rise was imposed on January 1, 2015. “The increase in [consumer] fees we implemented was $0.5 million, so we were down $4.5 million from that,” he told Tribune Business. And, with the “majority” of banking activities treated as VAT ‘exempt, Mr Jennings said Commonwealth Bank also has to absorb a $1 million annual hit from VAT. “To say bank fees increased 30-40 per cent, you’re ignoring that license fees went up by several million dollars and VAT was about $1 million,” he added. “If you take the percentage of license fees, they increased more significantly than the amount of revenues.” Responding to Mr Gomez’s previous suggestion that more competition was required in the commercial banking sector, Mr Jennings refuted this, arguing that competition was “maybe not always seen” as the commercial banks oper-

ated in various niches. The CBA chairman said he had also informed Mr Gomez that the proposed Credit Bureau Bill and legislation to regulate money lenders were “equally as important” as the Homeowners Protection Bill for economic and social stability. He argued that both pieces of legislation, which the Government appears not to prioritise as highly as the Homeowners Protection Bill, are essential if the Bahamas is to “get on top of the bad credit position” that saw commercial bank loans arrears peak at over $1.2 billion, or more than $1 out of every $5 lent. Mr Jennings said banks and other lending institutions would be able to better assess borrower risk via the credit histories ultimately made accessible by the Credit Bureau. And regulating money lenders would also bring the likes of furniture stores and auto dealers into the lending mainstream, enabling banks to be aware of credit they had extended to borrowers. “We don’t want to get to the position where we have overly burdensome regulation and price controls affecting market forces, but at the same time we have to demonstrate we are offering value for the products and services banks offer,” Mr Jennings told Tribune Business.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Bank chief: ‘Room for improvement’ on customer relations From pg B1 would say bank fees were too high “no matter what”, with public opinions failing to account for the level of investment financial institutions made to develop products and services in a small consumer market. “A lot of the challenge for the banks is public perceptions,” he told Tribune Business. “There’s a perception that the banks sit around the table where we agree the fees, when we don’t. “Each bank has different cost structures and objectives, and we charge on

that. People have different structures.” Explaining this point, Mr Jennings said that as a Bahamian-owned and centric bank, Commonwealth Bank incurred all its overhead costs in this nation, whereas the likes of Scotiabank, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and CIBC FirstCaribbean were able to spread these across several countries. He added that the “initial investment” in developing, then offering, banking products and services tended to be significant, and the Bahamas’ relatively small

Freeport tax breaks regime ‘unsettling’ industrial investors From pg B1 this thing is going to affect them. “They’re already evaluating their value proposition, and whether Grand Bahama continues to remain a viable location for them for other reasons; where global changes have caused them to question whether this is still the right spot for them to be. “When you add in this bureaucracy and things that are going on, people are questioning where this is going to end.” Mr Turnquest’s comments imply that the Government is seeking to implement the Act, and its accompanying regulations, at the worst possible time for some of Freeport’s key industrial investors. Companies such as Pharmachem, Polymers International and Buckeye Partners (BORCO) have been a vital mainstay of the city’s economy, propping it up and preventing the ‘bottom falling out’ amid the tourism industry turmoil over the past 13 years. However, the May 4, 2015, expiration of the real property tax, income and capital gains tax exemptions

previously embedded in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement has afforded the Government the opportunity to bring these incentives directly under its control. It has done this by passing the Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act 2016 last year, and tabling the accompanying regulations (although not gazzetting them to bring them into legal effect) in the House of Assembly earlier this year. All Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licensees, including Freeport’s major industrial conglomerates, now have to apply to the Government for the renewal of those three key tax breaks. This has seemingly introduced extra bureaucracy and costs, and uncertainty over whether licensees will actually receive the incentives, as this – together with the amount and duration – has been left to the discretion of the Investments Board and responsible minister. Key questions also remain unanswered, the chief one being whether the Act ‘locks in’ all licensees to maintaining existing staff-

THE TRIBUNE

size as a 350,000-person country meant returns took time to accumulate. “You need scale to operate banks efficiently, so you can’t have small banks,” Mr Jennings added. “When it comes down to it, 300,000 to 350,000 people in the Bahamas is a very small market, and we need volume.” Suggesting that many Bahamian consumers failed to account for this background when assessing bank fees, the CBA chairman said of many criticisms: “It’s a lack of understanding.” Still, Mr Jennings acknowledged that there were things the commercial banks could do to improve communication with their clients, such as “standardising” where their lists of fees/charges were located on their web pages. Some 64 per cent of re-

spondents to the Commission’s survey alleged they never received warnings of increases, while another 12.4 per cent said they “rarely” received them 15.6 per cent “sometimes” got them. “All the banks have fee schedules on their websites,” Mr Jennings added. “We could standardise where things are in the web pages. You find in many cases that the small things are important details. “It’s an important part of communication and dialogue. Customer service is important to the banks, and obviously we realise we can’t please everyone, but we’d like to please as many as we can and for people to think they can get value for money for the services and products we offer. “It’s one of the areas the

CBA is looking at: To educate the public, so customers can choose services between the banks.” Mr Jennings questioned the significance of the Consumer Protection Commission’s survey, pointing out that it was not “a statistical” endeavour where respondents were selected at random, but asked to send in their views. “People will always say bank fees are too high no matter what they are,” he told Tribune Business. “I’m not surprised to that extent, but we want customers to understand what’s involved in banking operations so they feel we’re offering value for money, and getting value for the products and services they’re paying for. “There’s room for improvement. Nobody is perfect, and there’s always

room for improvement, but as long as we keep striding forward; we will never get 100 per cent on our side, but we will reduce the amount of people expressing dissatisfaction.” Mr Jennings agreed that the commercial banks also needed “to demonstrate there is a case, basis for the charges” levied by the industry, especially given that many Bahamians continue to struggle financially in a weak economy. Of his meeting with Mr Gomez, he added: “It was a very cordial meeting, and we discussed some of the challenges between the consumers and the banks. “I think there was an exchange of information that was beneficial. We had a better understanding of each other, and the dialogue is open.”

ing levels for five years in return for renewal of these incentives. The Act also suggests that companies which fail to meet this obligation face financial penalties, including the loss of some or all of their ‘tax breaks’, and the possibility that the Government may seek to ‘claw back’ these foregone taxes retroactively. “While we ought to be looking after business we have, it seems as if we’re intent on putting more pressure on them and making it ever more difficult and unattractive,” Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business. “The first rule of business is to keep the customers you have, as to get new ones is more difficult than maintaining existing ones. “We seem to have forgotten that principal. We seem to be making it more difficult for the customers we have by forcing them to undertake development when

the environment is not conducive for them at the moment,” he added. “No one is going to invest in an uncomfortable environment if they don’t see a return. Putting additional costs or burdens on them is not going to make it more favourable; it’s only going to be making it worse.” Prime Minister Perry Christie, in tabling the Act’s regulations, touted the legislation as securing both Grand Bahama (Freeport’s) economic future, as well as the welfare if its residents. The Government has also promised that the Ministry of Grand Bahama will provide a ‘one stop-shop’ to facilitate investors and smooth the investment application process. But to-date, based on private sector feedback and concerns, the Government has achieved anything but – and possibly the opposite of what it intended.

Mr Turnquest argued that the extra costs, bureaucracy and uncertainty being imposed on Freeport’s already-struggling economy, which is still reeling from the Memories and Grand Lucayan closures, plus the Vacation Express pull-out that has cost it 30 per cent of its visitor market, made a compelling case for less government intervention in the economy. “At the end of the day, we need less Government; not more,” he told Tribune Business. “The present Government seems to feel that if they directly involve themselves it will make things happen more effi-

ciently and quickly. “History has not proven that to be the case. It has proven the opposite. The idea that this Ministry of Grand Bahama is going to improve the ease of doing business, and somehow investment is going to flood to the island, is not a panacea.” The FNM’s deputy leader added: “We should be trying to reduce the footprint of government, lessen its control so that the market can move more freely, and reverse the economic model from where the Government is the largest employer to the private sector being the largest employer.”

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CHRISTINA BAPTISTE of #35 Fowler Street, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 1st day of March, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

MARKET REPORT TUESDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2017

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,915.28 | CHG 3.93 | %CHG 0.21 | YTD -22.93 | YTD% -1.18 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 17.43 9.09 3.56 4.70 0.12 7.20 8.50 6.10 10.60 15.27 2.72 1.60 5.83 9.75 11.00 9.25 6.90 12.01 11.00

52WK LOW 2.70 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.77 0.12 3.80 8.15 5.50 7.72 11.00 2.18 1.31 5.80 6.78 8.56 6.60 6.35 11.92 10.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

900.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 106.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 105.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 105.50 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol ICD Utilities J. S. Johnson Premier Real Estate Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00 100.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-3Y BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

113.70 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.03 3.92 1.94 169.70 141.76 1.47 1.67 1.57 1.10 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.94 11.21 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.41 1.61 1.52 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.38 15.85 9.09 3.54 1.77 0.12 4.50 8.50 5.83 10.48 11.56 2.10 1.55 5.83 9.75 10.95 9.25 6.90 12.01 10.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00 104.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.38 15.85 9.09 3.54 1.77 0.12 4.50 8.50 5.83 10.48 11.86 2.10 1.55 5.83 9.75 10.95 9.25 6.90 12.01 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.11 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

105.22 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund

VOLUME

4,000 4,800

VOLUME

NAV 2.03 3.92 1.94 168.44 141.76 1.47 1.64 1.56 1.04 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.80 11.13 9.63

EPS$ 0.029 1.002 -0.144 0.170 -0.130 0.000 -0.030 0.607 0.430 0.450 0.110 0.102 0.080 0.300 0.520 0.960 0.820 0.294 0.610 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.000 0.000 0.210 0.000 0.000 0.090 0.300 0.220 0.360 0.490 0.060 0.060 0.240 0.400 0.000 0.330 0.140 0.640 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 151.0 15.8 N/M 20.8 N/M N/M -150.0 14.0 13.6 23.3 107.8 20.6 19.4 19.4 18.8 11.4 11.3 23.5 19.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST 7.00% 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2017 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2017 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 4.30% 4.30% 3.82% 3.82% 2.73% 2.73% 3.95% 3.95% 6.77% 6.77% 0.40% 4.04% -1.76% 1.06% -0.34% 2.70% -0.95% 1.55% 4.35% 4.69% 4.13% 4.28% 4.22% 4.64% 6.19% 3.43% 2.77% 2.98% -3.66% -3.90%

NAV Date 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Jan-2017 31-Jan-2017 31-Jan-2017 31-Jan-2017 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016

MARKET TERMS BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

YIELD 1.83% 6.31% 0.00% 5.93% 0.00% 0.00% 2.00% 3.53% 3.77% 3.44% 4.13% 2.86% 3.87% 4.12% 4.10% 0.00% 3.57% 2.03% 5.33% 0.00%

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that SYLVIA ROLLE of Nassau Street, P.O. BOX CB-12401, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of February, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ANDIEU ETIENNE GABRIEL of Carmichael Road, P.O. BOX EE-16051, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of February, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, NICOLA MAE SEYMOUR of the Eastern District of New Providence, Yamacraw Beach Estates, Nassau, Bahamas, P.O. BOX CB-13086, intend to change my name to NICOLA MAE ROLLE. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ANTONYO JEAN of Pinder’s Point, Grand Bahama, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 1st day of March, 2017 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N-7147, Freeport, Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, March 1, 2017, PAGE 7

Trump’s budget entails steep cuts for diplomacy, foreign aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is proposing a 37 percent cut to diplomacy and foreign aid budgets to help pay for increased military spending, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The steep cuts raised immediate concerns among lawmakers and national security veterans about America’s ability to promote its values around the world and avert wars, rather than fight them. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. took to the Senate floor to describe foreign aid as a national security imperative. “I promise you, it’s going to be a lot harder to recruit someone to anti-Americanism and anti-American terrorism if the United States of America was the reason why they are even alive today,” said Rubio, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee member. David Petraeus, who headed the CIA after commanding U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a group of more than 100 national security experts echoed that sentiment, calling diplomacy “critical to keeping America safe.” Officials familiar with the proposal said the reductions would be felt across the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Foreign development assis-

tance, which is largely overseen by USAID, would take the biggest hit, but funding for State Department operations and staffing would also be affected, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the spending plan publicly before it is presented to Congress. The proposed cuts are contained in a budget outline sent to federal departments this week. The outline suggests ways to achieve savings, but the officials wouldn’t discuss those details as the budget process will involve negotiations with the Office of Management and Budget as well as with Congress, where lawmakers have expressed concerns about the steepness of the cuts. It wasn’t clear Tuesday whether the outline directs the State Department or USAID to eliminate specific programs or would grant them some discretion. Officials said a 37 percent cut would eliminate programs and likely cause staff reductions, including security contractors at diplomatic missions, a matter that became only more sensitive after the deadly 2012 attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. They said some overseas facilities and offices might even have

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

EMMANUEL FAMILY HOLDINGS LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) EMMANUEL FAMILY HOLDINGS LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

to be closed. The combined State Department/USAID budget this year was $50.1 billion, a little more than 1 percent of the total federal budget. The State Department already has been bracing for budget cuts. Many of its bureaus went through exercises earlier this year to see how they could function with 20 percent or 25 percent less money, officials said. Buyouts could help reduce the size of the diplomatic corps along with early retirements and layoffs, they found. Eliminating special envoy and special representative positions could also yield savings. Only 11 of 32 special envoy or representative posts that existed during the Obama administration are currently filled. USAID’s operations may be even more precarious. Numerous agency initiatives, including those dealing with global health, climate change and women’s issues, could face the axe if the proposal is adopted, the officials said. They said they expected a majority of USAID funding to be cut. “The department is working with the White House and OMB to review its budget priorities,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, declining to address the proposal specifically. “The department remains committed to a U.S.

the State Department in Washington. U.S. officials say the Trump administration is proposing deep cuts in funding for diplomacy and foreign aid to help pay for increased military spending. (AP Photo) foreign policy that advances the security and prosperity of the American people.” On Monday, the White House said President Donald Trump was seeking deep cuts in non-military spending to pay for a $54 billion increase in the defense budget. “The president said we’re going to spend less money overseas and spend more of it here,” said budget director Mick Mulvaney. “That’s going to be reflected in the number we send to the State Department.” “We put out our priorities,” White House Sarah Huckabee Sanders added Tuesday, noting that the numbers could be revised. Yet lawmakers from both parties were already pushing back — including congressional leaders with significant sway over the budget process.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

KALIMA LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) KALIMA LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 27th February, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, Akara Building, 24 de Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Dated this 1st day of March, A. D. 2017

__________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

CELLO LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) CELLO LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 27th February, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Repulse Bay Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023,Nassau, Bahamas Dated this 1st day of March, A. D. 2017 __________________________________ Repulse Bay Limited Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

ROSEMARY LIMITED

____________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

SILENE LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) SILENE LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 27th February, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, Akara Building, 24 de Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Dated this 1st day of March, A. D. 2017 ____________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator

NOTICE

BYTE INVESTMENTS LTD. N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) BYTE INVESTMENTS LTD. is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 27th February, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, Akara Building, 24 de Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Dated this 1st day of March, A. D. 2017 __________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

CORAL BLUE LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) CORAL BLUE LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 27th February, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, Akara Building, 24 de Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Dated this 1st day of March, A. D. 2017 __________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

AMARANTH LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) AMARANTH LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 27th February, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas Dated this 1st day of March, A. D. 2017 __________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

YULE LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) ROSEMARY LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) YULE LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 27th February, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, Akara Building, 24 de Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Dated this 1st day of March, A. D. 2017

____________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator

LEGAL NOTICE

____________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION OF BLUE CLOUDS INVESTMENTS LIMITED

Notice is hereby given that pursuant to Part IX, Section 138(4) liquidation of the above company commenced on the 27th day of February, 2017. Octagon Management Limited of Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, Nassau, The Bahamas has been appointed Liquiator of the Company. _________________________________ Octagon Management Limited Liquidator

PAGE 8, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Amazon cloud storage failure causes widespread disruption NEW YORK (AP) — Usually people don’t notice the “cloud” — unless, that is, it turns into a massive storm. Which was the case Tuesday when Amazon’s huge cloud-computing service suffered a major outage. Amazon Web Services, by far the world’s largest provider of internet-based computing services, suffered an unspecified breakdown in its eastern U.S. region starting about midday Tuesday. The result: unprecedented and widespread performance problems for thousands of websites and apps. While few services went down completely, thousands, if not tens of thousands of companies had trouble with functions ranging from file sharing to webfeeds to loading any type of data stored on Amazon’s “simple storage service,” known as S3. Amazon services began returning around 4 p.m. EST, and an hour later the company noted on its service site that S3 was fully recovered and “operating normally.” CONCENTRATING THE CLOUD The breakdown shows the risks of depending heavily on a few big companies for cloud computing. Amazon’s service is significantly larger by revenue than any of its nearest rivals — Microsoft’s Azure, Google’s Cloud Platform and IBM, according to Forrester Research. With so few large providers, any outage can have a disproportionate effect. But some analysts argue that the Amazon outage doesn’t prove there’s a problem with cloud computing — it just highlights how reliable the cloud normally is. The outage, said Forrester analyst Dave Bartoletti, shouldn’t cause companies to assume “the cloud is dangerous.” Amazon’s problems be-

the Amazon logo in Santa Monica, Calif. Amazon’s cloud-computing service Amazon Web Services experienced problems in its eastern U.S. region, yesterday, causing widespread problems for thousands of websites and apps. (AP Photo) gan when one S3 region based in Virginia began to experience what the company called “increased error rates.” In a statement, Amazon said as of 4 p.m. EST it was still experiencing errors that were “impacting various AWS services.” “We are working hard at repairing S3, believe we understand root cause, and are working on implementing what we believe will remediate the issue,” the company said. WHY S3 MATTERS Amazon S3 stores files and data for companies on remote servers. Amazon started offering it in 2006, and it’s used for everything from building websites and apps to storing images, customer data and customer transactions. “Anything you can think about storing in the most cost-effective way possible,” is how Rich Mogull, CEO of data security firm Securosis, puts it. Since Amazon hasn’t said exactly what is happening yet, it’s hard to know just how serious the outage is. “We do know it’s bad,” Mogull said. “We just don’t know how bad.” At S3 customers, the problem affected both “front-end” operations — meaning the websites and

apps that users see — and back-end data processing that takes place out of sight. Some smaller online services, such as Trello, Scribd and IFTTT, appeared to be down for a while, although all have since recovered. The corporate message service Slack, by contrast, stayed up, although it reported “degraded service “ for some features. Users reported that file sharing in particular appeared to freeze up. The Associated Press’ own photos, webfeeds and other online services were also affected. TECHNICAL KNOCKOUTAGE Major cloud-computing outages don’t occur very often — perhaps every year or two — but they do happen. In 2015, Amazon’s DynamoDB service, a cloud-based database, had problems that affected companies like Netflix and Medium. But usually providers have workarounds that can get things working again quickly. “What’s really surprising to me is that there’s no fallback — usually there is some sort of backup plan to move data over, and it will be made available within a few minutes,” said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

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