01082018 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2019

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MICHAEL FOULKES

BAIC in $500k govt bail-out

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) has received a $500,000 taxpayer bail-out to help pay down a $3.123m debt that left it on “life support”.

Michael Foulkes, BAIC’s executive chairman, in a statement yesterday said the corporation had been left “in dire straits” by the former Christie administration with its employee with health insurance plan suspended over $385,000 in arrears that had built up over four months.

While that has been brought current, Mr Foulkes revealed that BAIC still owes the National Insurance Board (NIB) a collective $1.7m in contributions - including some $700,000 that had been deducted from employee pay cheques but was never passed on. He added that the corporation has been current with NIB payments since January last year.

Focusing on the positive, Mr Foulkes said BAIC had paid the $65,000 debt owed to its US-based livestock feed supplier, while cash on hand had increased almost “seven-fold” during 2018 to close the year at just over $138,000.

“When we arrived at the corporation we immediately found that its finances were in dire straits, and the corporation was on life support with debts due and owing at the time totalling $3.123m,” said Mr Foulkes.

“We later discovered that it exceeded that amount.

“Our cash position for the entirety of the corporation was a meagre $20,000-plus on hand with about 200 employees and operations in six Family Islands and New Providence.”

Providing details on BAIC’s financial condition post-general election, Mr Foulkes added: “We met the employee group medical insurance coverage in a suspended status being four months in arrears for a total of $385,000.

“The corporation had 34 increment assessments that were completed but not reviewed by management.

SEE PAGE 5

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Banking industry shrinks by $200bn

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

OTAL bank assets in The Bahamas fell by over $200bn during the six-and-a-half years to end-September 2018, amid rising fears yesterday that the sector’s latest reforms are a “death knell”.

Central Bank of The Bahamas data, unveiled at a December 2018 industry briefing, revealed that combined domestic and “offshore” banking assets declined by 35.2 percent, falling from $657.9bn to $426.2bn, between 2012 and last September.

The regulator attributed the fall largely “to a shift in business model” by many of its licensees, but other figures further fuel the impression of a Bahamian financial services in slow, steady contraction and retreat.

Total industry employment, again covering both

• Total assets drop 35.2% in six years to 2018 • Sector’s workforce contracts 14%; 650 jobs go • Domestic banks’ asset base falls over 80%

JAMES SMITH the domestic and international bank and trust company sectors, dropped by 13.6 percent over the six years between 2012 and 2017 as financial institutions shed some 650 jobs.

The Central Bank said this amounted to the loss of 113 jobs, or 2.5 percent of the Bahamian financial

services industry’s workforce, per annum over that period. The sector, which is primarily responsible for providing the lucrative, professional jobs that underpin this nation’s middle class, saw its workforce fall from near 5,000 to just over 4,000.

The asset base decline was especially pronounced in the Bahamian commercial banking industry, where total assets fell by more than 80 percent over the six-and-a-half years to September 2018 - dropping from $100bn in 2012 to less than $20bn.

Describing this as “a significant fall-off”, the Central Bank added that the decline in the domestic banking sector’s deposit base - from more than $35bn in 2012 and 2013 to

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE attorney general yesterday slammed as a “false parallel” suggestions that the web shop industry’s tax hikes will violate the European Union’s (EU) anti-tax evasion demands.

Carl Bethel QC told Tribune Business that the comparison drawn by Alfred Sears QC, Island Luck’s attorney, was “specious” and dismissed his argument that the sector’s new and increased taxes would run afoul of the 28-nation EU’s demand to eliminate so-called preferential tax breaks for non-resident entities.

Mr Sears, in a statement issued on Sunday, had suggested that the tax hikes were “a classic case of ring fencing” due to the preferential tax breaks/ concessions granted to foreign-owned casinos compared to the domestic web shop industry. He added that this placed The Bahamas “in clear and present danger” of violating

the EU’s call for such tax advantages to be ended.

But Mr Bethel, hitting back, argued that there was no comparison between the Bahamian gaming industry and the reforms devised to end so-called “ring fencing” in the financial services sector.

He added that Mr Sears’ argument was flawed because the hotel-based casinos at Atlantis and Baha Mar were not nonresident entities, but part

of the domestic or onshore economy just like the web shops. The attorney general said the EU was only interested in “ring fencing” that separated the domestic and so-called “offshore” sectors of the Bahamian economy - a situation that did not apply where gaming was concerned.

“That’s a false parallel,” Mr Bethel blasted. “There is no parallel between the ring fencing the OECD and the EU are attacking,

CLICO payout ‘on the horizon’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

and the difference in taxation mechanisms between onshore casinos and web shops.

“The fact is that all of these onshore casinos, even when they do their electronic gambling on their properties, it all takes place in The Bahamas. It is run by casino managers and croupiers who are Bahamians in The Bahamas, and they have a separate taxation regime permitted by our laws.

“There is no ring fencing. Ring fencing is giving someone a preference you don’t give to someone else for the purpose of them coming and doing offshore business. All of our casinos perform onshore business by their very nature.”

Mr Bethel added: “To attack the separate taxation regime for onshore casinos

SEE PAGE 4

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less than $15bn since 2014 - had resulted from “a shift in business strategy and de-risking”.

While the international banking industry’s asset base had also shrunk over the same period, dropping from $558bn to $406bn, the Central Bank said the latter figure had been “relatively stable” since 2016.

The data, produced as part of Central Bank efforts to prepare its licensees for the upcoming IMF Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) that begins today, will likely exacerbate concerns about the future growth prospects for The Bahamas’ second largest industry in the wake of reforms imposed by international anti-tax

SEE PAGE 4

• Brands Island Luck attorney’s argument ‘specious’ • Casinos onshore; EU only targeting ‘offshore’ • Web shop’s proposal ‘unacceptable’

CARL BETHEL QC

BISHOP SIMEON HALL

A PROMINENT CLICO (Bahamas) policyholder yesterday confirmed “something is on the horizon” over the latest payout to clients of the insolvent insurer.

Bishop Simeon Hall, whose annuity was caught in the company’s collapse almost one decade ago, told Tribune Business he had been informed that the payment anticipated before Christmas was imminent although he had not been given any details.

Tribune Business sources yesterday suggested that around $8m was due to be paid-out by the Government to meet its commitment to former CLICO (Bahamas) annuity and pension holders, plus life insurance clients who had surrendered their policies.

This newspaper understands that the money will be paid in instalments, and not be released all at once, but this could not be confirmed before press time yesterday.

Craig Tony Gomez, the Baker Tilly Gomez accountant and partner who serves as CLICO (Bahamas) liquidator, is gagged by the Supreme Court from speaking publicly on the matter.

“I just got word there’s something on the horizon,” Bishop Hall told Tribune Business of the latest payout. “It sounds positive but they didn’t give me any more information. A brother from Spanish Wells called me to say they’d heard something was happening. I wish the process would be a little faster.”

Some $12.403mm has been allocated in the Government’s 2018-2019 budget for CLICO (Bahamas) compensation payments, with the same sum also earmarked at present for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 fiscal years.

CLICO (Bahamas) clients had hoped to receive this fifth payment before Christmas, but their hopes were dashed. They now stand to receive it just weeks away from the insolvent life and health insurer’s

AG: ‘False parallel’ over web shop tax EU fears

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

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Bahamas must ‘embrace disruptive change’ culture

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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THE Bahamas must “embrace disruptive change” and not permit a minority to derail economic reforms that benefit the rest of society, a BISX-listed company’s president argued yesterday.

Julian Brown, who is also Benchmark (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune Business that the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union’s (BEWU) concerns over the increased penetration of solar energy was a prime example of resistance to technologydriven change that can improve living standards for the majority of Bahamians.

Rather than fight the inevitable, Mr Brown urged the BEWU and the Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) workers it represents to push their employer to

• Can’t allow minority to derail reform • BISX-listed firm’s chief cites solar inertia • Calls on govt to ‘get out of business’

JULIAN BROWN develop its own solar unit and re-train staff so they can install the technology.

Speaking out following the concerns expressed at the weekend by the union’s president, Paul Maynard, the Benchmark chief said easily-accessible data showed The Bahamas ranks

near-bottom in the world on renewable energy usage despite the ample amount of sunshine and other natural resources it enjoys.

Renewable penetration in The Bahamas was pegged at just 1.1 percent of this nation’s current energy mix, worse than all European nations bar Gibraltar, and better than only five other Caribbean competitors.

Mr Brown argued that The Bahamas “should be leading the market in solar transformation”, adding that its failure to more aggressively adopt this and other renewable energy forms illustrated why its economy and living standards continue to lag.

He reiterated that

reduced energy costs would lead to “an explosion in entrepreneurial and business opportunities” which could not be further delayed by BPL union concerns about the impact on their jobs and livelihoods.

The Benchmark chief also urged the Government to develop a comprehensive plan to “get out of business” through privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) such as Bahamasair, arguing that all administrations had shown themselves to be “inherently poor managers” of these entities.

With ample surplus cash in circulation, supported by relatively low interest

SEE PAGE 5

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 8, 2019, PAGE 3

QC: WEB SHOPS MUST PUBLICISE PATRON BANS

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A WELL-KNOWN QC yesterday said predicted that the proposed five per cent stamp tax on web shop patrons will push them to gamble illegally and have the opposite effect to the Government’s intention.

Wayne Munroe QC, who represents the Island Game and Paradise Games chains, told Tribune Business he was preparing to submit a response to the attorney general, Carl Bethel QC,

WAYNE MUNROE QC on the matter and the rate of “sliding scale” taxation being imposed on web shops.

Declining to discuss particulars, Mr Munroe said:

“We are addressing what we say is the rate of taxation on the web shops, and we want to also put something for them to think about on the patron stamp duty because we feel that will have an adverse effect on their goal to maximise the taxation of the industry.

It also has the ability push patrons to gamble illegally.

When they gamble illegally their aren’t under the controls of the Gaming Board.’

“They say they want to impose a patron tax to help pay for the social problems created by gambling. The

CLICO payout ‘on the horizon’ FROM PAGE ONE

collapse into Supreme Court-supervised liquidation in early February 2009.

Bishop Hall, while praising the Minnis administration for following through on its predecessor’s promise to compensate CLICO (Bahamas) clients, expressed hope that lessons had been learned from the regulatory failings that led to the insolvency - especially how the insurer moved $73m out of The Bahamas without the necessary permits and approvals.

This sum was transferred to CLICO Enterprises, the vehicle for the insurer’s non-insurance activities, and invested in Wellington Preserve, an illiquid Florida-based real estate development. Mr Gomez has subsequently liquidated this project, and repatriated

the monies recovered to The Bahamas, where he is now winding-up CLICO Enterprises.

“We said from the beginning that Government was being generous in accommodating those persons waylaid by this,” Bishop Hall told Tribune Business.

“The only thing I fault the Government for was that kind of money should not have got out of the country, but we commend it for bringing this to this kind of positive conclusion.

“I just pray it doesn’t happen again. There was a lady at my church yesterday, as there is almost every other day. People come to ask me for assistance in bringing this to completion.

It’s been a long while but I’m hopeful.”

Bishop Hall branded CLICO (Bahamas) collapse as “capitalism gone sour”, and said the timing of the

latest payout - on the 10th anniversary of insolvency - was “most appropriate, particularly for the bereaved, the lost and left out; people who have no other resources to lean on”.

He added: “People need their money when they put it, unsuspectingly, in these conglomerates, and can only depend on the protection the Government can give them. Since this started the Government has put in place some serious regulation to avoid this thing happening again.

Bahamians deserve the best protection they can get.

“When you invest your money you expect to get it back with interest. It’s an awkward situation because it’s a private company. I’m grateful personally. There were seven people in my church that were waylaid by it, and I’m happy something is about to break through.”

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Gaming Board has banned a lot of people for life for gaming, which couldn’t happen before in the industry. I told my clients that it’s their fault that they’re not doing a good job at making that known.”

The Government and web shops have been at odds ever since the 20182019 budget, and its new and increased taxes for the sector, which were unveiled on May 30, 2018. The industry continues to argue it was denied due process, via a lack of proper consultation, over both the “sliding scale”

taxation structure and the five percent “patron tax”.

Speaking to the discussions with the attorney general, Mr Munroe said: “We had a meeting December 3. We thought that the attorney general was to get back to us. He thought it was the other way around.

“When we had a meeting on December 21 there was a little misunderstanding that caused us to get off to a little rocky start. Knowing the nature of Mr Bethel, having been in practice with him and against him, I think the balance of the meeting

was productive and we left to put proposals to them.”

He added: “I know that he has rejected the proposal Mr Sears put to him.

Due to work commitments, holiday travel commitments and health issues I only met with my clients on Friday.

I kept the attorney general updated and I’m in the process now of sending him our position. I can’t say the Government is negotiating in good faith or bad faith. I can say that this isn’t unlike many other negotiations I have been involved with.”

OBAN TALKS DELAYED UNTIL MONTH’S END

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday said discussions with Oban Energies over a revised agreement for its controversial $5.5bn oil refinery/storage terminal will likely be put off until month’s end.

Dion Foulkes, minister of labour, told Tribune Business the meeting scheduled for yesterday to kickstart discussions on a revised Heads of Agreement had to be rescheduled. A Cabinet subcommittee, co-chaired

by Mr Foulkes, was formed last year and charged with examining the Oban deal following public outcry over its terms.

“We had a meeting scheduled for (today) but some of the principals could not make it, so we are trying to reschedule it for the end of the month.

That meeting will begin the process to renegotiate the Heads of Agreement.

That was in respect to the economic provisions, the environmental provisions and the legal provisions.

They have decided to have those discussions but

DION FOULKES there was a scheduling problem with one of the principals in London, so I think we are going to put it off until month’s end,” said Mr Foulkes.

The Government signed the initial agreement

with Oban Energies on February 19 last year in what was later called a ceremonial signing. The agreement called for a $5.5bn oil refinery and storage facility project to be developed in East Grand Bahama.

The deal, though, has been mired in controversy over the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Mr Krieger’s past legal woes.

Mr Krieger also did not sign his own name on the Heads of Agreement.

Last March, the prime minister admitted that his administration had made a series of missteps regarding its deal with Oban Energies in its haste to boost the economy of Grand Bahama.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, January 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

BANKING INDUSTRY SHRINKS BY $200BN FROM PAGE ONE evasion offensives.

The Bahamas has implemented far-reaching, historic reforms to its financial services regulatory regime to meet European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) demands, which include tearing down the decades-long “wall” that separated the domestic and international banking segments.

It is also stripping new International Business Companies (IBCs) of the preferential tax breaks that made them such a competitive product, “equalising” their tax treatment with that of domestic companies, while existing IBCs will only enjoy these advantages for a further three years until end-2021 before they lose them.

James Smith, former minister of state for finance and an ex-Central Bank governor, yesterday described these reforms as “quite radical” and a “180 degree” turn away from the financial services business model

employed by The Bahamas for decades.

He argued that The Bahamas was “yielding its sovereign rights to grow the economy in the best interest” of the country and its citizens, and expressed particular concern that the removal of the separation between domestic and “offshore” financial services would place Bahamianowned institutions at a competitive disadvantage.

The Bahamas’ new financial services framework, unveiled by the Minnis administration last week, permits international institutions to enter the domestic market and conduct Bahamian dollar transactions once they have obtained the necessary regulatory approvals to do so.

Banking industry fees/ taxes will now be based on a “sliding scale”, coupled with the complexity and regulatory resources involved in supervising them, and if they engage in Bahamian dollar transactions.

However, Mr Smith argued that Bahamianowned institutions now face the prospect of being

squeezed out of business, as they will be exposed to foreign rivals able to draw on their parent’s financial muscle plus access to lower international interest rates and foreign currency financing.

He added that Bahamian providers, by contrast, will still face the same obstacles of a non-convertible Bahamian dollar and exchange controls when it comes to accessing competitive financing rates.

“What we’ve done here is remove the protection and opened up [domestic] financial services to foreign firms,” Mr Smith told Tribune Business. “You’re putting wholly-owned Bahamian companies at a competitive disadvantage, and doing so because of the nature of our economy. Our ability to expand is limited severely by the currency in which we operate.”

The Canadian-owned banks, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), CIBC FirstCaribbean and Scotiabank, already operate in the domestic commercial banking industry, and KP Turnquest, the deputy prime minister, told Tribune

Business the reforms “will not result in a significant change in the way the sector operates”.

Referring to the elimination of the “divide” between domestic and international financial services, he added: “The elimination of preferences and eligibility for traditional ‘offshore’ banks to enter the local market may result in an expansion of activity, although this is not expected to be significant at the moment.”

The Bahamas, as a relatively finite market of 350,000-400,000 persons, may not be large enough to interest international institutions to enter the domestic segment. Yet, apart from banking, the reforms also open up the insurance industry and capital markets sector including broker/dealers and investment funds - to more foreign competition.

Mr Smith, though, argued that while The Bahamas was giving foreign financial services providers more access to its markets, locally-owned institutions were being denied similar in their countries as a result of the “de-risking” that

has led to the severance of correspondent banking relationships.

Arguing that Bahamianowned institutions may ultimately be “gobbled up” by foreign rivals, he told Tribune Business: “Unless I’m reading this thing wrong what they’re doing is putting a death knell in the financial services industry.

“My fear is that we’re going to end up with a well-regulated jurisdiction, having passed all the laws necessary, but there will be no financial services industry to regulate. I don’t think whoever’s put this together realises the full impact on our economy. They’re being ill-advised.

“By the information the Central Bank has put out, looking at the financial services sector in the past decade we’ve lost 1,000 jobs, maybe even more; the number of institutions doing business in that period has decreased; and the number of assets under management has decreased tremendously,” Mr Smith continued.

“You’re seeing the rapid diminishing of our financial services sector, and

it’s all tied to the rules and regulations imposed from the OECD and EU. We’re not challenging them; we’re implementing them and patting ourselves on the back saying we’re compliant.

“But your financial sector will disappear sooner or later. That’s not surprising.

The OECD set out in 2000 to eliminate international financial centres, and we’re helping them. The same people we’re trying so faithfully to serve are the ones putting the knife in our back. If the OECD keeps moving the goal posts we will be left with no financial services.”

Mr Smith said the question facing The Bahamas was now whether it continued to “roll over” or start to resist, suggesting that the country may as well go down fighting given that it was set to lose either way.

“I don’t like dressing it up as in the best interests of the country,” he told Tribune Business of The Bahamas’ compliance.

“Destroying an important industry is not in the best interests of the country.”

AG: ‘False parallel’ over web shop tax EU fears FROM PAGE ONE in that way is a specious comparison to what the EU is complaining about.

It’s harmful to the country for someone to issue a statement like that on such a specious ground and getting a headline alleging ring fencing, when it is plain and must have been known to Mr Sears - that this is not a ring fencing situation. It’s unfortunate that he would have gone to that level, in my view, of what could only be called a desperate argument seeking to get a headline.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394 COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT COMMON LAW & EQUITY SIDE BETWEEN

2018 CLE/qui/1388

IN THE MATTER OF THE QUIETING TITLES ACT 1958 AND IN THE MATTER of Petition of ROXBERG WILLIAMS, of the Southern District of The Island of New Providence, Bahamas AND IN THE MATTER OF ALL THAT piece parcel or lot of land containing approximately Ten Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirty-Three (10,933) square feet being a portion of Crown Grant A3-54 situate South of Adelaide Road in the Western District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and bounded NORTH by other parts of Crown Grant A3-54 and running thereon Ninety-two and Eleven Hundredths (92.11) feet EASTWARDLY by a fresh water pond and running thereon for a total distance of One Hundred and Seventeen and Eighty hundredths (117.80) feet SOUTHWARDLY by a fresh water pond and running thereon One hundred and ThirtySeven and Eighty-Eight Hundredths (137.88) feet WEST by a 14 feet Road Reservation and running thereon Fifty and Forty-Two Hundredths (50.42) NORTH by property owned by the (Petitioner), ROXBERG WILLIAMS and running thereon Eighty-Five and Ninety-One Hundredths (85.91) feet and WEST partly by the property of, ROXBERG WILLIAMS and property now or formerly the property of LESTER COX and running thereon for a total distance of Eighty Nine and Twenty-Five Hundredths (89.25) Feet such said shape, size and dimensions are thereon coloured Pink.

NOTICE TAKE NOTICE THAT ROXBERG WILLIAMS, claims to be the owner in fee simple in possession of the said land and has made application to the supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Under Section 3 of the Quieting Title Act, 1959 to have his title to the said land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the said Act. A copy of the plan of the said land may be inspected during normal working hours at: i.

Registry of the Supreme Court, Ansbacher House, Bank lane & East Street, the office of the Administrator, at Harbour Island and Dorsett Major & Co., Mother Gibson’s Plaza, Boyd Road, Nassau Bahamas.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any person or persons having any dower or right of dower or an adverse claim not recognized in the Petition shall on or before the 31st, Day of March, A.D., 2019, file in the said Registry of the Supreme Court and serve on the Petitioner or the undersigned, a statement of such claim. Failure of any such to file and serve a statement of claim by the above time will operate as a bar to such claim.

Dated this 21st day of November 2018 DORSETT MAJOR & CO. Suite No.12, Mother Gibson’s Plaza Boyd Road Nassau, Bahamas Attorney for the Petitioner

The attorney general also dismissed suggestions that negotiations between himself, representing the Government, and the web shops have not been in good faith. He added: “I put to them a suggestion.

Mr Sears came with something totally different that went contrary to the very spirit of what we have been discussing.

“It was purported to be a complete settlement, but a complete settlement of terms he knew were simply not acceptable. The structure that he had proposed was unacceptable. This had been made clear to them already. On that basis we’re going to have to prepare to go to court.”

Mr Bethel continued: “In terms of good faith I’m still waiting to get a response from Mr Munroe on behalf of his clients, and undoubtedly as with Mr Sears he will make a proposal. We are waiting for that. We have done nothing on the record until such time as we hear from Mr Munroe.

What could be higher good faith than that?

“What I was trying to make clear was that in the absence of a reasonable position that we could accept, that the public revenue could accept, we’re prepared to go to court as soon as it is possible to obtain a date. We can go to court and have the matter resolved if we cannot get an agreement acceptable to the public revenue.

“Right now, public tax revenue is being held by the gaming houses and isn’t going into the Treasury. Every taxpayer has a disproportionate burden if major taxpayers such as them are not paying anything into the public revenue. It creates a disproportionate burden on every taxpayer in this country.”

The web shops’ case is based on what they allege is the lack of due process afforded to the industry over the introduction of a “sliding scale tax structure”. They view its new and increased rates as arbitrary, punitive and discriminatory.

Under this structure, web shops pay on each portion

of their revenue: • Up to $20m in revenue, a rate of 20 percent.

• Between $20m and $40m, a rate of 25 percent.

• Between $40m and $60m, a rate of 30 percent.

• Between $60m and $80m, a rate of 35 percent.

• Between $80m and $100m, a rate of 40 percent.

• Over $100m, a rate of 50 percent.

Five out of seven web shop operators fell solely in the lowest 20 percent category, while for a sixth, only a small portion of its revenue fell into the 25 percent category. Only Island Luck, the market leader, whose revenues will attract all tax rates.

The web shop industry and its consultants have also argued that The Bahamas is unique in levying a tax directly on patrons as opposed to the gaming house operators. However, the Government believes this is necessary to tackle the social ills caused by excessive gambling and help deter the industry’s growth.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 8, 2019, PAGE 5

Bahamas must ‘embrace disruptive change’ culture FROM PAGE ONE rates, Mr Brown said a properly-crafted privatisation strategy would further empower local entrepreneurs and give them the space needed to unleash their creative ideas.

Calling on Bahamians to place “national development” above their own narrow interests, he argued that the Government would “continue to change every five years” until an administration realised that this nation’s long-standing economic model will not get it to where it needs to go.

“We cannot look at something that is disruptive to a small part of our economy and ignore it when it is so beneficial to the larger part of our economy,” Mr Brown told Tribune Business. “We believe it is more important to look at the issue of solar energy and its disruptive capabilities in the context of its total benefit to the Bahamian economy and our national development.

“For The Bahamas to succeed in the 21st century we cannot, as a nation, focus our concerns on the benefit of the minority but, rather, the transformational impact for the majority and the country.”

Mr Brown argued that the savings generated for businesses and households by reduced energy costs would be of incalculable benefit, far outweighing any negative impact to BPL and its employees from increasing numbers of customers switching to renewable energy and moving off-grid.

His comments came after Mr Maynard described solar energy as BPL’s “competition”, and a potential threat to his members’ jobs

and others at the utility, especially since its best-paying customers in high-end communities such as Lyford Cay were increasingly adopting the technology following the start of its self-generation programme.

Mr Brown, emphasising that he was not trying to pick an argument with the BEWU leader, explained: “I’m saying to Mr Maynard: I understand there is a problem. Perhaps his response should be to convince the Government that they need to create a base within BPL to transition to this new form of energy.

“Maybe the technicians that currently do fossil fuel-based technology can be transferred to solar. We have a disruptive technology that is disrupting the labour force but all the labour force needs to do is be retrained. That’s what they need to do, and what we need to do as a country.

We need to embrace the change. Change is here.

“While Mr Maynard is concerned about the disruptive aspects of solar energy, the positive contribution of this new source far outweighs the concerns and, no matter how efficient the after-sales service of BPL becomes it will not - and cannot - stop the wave of renewable energy that has been unleashed,” Mr Brown added.

“Unless BPL adjusts its business model and embraces the change, like the dinosaur it will die. We note that some change in the generation plant of BPL is under way and, while that is significant to the future of the company and the cost of electricity for the Bahamian economy, it still is not the most efficient solution for the company or country.

Therefore, BPL will need to

make further adjustments to its generation plant over the next decade.”

The Benchmark chief added that “the ripple effect of drastically reduced energy costs” via solar and other renewable forms would result in an “explosion of entrepreneurial opportunities and businesses” - advantages that were impossible to ignore.

“Let’s open our eyes,” he told Tribune Business.

“There are many opportunities opening up through the change in the way we do business that will improve the economy, and his [Mr Maynard’s] group will be a beneficiary of it if they embrace the change.

“The failure for us is, if we fight the change we will remain where we are, and the whole world passes us by and we will not be able to catch up if we don’t get with this change that has occurred. Understand the change, embrace it and get on with the adjustment.”

He compared the adoption of solar energy to cell phones, questioning where The Bahamas would be if it still relied on landlines as its primary method of voice communication.

Many observers would argue that The Bahamas has done a poor job in managing, and adjusting to, change since the beginning of the 21st century, instead preferring to maintain the status quo while other countries leapfrog it by embracing new technologies, regulatory reforms and other advances.

The Bahamas has also traditionally placed the needs of workers in stateowned enterprises such as BPL, and their unions, ahead of those of the wider population through what many believe is a strategy

BAIC in $500k govt bail-out FROM PAGE ONE Some employees’ reviews took place months prior, which meant that back pay was due to them that they had not received.”

Besides the $65,000 owed to Walpole Company, BAIC’s livestock feed supplier, Mr Foulkes said: “We met the corporation deducting the NIB funds from employees’ checks – their portion – but not paying the deducted funds to NIB for almost five years. The total due and owing at the time was just under $700,000.

Also, the corporation’s portion that was due and owing was in excess of $1m.

“We met a bill for Family Island farmers of $31,000 in January 2018. We have since paid that amount and have been current as to our monthly schedule every month throughout 2018 with few exceptions.”

Turning to the solutions, Mr Foulkes revealed that BAIC’s debts had been reduced from $3.123m to $2.573m at year-end 2018 - a reduction of $549,605 or 17.6 percent - thanks to a $500,000 injection (bailout) by the Government via the Public Treasury and Bahamian taxpayer.

“The cash on hand on December 28, 2018 (the last full business day) went from $20,000-plus in January 2018 to $138,338.26 – an improvement of almost

seven-fold. And we anticipate by this Friday, January 11, 2019, our cash on hand will be around $250,000,” Mr Foulkes said.

“At the end of 2018 we are pleased to report that the employee group medical insurance coverage is current. We have paid the full amount that was in arrears in January 2018 in the amount of $385,000, and we have paid the amount every month in full, thereby today owing nothing. We will only have to pay the bill for January 2019, when it becomes due.”

While all increments and associated back pay have been covered, Mr Foulkes said the $1.7m owed to NIB remained outstanding although all current payments are on track.

“While we have not been able to pay the amount

NOTICE MISTRAL RENEWABLE LIMITED NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) the dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 3rd January 2019 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) the Liquidator of the said Company is Platina Energy Partners LLP. Dated the 7th day of January, A.D., 2019.

PLATINA ENERGY PARTNERS LLP The Liquidator for the above-named Company

taken from employees’ checks for the most part since 2012, which amounts to $700,000, we have every month since January 2018 paid the amount deducted from employees’ checks todate and paid same to NIB on their behalf. Today, the corporation owes nothing to NIB for the deductions from employees’ checks,” Mr Foulkes said.

“Further, it is our fervent hope that this year, with the assistance of the Government, we will pay the amount that was deducted from employees’ checks since 2012 for the most part but not paid to NIB. As regards the current BAIC portion, we will work towards commencing payment of that amount and, of course, the $1m that was never paid by the former government.”

designed to secure labour votes at the next general election.

Mr Brown, meanwhile, called on the Government to commit to a well-planned privatisation strategy to divest itself of loss-making SOEs that represent a continual multi-million dollar drain on the Public Treasury and Bahamian taxpayer.

With decades of results confirming that the Government was a poor manager, he added that it was no coincidence that the only troubled commercial bank in The Bahamas was Bank of The Bahamas - the one that was majority state-owned.

“We need to create a long-term plan to privatise all these operations that don’t belong in government,” the Benchmark chief told Tribune Business.

“The Government does not belong in the private sector to that degree, and it would free up capital in government.

“BPL, Water & Sewerage, Bahamasair are costing the Government millions of dollars in losses. The Government are inherently

poor managers of businesses like that. They’re better off out of it, privatising them, finding other partners to replace it and run it much better.

“When are we going to learn the lesson?” Mr Brown asked. “There’s a lesson to be learned. To my mind, if we learn the lesson we will empower our entrepreneurs and get out of businesses where the Government shouldn’t be, and the economy would be a lot further ahead.

“Until some administration admits this and plans for it to happen, we are - in my view - going to change the Government every five years. We have to get progressive. This is not about politics. This is about national development, national interest. We have to get away from ‘what is good for me’ to ‘what is best for all’.

“Sometimes a few of us are going to get hurt for the benefit of the larger position. It happens. That’s the way the world works.

Until we understand it and embrace it, we will continue to make the same mistakes

over and over... We’ve done a good job to this point, but the model that got us here is not the one to take us over the hill now.”

Mr Brown said Bahamians needed to have a “national discussion” on these issues, and added: “If there is one thing the twenty-first century showed us when ushering in this new millennium is that change will be a driving force powered by technology.

“I can recall my dad always reminding me that the only constant in life is change. He would conclude by saying: ‘Understand it, embrace it and define how it will impact you so that adjustments can be made, otherwise like the dinosaur you will become extinct’.”

With entrepreneurs “chomping at the bit” and the capital markets primed, Mr Brown argued that this was “the perfect environment” in which to sell-off SOEs to Bahamian investors.

“For the Bahamian economy to grow its gross domestic product back to three percent we will need to unleash this energy,” he added.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, January 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Man in the middle: DNC chair prepares for tough primary WASHINGTON Associated Press DEMOCRATIC National Committee Chairman Tom Perez is at the center of the biggest test his party has faced in recent history.

The party has rebounded from its disastrous 2016 performance with key midterm victories , but now stares at a long and potentially divisive presidential primary fight that could include dozens of candidates. The DNC is rehabilitating from years of neglect and infighting and lags its Republican counterpart in fundraising and data capabilities — key elements a national party organisation provides its nominees.

The decisions Perez faces in the coming weeks — from finalising rules for presidential debates to convincing state leaders to give up control of voter files and choosing which city will host next year’s Democratic convention — will be picked apart for any sign that he’s throwing his weight behind one candidate or another.

That underscores what could be Perez’s most daunting task: convincing party faithful and activists that the DNC is a neutral actor in the primary process. It’s a tough argument to make to a Democratic base scarred by a bitter primary in 2016 that many supporters of Bernie Sanders said was tilted in favour of Hillary Clinton.

“Tom really does have the hardest job in politics,”

TOM PEREZ, chairman, Democratic National Committee. said Tina Podlodowski, the Democratic chairwoman in Washington state, who backed Perez for his job but sometimes criticises him. “It’s thankless.”

Nearly two years into his post, Perez, who was President Barack Obama’s labour secretary, has already navigated tricky intraparty tumult. Most notably, he led the DNC through negotiations to scale back the role of so-called “superdelegates” who overwhelmingly backed Clinton.

But he knows the biggest fight lies ahead.

“If we have 15 candidates, 14 of them aren’t going to make it to the mountaintop,” Perez told The Associated Press. “My job, our job is to ensure that every candidate and their supporters feel like they got a fair shake.”

“I come to this with

sobriety,” he said as he contemplates his next move.

At least publicly, Perez shows no signs of strain.

The 57-year-old son of Dominican immigrants was ebullient at a recent gathering of top party donors in Washington, calling the November midterms “historic”. He praised other party committees for their work regaining House control and flipping seven governor’s offices and almost 400 state legislative seats. But he made sure to argue that a “culture change” at the DNC also played a leading role.

There is irony to Perez positioning himself as an agent of change. He ran for chairman after the 2016 election at the urging his old boss, Obama, who is widely acknowledged to have let the DNC and party network around the country wither.

PUBLIC NOTICE

It wasn’t exactly Perez’s plan — he hoped to become attorney general in a Clinton administration.

The approach he took to winning the DNC post offers clues about how he will manage the challenges ahead.

He competed for the job against Keith Ellison, then a Minnesota congressman and favourite of the liberal base.

Using Obama’s inner circle to lobby DNC members, Perez echoed Ellison’s calls to “organise everywhere”, invest “in every zip code” and give a voice to activists, particularly those who backed Sanders over Clinton in 2016.

After Perez came out on top during a raucous party meeting, he called Ellison to the stage and essentially declared him co-chairman, a manoeuvre with dubious justification under party rules.

The move and the campaign that preceded it demonstrated that Perez, much like Obama, seeks to maintain at least a toehold in multiple camps, giving critics enough of what they want but still using brute political force when needed.

A “pragmatic progressivism”, he likes to say, explaining his approach both to policy and politics.

Perez immediately got behind a “Unity Commission” that Sanders and Clinton conceived to overhaul how the party chooses its nominee. He eventually pushed changes that went further than

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, NICOL TONI EDGECOMBE of Maxwell Lane, Oakes Field, P.O. BOX CB-11034, New Providence, Bahamas, The mother of NEUGYEN CULMER II, intend to change my child’s name to NEUGYEN JAYDEN NICO CULMER. 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.

The Public is hereby advised that I, ELOISE PATRICIA WILLIAMS of P.O. BOX CR-54767, New Providence, Bahamas, intend to change my name to PATRICIA ELOISE WILLIAMS. 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.

MARKET REPORT MONDAY, 7 JANUARY 2018

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 2,106.40 | CHG -3.06 | %CHG -0.15 | YTD -3.05 | YTD% -0.14 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 20.91 7.50 4.90 1.48 0.56 3.92 10.20 6.60 4.92 12.50 2.74 1.78 8.21 6.30 13.20 6.98 4.48 13.50

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 4.90 3.32 0.90 0.18 2.10 8.70 6.10 3.54 9.00 2.30 1.50 7.25 6.00 10.10 5.85 3.25 12.51

1050.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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 Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson

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

52WK LOW 100.00

SYMBOL LAST CLOSE AML 4.43 APD 17.43 BPF 7.00 BWL 4.90 BOB 1.46 BBL 0.56 CAB 2.30 CIB 10.20 CHL 6.15 CBL 4.50 CBB 11.25 CWCB 2.26 DHS 1.78 EMAB 7.84 FAM 6.30 FBB 12.85 FIN 6.98 FCL 3.62 JSJ 13.01 CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL 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 2.19 4.18 2.02 182.41 158.55 1.59 1.71 1.67 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.52 1.68 1.61 1.08 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

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 LAST SALE 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.43 17.43 7.00 4.90 1.46 0.56 2.30 10.20 6.15 4.50 11.01 2.29 1.78 7.96 6.30 12.85 6.98 3.62 13.01

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.24 0.03 0.00 0.12 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

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

CHANGE 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 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 Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

VOLUME

1,500

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.147 0.932 -0.306 0.323 0.085 0.000 -0.523 0.700 0.480 0.154 0.627 0.102 0.209 0.000 0.481 0.762 0.578 0.277 0.631

DIV$ 0.120 1.260 0.000 0.240 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.710 0.220 0.120 0.620 0.060 0.060 0.084 0.280 0.500 0.150 0.130 0.600

P/E 30.1 18.7 N/M 15.2 N/M N/M -4.4 14.6 12.8 29.2 17.6 22.5 8.5 N/M 13.1 16.9 12.1 13.1 20.6

YIELD 2.71% 7.23% 0.00% 4.90% 0.00% 3.57% 0.00% 6.96% 3.58% 2.67% 5.63% 2.62% 3.37% 1.06% 4.44% 3.89% 2.15% 3.59% 4.61%

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 Prime + 1.75% 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%

NAV 2.19 4.18 2.02 182.41 158.55 1.59 1.71 1.67 1.09 7.43 8.57 6.57 10.37 11.68 10.32 9.92 8.69 11.79

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.23% 4.04% 1.03% 1.38% 1.92% 2.39% 2.08% 3.47% 3.35% 5.94% 3.67% 4.43% 0.73% 0.96% 2.88% 3.53% -0.53% 0.27% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69% -0.71% 0.16% 3.96% 7.75% 8.34% 14.88

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 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 NAV Date 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 26-Oct-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 30-Nov-2018 30-Nov-2018 30-Nov-2018 30-Nov-2018 30-Nov-2018 30-Nov-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018

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

an initial compromise on superdelegates. Now, DNC members and elected party leaders, including the chairman himself, will not vote on the first presidential ballot of the 2020 convention.

Multiple previous DNC chairs cried foul, as did the Congressional Black Caucus, arguing the change punished long-serving party leaders in favour of activists from outside the party machinery.

When the overhaul passed last summer, the activists who had been skeptical of Perez cheered.

“One thing I like about Tom’s leadership is that you can be critical and still be heard,” said Melissa Byrne, an Ellison backer and former Sanders presidential campaign aide who served on Perez’s transition team.

“So much of politics is the conversations you have in hallways, but you have to be there,” she said. “Tom got us in the door.”

Perez says he’s applying the same philosophy to the debate rules. He’s committed to a low qualifying threshold for early debates to avoid blocking legitimate candidates. The DNC will draw lots to place candidates on two stages rather than picking an “A list” and “B list” as Republicans did with their own large 2016 field.

Perez said he and his team are talking to previous campaigns for their input, but not to prospective candidates themselves.

To be sure, there have been rocky stretches and inconsistencies, with more to come.

Perez has mandated that no DNC employee endorse any presidential candidate.

He criticised the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for venturing into a hotly contested 2016 congressional primary in Texas.

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

Yet Perez endorsed New York Gov Andrew Cuomo over his primary challenger, actress Cynthia Nixon, who had the backing of the Working Families Party.

Leaders at WFP and Indivisible, a grassroots group founded since Trump’s election, declined to comment on Perez’s stewardship.

The chairman has embraced the #MeToo movement, but never wavered in his support for Ellison when the deputy chairman’s ex-girlfriend accused him of abuse.

An investigation found no wrongdoing; Ellison quietly resigned from his party post after his November election as Minnesota attorney general.

Perez downplays the intraparty fights, arguing Democrats are as different as Rep Alexandria OcasioCortez, a democratic socialist from New York City, and Sen Joe Manchin, an occasional Trump ally from West Virginia. But he says they share common priorities like accessible health care, defending pensions and supporting organised labour.

“Those are FDR Democratic issues,” he says.

While Perez has his detractors, particularly among state party chairs who accuse him of a power grab on voter data files, even some of those critics join his allies in saying he’s already accomplished his first goal: imposing a steadiness that didn’t exist under Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the last elected chair and another of Obama’s hand-picked choices.

“I don’t want to cast any blame because they are both friends of mine,” said Woody Kaplan, a prominent Democratic donor from Boston, referring to Wasserman Schultz and Perez. “But he just had such a mess to dig out of.”

hiring a

GRAPHIC ARTIST

NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF HELEN RIDDEL WIGHTMAN, late and domiciled of 21 Old Mill Drive in the Village of Storrington the Country of West Sussex in the United Kingdom Deceased IT IS HEREBY NOTIFIED, for the information of those it may concern, that all persons having claim or demand against the said Estate are required to send the same to the undersigned on or before the 7th day of February A.D. 2019 and if so required by notice in writing from the undersigned to come in and prove such demand or claim or in default thereof be excluded from the benefit or any distribution made before such debts are proved; AND NOTICE is hereby given that all person indebted to the said Estate are requested to settle their respective debts at the Chambers of the undersigned on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

Dated the 8th day of January, A.D. 2019 CALLENDERS & CO. CHAMBERS, One Millars Court, P.O. Box N-7117, Nassau, The Bahamas Attorneys for the Personal Representative

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 8, 2019, PAGE 7

US-China trade talks start amid cooling economic growth BEIJING Associated Press FACING a March deadline, talks aimed at ending a trade war between China and the US are underway, with the world’s two biggest economies expressing optimism over the potential for progress but neither indicating its stance has changed.

Cooling economic growth in both countries is increasing pressure to reach a settlement.

As the talks began yesterday at the Chinese Commerce Ministry, Beijing complained about a US warship in what it said were Chinese waters, but it was unclear if that would disrupt the proceedings. Both sides have provided scant information about their discussions.

The talks went ahead despite tensions over the arrest of a Chinese tech executive in Canada on US charges related to possible violations of trade sanctions against Iran. The American delegation is led by a deputy US trade representative, Jeffrey D Gerrish, and includes agriculture, energy, commerce, treasury and State Department officials.

President Donald Trump imposed tariff increases of up to 25 percent on $250bn of Chinese imports over complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. President Xi Jinping responded by imposing penalties on $110bn of American goods, slowing customs clearance for US companies and suspending issuing licenses in finance and other businesses.

A Dec 1 agreement postponed further tariff increases. Economists say the 90-day postponement of additional tariff increases that had been meant to take effect Jan 1 may be too short to settle the disputes bedeviling US-Chinese relations.

Chinese growth fell to a post-global crisis low of 6.5 percent in the quarter ending in September. Auto sales tumbled 16 percent in November over a year earlier. Weak real estate sales are forcing developers to cut prices.

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the third quarter, and unemployment is at a five-decade low. But surveys

US Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, right, chats with a delegate as they leave the Westin Hotel in Beijing, yesterday. The US delegation led by deputy US trade representative, Jeffrey D Gerrish arrived in the Chinese capital for a trade talks with China. China sounded a positive note ahead of trade talks this week with Washington, but the two sides face potentially lengthy wrangling over technology and the future of their economic relationship.

Photo: Andy Wong/AP show consumer confidence is weakening because of concern that growth will slow this year.

Washington, Europe and other trading partners complain Beijing’s tactics violate its market-opening obligations.

The standoff also reflects American anxiety about China’s rise as a potential competitor in telecommunications and other technology.

Trump wants Beijing to roll back initiatives intended to create homegrown Chinese leaders in robotics and artificial intelligence.

China’s leaders see such strategies as a path to greater prosperity and global influence and have tried to defuse complaints by emphasising the country’s potential as a huge consumer market.

They’ve also promised to allow more foreign access to its auto, finance and other industries.

Beijing has tried in vain to recruit France, Germany, South Korea and other governments as allies against Trump, but they have echoed US complaints about Chinese industrial policy and market barriers.

The European Union filed its own challenge in the World Trade Organization in June against Chinese rules that the 28-nation trade bloc said hamper the ability of foreign companies to protect and profit from their own

technology.

For their part, Chinese officials are unhappy with US curbs on exports of “dual use” technology with possible military applications.

They complain China’s companies are treated unfairly in national security reviews of proposed corporate acquisitions, though almost all deals are approved unchanged.

With talks expected to move into a second day today, it’s not clear whether the flap over the warship might throw them off track.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said yesterday that Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels were dispatched to identify the US vessel and warn it to leave the area near disputed islands in the South China Sea. “We have made stern complaints with the US,” Lu said. “As for whether this move has any impact to the ongoing China-US trade consultations... to properly resolve existing issues of all kinds between China and the US is good for the two countries and the world.” But he added, “The two sides both have responsibility to create necessary and good atmosphere to this end.”

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt Col David Eastburn, said “The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows.”

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT COMMON LAW & EQUITY SIDE BETWEEN

2018 CLE/qui/00662

IN THE MATTER OF THE QUIETING TITLES ACT 1958 AND IN THE MATTER of Petition of CECIL HILTON AND CONWILL KEITH O’NEIL SAUNDERS, both of the Eastern District of The Island of New Providence, Bahamas AND IN THE MATTER OF ALL THAT: piece parcel or track of land containing 52.752 acres more or less originally Crown Land and said to be the property of one JOSEPH BRINDLEY BARRY situate on the Western side of Queen’s Highway about 1 ¼ miles Northwards from the Junction of the Road leading therefrom into The Bluff Settlement on the Island of Eleuthera, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and bounded NORTWARDLY by land said to be Crown Land and running thereon Two Thousand One Hundred and Seventy-Two and Ninety-Five Hundredths (2172.95) feet, on the EAST a fifty foot wide road known as Queen’s Highway and running thereon One Thousand Six Hundred and Forty-Four and Sixty-Six Hundredths (1644.66) feet, on the SOUTH by land said to be Crown Land and occupied by one HARRY ALBURY and running thereon Two Thousand One Hundred and Ninety-One and Eighty-Three Hundredths (2191.83) feet, on the WEST by Land said to be Crown Land and running thereon Five Hundred and EightyEight and Fifty-Nine Hundredths (588.59) feet which said piece parcel or lot of land is more particularly described on the Plan filed in this action and thereon coloured Pink.

NOTICE TAKE NOTICE THAT CECIL HILTON AND CONWILL KEITH O’NEIL SAUNDERS, claims to be the owners in fee simple in possession of the said land and has made application to the supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Under Section 3 of the Quieting Title Act, 1959 to have their title to the said land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the said Act. A copy of the plan of the said land may be inspected during normal working hours at: i.

Registry of the Supreme Court, Ansbacher House, Bank lane & East Street, the office of the Administrator, at Harbour Island and Dorsett Major & Co., Mother Gibson’s Plaza, Boyd Road, Nassau Bahamas.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any person or persons having any dower or right of dower or an adverse claim not recognized in the Petition shall on or before the 28th, day of February, A.D., 2019 file in the said Registry of the Supreme Court and serve on the Petitioner or the undersigned, a statement of such claim. Failure of any such to file and serve a statement of claim by the above time will operate as a bar to such claim.

Dated this 28th, day of November 2018 DORSETT MAJOR & CO. Suite No.12, Mother Gibson’s Plaza Boyd Road Nassau, Bahamas Attorney for the Petitioner

AMAZON EMERGES AS MOST VALUABLE US FIRM AMID MARKET TURMOIL

SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press AMAZON has eclipsed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company in the US as a see-sawing stock market continues to reshuffle corporate America’s pecking order.

The shift occurred yesterday after Amazon’s shares rose three percent to close at $1,629.51 and lifted the e-commerce leader’s market value to $797bn.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s stock edged up by less than one percent to finish at $102.06, leaving the computer software maker’s

value at $784bn.

It marks the first time Amazon has held the top spot and ends Microsoft’s brief return to the pinnacle after it surpassed Apple in late November .

The repositioning has been triggered by mounting concerns that the Trump administration’s trade war with China and rising interest rates will bog down the worldwide economy. If that were to happen, it’s likely to slow the growth of companies in technology and other industries that generate a substantial chunk of their revenue outside the US. That’s one reason most technology stocks are well

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT Common Law & Equity Division

off their peaks. Amazon, for instance, remains 21 percent below its high reached in September when the company’s stock value stood above $1tn. Apple was worth even more back then, but its stock has plunged by 37 percent since early October to erase about $400bn of its market value.

Apple confirmed some of investors’ worst fears last week when it warned that disappointing demand for iPhones, especially in China, caused its revenue for its most recent quarter to fall well below the projections of its management and industry analysts.

2018 CLE/gen//001148

IN THE MATTER of the QUIETING TITLES ACT, 1959 AND IN THE MATTER of the Petition of WILFRED BUTLER, JR. , KIPLING BUTLER, DON BUTLER and PEREZ BUTLER AND IN THE MATTER of ALL THAT piece parcel or lot of land comprising 8,636 square feet and situate at Peter Street off East Street in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas which said piece parcel or lot of land is bounded on the North by a reservation known as Peter Street and running thereon 66.65 feet, on the west by a property now or formerly the property of the Estate of Brenhilda Johnson and running thereon 81.85 feet, on the East by a Road Reservation known as East Street and running thereon 55.57 feet and South by a property said to be the property of the Church of God of Prophecy and running thereon 104.97 feet.

NOTICE WILFRED BUTLER, Jr., KIPLING BUTLER, DON BUTLER and PEREZ BUTLER claim to be the owners in fee simple in possession of ALL THAT piece parcel or lot of land comprising 8,636 square feet and situate at Peter Street off East Street in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas which said piece parcel or lot of land is bounded on the North by a reservation known as Peter Street and running thereon 66.65 feet, on the west by a property now or formerly the property of the Estate of Brenhilda Johnson and running thereon 81.85 feet, on the East by a Road Reservation known as East Street and running thereon 55.57 feet and South by a property said to be the property of the Church of God of Prophecy and running thereon 104.97 feet; AND have made application to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas pursuant to Section 3 of the Quieting Titles Act, 1959 to have their title to the said parcel investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title granted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the said Act. Copies of the Petition and Plan showing the position boundaries shape, marks and dimensions of the said tract or parcel of land filed in this matter may be inspected during normal office hours at the following:a) The Registry of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, British American Building, Marlborough Street, Nassau, The Bahamas; or b) BUTLER’S LAW CHAMBERS of 15 VET CF Place, 8th Terrace Centreville, Nassau, N. P. Bahamas; Attorney for the Petitioners.

NOTICE is hereby given that any person having dower or right to dower or an Adverse claim or claim not recognized in the Petition shall within Thirty (30) days after the appearance of this Notice filed in the Registry of the Supreme Court aforesaid and served on the Petitioner or the undersigned of his or her or its claim in the prescribed form verified by the Affidavit to be filed therein.

Failure of any such person to file and serve a Statement of his /her or its claim on or before the said Thirty (30) days herein will operate as a bar to such claim.

DATED the 3rd day of December, A.D. 2018 BUTLER’S LAW CHAMBERS 15 VET CF Place, 8th Terrace Centreville, Nassau, N.P. Bahamas; Attorney for the Petitioners.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, January 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE