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CARIBBEAN NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
DECEMBER 22ND - DECEMBER 29TH, 2012
Digicel and Marriott break ground on hotel in Haiti PORT-AU-PRINCE - Digicel and Marriott International broke ground Wednesday on the $45 million 175room Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand hotel in the Turgeau area of Port-auPrince, with opening expected in early 2015, making it the first four-star branded hotel in Haiti. At a ceremony to mark the occasion, Marriott International's President and Chief Executive Officer Arne Sorensen was joined by Digicel Chairman and Founder Denis O'Brien as well as the Minister of Tourism Stephanie Balmir Villedrouin. Digicel Group is responsible for designing and building the hotel and chose Marriott International's signature Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand as its operating partner under a long-term management agreement. In addition to creating over 200 new hospitality jobs in Haiti, Marriott will invest in workforce training to benefit the country's tourism sector. Kier is the main contractor chosen for the hotel project and Turgeau Developments SA is the operating company, in which Digicel is the investment partner. The hotel sets a new standard of excellence for the growing number of business travelers coming to Haiti, combining a friendly, professional and safe environment and offering the exceptional service that Marriott International offers worldwide in all of its properties. The hotel is especially suitable for business meetings, conferences and events and will feature the most up-to-date facilities in the city. The ballroom will comfortably accommodate around 380 people for dining and around 500 theatre-style.
Digicel and Marriott International broke ground Wednesday on the $45 million 175-room Marriott Hotels & Resorts
The 175-room Marriott Hotel Port-au-Prince will include five suites, a casual restaurant with private dining area, fitness center, swimming pool and a great room lobby that inspires creativity, productivity and social interaction with its conveniently dispersed zones including a bar and lounge. The property will also have a gift shop and marketplace and will offer guests 24 hour room service, WiFi and secure parking. Digicel Group and its Chairman, Denis O'Brien, are committed to attracting foreign direct investment to Haiti and to helping the country rebuild in the wake of the January 2010 earthquake. Mr. O'Brien is Founder and Patron of the Digicel Foundation which to date has constructed 100 schools in Haiti.
Further, as the Chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative's Haiti Action Network, Mr. O'Brien has been instrumental in driving the activity of 80 support organizations in Haiti to deliver on their commitments and in reconstructing the iconic Iron Market in Port-au-Prince. Marriott International meanwhile aspires to have a signature hotel in every major capital city in the countries where it operates while being instrumental in stimulating business and attracting leisure visitors to Haiti. Marriott took on this project with particular reference to its thousands of Haitian associates who work in its U.S. hotels and urged the company to do what it did best and open a hotel in Haiti. Marriott will also use the Portau-Prince location as a center for hotel
training for local staff, helping to ensure that international standards of excellence are met and maintained. Commenting on the project, Digicel Chairman Denis O'Brien, said; "We're delighted to be helping to bring the world-leading Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand to Haiti. Not only will this be a solution to the lodging issues in the city, it will also create jobs, attract foreign visitors and communicate a positive outlook for the future of Haiti. Haiti is a great place to invest and do business and I encourage others to take a look at the opportunities here." "We saw the need for a leading hotel brand in Haiti to accommodate the wave of travelers coming to do business in the country," said Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer at Marriott International. "We believe we can make a difference in Haiti by creating jobs and developing the human talent that can help lift this country over time back to its rightful place as one of the top destinations in the Caribbean. We are working with the Ministers of Tourism and Vocational Education on how we can support existing institutions to raise the quality of hospitality training." Prime Minister of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, commented; "The presence of the world-leading Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand in Haiti is another clear indicator that Haiti is serious about attracting foreign direct investment. I would like to commend both Marriott International and Digicel Group on their tireless commitment to Haiti and on making their vision a reality. This is a huge vote of confidence in the future of Haiti and I look forward to the Marriott Hotel Port-au-Prince opening its doors in 2015."
The Bahamas credit rating downgraded NASSAU, The Bahamas -- International credit ratings agency Moody’s on Thursday downgraded The Bahamas’ credit rating from A3 to Baa1, the third downgrade for the country in as many years. In addition, Moody’s said the country’s economic outlook remains negative. “We see limited prospects for the fiscal consolidation necessary to strengthen the government’s balance sheet and stabilize debt levels,” said the Moody’s rating action. Moody’s cited three driving factors for the decrease: Limited growth prospects and weak recovery in tourism and construction; significant and rapid deterioration of the government’s balance sheet exacerbated by a low revenue base, and high and rising levels of debt and weakening of debt sustainability relative to other countries. In an interview with The Nassau Guardian, assistant vice-president and analyst at Moody's, Edward Al-Hussainy, said further downgrades are possible if the government does not act immediately to curb the country’s rising debt levels. Moody’s said the country’s tourism, offshore financial services, and construction sectors remain vulnerable due to an uncertain recovery in the United States. The rating action also pointed to the country’s limited revenue generation potential. “The Bahamas has a limited revenue base and the
government relies disproportionately on volatile trade-related tax revenue and property taxes. Onetime revenue inflows, the divestment of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company and stamp duties on several large tourism projects financed by foreign investment, masked a decline in recurrent revenue in 2011, and will not be credit supportive going forward,” said Moody’s. “We do not expect reforms necessary to increase recurrent revenues, most importantly the introduction of a value-added tax and a modernization of the property tax system, to materialize before 2014/15.” While the ratings agency placed the lion’s share of blame for the country’s current debt level on the last Ingraham administration, it also blamed the current administration for not acting quickly enough to curb spending. “The downgrade incorporates a marked deterioration of the government’s financial balance sheet over the past five years,” Moody’s said. “Expenditure growth has continued following the election of a new government in May 2012, and the state plays an increasingly dominant role in the economy through elevated levels of capital spending on public works projects, social safety net transfers, public sector employment, and increased budgetary support to public sector corporations. “This fiscal stimulus program is yet to yield growth dividends and unemployment remains close
to 15 percent, depressing domestic demand.” Moody’s said it expects the government to find it difficult to stabilize the debt and place it on a sustainable trajectory in the near-term. “In addition, the crystallization of contingent liabilities from debt held by public sector corporations such as the loss-making Bahamas Electricity Corporation could adversely affect the rating. A further deterioration of the public sector balance sheet due to external shocks in the form of weather-driven events like hurricanes will also be credit negative.” The Ministry of Finance responded to the rating downgrade on Thursday night, stating that the government would lay out “clear detailed action points” to address the situation during an upcoming mid-year budget process. “The government of The Bahamas is committed to the stabilization and gradual reversal of these negative trends and to that end has developed a medium-term strategy, the aim of which is to reduce expenditure as a percentage of GDP, and increase revenue as a percentage of GDP,” said the ministry. A downgrade from Moody's ultimately means a higher cost of borrowing, which could adversely affect the country’s economic growth. Standard & Poor’s downgraded The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating from BBB+ to BBB late last year.