01082018 business

business@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 2018

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‘Sun-ryse’ for firm’s $6m new HQ target

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A

Bahamian information manager is aiming to raise $6 million for a new headquarters in west Nassau as part of a 2018 expansion that could increase staff by over one-third.

Christiaan Sawyer, Sunryse Information Management’s president, confirmed to Tribune Business that the company has

* Leno hired to raise capital for info manager * Aiming for ‘ground break’ by mid-February * Staff may grow one-third in 2018 expansion hired Leno Corporate Services to raise the capital from investors via a private placement. “I can confirm that is true,” he replied, when contacted by this newspaper. “Sunryse is getting ready to expand. We have expanded what we

are doing, and need new facilities.

“That’s why we’re trying to raise funds to build the new building.

“It’s going to be a pretty big building; bigger than what we’re currently in now. Once we have the

funding in place, we hope to start construction.”

Mr Sawyer declined to give specifics on Sunryse’s potential new head office/ warehouse location, given that “everything hinges” on

SEE PAGE 2

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Insurance affordability fears rise on 15-20% premium increases

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS First’s top executive believes “the time is really ripe” to examine how insurance can be made more affordable with property

SEE PAGE 5

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Schooner Bay tries to rally homeowners - including PM

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SCHOONER Bay’s developer has sought to rally homeowners - including Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis - after Tribune Business exposed its questionable Crown Land and real estate management.

Dr David Huber, the Abaco-based project’s principal, in a December 21, 2017, letter to real estate owners pledged that the developer had “always and continues to operate in accordance with the laws of the Bahamas”.

The letter, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, warned that “a lot of additional capital” was still required to turn Schooner Bay Ventures’ vision into a reality, although it did not specify where such investment will come from.

Dr Huber also called for the “continued support” of homeowners following this newspaper’s revelations about how Bahamian entrepreneurs were being booted off Crown Land in seeming violation of the terms of Schooner Bay’s licence from the Government.

Tribune Business also revealed complaints about how the 220-acre South Abaco project has been violating Bahamian real estate laws, particularly the Real Estate (Brokers and Salesman) Act, through the foreign developer running its own property sales, management and vacation rental business. Foreign developers, under the Real

* Developer pledges legal compliance * ‘No comment’ on PM home management * Project needs ‘lots of extra capital’

A VIEW OF SCHOONER BAY. Estate (Broker and Salesman) Act, can only sell and manage the real estate that they own. Once such property is sold to third-party buyers, the Act prevents them from engaging in resales of that real estate, and operating their own property management/vacation rental businesses.

In Schooner Bay’s case, it has only sold lots to home

buyers who were then responsible for vertical construction on their properties. Thus it cannot get involved in managing these homes and/or renting and leasing them out.

Among Schooner Bay’s homeowners is Dr Minnis, who owns a property called the ‘Island Cottage’. Multiple sources familiar with the project have alleged that

the Prime Minister’s house is being managed by the developer in violation of the Act. “That is managed by Schooner Bay Ventures, the developer, which is illegal under the BREA Act,” one source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business.

This newspaper subsequently contacted Anthony

Newbold, the Prime Minister’s press secretary, to confirm if Dr Minnis’s property was being managed under this arrangement, whether he was aware of this, and if he planned to do anything about it.

“He’s not given me any indication he wants to comment on that,” Mr Newbold replied. “The Prime Minister has not given any

indication he wants to comment at this moment.” He suggested Carl Bethel QC, the Attorney General, had already commented on Schooner Bay via an earlier interview with Tribune Business.

There is nothing to suggest Dr Minnis, or any other homeowner, has done anything wrong in relation to Schooner Bay, or that the Prime Minister was aware of the arrangements for managing his home.

The project is one of the few developments outside Nassau to attract Bahamian buyers, who are also understood to include Dr Ronald Knowles, the former minister of health.

But Dr Minnis’s status as a homeowner adds a new twist to the Schooner Bay situation. Christine Wallace-Whitfield, the Bahamas Real Estate Association’s (BREA) president, confirmed in a late December text message to Tribune Business that the developer’s licence was due to expire on New Year’s Eve. “They are not allowed to conduct any resales nor any management,” she confirmed of Schooner Bay Ventures. Tribune Business sources have also revealed that, in response to this newspaper’s revelations, the Attorney General’s Office has asked the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) to supply it with its Schooner Bay ‘file’.

Dr Huber, meanwhile, said Schooner Bay Ventures “takes great exception” to Tribune Business’s articles,

SEE PAGE 8

MINISTER TELLS PLP: ‘SIT SMALL’ ON NHI Gov’t to refocus NHI

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Minister of Health has told political opponents to “sit small” over National Health Insurance (NHI), while admitting he has yet to receive a written legal opinion on the scheme.

Dr Duane Sands told Tribune Business that he would “absolutely” make public advice from the Attorney General’s Office, recommending that the new NHI Authority Board could ratify actions taken by the former Christie administration, once he obtained it.

Acknowledging that he was “anxious” to receive the written ‘opinion’, Dr Sands said his comments on the advice last week were based on verbal discussions with Carl Bethel QC,

* YET TO RECEIVE AG’S ‘WRITTEN OPINION’ * PLEDGES TO MAKE IT PUBLIC WHEN ISSUED * TELLS OPPOSITION: ‘DON’T GLOAT ON YOUR MESS’

DR DUANE SANDS the Attorney General, on his office’s findings.

The Minister’s remarks sparked immediate criticism from Dr Michael Darville, on behalf of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), who argued that the opinion’s contents meant the Minnis administration

has “no excuse” for continuing to delay on NHI. This, though, provoked a furious riposte from Dr Sands, who told Tribune Business that the Opposition has “no grounds to gloat” over the “horrendous mess” it had left for the incoming government to “clean up”.

“To everybody in the PLP; sit small,” the Minister charged. “You have no grounds to gloat. It’s all well and good to create a mess

SEE PAGE 6

on $60m critical care

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government is planning to refocus National Health Insurance (NHI) on catastrophic care, believing a $60 million budget “could do an awful lot if properly managed”.

Dr Duane Sands, minister of health, told Tribune Business that he and the NHI Authority Board were “headed” towards an NHI that protected Bahamians from “financial ruin”, with the structure likely similar to Uruguay’s catastrophic healthcare model.

Primary healthcare will remain part of the scheme, but Dr Sands reiterated that Bahamians would have to pay “very reasonable” fees to ensure NHI ‘s longterm sustainability in return for obtaining “a security blanket to avoid ruin from healthcare issues”.

He added that Uruguay, with a population of less than four million, was providing catastrophic healthcare services

* MINISTER: SUCH BUDGET COULD DO ‘AWFUL LOT’ * TO PROTECT BAHAMIANS FROM ‘FINANCIAL RUIN’ * PUBLIC LIKELY TO PAY ‘VERY REASONABLE FEES’ that combat life-threatening illnesses and disease for “under $300 million”.

Accounting for differences in population size and economic structure, the Minister suggested the Bahamas might be able to achieve the same with one-fifth of the spend.

“The primary consensus for NHI is to provide assistance for people with catastrophic healthcare problems,” Dr Sands told Tribune Business. “There’s some benefits to enhanced primary care, but the biggest thing we need to roll-out very quickly is assistance with the likes of

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Monday, January 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

‘Sun-ryse’ for firm’s $6m new HQ target FROM PAGE 1 a capital raising that has yet to be completed.

He expressed optimism, though, that the funds would be in place within the next “three to four weeks” to enable the company to ‘break ground’ on construction before mid-February.

“We’ve already acquired the land; it’s going to be on the western side of Nassau,” he disclosed. “I honestly give it another three to four weeks. That’s the best case estimate we have now in terms of raising capital.

“We’re pretty significantly into it now, and have raised part of it. We’re just waiting for a few more.

All our plans have been approved, the contractor selected, and we want to make sure we have all the ducks lined up.

“We want it to run as smoothly as possible, and don’t want to run into problems because of funding.

I’m really hoping that by the first or second week of February we will be breaking ground. It’s 2018 and we’ve got to keep moving.”

Sunryse has evolved into a full-solution document and information management services provider, having expanded from its roots as a pure document shredder into a company able to meet all client needs in this area.

“We currently have 22 people,” Mr Sawyer told Tribune Business of his staff. “Four years ago we had just seven to eight. As things have come along, we’ve just continued to grow.

“We do expect, within 2018, that we’ll probably see at least another five to six more people - possibly as many as eight more

people - come on board.

We’re developing some things now, and know we probably need at least eight more people.”

Sunryse’s website touts that its business grew by an average of 32 per cent per year during its first decade in existence, as the demand for document shredding from corporate Bahamas enabled it to expand from one mobile destruction truck to three.

“We have our roots in shredding,” Mr Sawyer explained. “We have been running shredding and document destruction for 17 years.

“Over the last five to six years, we’ve pretty much expanded into the information space. Document shredding is one component, one business to what we have. We’re managing people’s information, conducting database management for clients and document imaging.

“We have a few other solutions we provide for them, but that’s where we’ve been going. That’s what we intend to be: A one-stop shop to meet customers’ needs, and provide great service for whatever it is they require.”

Document storage and records management are other aspects of Sunryse’s business, and its services are sought by the likes of banks, accounting firms and other financial services providers who need to protect and maintain client confidentiality.

The firm’s website also talks of exploring Caribbean expansion possibilities, and Mr Sawyer told Tribune Business: “We have a very simple formula for success: We meet the customer’s needs, listen to

their ‘pain points’, and provide solutions.

“We adjust and adapt, and find solutions that are very palatable to them, and they receive benefits in cost savings and efficiencies.

These factors have combined into the success we’ve had over the last several years.”

Mr Sawyer also attributed the country’s growth to his employees, adding: “We really rest our business on finding good people to put in place. We always knew where we wanted to go, but every effort is dependent on the people we have in place to drive the initiative.

“We take a lot out of finding the right people and, once they’re in place, we start to put out initiatives in place and are seeking the fruits of that.”

Sunryse, which is now transitioning from a small to medium-sized business, has been described by some as the best ‘success story’ for the Government-sponsored venture capital fund in terms of the start-ups it has financed.

Mr Sawyer, though, pointed out that the company has also received financial support from the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and it remains a client of the latter today.

“It’s somewhat difficult to raise capital, and get capital funding for projects, on this island from source,” he told Tribune Business. “You have to knock on doors to get where you want to be.”

Sunryse’s $6 million capital raise is a private placement, meaning it is targeted at specific investors and members of the general public should not seek to get involved.

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 8, 2018, PAGE 3

Consumers ‘delaying inevitable’ if avoiding RBC’s digital drive

By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net CONSUMERS may be “delaying the inevitable” by moving from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to escape a digital banking drive that has attracted 60,000 persons to its mobile app.

Kevin Darling, RBC’s head of business banking for the northern Caribbean, acknowledged that the bank’s digitisation push would likely drive some clients to other institutions.He argued, though, that they were merely delaying the

inevitable since other banks were likely on the same path. “I think the move to digital is inevitable,” Mr Darling said.

“Change is often uneasy for a lot of people. We are going to work with all of our clients and ensure they can fit into the digital environment.

“There will be some that want to try and do business elsewhere. I think people may be delaying the inevitable by doing that because I think our whole industry may be heading down this road.”

RBC is this month implementing several changes in

a bid to improve customer service, efficiency and security, and reduce long in-branch waiting times and queues, by driving clients to Internet and mobile banking.

Deposits and transfers to other RBC clients’ accounts, with the exception of FINCO clients, have not been accepted since January 2.

The ‘fast deposit’ service will no longer be available from January 15 and, as of January 31, wire transfers will not be processed overthe-counter and standing orders for credit card payments will be discontinued.

Instead, the bank has advised customers to use its ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) to deposit cash or cheques, and employ its mobile app to pay bills, credit cards, transfer funds, send wire transfers, check credit card balances and make payments to other RBC clients.

Mr Darling said the number of persons now using RBC’s mobile app “in the 60,000 range”. RBC has also announced it is ending certain services for non-clients. This includes cheque cashing, bill payments, taking deposits or exchanging foreign currency.

RBC imposes 2018 ‘moratorium’ on fees

By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has placed a moratorium on fee increases in 2018, a senior executive has confirmed.

Kevin Darling, RBC’s head of business banking for the northern Caribbean, said: “RBC actually came out this year and put a moratorium on fee increases in 2018. What you will see is a lot of commentary around that cheque cashing fee, so this move to digital

* Extended $100m in commercial loans in 2017 * Felt ‘prudent’ to hold fees amid digital move eliminates that service altogether if you’re not a client of RBC. “In a year of transformation we felt it was prudent to say we are going to just hold the fees, and let’s get through these changes and see what it look like at the end of the day.”

Mr Darling added that RBC continues to maintain an aggressive growth strategy. “We still have an aggressive business plan to grow our bank. We did roughly $100 million in

commercial loans last year, and that’s a pretty good number,” he added. “We are still aggressively going after business and trying to help our clients grow.”

Mr Darling said banks have had to examine ways to make their operations more efficient.

“Our business is changing significantly,” he said. “We have far more non-traditional competitors in our industry. If you look at the banking industry it does three things; store money,

lend money and make money.

“As those things get taken up by the competitors there is less market share, and your costs are higher if you’re doing less volume.

When you look at those things you have to find ways to do things more efficiently.

“Like any business, if your industry or economy isn’t growing you have to look at how you can become more efficient to make it more sustainable”.

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PAGE 4, Monday, January 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Gov’t to refocus NHI on $60m critical care FROM PAGE 1 imaging, immuno

lab testing, suppression,

certain surgical procedures, joint replacement, cardio surgery. “These are the types of things, over the next six months,

that Bahamians should be attempting to avail themselves of even as we identify a funding mechanism to achieve sustainability.”

Emphasising that NHI could not be ‘free’, nor funded from the Public Treasury’s Consolidated Fund as the Christie administration had sought to do, Dr Sands warned: “It’s very clear we’re going to have to find a method for payment, and the [NHI Authority] Board will float some recommendations based on a few models we’ve looked at where, for very reasonable rates, people have access to a security blanket or safety net to avoid financial ruin from healthcare issues.

“We expect the dollar amount per person, per family is quite reasonable, but it’s not going to be a comprehensive cover medical plan. If we’re going to keep NHI, then we have to figure out -beyond the hand-wringing - what the method of payment and contribution will be. “The idea that NHI can be borne

strictly by the Consolidated Fund is unreasonable, untenable and certainly unsustainable. What we’re looking at is a plan that covers catastrophic ailments as a priority.”

The former Christie administration, in launching NHI prior to the May 10 general election, focused on primary care services that combat regular, everyday illnesses and ailments.

It allocated $100 million to this aspect of the scheme, although these funds were not specifically set aside from the Consolidated Fund, while providing just $25-$30 million for catastrophic care.

Dr Sands’ comments indicate the Minnis administration plans to turn NHI ‘on its head’ by placing the emphasis on catastrophic, rather than primary, care.

The Free National Movement (FNM) had looked at

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catastrophic health insurance as far back as 2001, when the Ingraham administration was in office.

“These are things Bahamians find themselves struggling with,” the Minister said.

“I could give you an example of a gentleman who received a kidney transplant and is now facing financial ruin because of the cost of immuno-suppression drugs. A patient with prosthetics. That represents a potential opening for NHI.” Dr Sands said a properly managed and funded scheme could have a “huge quality of life impact” for such individuals.

“The model we looked at is the Uruguay model,” he told Tribune Business.

“They have a population of under four million and have managed to provide catastrophic services for under $300 million. If you do the comparative arithmetic, and add in the efficiencies of the respective economies and the like, $60 million appropriately managed could do an awful lot to accomplish the same kind of catastrophic and critical healthcare services as they have managed to provide in a similar economy.

“We wanted to look very critically at that model because it makes an awful lot of sense to mirror that model in the Bahamas....

All of these thoughts would be subject to approval by my Cabinet colleagues once properly fleshed out, and then presented to the Bahamian public, but that’s where we are headed.”

Dr Sands reiterated that the “major sticking point right now” was “the massive stumbling block of the legitimacy of the programme itself”, which was why he had sought a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office on the actions of the former Christie administration.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 8, 2018, PAGE 5

Insurance affordability fears rise on 15-20% premium increases FROM PAGE 1 premiums set to increase 15-20 per cent in 2018.

Patrick Ward, the underwriter’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business he will “certainly be making representations” to both the Government and his industry colleagues about the need to prevent insurance coverage being priced beyond the reach of lower and middle income Bahamians.

Conceding that there would be “some fall away” in catastrophe cover due to the significant increase in premium costs, Mr Ward said expanding the pool of Bahamian homeowners and businesses able to afford private property insurance was critical to reducing the financial burden on government/taxpayers following a major hurricane.

And he promised that “we’ll certainly be raising again” the Christie administration’s decision to levy Value-Added Tax (VAT) on property and casualty premiums, given the growing need to combat increased insurance costs.

Mr Ward was speaking after Bahamas First’s brokers informed him of the increased premiums being demanded from local underwriters by international reinsurers, eager to recover capital following a 2017 in which natural disasters - including Caribbean hurricanes - generated an estimated $135 billion in global insured losses.

“There’s no question that property rates in 2018 are going to go up,” the Bahamas First chief told Tribune Business, suggesting that the Bahamian market would fare better than those that suffered a direct hit from hurricanes Irma and Maria.

He estimated Bahamian property and casualty rates would likely suffer “an increase in the lower double digits”, with a 10 per cent rise on “the lower end” and 20 per cent at the upper end of the scale.

“I think it’s a bit of a mixed bag,” Mr Ward said.

“There are primarily two categories of companies in terms of how the impact is going to be spread among insurers in the region.

“If you are operating in a country that had a direct or major impact from hurricanes in 2017, then the level of increase is going to be significantly higher than areas where the impact was minor or non-existent.”

Mr Ward said locations such as Dominica, Puerto Rico, the British and US Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos, St Maarten and Anguilla, which took the brunt of Irma and Maria, were likely to experience 20-30 per cent - even as high as 50 per cent - increases in the cost of catastrophe coverage in 2018.

“In the case of those areas that were less affected or spared, and I’m including the Bahamas in that, the increase is likely to be in the lower double digit category, with 15 per cent mid-range,” he told this newspaper. “I would say 15 to 20 per cent just be be on the safe side.”

Mr Ward’s estimate is bang in line with the prediction given by his colleague Timothy Ingraham, Summit Insurance Company’s president, who warned in early December of a 15-20 per cent increase in property and casualty prices for 2018.

The Bahamas First chief executive’s figures, coming one month later and after local carriers have obtained a ‘better read’ of what global reinsurers

are demanding, indicates that the magnitude of the increase is now effectively ‘fixed’.

A 10 per cent change in a ‘line item’ on a company’s financial statements is described as ‘material’, and Mr Ward conceded that the rise would almost certainly result in homeowners and businesses electing to under-insure or drop catastrophe coverage altogether.

“The demand for insurance is highly sensitive to price increases,” the Bahamas First chief conceded.

“Our experience is that there are probably going to be clients looking to make adjustments to their cover and, hopefully, there will only a small number of clients that opt to get no cover at all. That would not be a safe route to go.

“The message to our brokers and agents is to try and accommodate every client in terms of ability to pay in a way that satisfies the client, agent and broker, and Bahamas First.”

Bahamian commercial banks will be able to apply some brakes to the shedding of catastrophe coverage, as they require mortgage holders - both commercial and residential - to maintain comprehensive cover as a condition of the loan.

This, though, will not affect homeowners and businesses unencumbered by mortgages, while the premium increase may also drive many borrowers on to the banks’ group policies.

Mr Ward declined to estimate the potential fall-out, though he anticipates it will be nowhere near the ‘coverage shedding’ that followed Hurricane Andrew’s aftermath in 1992.

“It’s very difficult to tell because the increases are substantial,” he acknowledged, “but it it won’t be

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the same as the position after Hurricane Andrew, when rates went up 300 per cent.

“Thirty per cent of the portfolio went from catastrophic to non-catastrophic coverage. We’re not expecting anything near that kind of fall-out. But there will be some movement and fall away.”

Arguing that insurance was a ‘socially desirable’ good, especially in a nation so frequently hit by hurricanes, Mr Ward agreed that the Government and local industry needed to work on expanding the affordability of catastrophe coverage following the latest reinsurance-imposed increases.

“I think the time for us to have a conversation around expanding the insurance pool for people in the lower income bracket is really ripe,” Mr Ward told Tribune Business.

“I’m certainly going to be making representations to my colleagues in the insurance industry, and the Government as well, about ways to tackle that issue that not only help the Government contain what they’re having to spend in the event of catastrophe, but also bring relief to people that need it.

“Unfortunately, in this part of the world, given the frequency and severity of such events, the cost of protecting against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes has to be factored into the cost of daily living.

It’s one of the things that we have to settle for when living in this past of the world.”

Mr Ward said removing 7.5 per cent VAT from insurance premiums was an immediate way to make catastrophe coverage more affordable, given that it is levied on top of the 3 per

cent ‘premium tax’ and acts as a ‘tax upon a tax’.

“It goes back to what the industry has been saying: Is it really appropriate for VAT to be charged on property and casualty premiums?” he asked. “The answer, from the industry’s perspective, is clearly ‘no’.

“The Government should be encouraging the public to buy insurance through their tax policies, rather than discouraging it. We’ll certainly be raising the issue once again.”

The Bahamas is one of just a few countries to levy VAT on property and casualty premiums.

The Government’s postHurricane Matthew repair bill was exacerbated by having to finance repairs to private homes lacking catastrophe coverage, and the insurance industry’s argument is that expanding the insurance pool would save the taxpayer and Public Treasury a multi-million dollar sum.

Tom Duff, Insurance Company of the Bahamas (ICB) general manager, told Tribune Business that the Bahamian property and casualty industry had no choice but to “suck it up” and pass increased reinsurance costs on to consumers.

He sought, though, to soften the blow by pointing out that local carriers had passed reduced reinsurance cost on to consumers for the past two years, helping to negate the impact of VAT’s imposition.

“It’s major expense factor for all insurers writing business in the region,” Mr Duff said of reinsurance. “We have to suck it up, whatever the costs are.

“The important thing for consumers to reflect on is, over the last couple of years, they will have enjoyed a reduction in

premiums costs and a reduction in the cost of catastrophe coverage. Some of that reduction will have been disguised and, in some cases, cancelled out by the introduction of VAT.” Bahamian insurers have no choice but to purchase huge quantities of reinsurance annually, as their multi-million dollar capital bases pale into comparison to the size of the multibillion dollar risks they underwrite.

This effectively makes them a ‘price taker’ from reinsurers, which cover the bulk of these risks, giving them little choice but to pass on increased reinsurance costs to consumers.

One former insurance chief executive said of the relationship: “They [reinsurers] say jump; we say: How high?’.”

Mr Duff, declining to estimate the magnitude of 2018 premium increases, said the Bahamas was fortunate to have been spared the worst in terms of both the rises and storm damage.

“The common theme, not just from our reinsurers but other reinsurers that support the Caribbean, is they are certainly looking for a correction in regional rates including the Bahamas,” he said.

“On the back of these ‘super storms’, and Matthew in 2016, they’re looking for the insurance industry to introduce some form of correction. The cost of catastrophe cover will increase this year as insurers look to claw back some of these [reinsurance] costs from consumers.”

Mr Duff said it was up to individual Bahamian property and casualty insurers to determine the extent of their respective premium increases, adding: “We’re not a cartel.”

Expression of Interest (EOI) LYNDEN PINDLING INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Nassau Airport Development Company Limited (NAD) is seeking interested proponents (individual, consortium or joint venture) to design, build, finance and operate multiple duty free retail stores at The Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Interested proponents are asked to provide: 1. A list of all local or internationally recognized brands the proponent is licensed to sell 2. The proposed categories of duty free items/stores the proponent would wish to provide 3. A proposed revenue share model with NAD including minimum annual guarantees. NAD welcomes innovative revenue models in the expression of interest 4. List of stores and their square footage owned and operated by the proponent 5. Confirmation that the proponent has the capacity to build-out at least 3,000 square feet of retail spaces at a minimum of B$450.00 per square foot Minimum Qualifications: 1. Proponents must be a licensed Bahamian company or joint venture with a licensed Bahamian company 2. 5 years experience as a major duty free concessionaire at an airport NAD’s Goals and Objectives are to: 1. Achieve a high standard of excellence and customer service 2. Offer concepts & services that will appeal to the complete spectrum of passengers served by the airport A detailed Expression of Interest Document for the above is available for distribution to qualified and interested parties via email by contacting Mr. Troy Strachan, Manager Commercial Development at troy.strachan@nas.bs.

Documents may also be collected from NAD’s Executive Offices located on the 3rd floor of The International Arrivals Terminal at The Lynden Pindling International Airport. Documents will be distributed up to 4:00 p.m. on January 22, 2018.

4 You must have eaten at least once for the day.

4 You need at least 30 minutes between your last meal and donating blood.

4 You will need at least 10 minutes rest after donating blood.

4 You can donate blood every 8 weeks.

4 The Blood Bank will do FREE Pre-screening tests to make sure you are healthy enough to donate blood.

BECOME A REGULAR DONOR

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO SUPPORT THE BLOOD DRIVES

Submissions in response to this EOI are to be received no later than 4:00 p.m. February 23, 2018. After reviewing responses, NAD may request additional information or may schedule individual meetings with any respondent to gain additional information about the expression of interest.

PAGE 6, Monday, January 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Minister tells PLP: ‘Sit small’ on NHI FROM PAGE 1 and say the time taken to correct the mess is time when we ought to have been doing other things.

That’s as an absurd position as you can get.

“The truth of the matter is that we got served a lemon and have to make lemonade out of it. We find ourselves in a position of cleaning up an awful mess; finding a less than palatable solution to an horrendous mess.”

Dr Darville, responding to Dr Sands’ comments last week, said the advice from the Attorney General’s Office - as reported - meant

the Minnis administration could no longer “stall, delay and defer” over what it planned to do with the NHI scheme left by the Christie administration.

He suggested that the Attorney General had confirmed what the former government “knew all along” - that the contracts entered into by the then-NHI Secretariat with doctors and other medical providers to provide NHI services were lawful.

“Although not a surprise, sadly, after more than eight months in office, and with more than 34,000 Bahamians [having applied for enrollment] in NHI, and waiting on the implementation of these essential

primary and selective catastrophic healthcare services throughout the country, the Free National Movement is still unable to articulate the way forward,” Dr Darville argued in a statement.

“Rather, The Free National Movement (FNM), with its ‘stop, review and cancel’ policies, wasted more than eight months on seeking legal opinion, with the aim of undoing much of the good work put in place by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the NHI secretariat. “The reality is the Bahamian people are watching and, quite frankly, are all disappointed with the political games being played with NHI. We want

this present administration to stop blaming the former administration for the delays concerning the launch of NHI, and to stop making excuses concerning it. We want to see the full implementation of this well thought-out universal primary healthcare programme, which would improve the delivery of healthcare services to thousands of uninsured and needy persons throughout our country.”

The exchange between Dr Darville and Dr Sands, who laughed upon being informed of the Opposition’s statement, again highlights the extent to which NHI continues to be a ‘political football’ between the two parties even now that the roles are reversed.

The Minister told Tribune Business that neither he, nor the Attorney General, had said what was done by the previous administration was lawful or would be ratified as ‘legitimate’ by the NHI Authority Board.

He conceded that whatever the Government and Board now did in relation to NHI would be “controversial”, but pledged that any reform actions would be “in the best interest of the Bahamian people”.

“Now they want to go back and say what they did was reasonable?” Dr Sands asked of the PLP. “That’s patently not what I’m suggesting. Blow me. If it were that simple, and we were minded to be that sloppy and lazy with the problem, life would be so easy.

“The Bahamas wouldn’t be in this mess had they done it properly to begin with. Having gotten to this position, we have to go through a very rigorous process to examine the options and make a decision that’s ultimately in the best interest of the Bahamian people.

“We have to do this understanding that whatever decision we come up with will be controversial, and it wouldn’t have to be controversial had you [the

Christie administration] done the doggone thing properly to begin with.”

Dr Sands added that “the fundamental issue” facing the Government and NHI Authority Board, chaired

by Dr Robin Roberts, was whether they “terminate everything and start over” recognising that the previous administration’s actions had no basis in law.

However, he conceded: “I don’t even have the published or written opinion.

The Attorney General and I had a ‘side bar conversation’ and discussion over their conclusion, and I said what he said to me.

“He knew we were waiting for this, and obviously the Board would want the written opinion, and I’m quite anxious to have the written opinion myself.

I doubt have any reason to doubt my Cabinet colleague.”

The Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA), which represents underwriters and brokers in the medical insurance sector, last week urged the Government to publish the advice from the Attorney General’s Office amid fears that it would set “a bad precedent” by ratifying actions that had no basis in law. Acknowledging that the BIA “is entitled to their views”, Dr Sands responded: “Yes, absolutely. I have no reason not to do so” when asked by Tribune Business whether he would publish the ‘written opinion’ once received.

He reiterated that the NHI Board’s “hands are tied” by the former administration, given that there are no legal reasons to overturn existing contracts with healthcare providers who are serving 29,539 beneficiaries.

“The substantive issue is, acknowledging this thing was done outside the law, is whether or not the Board can acknowledge what was done without terminating everything, shutting it down and starting over,” Dr Sands told Tribune Business.

“That is the fundamental question here.... It’s a real conundrum. It’s not a question of making what was done legitimate; we have accepted it has been done, and there is no requirement in law to undo it.

“How they put that language into that opinion is clearly going to generate a lot of debate.

“The summary of it is that the Board can ratify the decisions that have been made to-date as opposed to overturning the whole thing,” he continued.

“They [the Christie administration] made a hash of it, they ought not to have proceeded but they did, and we’re in a situation where thousands of patients are receiving services. Do we ask them to give that care and those benefits back?”

The BIA, for one, is urging the Minnis administration to uphold the Bahamas as ‘a country of laws’ and not ratify actions by the former government that it believes were ‘outside’ the parameters of the NHI Act. The Christie administration only brought select parts of the NHI Act into effect when it ‘gazzetted’ them on April 5, 2017. Crucially, no Board was appointed until July 17, meaning that the NHI Authority did not exist and, as a result, the pre-election contracts entered into with medical providers may have been “ultra vires” and outside the law.

The only parts of the NHI Act given legal effect by the Christie administration were those that repealed the previous legislation; indicated when the new one came into force; and established the NHI Authority.

Among the sections omitted were those giving authority to enroll persons in NHI; the criteria setting out who was eligible to enrol; and the framework detailing the functions of health care providers and insurers.

PUBLIC NOTICE INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

MARKET REPORT THURSDAY, 4 JANUARY 2018

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 2,063.56 | CHG 0.00 | %CHG 0.00 | YTD 125.35 | YTD% 6.47 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 19.17 9.09 3.76 1.77 0.16 5.60 8.70 6.30 5.30 12.00 2.59 1.56 6.01 10.55 11.00 4.50 7.25 12.51 11.00

52WK LOW 4.00 17.43 8.19 3.32 0.95 0.12 3.50 8.40 5.83 3.15 9.00 2.18 1.40 5.82 8.78 5.67 3.35 6.61 12.01 10.00

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

1050.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE

E J K L M N

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

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

SYMBOL FBB18 FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) 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 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

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.11 4.13 1.98 176.30 149.66 1.52 1.69 1.61 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.46 1.62 1.56 1.04 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.00 17.43 9.09 3.34 0.95 0.16 3.70 8.70 6.10 4.90 9.00 2.48 1.50 6.00 10.45 6.00 4.48 7.01 12.51 10.00

CLOSE 4.00 17.43 9.09 3.34 0.95 0.16 3.70 8.70 6.10 4.90 9.00 2.48 1.50 6.00 10.45 6.00 4.48 7.01 12.51 10.00

CHANGE 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 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

110.14 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.34 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

109.80 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

972 847

500

750

VOLUME

NAV 2.11 4.13 1.98 176.30 149.66 1.52 1.69 1.61 1.09 7.16 8.40 6.29 11.28 11.60 10.21

EPS$ 0.444 0.932 -0.508 0.540 -1.220 0.000 -1.462 0.611 0.583 0.192 0.631 0.102 0.392 1.129 0.729 0.484 0.298 -0.668 0.543 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.130 0.000 0.230 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.300 0.220 0.160 0.690 0.060 0.050 0.290 0.500 0.000 0.120 0.140 0.580 0.000

P/E 9.0 18.7 N/M 6.2 N/M N/M -2.5 14.2 10.5 25.5 14.3 24.3 3.8 5.3 14.3 12.4 15.0 -10.5 23.0 0.0

YIELD 2.00% 6.48% 0.00% 6.89% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 3.45% 3.61% 3.27% 7.67% 2.42% 3.33% 4.83% 4.78% 0.00% 2.68% 2.00% 4.64% 0.00%

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

0.0 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 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 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 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% 4.00% 4.39% 5.57% 5.69% 2.14% 2.44% 4.66% 3.89% 5.58% 6.65% 3.57% 4.29% 1.59% 2.22% 2.65% 3.25% 3.83% -1.09% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69%

NAV Date 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 24-Nov-2017 30-Sep-2017 30-Sep-2017 31-Oct-2017 31-Oct-2017 31-Oct-2017 31-Oct-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017

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 - 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

The Public is hereby advised that I, ANDRELITA JARRETT of St. James Rd., P.O.Box SS-19405, mother/father of ARMANI BOWE intends to change my child’s name to ARMANI ROACH. 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 INNOCENT JEAN BAPTISTEBELLOT of Minnie Street, P.O. Box N-10326, New Providence, 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 8th day of January, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CONCILLA ANNE JEAN BAPTISTEBELLOT of Minnie Street, New Providence, 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 8th day of January, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

PAGE 8, Monday, January 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Schooner Bay tries to rally homeowners - including PM FROM PAGE 1 adding that “a lot of misleading and incorrect information has been provided to many”.

“All actions taken by Schooner Bay Ventures have always been employed after much deliberation regarding all parties involved and/or attempts to reasonably resolve open issues,” the letter, which bears his name, states. “Schooner Bay has always and continues to operate in accordance with the laws of the Bahamas. “Events like these that seek to only roadblock the path to success will not prevail...... We ask that our owners be mindful of what should be a shared goal of success at Schooner Bay.”

Tribune Business, though, has numerous documents - and has conducted multiple interviews with named and unnamed sources - that back-up its articles.

Dr Huber, meanwhile, said he remained committed to Schooner Bay, having hired Construction Management and Development (CM&D) and Legacy Global Development as the owner’s development/project representative and real estate sales team respectively.

“We share your commitment for Schooner Bay to be a success; a thriving community that is a place for all of us to create a lifetime of memories. To that end, we have recently hired a worldclass development team,” he

wrote. “Schooner Bay Ventures is pursuing a plan to develop a resort community that is enabled by the sale and rental of real estate. We are choosing to maintain the continuity of beautiful Bahamian architecture that has been established at Schooner Bay. “A vibrant community will enhance the property values at Schooner Bay, and will produce construction and service sector employment for Bahamians. A lot of additional capital will be required to make this vision a reality.”

No specifics were provided on how this ‘vision’ will be translated into reality, and Schooner Bay contacts who have seen the

letter told Tribune Business they were distinctly unimpressed.

One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, questioned why “a lot of additional capital will be required” when Schooner Bay’s infrastructure - including roads, utilities, harbour and sea walls - was already largely in place.

They said what remained was for the developer to sell the remaining inventory of lots, but added that sales had slowed to a trickle since ties were severed with then-development partner, Lindroth Development Company, in 2013-2014.

The source added that Lindroth Development’s plan envisaged Schooner Bay

attaining ‘critical mass’ of 75-100 homes by this year, thereby creating a sustainable community that could also support Bahamian entrepreneurs on the 100-acre Crown Land tract known as ‘The Commons’.

They added that the project was currently nowhere near this level of build-out.

Dr Huber, meanwhile, signed off: “My personal commitment to Schooner Bay is evidenced by the enormous financial commitment that I have made to Schooner Bay, and that I continue to make. We seek your continued support of Schooner Bay as we take the next positive steps toward building our community.”

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