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Bahamas suffered Govt and BPC ‘dispute’ $400m ‘shortfall’ outstanding licence fees on foreign inflows By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AHAMAS Petroleum Company (BPC) yesterday warned against “making mountains out of molehills” after it was revealed the government had refused to accept its payment of outstanding licence fees. Carl Bethel QC, the attorney general, disclosed to Tribune Business that the two parties were now engaged in a “reconciliation process” to resolve the dispute over how much the oil explorer owes to the Public Treasury. “They’ve sent the money, sent a cheque, but we’ve

• Oil explorer: ‘It’s mountains out of molehills’ • AG confirms two sides now in ‘reconciliation’ • Cheque paid but govt refuses to accept

CARL BETHEL QC

SIMON POTTER

not accepted it,” he said in response to this newspaper’s inquiries. “They’ve tendered what they say the

amount is, but we don’t agree. We’re now engaged in discussions that we call a ‘reconciliation’.

“I inquired of my senior officials and am informed that there remains a difference of opinion. BPC has tendered what it says are the outstanding licence fees. The parties have now embarked on a ‘reconciliation’ process in an effort to settle the dispute.” Documents seen by Tribune Business reveal that BPC’s outstanding licence fees, some of which date back to before 2018, were

SEE PAGE 5

Major PI resort to shut Sunday By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A MAJOR Paradise Island resort will offer workers voluntary separation packages following this Sunday’s closure that will put at least 85 percent of staff back on temporary furlough. John Pinder, the director of labour, yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business that the RIU Paradise Island resort had informed the government it plans to close again until “some time in March” and temporarily lay-off hundreds of workers. He added that the Spanish-owned all-inclusive resort chain had told workers it was prepared to offer full severance packages to those workers who

• RIU to temporarily lay-off 85% of staff • Planning to offer voluntary separations • Pinder: Hotel set to close until March

JOHN PINDER want them, and it will then determine how many it can accept depending on demand and the positions they occupy. RIU executives could not be reached for comment

BPL chair touts 40% outage fall

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) chairman yesterday pledged that it will be half-way towards its renewable energy targets by end-2025 as he hailed a 40 percent-plus drop in electricity outages. Dr Donovan Moxey, pictured, addressing the Bahamas Business Outlook conference, outlined the state-owned utility’s fiveyear strategic plan goals

that include a 40 percent reduction in its carbon footprint via the provision of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel for New

SEE PAGE 8

Governor in bank fee ‘transparency’ pledge By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday pledged to deliver “greater transparency” on commercial bank fees as the country’s first credit bureau prepares to start issuing reports by the 2021 second quarter. John Rolle, addressing the Bahamas Business Outlook conference, said the banking industry regulator was also focused on providing Bahamian financial services consumers with greater choice and

protection as he promised that the “Financial Services Ombudsman” post will be established early this year. Arguing that the development of a savings culture, and mobilising such resources, was vital to spur greater investment and economic growth, Mr Rolle said The Bahamas also “needs to get to the finishing line for completing the regulatory framework for private pension schemes” as these represent a potentially significant funding source.

SEE PAGE 7

yesterday despite multiple attempts by this newspaper, but Mr Pinder said: “What has been communicated to me is that on the 17th of this month, RIU intends to close until some time in March. “They don’t intent to fire any staff, and plan to put them on furlough; a temporary lay-off situation. They’ll keep a low percentage of staff there to ready themselves for whatever business comes after March, and if staff wish to apply for separation packages they’ll review them and see how many they can accommodate.”

Mr Pinder said he was not told how many employees work at the RIU Paradise Island, or the number that will be put back on temporary furlough so soon after being recalled. “All they said to me is they are going to keep ten to 15 percent of staff to carry out renovations, and the rest they’ll put on furlough,” he added The labour director agreed with Tribune Business that it “certainly won’t be” possible to revive the Bahamian hotel and tourism industry without encountering challenges

SEE PAGE 7

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas suffered a more than $400m foreign currency “shortfall” in 2020 that had to be covered by the government’s overseas borrowing activities, the Central Bank’s governor revealed yesterday. John Rolle, pictured, addressing the Bahamas Business Outlook conference, disclosed that proceeds from the government’s $800m-plus bond issues were required to fill “the gap” created by import demand far exceeding vital private sector foreign currency inflows due to the devastation inflicted by COVID-19. While foreign currency inflows through the private sector dropped by 33 percent year-over-year, due to the tourism shutdown that hit The Bahamas’ main foreign exchange earner, import demand slipped by only 13 percent as local businesses and consumers still had to meet essential needs such as food. “The government’s foreign currency borrowing has provided inflows to supplement the private sector’s need and bolster the foreign reserves,” Mr Rolle said. “In 2020, total foreign currency inflows through the private sector, as measured from commercial banks’ purchases of foreign exchange, fell by almost 33 percent. “Although expressed demand for foreign exchange to pay for imports of goods and services fell by approximately 13 percent, this left a shortfall of over $400m that had to be provided from other sources. The gap was closed by net inflows from government borrowing...”

Mr Rolle said there was “no deliberate intention” to grow The Bahamas’ foreign reserves via government borrowing, but the figures revealed yesterday show a situation that cannot be sustained for long unless this nation is able to swiftly revive tourism as its main foreign exchange earner. That is now in some doubt due to surging COVID-19 infection rates in the US and other major tourism source markets, which have also just introduced health protocols and border restrictions that will likely represent a further deterrent to travel, notwithstanding the start of vaccine roll-outs. While acknowledging that The Bahamas’ external reserves closed 2020 at their “highest end-of-year position on record”, Mr Rolle said this was due to “timing” as the government has not fully drawn down and spent all the proceeds from its foreign currency borrowing. He conceded that this drawdown, together with the private sector’s ongoing foreign currency needs and the spending of insurance inflows on Hurricane Dorian reconstruction would “reduce” the external reserves during the 2021 first half. “It is still expected

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Friday, January 15, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

ENTREPRENEURIAL IDEAS FOR BEATING COVID-19

HIS year has already gotten off to a rocky start. Most economists have given 2021 slow growth potential at best. With recessions looming, a raging pandemic still lurking and new strains mutating every day, a slow vaccination process and thousands of businesses fighting for survival, we all seem to be in for a long ride. Amid all the gloomy predictions, many who have lost jobs in the traditional corporate environment will look to entrepreneurial endeavours to bail themselves out of debt. Consider our column this week as a friendly guide to help navigate the treacherous waters of starting a business with little or no capital funding. 1. Nutritional organiser Most people love to eat, but not everyone knows how to cook healthy, mouth-watering meals on an affordable budget.

As a meal planner, your duties would include creating a list of ingredients, writing easy-to-follow recipes, providing nutritional information, developing a budget plan and educating your customers. If your skills allow, you can branch into the complementary area of physical fitness. 2. Personal chef To perfectly complement the nutritional organiser, a personal chef plans and prepares weekly or daily meals for clients. Strong cooking skills, and a working knowledge of nutrition and special diets, are a must. You do not necessarily need to have graduated from culinary school, but having some cooking classes under your belt will boost your credibility. While you may have to do some travelling to and from supermarkets and client homes, your customers should cover the cost of ingredients in addition to your service charge. 3. Graphic designer

Thousands of creatives are online sharpening their skills in web and graphic design. If you have even just basic skills this may be a good area for you to venture in. Every company needs visual assets of some kind to brand their business and attract customers. Becoming a freelance graphic designer requires a computer, a design application and a compilation or portfolio of your work. You can choose to provide a wide array of graphic design services, or you can offer niche services such as logos, display advertisements, brochures, t-shirt graphics or flyers, infographics. 4. Virtual assistant Now that we have all been violently thrown into the world of “virtu-land”, a personal guide to mitigate the mess that sometimes comes with it can be essential to the perfect virtual event. Those who have good organisational and technical skills are in high

demand for businesses who engage customers and partners online, but need to focus on content rather than logistics. 5. Concierge services Between caring for their children and handling their professional responsibilities, most working parents have very little time to take care of personal errands such as grocery shopping, making runs to the mall or mailing packages. A driven individual can take care of these time-consuming errands for clients, and free up their days for the important things in life. Account for travel expenses when determining your rates, which can be hourly or by the task. 6. Online trainer/tutor What are you passionate about? Music? Baking? Web design? Dating Services? If you know something inside and out, you can help others enrich their lives by offering virtual classes. Create

Resort founder debuts new seaplane service A HIGH-END boutique resort’s founder yesterday unveiled the February launch of a seaplane service that aims to further unlock Family Island tourism’s multi-million dollar potential. Brian Hew, chairman of Andros-based Kamalame Cay, is also chief executive of newly-formed COCO Bahama Seaplanes, which will take flight next month with a nine-seater plane and two-pilot crew to become what it says is “the first year-round, amphibious airline to debut in The Bahamas in over half a century”. He said in a statement that the service, which aims to transport guests

throughout The Bahamas and not just Kamalame Cay, will help improve access to the Family Islands and boost fragile local economies badly in need of a lift due to COVID-19’s economic devastation. “Recovery of the Family Islands will be accelerated with the arrival of COCO and, importantly, without the need for additional direct government investments to expand, rehabilitate or build new airports,” Mr Hew said. “COCO will benefit visitors to our beautiful country, and will help support a more reliable domestic travel infrastructure, allowing residents to move quickly and efficiently

A SNAPSHOT of the Coco Bahama Seaplane. throughout The Bahamas and reducing the burden on the government to fly to small, unprofitable markets with large aircraft.” COCO Bahama Seaplanes added that it aims to expand the range of tourism offerings for domestic and international visitors in both the Nassau and Grand Bahama markets, and was already working aggressively with independent

and multinational resorts to spread visitor spending to the Family Islands through day trips and excursions. The service’s unveiling has been met with government support. Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, said: “I am pleased to welcome a new aircraft option to The Bahamas that will increase access to our islands and allow travellers

downloadable instructional packets and videos, or schedule real-time Skype lessons with clients. Another option for aspiring educators is to start a virtual or home-based tutoring service. For the musically gifted, offering lessons to others who want to learn an instrument can be a great source of extra income. 7. Digital marketing services If you have experience in the marketing field, a solo digital marketing agency is a low-cost business idea you can get up and running in no time. If you do not have a background in marketing but are interested in the field, you can take affordable online courses to develop your skills. One of the best yet most challenging things about marketing is that it is always evolving. Therefore, if you have a knack for storytelling and learning, a digital marketing firm is a business you can start quickly

and cheaply. Whatever you do, 2021 is not the year to sit around doing nothing. Get up. Get moving. • NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organisations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

to experience the secluded paradise they are looking for right now. “I cannot help but feel proud that in these challenging times a Bahamian company such as COCO Bahama Seaplanes is prepared to invest in the future of tourism in The Bahamas. I sincerely believe that with Bahamian ingenuity and determination, we will once again take our rightful place as the destination of choice for travellers worldwide.” Tommy Turnquest, Bahamasair’s chairman, said: “The arrival of COCO Bahama Seaplanes is another important milestone for the Bahamian airline industry as we look for new ways to expand the services we provide to our residents and guests without additional financial burden on the Bahamian government.”

The seaplane service said it also aims to be a “starting point” for careerminded young Bahamians seeking jobs in aviation. Through a series of local and international training partnerships and scholarships, it ultimately aims to create hundreds of highquality jobs for Bahamians with career paths including pilots, maintenance, sales, customer service, management and support roles. It added that it will announce the first recipients of its annual scholarship programme for young 18-30 year-old Bahamian pilots later this month. Successful applicants will receive a cash contribution towards the flight school of their choice and, upon successful completion, will have a contingent offer to join the crew at COCO Bahama Seaplanes.

IAN FERGUSON BY

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 15, 2021, PAGE 3

$200m slash to food import bill By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas could slash its annual food import bill by $200m through focusing on the production of 77 organic items, a Cabinet minister said yesterday, adding: “We have another stab at this.” Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, told the Bahamas Business Outlook conference that “within three years” this nation could fully meet domestic and tourist demand for these foods, which were identified in an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report, if it properly commits to ensuring its food security. Acknowledging that The Bahamas has “been here before”, with food security and economic diversification treated as a major priority in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks only for the country to resume “business as usual” once the threat eased, Mr Pintard said COVID-19’s devastation had again brought renewed focus to the agriculture and fisheries sectors. Acknowledging that agricultural exports, and the enterprises that sustain them, have been contracting for the past 15 years despite demand increasing, he said his ministry and its supporting agencies were seeking to tackle long-standing obstacles to the sector’s growth that include the difficulties farmers experience in accessing credit and suitable land. Pledging that the government was moving “to fix the gaps that exist all along the value chain”, Mr Pintard said the Minnis Cabinet had already agreed to lift the moratorium on land leases. He added that the authorities were already experiencing “a substantial uptick” in lease applications, with many “coming to the table with resources”. Affirming the government’s desire to exit businesses that were more suited to being owned and managed by the private sector, the minister added that it was seeking to privatise both the animal feed mill and packing houses in a bid to create economic opportunities for Bahamians. And he revealed that the Cabinet had also given the go-ahead to construct, with assistance from Israeli and Dutch expertise, to construct “agro villages” in Grand Bahama and New Providence, with the former scheduled to “break ground” in the 2021 first quarter - meaning before end-March. Mr Pintard said these “villages” will feature “a cluster of sustainable farms” to highlight the industry’s breadth of potential, with the government’s ultimate goal being to develop six across various islands.

MICHAEL PINTARD Turning to The Bahamas’ present $1bn food import bill, and the prospects for reducing this, he added that this nation currently ships in between $600m to $650m per year in fresh fruit and vegetables; proteins such as beef, pork, poultry and eggs; and other small ruminants. Highlighting the need for import substitution, and replacing a portion of this bill with domestic production, Mr Pintard added that another $400m was spent by The Bahamas on processed and “value-added” foods, plus “small ornamentals”. “What is the potential revenue that we can earn from this sector? It’s safe to say upwards of $1bn,” he told attendees, while setting his sights lower to start with. Turning to the study that the government collaborated on with the IDB, he said: “They identified 77 organic items that we can produce as a country, and produce cost effectively and in a competitive way. “If we translate that into production, the earnings from those 77 items are around $200m on the low end. We have the capacity to produce those items at a price that is predictable and reasonable in the marketplace, and in a consistent and sustainable manner. We have the potential for import substitution somewhere in the range of $200m.” The 77 foods referred to were not identified. Slashing the country’s food import bill, and replacing it with expanded agriculture and fisheries production, has been a key but seemingly elusive goal of successive administrations. The Bahamas’ tourism industry, and seven million-plus annual visitors pre-COVID, present a large, sustainable consumer market but the necessary linkages with food-producing sectors have never quite happened. Major hotels seemingly find it more cost-effective to import food items in bulk from abroad, or via local wholesalers who do this for them, especially since foreign producers are able to achieve greater economies of scale. There have also been frequent concerns raised about the ability of Bahamian producers to consistently deliver the price, quality and quantity demanded by the industry. However, Mr Pintard and prior governments have never given up despite agriculture and fisheries’ economic output contribution having fallen to around two to three percent of gross

domestic product (GDP). The minister yesterday reiterated ambitions, first outlined by the government’s Economic Recovery Committee (ERC), to increase the sectors’ combined GDP contribution to between seven to eight percent. Yet he also acknowledged The Bahamas’ past failures to capitalise on momentum for food security. “Let me say the obvious. We’ve been here before, but not to this extent,” Mr Pintard said. “After 9/11, remember the discussion about the need to pay careful attention to agriculture and marine resources and ensure those two sub-sectors become very important to food security and wealth creation in The Bahamas? “Shortly after the 9/11 catastrophe passed, we returned to business as usual. I’d like to lay out the case that it’s absolutely imperative we do not emerge from this pandemic without some fundamental structural adjustments to our economy.” While tourism and financial services will continue to be the Bahamian economy’s main drivers “for the foreseeable future”, Mr Pintard argued it would be an error not to exploit the potential of other industries such as agriculture and marine resources. He added that studies by the likes of the United Nations’ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had suggested that The Bahamas could achieve self-sufficiency in poultry, especially broiler and meat products, plus eggs within three years. Admitting that The Bahamas “has a long way to go” to realise its objectives, and that the country is producing less in food than it did 15 years ago, the minister conceded that it also has “one of the lowest inflows of credit to agriculture in the entire region”. The “ease of doing business” and an elderly workforce, with the average of farmers and fishermen being around 60, present further obstacles to expanding these sectors. Mr Pintard said “policymakers” also need to adjust their approach, while investors needed to “adjust their mindset” on the potential returns from investing in agriculture and fisheries. “We have sought to fix the gaps that exist all along the value chain with agriculture and marine resources because we believe they can become a significant pillar of the Bahamian economy that can easily eclipse the

value of marine resources, which is over $80m,” the minister added. Barely mentioning the Fisheries Act, Mr Pintard referred to recent policy edicts requiring hotels, restaurants and food stores to source 40 percent of their needs from Bahamian producers. For government entities, this ratio is 75 percent, with the minister explaining that the government was seeking “an amicable arrangement” for this. He added that the government was also seeking to establish a national laboratory for the testing of plants, animals and foods both produced in The Bahamas and locally. This is for health and quality control purposes, and is a vital component in cross-border trade. The government, Mr Pintard added, was also seeking to privatise the abattoir and create a national slaughterhouse system for livestock, and is aiming to expand the “subsidy package” offered to the industry to include animal feed, fertilizer and other farm inputs. Publicprivate partnerships (PPPs) with foreign investors will also be considered for the “seafood processing space”. Acknowledging that growth was only possible with “careful dialogue and collaboration” between the private and public sectors, the minister said: “We are confident the policy framework we are putting in place will pay dividends for these sectors, and they will be in a position to provide food security and sovereignty. We have a long way to go but I believe we’re headed in the right direction. “We believe it’s within the realm of possibility that we can target seven to eight percent of GDP - others have been more ambitious that agriculture and marine resources can contribute.... We have to be ambitious but very intentional... The budget of the government has to reflect its commitment to the sector, and I fully expect an increase in its commitment to the sector.”

Sovereign wealth fund to help plug $2bn infrastructure gap By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE prime minister yesterday pledged that the government will “accelerate” implementation of the longpromised sovereign wealth fund as part of efforts to kickstart $2bn in infrastructure upgrades. Dr Hubert Minnis, addressing the Bahamas Business Outlook, said the fund - a vehicle that accumulates monies and other assets, and invests them to generate returns on behalf of a nation’s people - will also “likely” manage an underlying National Infrastructure Fund. “We intend to accelerate the implementation of a sovereign wealth fund, another recommendation of the Economic Recovery Committee,” he said. “The government has already executed in legal review of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act 2016 with a view to enhancing the provisions of the legislation. “The proposed legislative changes fully embrace the Santiago Principles, which are international best practices designed to address concerns by investors and regulators about transparency, accountability and the governance structure of such funds.” Dr Minnis, explaining that sovereign wealth funds typically manage and invest earnings generated by a country’s budget surpluses and/or royalty payments for exploitation of their natural resources, said The Bahamas had not reached this income potential yet. However, he added: “We also recognise that the country needs an independent, non-partisan, transparent, accountable entity to manage some of our most valuable land and our precious natural assets for the benefit of the Bahamian people. Such oversight may help to reduce corruption by public officials. “This sovereign wealth fund will also likely manage a special sub-fund that will be dedicated to expanding critical infrastructure throughout The Bahamas, especially

in our Family Islands. To maximise the potential of our Family Islands, critical transportation, health care, education, heritage, cultural, commercial and power infrastructure must be built, and built to world-class standards.” Dr Minnis said this “subfund”, which will be called a National Infrastructure Fund, “will mobilise public and private capital, from local and international sources, to be deployed in the true spirit of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to meet the estimated $2bn in infrastructure development needs throughout our extensive archipelago. “The sovereign wealth fund and the accompanying National Infrastructure Fund will transform the way in which we approach the development of our country. These funds will enshrine accountable and transparent means for Bahamians to ensure that our national assets are deployed and developed for the benefit of the entire country.” The prime minister added that the government was already “aggressively” exploring PPP arrangements for $150m worth of infrastructure upgrades to Family Island airports, which includes planned works at Abaco, Exuma, North Eleuthera and Long Island’s international airports. Describing these structures as similar to the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA, Dr Minnis said: “Such public-private partnership methods may include the use of passenger facility charges and other airport usage fees to fund the development of our Family Island infrastructure, as opposed to funding exclusively via the Public Treasury. “While we must adapt the mode of financing for a number of key infrastructure projects, our commitment to develop Family Island infrastructure remains as strong as ever. Such significant investment in airport infrastructure will support increased airlift to our Family Islands as tourism rebounds.”

PAGE 4, Friday, January 15, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

JUST $1M SMALL BUSINESS COVID RELIEF TO DISTRIBUTE By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Prime Minister yesterday said the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) has just $1m of COVID-19 relief funding that remains to be distributed to successful applicants. Dr Hubert Minnis, in an address to the Bahamas Business Outlook conference, said the Government’s micro, small and mediumsized (MSME) business facilitator has distributed $40m - or over 97 percent of some $41m in approved financial support through the Business Continuity Loan initiative. The programmne was

launched to help MSMEs survive the COVID-19 lockdown and assist in retaining some of their employees’ jobs, with the $41m in approved disbursements more than double the original $20m. The loans ranged from $5,000 to $300,000 to cover operating costs, with financing coming from entities such as the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, Cash N Go, Leno Corporate Services, Omni Financial Group, Simplified Lending, Bahamas Development Bank and Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Turning to the SBDC’s regular initiatives, Dr Minnis said: “As of December

Crisis management to be permanent tourism feature

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A TOP tourism official yesterday said crisis management will be a permanent part of the Ministry of Tourism’s strategy moving forward due to the fall-out from COVID-19. Joy Jibrilu, pictured, the Ministry’s director general, told the Bahamas Business Outlook conference: “The Ministry of Tourism has a standing crisis communications plan and hurricane kit, and this has been disseminated to all our industry actors so that our actions can be co-ordinated in the event of an emergency. “The plan addresses actions and responses that may be taken not only during storms, but also in the event of a number of potential scenarios, including other natural and environmental disasters, accidents, incidents of crime, civil unrest, terrorism and, as we’ve seen most recently, public health issues. “Since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic we’ve revised and even re-circulated crises plans specific to addressing COVID-19 and other public health issues following the onset of COVID, and with the need to adapt to a new normal of heightened health and safety precautions and social distancing.” Mrs Jibrilu said the Ministry of Tourism has now

implemented a “business continuity plan” to cope with a national shutdown such as The Bahamas experienced as a result of COVID-19 so that it can continue to perform its work effectively. She added that the ministry is also revising The Bahamas’ tourism product offerings, and changing to adapt to new consumer demands and travel priorities. This includes the development of protocols for the maintenance of health and safety in operating the full range of tourism-related businesses and facilities. Mrs Jibrilu said that despite the roll-out of the ministry’s tourism readiness and recovery plan, the overall revision of the country’s product offering was “set back” by the unforeseen second wave of the COVID-19 in July, forcing further revisions to entry requirements. She added that this heightened the need for “clear communication and collaborative efforts”, which many stakeholders in the tourism industry and wider economy have argued was lacking in the approach to COVID-19 from the government. “Further, the routine periodic adjustment of our tourism strategy based on the evidence will always be necessary to maintain relevance and competitiveness in the face of shifting real world context and national priorities,” Mrs Jibrilu said.

31, 2020, the SBDC has, through the Access Accelerator, approved $18.8m in funding and has dispersed $11m. In the first round of the SBDC’s standalone grant, $985,590 has been granted to various SMEs. “A second round of grants has already garnered 3,200 applications that are under consideration. A third round will be launched shortly. Currently, a total of $2m has been allocated for standalone grants.” “Following the recommendations of the Economic Recovery Committee, the Ministry of Finance has allocated to the SBDC a new location to start two new incubators

in New Providence and one new incubator in Grand Bahama,” he added. “The Youth Incubator and Tech Incubator will be launched before summer, giving young entrepreneurs and tech-based entrepreneurs hands-on assistance with their startups alongside funding. This will be mirrored in Grand Bahama.” Touching briefly on tourism’s need to venture into new market segments, Dr Minnis said: “We have engaged the assistance of a US-based vendor with an existing database of over 10m licensees, along with the Association of Marinas, to launch and market digital

sports fishing, fly fishing and yacht charter licenses. “While encouraging safe and sustainable fishing practices, increasing efforts to target this market segment are intended to diversify the Bahamian tourism product. This will mean more economic activity and jobs for bone fishing lodges, fly fishing guides, boutique resorts and the more than 2,000 Airbnb home owners in the Family Islands offering services to this growing market.” The Prime Minister added that the Government will also “soon unveil the beta pilot of its ‘one- stop shop’ citizen engagement portal”, which will offer driver’s

licence renewals; birth, marriage and deathn certificates and adult passport renewal applications online. “More than $9.5m has been paid in unemployment benefits to residents of Grand Bahama and Abaco affected by Hurricane Dorian,” Dr Minnis said. “The SBDC has approved 74 applications for funding, with 31 for Abaco and 43 in Grand Bahama. “Some $2.2m has been approved in small business funding, and $27m has been spent to restore power in Abaco. When completed, the total cost to restore the electricity infrastructure will be approximately $90m.”

Contractor: Industry talking ‘record year’ By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMAS-based contractor yesterday said building materials and concrete suppliers had informed him they are enjoying “record years” despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastation. Costa Berdanis, Tarcon Construction’s president, told Bahamas Business Outlook conference that was positive for The Bahamas’ economic recovery prospects as construction was among the major indicators of activity. “All the building suppliers and the concrete companies in the island that I’m doing business with are saying they’re seeing record years,” he

Bahamas suffered $400m ‘shortfall’ on foreign inflows FROM PAGE ONE therefore that the economy will exit the pandemic with less reserves than at the start of it,” Mr Rolle said. The external reserves are critical to supporting The Bahamas’ fixed exchange rate regime and one:one peg with the US dollar, but despite the pressures the Central Bank governor voiced optimism that this was not under threat. “There have been continuous attempts to infer whether the Bahamian dollar was at risk of devaluation because of the pandemic. The currency is not at such imminent risk. This is because of level of the reserves both now and where they should resume their rebuilding,” Mr Rolle said. “These balances match slightly more than 100 percent of the Central Bank’s demand liabilities compared to the legally mandated floor of 50

disclosed. “So that’s a very positive note for me, because I always measure the economy by how well the construction industry is doing. “If we’re not moving things, then there’s something wrong at the core, but we seem to be moving things. Like I said, all the concrete companies and building suppliers are having record years. So we need to focus in on that.” Mr Bernadis said further “incentives” need to be given to Bahamian contractors to expand Airbnb construction, with the vacation rental sector growing faster than hotels or resorts. He added: “We give a lot of incentives to a lot of bigger companies and foreign companies. “But we’re not, we

haven’t and we don’t want to give any incentives to the local contractors. I think that we can incentivise the local contractors in times like this to create some Airbnbs.” Suggesting that he has received few investment incentives during his 30 years of doing business as a contractor in The Bahamas, Mr Berdanis said “we need to be ready for the next wave of business”. He argued that boosting contractors amid COVID-19’s economic fall-out is a great way to “get ahead” of things. Mr Berdanis added that the incentives he wants to see “would obviously be duty concessions, property tax concessions. Those are granted to the bigger resorts”. He added that

granting these can help to “create jobs immediately”. He added: “Permitting exemptions to get through the process quicker. It takes quite a while by the time you have the money ready, and to get the money out into the economy takes quite a while. So those are type of incentives I’m talking about.” Responding to assertions that construction companies in Freeport already receive incentives through the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), Mr Berdanis said this only applied to “some”. He added that it was the “individual homeowner” that gets these incentives, and the incentives are transferred to the homeowner and not the contractor doing the work.

percent. The liabilities move in opposite direction to the reserves only when the bank lends to the government.” Mr Rolle said the new Central Bank Act had imposed increased discipline on the government’s borrowing from the regulator, as it will now not have “unlimited scope” to access this funding source. The government was usually “reasonably close” to those limits. The governor, meanwhile, said The Bahamas needed to achieve economic growth rates that deliver “healthier, more resilient expansion” well beyond the 1.5 percent annual average forecast once COVID-19 has melted away. While 2022’s growth is predicted to be “sharply stronger” at around 8 percent, as that will be the year when The Bahamas recovers most of the tourism activity lost to the pandemic, Mr Rolle said higher growth rates will be necessary to finance public services, slash a government debt that will break the $10bn barrier by mid-2022, and regain “headroom” to deal

with future crises. “It is not in our economic interest to tolerate the inflation, financial instability or erosion of middle class wealth that would accompany devaluation,” the governor added of any fall in the Bahamian dollar’s value. “Moreover, it does not strengthen our international competitiveness, which has to come from outcomes such as increased workforce productivity, education and skills upgrades, and the familiar list of required improvements in the ease of doing business. “The medium and long-term hedge against devaluation, which would escape an extreme fiscal austerity outcome, is still healthier public finances, and a transformed culture of increased domestic savings,” Mr Rolle added. “Both of these reveal themselves in healthier levels of foreign savings, better access to foreign borrowing when it is needed, and less panicky investors who are less likely to spark runs on supplies of foreign exchange during times of economic stress.” Mr Rolle confirmed previous Central Bank projections that the Bahamian economy shrank by at least 15 percent in 2020 due to “the toll of the pandemic”, with full recovery not expected until potentially 2023. “Although there is more clarity over when the recovery will start, considerable head winds could remain in the very near-term, as developed countries cope with the most recent wave of COVID19 infections, and perfect their vaccination rollout strategies,” he added. “The possibility of not achieving sufficient inoculation coverage until early in 2022 places travel and

tourism on a recovery path that would be strongest in the overlap between 2022 and 2023.” Tourism-dependent economies such as The Bahamas, which largely rely on just one industry that is driven by external factors, have been hardest hit by COVID-19. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said economic growth for major countries in 2020 was seven percent less than it would otherwise have been in 2020, but for The Bahamas it was “a reversal of nearly 15 percentage points”. That was higher than the 11 percent Caribbean average, and Mr Rolle said COVID-19 had shown the need for The Bahamas to accelerate structural economic reforms. “The question is whether, in The Bahamas’ case, we will reach far enough in our reforms to shift the economic base towards greater future contribution from other viable industries and sectors,” he added. Mr Rolle said just ten percent of outstanding commercial bank loans to the private sector remained on deferral as at end-November 2020, compared to one-third at end-June 2020, as he forecast that lender losses were “expected to be much less” than those experienced as a result of the 2008-2009 recession. “The fixed exchange rate, which is justified for our economic profile, takes the Central Bank out of consideration as a source of stimulus,” the governor added. “Providing stimulus in a countercyclical fashion would have endangered the exchange rate by encouraging spending on imports of goods and services that diminished the foreign reserves.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that JIMMY SAINT FLEUR, of Sea View Drive off East Street, Nassau, The 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 9th day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that EDDY ALMAZI, of #342 Hawksbill Street, Nassau, New Providence, The 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 9th day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Request For Bids Cemex Bahamas is requesting bids for trucking services for its two locations in New Providence. Interested parties are invited to send an email to (truckbids242@gmail.com). Bids will be received until February 9th, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Govt and BPC ‘dispute’ outstanding licence fees

FROM PAGE ONE

supposed to be determined, settled and paid by endApril 2020 - almost eight months before it began drilling its exploratory Perseverance One well in waters some 90 miles west of Andros. Romauld Ferreira, minister of the environment and housing, in the February 25, 2020, letter that granted BPC the Environmental Authorisation (EA) approval that is now the subject of environmental activists’ Judicial Review challenge, laid out the timetable for resolving the issue. “Finally, within 30 days of the date hereof, BPC and the ministry shall enter into a side letter agreement in relation to any outstanding licence fees up to the end of 2018, having regard to any reconciliation of payments that might be necessary,” stated the letter, which was signed by both Mr Ferreira and Simon Potter, BPC’s chief executive. “Within 60 days of the date hereof, BPC shall pay to the ministry any and all outstanding licence fees (if any) for the period up to 2018 and, in addition, shall pay any licence fees as determined by the minister for the periods 2019 and 2020.” The EA letter does not explicitly tie the

STENA ICEMAX DRILL SHIP government’s Perseverance One approval to payment of these licence fees. However, the matter has dragged on unresolved for many months, and is likely to be seized upon by oil exploration opponents who will be questioning why BPC has been allowed to drill with the issue still outstanding. However, Mr Potter, in an e-mailed reply to Tribune Business inquiries, downplayed the matter by asserting that the “reconciliation” was “a basic, auditable business practice” that involves “a comparatively minor amount” of monies. “For anything to be suggested beyond this is little more than another instance of those who might be opposed to BPC’s lawful activities seeking to make mountains out of molehills

PUBLIC NOTICE

by misrepresenting what are basic business matters and practices,” Mr Potter told this newspaper. “BPC has held its licences in The Bahamas since 2007, and has paid licence fees to the government since that time, which in aggregate amount to millions of dollars. As is the case in any business setting, there is a normal process whereby fees payable by BPC to government are checked, reconciled and audited for correctness - most especially for a publicly-listed company such as BPC, where such payments have to be clearly and transparently accounted for.” Mr Potter continued: “Given the various extensions to the licences agreed with the government, including most recently as a result of force majeure occasioned by

the COVID-19 pandemic, a comparatively minor amount of licence fees remains outstanding. “As the attorney general has correctly acknowledged, the exact amount remains to be to be finally checked and reconciled between the government and BPC. Again, as the attorney general has acknowledged, during 2020 BPC had offered to pay an amount to the government in advance pending this final reconciliation, but the government’s preference was to complete the final reconciliation first, and BPC is currently engaged with the government in that process. “This is a basic, auditable business practice and, as noted, the amount involved is relatively minor in the context of more than a decade of substantial licence fee payments by BPC to the government.” Neither Mr Bethel nor Mr Potter divulged a dollar value for the amount of licence fees said to be outstanding, or the difference in their sides’ respective valuations. However, an idea can be gleaned from a BPC release earlier this year in which it said the $900,000 raised from Bahamian investors who bought into its mutual fund would “adequately cover” this payment. This indicates, at least from BPC’s perspective,

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, MICHELLE AMBER BAKER (nee MOXEY) of Nassau, The Bahamas, mother of MERCEDES KRISTAL BAKER A minor intend to change my child’s name to MERCEDES KRISTAL GYANE If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy 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, RAMON ANTONE HANNA, of Church Hill Avenue, Chippingham P.O.Box CR-56013 Nassau, Bahamas intend to change my name to RAMON ANTONE HANNA. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy 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 CLOSE

CHANGE

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

2092.47

0.21

0.01

0.00

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.15 33.05 2.00 1.84 2.39 6.00 6.75 4.10 6.50 4.50 6.16 12.77 3.64 6.85 10.88 8.44 15.08 4.25 9.26 15.21

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 0.67 1.62 1.67 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.50 3.50 5.90 11.06 2.10 4.60 9.60 7.50 13.00 3.25 8.15 14.00

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Benchmark Bahamas First Holdings Limited Bank of Bahamas Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Cable Bahamas Commonwealth Brewery Commonwealth Bank Colina Holdings CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Bahamas Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson

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

LAST CLOSE 4.15 32.12 1.62 1.84 1.67 6.00 6.61 2.99 4.74 3.59 5.90 11.26 2.62 6.75 10.08 8.40 13.75 3.94 8.50 15.20

CLOSE 4.15 32.12 1.62 1.84 1.67 6.00 6.61 2.99 4.75 3.59 5.90 11.26 2.62 6.75 10.08 8.40 13.75 3.94 8.50 15.20

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS760240 BSBGR120371 BSBGRS790262

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.04 100.72

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.50 97.72 100.70

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 94.40 100.70

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FL BSBGRS760240 BGRS FX BSBGR120371 BGRS FL BSBGRS790262

that the sum involved is less than $1m. Its May release confirmed that itself and the government “had “agreed a process seeking final agreement” on the outstanding licence fees at the time EA was granted. It added that the final agreement and payment awaited confirmation by the Public Treasury that past payments recorded in BPC’s audited financial statements in 2012 and 2015 were received. “This confirmation process has been somewhat delayed owing to the State of Emergency declared, and ongoing business disruption caused, by the national response to the COVID-19 outbreak in The Bahamas,” BPC said then. “However, subject to said confirmation, the company expects that an appropriate side-letter agreement can be finalised in due course and the outstanding amount paid. “The amount of outstanding fees is agreed in principle and is expected to be finalised shortly. The amount would be adequately covered by the proceeds of receipts from subscription for the fund shares which, as noted, is expected to be received shortly by the company.” The outstanding licence fees “dispute” emerged as one potential obstacle to a speedy trial of the Judicial Review challenge to BPC’s permits and approvals was removed at yesterday’s Supreme Court hearing when the government withdrew its demand that the environmental activists pay $200,000 as “security for costs”. This, if approved by the court, would have required Waterkeepers Bahamas and Save the Bays to come up with a $200,000 bond

to cover the government’s legal costs before any hearing of the action’s merits could proceed. “We applaud the government for respecting the rule of law and the judicial process,” attorneys for the two groups said in a statement. “They have removed a major obstacle to the hearing of this case. “So many times in the past public interest litigation has been derailed and priced out of justice by security for cost applications, which would require those bringing actions in the public interest to ensure due process and lawful development to put up funds before they can actually have their day in court.” They continued: “Initially, the government did apply for security, but yesterday indicated to the court that it was withdrawing. From the beginning, we have sought to have a trial on the merits of the case and avoid delays and obstructions that prevent us accessing the courts until it is too late. “Time is of the essence, the drill bit is turning, and if we are successful it would be a shame for this to have been an exercise in futility. The government has taken a huge step in the direction of the swift administration of justice and we thank them for their responsible behaviour.” Justice Petra HannaAdderley yesterday reserved her decision on whether to add BPC as a “respondent” party to the Judicial Review action. If the oil explorer was added, its own $100,000 “security for costs” demand would be the only obstacle to a full trial, and it has shown little sign of giving ground on this point.

NOTICE Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, notice is hereby given that:NICKLE AND DIME LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on the 5th day of October, 2020.

www.bisxbahamas.com

THURSDAY, 14 JANUARY 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

Friday, January 15, 2021, PAGE 5

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 5,000

1,220

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 17.4 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 17.9 -6.8 33.9 19.5 13.1 15.6 25.7 14.5 15.6 11.5 16.9 19.4 9.1 24.1

YIELD 4.10% 3.92% 1.23% 1.63% 0.00% 0.00% 3.93% 0.00% 0.00% 3.34% 3.73% 6.39% 16.56% 0.89% 3.25% 2.86% 3.93% 3.05% 2.35% 4.01%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.50% 5.22% 4.53%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 18-Jan-2024 15-Dec-2037 28-Mar-2026

C. B. Strategy Ltd. LIQUIDATOR

NOTICE Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, notice is hereby given that:ROSEWIND LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on the 5th day of October, 2020.

MATURITY

C. B. Strategy Ltd. LIQUIDATOR

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.38 4.43 2.14 198.39 176.73 1.69 1.85 1.77 1.24 8.39 10.26 7.23 12.80 12.81 10.81 10.00 8.98 11.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.65 1.79 1.75 1.05 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno 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

NAV 2.38 4.43 2.14 198.36 173.98 1.69 1.79 1.77 1.05 8.39 9.88 7.23 12.33 12.80 10.20 N/A 9.28 11.86

YTD% 12 MTH% 4.14% 4.49% 1.47% 2.97% 2.33% 2.57% 1.65% 2.39% 4.34% 9.82% 1.65% 1.95% -3.06% -2.22% 0.80% 1.17% -12.30% -11.81% 0.64% 0.98% 1.19% -3.63% 4.20% 5.04% 2.63% 7.68% 3.68% 3.93% -4.89% -4.62% N/A N/A -0.50% 3.70% -3.80% 4.10%

NAV Date

30-Nov-2020 30-Nov-2020 27-Nov-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months

N/M - Not Meaningful

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

30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00

NOTICE

P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | CAROLISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

SHADANOAH VALLEY INC. has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on the 28th day of September, 2020.

C. B. Strategy Ltd. LIQUIDATOR

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 15, 2021, PAGE 7

Major PI resort to shut Sunday FROM PAGE ONE

and setbacks, as RIU’s move highlights. While the resort’s rationale for the latest closure is unknown, it is thought that present occupancy levels and forward booking forecasts for the peak winter season were simply not sufficient to justify keeping a property that stands adjacent to Atlantis open from an economic perspective. It will now re-open just before the early April Easter holiday if all goes to plan. Mr Pinder said many Bahamas-based resorts are “pushing back” opening plans due to the surging COVID-19 infection rates in The Bahamas’ major tourism sources markets, in particular the US, Canada and Europe and the UK. Another prime example is Sandals, which has pushed the return of its Emerald Bay and Royal Bahamian properties back to February 24, 2021, and March 31, 2021,

Governor in bank fee ‘transparency’ pledge FROM PAGE ONE “The Bahamas has to achieve more significant development of non-bank channels to direct capital to the private sector, exploiting channels that the securities industry might promote,” he added, outlining that digital transformation and payments systems reforms were also critical for the financial services to play its part in fostering economic growth. However, Mr Rolle warned that Bahamians “will also have to embrace the implications of what it means to achieve greater efficiencies in financial services” as he predicted that commercial banks will further shrink their branch networks and shed jobs as they shift to digital mechanisms to deliver products and services.

respectively. The former had previously been scheduled to open its doors on February 1, while the latter had targeted January 28. The moves mean a further anxious wait of between three-and-a-half and eight weeks for Sandals workers to return to work. Adam Stewart, Sandals deputy chairman, last

year said concern over this nation’s then-high COVID-19 infection rates and uncertainty over the government’s re-opening strategies had meant the chain delayed its Bahamas return to last. It is likely that Sandals’ latest push back is related to the same external factors impacting the RIU

and the rest of the Bahamian resort and tourism industry, with bookings and forward business indicators simply insufficient to justify re-opening amid reduced airlift and increasing impediments to travel being imposed by major source markets. Exuma-based tourism providers said the latest

slippage in Sandals Emerald Bay’s return had further undermined market confidence, with the sector becoming increasingly nervous that it could be pushed back even further due to soaring COVID-19 infections in the US. Ray Lightbourn, Exuma Water Sports’ principal, told Tribune Business of Sandals’ delay: “We were very upset, but there’s really nothing you can do about it. We have to accept it, I guess. It could be because the numbers in the US are so bad right now; that could be part of it. It’s been almost a year now with COVID. We’re used to being broke.” Atlantis also placed multiple food and beverage workers back on furlough with effect from January 4 as a result of occupancy forecasts looking “less than favourable” for the month, and that was before the US belatedly followed other nations in introducing the requirement that returning US travellers must produce

Acknowledging that “governance, transparency and consumer protection will also require bolstering”, Mr Rolle said the Central Bank planned to start by producing more openness around commercial bank fees that have long drawn the ire of consumers. “One near-term deliverable will be publication of more comparable information on the fee structure of financial products across banks, using a standardised template that has been already developed. This would promote more informed choices across products and services being provided by competing institutions,” he argued. “The bank will also consider what regulatory avenues can be exploited to promote transparency around fee setting practices under the Payment Systems Act. In addition, as regards mobility and choice, the Central Bank will explore medium-term reforms

around the feasibility of open banking, having full regard to regulatory proposals that would encourage product development, but keep consumer protection in full view. “From an inclusion perspective, we will also explore the feasibility of incorporating universal access criteria into the basic product mix of financial institutions through potentially a basic, no-frills, fee- regulated instrument that each institution would have to provide.” Conceding that improved access to credit was critical to transforming savings into investments, Mr Rolle said the credit bureau would provide a significant boost by establishing transparency surrounding the creditworthiness of all borrowers. “The bureau’s credit information reports will help to reduce uncertainties around the quality of potential borrowers, improving the medium and long-term

access to both business and personal credit,” he said. “The bureau, which was licensed at the end of 2019, is now setting up operations, and should begin to produce live credit reports data by start of the second quarter of 2021. Commercial credit reports will start to be generated in a subsequent phase of operations.” Mr Rolle reaffirmed that the Central Bank was working with the Ministry of Finance to develop a “government savings bond” scheme, which would allow ordinary Bahamians to invest in and build-up holdings of government paper to improve their savings levels. The regulator is also investigating the creation of a collateral registry for commercial lending. “This would establish security against a range of moveable, even intangible assets,” Mr Rolle added. Promising that the Central Bank will remain focused on “gradual exchange

control liberalisation”, he said: “Our recent accommodations have favoured use of licensed trust companies, with the authorised agent status, as outlets for self-managed portfolio investments. “However, progressive reforms will also be explored to promote increased use of BISX-listed depository receipts (BDRs) marketed by the local broker/dealers firms that finance purchases of securities listed on foreign stock exchanges.” Noting that the Ministry of Finance last year agreed with the commercial banks to target an 80 percent reduction in cheque use over five years, and a 50 percent decline in domestic cash over the same period, Mr Rolle said: “At present about nine out of ten surveyed adults in The Bahamas have access to at least a savings account at a bank or credit union. “At least 86 percent of the adult population have access

RIU PARADISE ISLAND

a negative COVID-19 test within three days of flying or sailing home. Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that the enhanced US restrictions could have a chilling effect on tourism’s revival. “It’s yet another impediment to travel, and all impediments to travel are not good for the tourism sector,” he told Tribune Business. “Until the word gets out about how easy it is to get a test done in The Bahamas, I’m sure it will be a significant deterrent. People stress about this sort of thing.” Tourism industry players and the government discussed the potential impact of the CDC’s new requirements in a morning conference on Wednesday. Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, said: “We think The Bahamas is well poised to deal with the issues they have presented.” to smart mobile devices, and there is high awareness of new mobile payments products, including the central bank digital currency, the Sand Dollar, that is being rolled out nationally.” This suggested there was a fertile customer base for electronic payments and mobile wallets, but Mr Rolle said the latter were no substitute for interest-bearing deposit accounts - they merely facilitate payments. “In 2021, the Central Bank will also develop complimentary streamlined guidance to ease the account opening process for businesses,” the governor added. “As part of the Sand Dollar infrastructure, the Central Bank is finalising an electronic customer due diligence or e-KYC system. This would eliminate distance and remoteness as a factor in establishing financial relationships, and be available as a tool for all financial institutions.”

PAGE 8, Friday, January 15, 2021

BPL chair touts 40% outage fall FROM PAGE ONE

Providence’s power plants by summer 2023. He also touted a 41.02 percent reduction in “outage” incidents reported in 2020 as compared to the blackout-plagued 2019, and an 80.25 percent year-over-year decline in “feeder trips” or neighbourhood power losses that peaked at 1,200-plus for the month of August 2019. Dr Moxey said BPL’s fuel hedging strategy had cut consumer fuel costs from over 19.1 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh) in 2018 to 10.5 cents presently, which had reduced the fuel charge by percent and overall bills by

THE TRIBUNE

30 percent. He added that the present fuel charge had “clearly surpassed” the 12.5 cents per KWh it had originally targeted. With BPL’s all-in tariff presently standing at 23 cents per KWh, Dr Moxey added that benchmarking showed its electricity prices were presently lower than rivals such as Barbados, Cayman Islands and Jamaica. Out of the region, only Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago, both of which have their own energy sources, were said to be cheaper. And, with the government’s National Energy Policy setting the goal of producing 30 percent of this nation’s energy from renewable sources by 2030, Dr Moxey pledged that BPL will hit the 15 percent threshold by the

2025 fourth quarter. To get there, BPL will have to significantly increase the amount of solar and other sources used in its energy mix and move away from fossil fuels. This, the BPL chairman added, will be aided by its plans to have distributed battery technology “in place in New Providence by summer 2022” in a bid to ensure improved grid stability for the integration of utility-scale and roof-top solar. He argued that this would improve demand for the small-scale residential generation (SSRG) initiative introduced in 2017, which has seen only 380 of BPL’s 100,000-plus customers apply to connect their solar systems to the utility’s grid and sell power to it. Elsewhere, Dr Moxey

said BPL has created a “generation control centre” that began operations several weeks ago and will ultimately allow it to have “remote access and control” of its entire generation fleet both on New Providence and the Family Islands. The implementation has started on New Providence, with the 130 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity at Clifton Pier’s ‘Station A’ that was provided by Wartsila due to come under the “control centre’s” monitoring by the second quarter this year. Dr Moxey added that the additional 90 MW that will take Clifton Pier and New Providence’s “base load generation” to 220 MW will be in place by the 2022 third quarter once the $70m-$80m ‘Station D’ is constructed.

He pledged that Bahamian investors will be given an opportunity to own part of Stations A and D, which will be combined into an entity called ‘PowerCo’. That will be owned 49 percent by the government and local shareholders, while Shell or whoever BPL selects as a partner will have majority 51 percent control. With Clifton Pier resuming its role as BPL’s chief power generating station, Dr Moxey said BPL plans to construct a new $40-$50m sub-station in the area by the second quarter of 2022 to handle “the significant capacity” coming from that station. The utility also expects to complete the roll-out of its $30m nationwide AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) by next

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 71° F/22° C Low: 50° F/10° C

TAMPA

TONIGHT

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Mostly cloudy with showers

Mostly cloudy with a shower or two

Breezy with more clouds than sun

Sun and some clouds

Mostly cloudy; a shower possible

Turning sunny and breezy

High: 78°

Low: 68°

High: 77° Low: 61°

High: 73° Low: 63°

High: 74° Low: 64°

High: 77° Low: 65°

AccuWeather RealFeel

81° F

68° F

77°-63° F

78°-63° F

73°-60° F

77°-62° F

High: 70° F/21° C Low: 54° F/12° C

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

almanac

ABACO

High: 73° F/23° C Low: 67° F/19° C

4-8 knots

WEST PALM BEACH High: 73° F/23° C Low: 57° F/14° C

3-6 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE E

FREEPORT

High: 73° F/23° C Low: 60° F/16° C

High: 73° F/23° C Low: 65° F/18° C

MIAMI

High: 74° F/23° C Low: 61° F/16° C

6-12 knots

KEY WEST

High: 72° F/22° C Low: 65° F/18° C

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 78° F/26° C Low: 68° F/20° C

High: 78° F/26° C Low: 71° F/22° C

uV inDex toDay

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

9:16 a.m. 9:39 p.m.

3.1 2.4

2:55 a.m. -0.5 3:44 p.m. -0.4

Saturday

10:00 a.m. 10:27 p.m.

2.9 2.3

3:43 a.m. -0.3 4:28 p.m. -0.3

Sunday

10:44 a.m. 11:14 p.m.

2.7 2.3

4:31 a.m. -0.1 5:11 p.m. -0.1

Monday

11:28 a.m. -----

2.5 -----

5:20 a.m. 5:54 p.m.

0.1 0.0

Tuesday

12:03 a.m. 12:13 p.m.

2.3 2.3

6:12 a.m. 6:38 p.m.

0.3 0.1

Wednesday 12:54 a.m. 1:01 p.m.

2.2 2.1

7:06 a.m. 7:23 p.m.

0.5 0.2

Thursday

2.2 1.9

8:04 a.m. 8:11 p.m.

0.6 0.2

1:46 a.m. 1:52 p.m.

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:57 a.m. 5:42 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

9:01 a.m. 8:19 p.m.

First

Full

Last

New

Jan. 20

Jan. 28

Feb. 4

Feb. 11

CAT ISLAND

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

4-8 knots

6-12 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 1 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 77° F/25° C Low .................................................... 70° F/21° C Normal high ....................................... 77° F/25° C Normal low ........................................ 65° F/18° C Last year’s high ................................. 83° F/28° C Last year’s low ................................... 73° F/23° C Precipitation As of 1 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 0.78” Normal year to date ..................................... 0.61”

year’s fourth quarter, having already selected the supplier and the network design for New Providence. It now awaits the arrival, as do many of its other project, of the funds from its $535m rate reduction bond (RRB) issue that should be placed imminently. Dr Moxey said AMI will place control of consumption and billing back in the hands of consumers, while also enabling BPL to better manage a grid and transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure that has been made “smarter”. He added that BPL’s new call centre should also be “fully on line” by 2021’s second quarter as the utility moves to “establish the hours of operation with its unions” so it can be “more accessible to consumers”.

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 71° F/22° C

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

6-12 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 81° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 81° F/27° C Low: 74° F/23° C

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 83° F/28° C Low: 74° F/23° C

4-8 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday:

WINDS SW at 3-6 Knots W at 10-20 Knots S at 4-8 Knots WNW at 7-14 Knots S at 6-12 Knots WSW at 7-14 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots S at 4-8 Knots S at 6-12 Knots W at 8-16 Knots W at 4-8 Knots W at 12-25 Knots S at 6-12 Knots WSW at 7-14 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots S at 4-8 Knots SSE at 4-8 Knots SW at 6-12 Knots S at 4-8 Knots S at 6-12 Knots S at 4-8 Knots W at 7-14 Knots SE at 4-8 Knots WSW at 4-8 Knots S at 6-12 Knots WSW at 8-16 Knots

WAVES 2-4 Feet 4-7 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-2 Feet 3-6 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 0-1 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 75° F 74° F 74° F 75° F 79° F 78° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 76° F 76° F 78° F 78° F 81° F 81° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 77° F 77° F 79° F 79° F 78° F 78° F