01182024 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024

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‘No reason to panic yet’ on 91% deficit THE Government’s top finance official yesterday assured he has “no reason to panic yet” over the early 2023-2024 fiscal deficit as VAT revenues for December exceeded the prior year by 16-17 percent.

Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, told Tribune Business the near-$120m deficit for the four months to endOctober 2023, equivalent to 91.3 percent of the full-year forecast, did not necessarily signal that the Government will blow its fiscal projections given that “peak revenue season” has just started.

Asserting that VAT and import tariff revenues for the six months to December “bode well” for the Government’s tax and fee income between now and April, he added that the half-year performance “should translate into a strong revenue outturn” over the next two-three months.

t 5PQ mOBODF PGmDJBM TBZT 7"5 VQ JO %FDFNCFS t &YQFDUT mSTU IBMG UP AUSBOTMBUF JOUP TUSPOH QFBL SFWFOVF t (PW UT N MPBO ADBOOPU SFmOBODF QSF FYJTUJOH EFCU Pointing out that the cyclical nature of the Government’s revenues makes it impossible to estimate the full-year Budget outcome on just a few months’ data, Mr Wilson told this newspaper that “we’ll know for sure where we stand after March” - a period that includes peak tourism and economic activity; Business Licence fee payments; the bulk of real property taxes; and commercial vehicle licensing month.

The impact from increasing cruise departure fees, implementing tourism development and environmental levies, and raising boat registration fees will also now be felt as they kicked-in from New Year’s Day. And the financial secretary argued that VAT and import duty collection during the 2023-2024 fiscal year’s first half shows “the economy is strong”.

The political Opposition earlier this week warned that the Government “must adjust” its fiscal targets and figures in next month’s mid-year Budget, after the $119.7m deficit for the first four months was almost equal to the $131.1m full-year goal, but Mr Wilson told Tribune Business there is “no concern yet”.

“The first six months of the fiscal year, the only revenue we see.. we don’t see any Business Licence revenue, and we see reduced activity for the first three months on real property tax. You’re looking only

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PharmaChem client pulled plug on overrun, output woe

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemdia.net PHARMACHEM Technologies’ sole customer yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business that it pulled the plug on the Bahamian drug maker due to cost overruns and its failure to meet production timelines.

A Gilead Life Sciences spokesperson said PharmaChem struggled to meet deadlines after its $400m plant expansion was completed while the costs involved in making that investment “significantly exceeded our original estimates”.

They revealed: “In 2016, Gilead entered into an agreement with a contract manufacturer to build a new plant in The Bahamas to produce commercial product for Gilead.

Unfortunately, the costs and timeline to reach commercial production has significantly exceeded our original estimates.”

Gilead thus decided to end its contract with PharmaChem Technologies so it can focus on other projects. The spokesperson maintained that the split, and subsequent closure of the Grand Bahama manufacturing facility, will not impact its ability to provide

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FTX Bahamas wind-up ‘halted’ if no Ray deal

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FTX’s Bahamas windup “would be halted” without a deal with their US adversary, its liquidators have revealed, as they seek an extension to the legally-mandated 90-day deadline to hold a first creditor meeting.

Peter Greaves, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) accountant who is one of the liquidation trio for FTX Digital Markets, the crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary, told the Delaware Bankruptcy Court that without a settlement

his creditors “could wait for years in order to even submit their proofs of debt, much less receive distributions” in this nation.

The Bahamian liquidators’ must gain approval for their settlement with John Ray, head of the 134 FTX entities in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, from the Delaware court as well as this nation’s Supreme Court given that they obtained Chapter 15 recognition as the main foreign proceeding in the US. Branding FTX’s November 2022 implosion as “the largest digital asset

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Gov’ts GBPA arbitration ‘no confidence inspirer’ SIMON WILSON

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FREEPORT’S governing authority yesterday warned that the Government’s latest bid to collect on allegedly outstanding expenses does “not inspire confidence” in the city and its $1.5bn investment “pipeline”.

The Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) hit back at disclosures by Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs, that the Davis administration plans to take its claim for the reimbursement of costs incurred in providing public services and infrastructure in Freeport to arbitration even though Tribune Business can reveal such proceedings have yet to formally launch.

Well-placed sources, while confirming that the Government has signalled its intention to place the dispute with the GBPA

FRED MITCHELL into arbitration, revealed that it has yet to file such an action and the associated paperwork.

One contact, revealing that the Government and GBPA have been exchanging “letters back and forth” on the matter, said: “What has happened is that the Government sent a letter; the Attorney General [Ryan Pinder KC] sent a letter to the Port saying ‘this is how we understand

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PAGE 2, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

INFLATION HITS LOWEST ANNUAL INCREASE SINCE EARLY 2021 INFLATION continued to slowly moderate in October 2023 with the trailing 12-month increase of 2 percent at its lowest level for more than two-and-a-half years.

Data released yesterday

by The Bahamas National Statistical Institute showed that March 2021, some two years and seven months beforehand, was the last time that year-over-year inflation was below 2 percent.

While many middle and lower income Bahamians may not be feeling it, the date will likely give

government policymakers and economists some encouragement that the post-COVID inflation surge is starting to taper off even though prices are not decreasing.

“On a year-over-year basis, the CPI (consumer price index) rose a little over 2 percent over the same period last year in 2022,” the Institute said.

“The major categories that contributed to this rise, included health, 9.3 percent; furniture and household equipment furnishings at 6.9 percent; and alcoholic

beverages and tobacco [at] 5.4 percent, respectively.

“Meanwhile, transportation had the largest decrease of 8.5 percent during this same period last year.” Inflation measures the sustained rise in a weighted average of prices, and in the Bahamian context it increased sharply in the years immediately following the COVID pandemic as it did the rest of the world, sparking a cost of living crisis.

On a month-over-month basis, inflation increased by just 0.1 percent in October 2023 compared to the

previous month of September. “The monthly inflation rate in The Bahamas, which represents the overall change in prices, for 2023 increased by 0.1 percent when compared to September 2023,” the Bahamas National Statistical Institute said.

“This increase is reflected in the overall price of items purchased by the average consumer during this period. This October increase followed a 0.2 percent increase between the months of August 2023 and September 2023.

“Meanwhile, on a monthto-month, the major increases by group include health, along with furniture and furnishings, that saw increases of 4.7 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, communications, along with food and non-alcoholic beverages, saw declines of 5.7 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, for the month of October when compared to September 2023,” the Institute added.

“Gasoline prices saw an increase of 5.2 percent when compared to this time last year. Meanwhile, diesel prices continue to decline by 11.2 percent when compared to this period in 2022.

Furthermore, on a monthly basis for October 2023, both gasoline and diesel prices saw increases. Diesel increased by 3.6 percent and gasoline by 0.7 percent when compared to September 2023.”

CALLENDERS & Co., the oldest and among the most prestigious law firms in The Bahamas, has announced the promotion of (left to right): Syneisha Bootle and Raven Rolle to the position of Senior Associate; and Miquel Cleare and Ebonesse Bain to the position of Associate.

LAW FIRM UNVEILS FOUR PROMOTIONS A BAHAMIAN law firm has promoted two attorneys to senior associates while confirming another duo as associates after they completed their pupillage.

Callenders & Company, in a statement, confirmed that Syneisha Bootle and Raven Rolle are now senior associates while Ebonesse Bain and Miquel Cleare have been named as associates.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Syneisha and Raven as senior associates. They are both excellent legal minds and their commitment to protecting the interests of their clients is exemplary,” said R. Dawson Malone, managing partner in Callenders’ Nassau office.

“These are the intrepid young talents that will sustain the firm’s standard of excellence – in place for more than 100 years – into the 21st century. I congratulate them both.”

Ms Bootle has a wide portfolio ranging from her specialty in maritime law and marine insurance as well as family law, estate planning and the administration of estates. Educated at St Augustine’s College and then College of The Bahamas in Nassau, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Law degree from Keele University in the UK, where she graduated with the Top Award for Public Law. “I am extremely proud and grateful to have been promoted to the position of senior associate at a firm that has assisted greatly in my professional growth and development over the past 11 years - from summer

internships to now,” Ms Bootle said.

“I want to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the management and staff for their unwavering support over the years. I remain committed in making invaluable and sustained contributions in achieving the goals and objectives of the firm.”

Ms Rolle specialises in litigation, contract and settlement negotiations, employment law, contract law, trust law, tort law, corporate law, international trade law, constitutional law and criminal law.

Educated at St Augustine’s College, the College of The Bahamas and the Eugene Dupuch Law School, she is the recipient of the Council’s Prize for most outstanding student in the Legal Aid Clinic.

Ms Rolle said: “An actress or a lawyer? As a child, I always dreamt of becoming one of the two.

In 2017, I was called to the Bahamas Bar and became an attorney at law. Shortly thereafter, I realised that being a lawyer required me to draft and rehearse the client’s story (facts) and present it or put on a show in a way that grabbed a jury panel or judge’s attention, much like an actress.

“I am thankful that, as an attorney, I have been able to use my voice to stand up for others in the pursuit of justice. My passion for justice propels me forward for, in the words of Paulo Coelho: ‘There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure’.”

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 3

GOV’T TO PROTECT CASUAL WORKER ON NIB RATE RISE

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday said the Government is seeking to prevent casual and parttime workers from being “disenfranchised” through the upcoming National Insurance Board (NIB) rate increase.

Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, said the Davis administration was keenly aware that some employers may respond to the increased contribution rate and higher labour costs by making more staff parttime workers.

Reiterating that Bahamian companies were given more than adequate warning from last year to prepare for the rate hike, which is due to take effect

PIA GLOVER-ROLLE

KIMSLEY FERGUSON

mid-year 2024, she said: “We know that for years actuaries have said that our National Insurance rate would have to increase.

“Our administration did give notice of this increase a year ago as an opportunity for businesses to prepare, for employers to prepare for what will be we anticipate a very small increase, but an increase nonetheless.

But this will speak to how employers, from a labour

perspective, shape their workforce.

“We are already looking at legislative amendments that can speak to how we capture our employees. In Grand Bahama, the Prime Minister spoke about casual labourers. We are investigating and analysing that level of workers.”

Mrs Glver-Rolle said the Department of Labour will ensure, from a legal and legislative perspective, that

employees are not “disenfranchised” by how their employers respond to the NIB rate increase.

She added: “We see businesses have said that they are probably opting to go to more part-time workers.

We are going to do all we can from the Department of Labour perspective, from a legal and legislative perspective, to ensure that workers are not disenfranchised no matter what happens. That’s a priority for us at the Department of Labour.”

Kimsley Ferguson, president of the Bahamas Public Service Union, said it is concerned with how the NIB rate increase will impact minimum wage employees who recently received a pay increase.

He added that it will affect workers as the cost of living is “leaving salaries behind by leaps and bounds”.

The BPSU chief said: “There is indeed a concern regarding the NIB hike in that a minimal increase has been given. While we applaud the Government for the increase in minimum wage, the very same increase that has been given people now must tap into and pay contributions towards the NIB. “We are of the view, when you divide that increase by 30 days, it may come out about $1-something, which is deplorable.

It doesn’t assist our members in combating the cost of living, which is leaving salaries behind by leaps and bounds.”

Mr Ferguson added that there should have been more consultation with the public prior to implementing the NIB rate increase, and that the Government should give consideration to persons on the lower end of the pay scale.

He said: “And so we are concerned, and we believe, that there should even be consultation before the implementation of the hike so that some futuristic consideration could be given to bringing relief to persons at the lower end of the scale.

“So that is really our concern in that the salary increases that were given were actually a variation.

The person at the lower end, whose incremental value was much smaller than those at the middle and the individuals at the top, would feel the brunt of this.

“And so if we say that we want to bring relief, we can’t be duplicitous about what we’re doing, what we’re saying by implementing something that is going to have a more profound impact on one category of persons as opposed to the other.”

FTX’s GoldWynn condos to be ‘absorbed at market value’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE eight GoldWynn condo units newly-acquired

by FTX’s Bahamian liquidators will be “readily absorbed by the market” when put up for sale, the project’s developer predicted yesterday.

Randy Hart, the Wynn Group’s vice-president, told Tribune Business that: “They [the liquidators] said they will go and liquidate them. We’re pretty much sold out anyway, and I think they will be readily absorbed in the market and for market value. I don’t see where this will be prejudicial to our interests.”

He was responding to Tribune Business’ report that the liquidators for the crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, prevented a near-$8m loss by completing the acquisition of the eight units in the Goodman’s Bay development.

The closing of these transactions, which the Bahamian liquidators will now also seek Supreme Court approval for, means all eight condos will be included among the properties they will seek to sell under the terms of their deal with John Ray, head of the 134 FTX entities in

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

Mr Hart added of the liquidators: “They’ve informed me that they don’t have any interest in having the units leased out or on rental, so that means there will just be fewer units available for rental in the building, which will be beneficial to the other owners who want to rent theirs out.

So there will be fewer units available, at least in the short-term anyway.

“The whole time they [FTX] were buying units and now they’ve closed on them, so it doesn’t really impact us in a meaningful way. Our building is basically sold out. So whatever the inventory of units they have, they will liquidate them in due course at fair market value and, according to what I have read, they have to go through quite a procedure to sell them to make sure that the prices, pricing is fair.

So there won’t be any big deals.”

Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton senior partner, in a January 12, 2024, affidavit supporting the bid for Supreme Court approval of the settlement with Mr Ray, revealed that failing to close purchases agreed prior to the crypto exchange’s November 2022 implosion would have cost FTX creditors and investors some $7.718m.

The proceeds from reselling the condo will now be used to reimburse victims of the crypto exchange’s collapse, and Mr Simms voiced optimism that FTX Digital Markets’ claim for $256m against a total 41 Bahamian properties “will be satisfied to a great extent” from these disposals. Mr Ray had previously suggested that the sell-off “will not be sufficient” to satisfy the Bahamian subsidiary’s demands.

Meanwhile, Mr Simms revealed that he and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accounting duo, Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, have “indemnified” Wynn Development, as GoldWynn’s developer, against any costs or damages it may incur should a former FTX Digital Markets executive seek to challenge the seizure and sale of one particular condo whose purchase was put in their personal name.

The Lennox Paton senior partner disclosed that the Bahamian liquidator trio acted after Wynn Development’s attorney, Alistair Chisnell of Graham, Thompson & Company, served them on December 5, 2023, with a “notice to complete” the eight condo transactions for which sales agreements were signed on February 22, 2022, and March 4, 2022.

Seven units were to be acquired by FTX Property Holdings (PropCo), the vehicle used by the crypto exchange to make its Bahamian real estate buys, with the remaining condo’s purchaser named as Weiyi Xia, an FTX Digital Markets employee.

Deposits and stage payments, ranging from $507,168 to $1.305m, had been made on all eight condos when the “notice to complete” was served, and failing to close would have placed this collective near-$8m sum in jeopardy of being lost as a recovery source for FTX creditors and investors.

“The joint official liquidators and debtors [Mr Ray] were keen to avoid the forfeiture of the sums paid towards the purchase of the units - the sum of $7.718m,” Mr Simms said. To close the deals, FTX Digital Markets and FTX Property Holdings agreed a deed of assignment on December 19, 2023, whereby the latter - which is under Mr Ray’s control - assigned all the sales agreements to the Bahamian subsidiary.

It was thus FTX Digital Markets that completed the GoldWynn purchases, and Mr Simms added: “The PropCo GoldWynn units have since been conveyed to FTX Digital Markets, which FTX Digital Markets acting through the joint

official liquidators holds in accordance with the deed of assignment and declaration of trust dated December 19, 2023.”

This will allow the Bahamian liquidators and their agents to sell the GoldWynn units under the terms of the agreement struck with Mr Ray that now awaits approval from both the Supreme Court and Delaware Bankruptcy Court. A separate approval will also be sought from the Supreme Court for the GoldWynn transactions, with hearings on these matters likely to take place next week.

As for the unit that was to be acquired by Weiyi Xia, Mr Simms asserted there was evidence that the $1.1m deposit and stage payments were paid by FTX Digital Markets and thus should be recovered by the latter for the benefit of creditors and investors. However, Wynn Development had sought protection against any legal claim by the former FTX employee.

“It was necessary for FTX Digital Markets to execute the indemnity agreement as a condition of Wynn Development completing the sale of the Xia GoldWynn unit,” Mr Simms explained.

“Wynn Development wished to be indemnified from any adverse costs, damages or expenses that may be incurred in the

event that proceedings are commenced by Weiyi Xia as a result of the sale and purchase and completion of the GoldWynn unit to FTX Digital Markets.

“In summary, the joint official liquidators caused FTX Digital Markets to execute the indemnity agreement on the basis that, among other things, FTX Digital Markets may have a proprietary traceable interest in the Xia GoldWynn unit in that FTX Digital Markets made payments on behalf of Weiyi Xia in the amount of $1.1m to Wynn Development.

“The books and records of FTX Digital Markets show that FTX Digital Markets provided the funding for the installment payments for the Xia GoldWynn unit similar to the other properties purchased in The Bahamas by PropCo and/or other employees of FTX Digital Markets,” the Lennox Paton senior partner added.

“If Weiyi Xia does seek to challenge the conveyance to FTX Digital Markets of the Xia GoldWynn unit, FTX Digital Markets will wish to protect the funds paid

by FTX Digital Markets and resist the challenge. If Wynn Development was drawn into the dispute, it wanted to make sure that it was indemnified for any costs.”

The Community of

FOX HILL

gets much needed help It is with great pleasure, that we announce the launch of THE URISEMAE FARRINGTON FOUNDATION. This cornerstone’s objective, is to accommodate the well deserved but less fortunate high achievers who dare to go beyond the level of normalcy into the environment of excellence. Those that have the desire to evolve by pursuing their educational dreams, we are here to equip you with the necessary contrivance to accomplish your well deserving endeavor.

This program accommodates primary to tertiary students that meet the foundation’s requirements.

Offering textbook assistance to all primary and secondary schools and partial financial aid for colleges and trade schools.

The foundation is seeking out the young vibrant individuals within the Fox Hill community to be our first recipients. As we grow, we will seek to include the wider public.

Persons are encouraged to visit The Urisemae Farrington Foundation, www.theurisemaefarringtonfoundation.com and complete the application.

PAGE 4, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Gov’ts GBPA arbitration ‘no confidence inspirer’ FROM PAGE B1 it happens if we go down this road’” of arbitration.

“They haven’t filed or initiated proceedings,” the contact said of the Government. “They’re position is: ‘We haven’t got into arbitration, but we’re still focused on going down this road if you don’t agree with these things’.”

The Government is demanding that the GBPA reimburse it for costs incurred in providing public services in Freeport over and above what it has earned in tax revenues from the city. However, Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority last June hit back by arguing that the sums sought by the Government are “contested” and “it is yet to be satisfied” the claims are supported by credible evidence.

However, based on Mr Mitchell’s comments it may just be a matter of time before formal arbitration proceedings are launched that would pit the Government against Freeport’s governing and regulatory authority. Under the terms of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, the city’s founding treaty, several sources suggested the arbitration seat will be London rather than The Bahamas or New York.

Mr Mitchell’s interview with government-owned ZNS TV did not make clear whether he was speaking as a Cabinet minister or

PLP chairman. However, he indicated the Government has grown frustrated with the GBPA’s owners, the Hayward and St George families, and has “withdrawn” an offer to buy them out and take over Freeport’s governance and interests in key assets such as Freeport Harbour Company.

“You know that various promises were made by the Prime Minister to advance his position that the shareholders might want to divest,” Mr Mitchell said.

“I’m afraid that that offer has now been withdrawn by the Government.

“I think the Prime Minister is at the point where the dynamic must [be] to move the project along, to Bahamianise fully the city, and to bring the city into conformity with the rest of the growth which is going on in our country.”

Philip Davis KC said in late November 2023 that “the Government itself is willing to step to the plate to acquire the Port, and we’ve made that known to the families as well”. The Government had been speaking to both the St George and Hayward families, and their representatives, about its willingness to acquire the GBPA for months.

This seems to be the offer that Mr Mitchell was referring to, but the minister said the Prime Minister has now moved towards initiating arbitration proceedings

GRAND BAHAMA PORT AUTHORITY against the GBPA over the expenses dispute.

“There was an agreement on how the Government was to be compensated for the services which it provides to the city,” Mr Mitchell told ZNS, referring to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. “There was an agreement that when there was a dispute to take the matter to arbitration.

“The Government has decided that since we cannot get the minds on it that’s the way to move forward. So the Prime Minister is in discussion with the lawyers on how to take that forward.” Mr Mitchell seemed to concede that the Government’s public attacks on the GBPA and the Haywards/St Georges had not worked, as they were “not going to respond favourably”, hence the move towards arbitration.

Tribune Business revealed in late November 2023 that the Government planned to use its financial claims against the GBPA as leverage to squeeze the families if it was unable to achieve a smooth sale.

The Davis administration had invoked sections in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement that stipulate the GBPA must reimburse it if the cost of providing public services in Freeport exceeds the city’s tax revenues.

This newspaper said then that the dispute may be put into arbitration if the two sides are unable to resolve their differences, with the Government believing that the Hayward and St George families will be unable to pay what is allegedly owed if proceedings go in their favour.

The GBPA, in its response to Mr Mitchell’s comments yesterday, lamented the Government’s seeming decision to turn towards arbitration and legal proceedings - as opposed to dialogue and negotiations - to resolve the dispute. It added that such a move threatened to deter, and undermine, “further investment” in Freeport that could turn around the city’s still-struggling economy.

“The GBPA is disappointed by the latest turn of events, as highlighted in a recent news report, regarding the Government’s claim for expenses for government administration of the City of Freeport under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement,” the GBPA said.

“Our doors have always been and remain open for constructive dialogue with the Government to resolve these matters in the best interests of Freeport.

“We do not believe that legal proceedings would be appropriate, nor in the spirit of the mutually beneficial partnership between the GBPA, the Government, our licensees and

the residents of Freeport.

It does not inspire confidence or encourage further investment in the Port area, of which there is currently in excess of $1.5bn in the pipeline.

“We therefore invite the Government to engage in the process to resolve questions concerning its claims, in accordance with the parties’ obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) executed between the parties in 2016.

“The Port Authority has always sought to fulfill its obligations as a responsible corporate citizen and remains committed to constructive dialogue with the Government to resolve this and any other matter that pertain to the interests of Freeport and its residents.”

The MoU referenced by the GBPA calls for dialogue and negotiation before any recourse to the courts.

Latrae Rahming, the Prime Minister’s communications director, told Tribune Business yesterday that he was unable to comment because he had “not been briefed on those discussions” involving the GBPA, arbitration or Mr Mitchell’s comments.

However, the arbitration move raises questions about the strength of the Government’s position and especially whether it has a suitable investor waiting in the background - such as a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) - to acquire assets such as the two families’ 50 percent interests in Freeport Harbour Company and Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO). Its latest step suggests it may not.

Mr Davis told the House of Assembly in late June as he wrapped up the 20232024 Budget debate that the Government has “begun to invoice” the GBPA for “reimbursement” of unspecified costs incurred in providing public services in Freeport over and above the tax income generated by the city.

He argued that the Government was justified in seeking repayment under section one, sub-clause five, of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which stipulates that it can seek payment from the GBPA for providing “certain activities and services” if the costs involved exceed certain tax streams.

“It’s important to note there’s a provision in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement that specifies that the cost borne by the

Government for certain activities and services provided are to be reimbursed by the Grand Bahama Port Authority for amounts in excess of Customs duties and emergency taxes collected,” Mr Davis said.

“My government has begun to invoice the Port Authority for these reimbursable expenses, as calculated by an independent accounting firm. To date, the Port Authority has not provided reimbursement in connection with any of these invoices.”

However, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement clause referred to by the Prime Minister may not be all it seems. It was last amended in 1960, when Freeport was five years-old, the city’s development very much in its infancy, and the only revenues earned by the Public Treasury at the time from the Port area were Customs duties.

While it indeed stipulates that the Government should not spend any more in the Port area than it earns in revenues, and that any excess costs over and above the latter should be reimbursed by the GBPA, that clause has not been amended to account for either the Freeport of today or multiple taxes that have been added since then.

Thus VAT, departure taxes and a host of other revenue streams are not factored into the calculation of whether the Government is spending more than it is earning in Freeport. And the accounting firm hired by the Government, thought to be PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has been given a remit to include all the Government’s costs in its billings, even though the clause in question only refers to covering expenses associated with police, Customs and Immigration.

Thus, while all the Government’s tax and revenue streams are not covered by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement clause, the invoices are also seeking to recover expenses for public services it fails to mention such as education, social services and health. Millions of dollars are involved, but it is likely that the GBPA will contest the Government’s figures given the lack of a detailed accounting or breakdown of the numbers.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 5

SECURITY FIRMS HOPE FOR SPIKE IN JANUARY

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net SECURITY firms yesterday said they are hoping for a spike in business during the typically-slower January due to the skyrocketing murder rate and increased fear of crime.

Andrew Thompson, Infinite Security Company’s managing director, told Tribune Business that while business traditionally picks up around the end of the year for the Christmas season it usually trails off in January after the holidays.

Now, he hopes that business will increase this month if companies begin to take seriously last weekend’s address by the Prime Minister on crime and, in turn, seek greater protection and become more careful about their surroundings.

Mr Thompson explained that, traditionally, companies are focused on their Business Licence renewals and laying out performance targets for the remainder of the year in January, so “security is not really a paramount concern, and businesses are more reactive when it comes to adding on additional security”.

He added: “In terms of business, it has been more of the same because during Christmas time it is expected that crime would increase, but I haven’t heard a lot of incidents of armed robbery of any of my clients.

“They tend to take more precautions around Christmas time to try to ward off that type of situation, but I haven’t seen anything to say that armed robbery is an issue. Car jackings, on the other hand, have been happening a lot, but it terms of incidents against businesses I can’t really say based on my clients.”

The “uptick” in car jacking means business owners

should be aware of their surroundings at all times, Mr Thompson added, as they are targets not just at their establishment but also their homes and other places they frequent. “Armed robbery is just not an issue right now, especially with the armed police services and additional security officers during the Christmas time,” he said.

Jewel Fulford, WEMCO Security’s general manager, said that while her officers are on “heightened alert” and under orders to be more “vigilant”, there has not been an increase in business when it comes to customers wanting more security personnel.

“What we also say to them is to improve their security measures; whether it’s a need for more security personnel, adding cameras, make lighting repairs and secure your perimeter fencing,” Ms Fulford added. “There’s not been any reports of armed robberies because our role as security services providers is to harden the target, as we would want to prevent these types of incidents.

“We are preventing and we’re deterring. But with regard to high crime, high crime has to do more with the high rate of murder and those types of things and not against businesses. We don’t want these things to happen

Bahamians told no visa is needed for UK travel

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE British High Commission yesterday advised that Bahamians do not have to fill out Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) to enter the UK contrary to what a widely-circulated video is claiming.

Tom Hartley, British High Commissioner to The Bahamas, said the video was not produced by the UK government and he will announce when the country will begin to use ETAs which “may not be until 2025”.

“I am very pleased that The Bahamas continues to be one of the few countries in the world that can

travel visa-free to the UK for tourism,” he added.

“This is thanks in part to our long-standing and close relationship. The introduction of the ETA won’t change this, but when it begins I expect it will dramatically improve the experience of Bahamians at the British border.

“In the meantime, Bahamians can safely ignore the viral video circulating online – it is not official UK content. I will be the first to announce the timetable for The Bahamas as soon as it is decided – this may not be until 2025.”

The statement said the video was made by HomelyStay, a company that has no affiliation with the UK government, and that Bahamians should ignore it as there is no date set for

Law firm unveils four promotions FROM PAGE B2 As for Callenders & Co’s new associates, Ms Bain was the recipient of multiple awards throughout her education at the University of The Bahamas and the Eugene Dupuch Law School. She is the author of the study ‘Who Commits Murder’, published in the anthology, ‘Our Prisoners: A collection of papers arising from a 2016 survey of inmates at The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services Facility at Fox Hill’.

Ms Bain said: “I am very grateful for the opportunity to work as an associate at

Callenders & Co. The Callenders & Co team has truly enriched my legal perspective and career and I look forward to our collective future.”

Ms Cleare was named the best performing student in year one in criminal practice and procedure at the Eugene Dupuch Law School and, during her time at the University of The Bahamas, was consistently on the President’s List and Dean’s List. She graduated with honours from both institutions.

“As I assume the role of associate at Callenders & Co, I am excited to be a part of a legacy that has

NOTICE PURSUANT TO SECTION 218(1)(e) COMPANIES ACT, 1992 SUNNY TOURS LIMITED (the “Company”) (IN VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on 5 January 2024 the Company was placed into voluntary liquidation.

The Liquidator is Kim D. Thompson of Equity Trust House, Caves, Village, West Bay Street, P.O. Box N-10697, Nassau, Bahamas and can be contacted on/via 242-676-8188 and kthompson@equitybahamas.com.

Signed: Kim D. Thompson

The Bahamas to join the programme. At present, Bahamians can still continue to travel to the UK without a visa.

The High Commission added: “A video has been circulating online announcing the new ETA for the UK. This has been done by a company called HomelyStay, which has no official connection to the UK government.

“Bahamians should ignore this video. There has been no date set for The Bahamas to join the ETA scheme, and there is no action required for Bahamians to take regarding the ETA at this time. Until a date is announced, Bahamians tourists can continue to travel visa-free to the UK. A date will be announced when known.” shaped legal history. Committed to excellence, I eagerly embrace the challenges and responsibilities that come with contributing to our continued success,” she added.

“Callenders is extremely proud to have such a collection of bright young minds at our disposal,” Mr Malone added. “We are convinced that they will excel in the profession and earn national recognition for their professionalism and excellence in the years to come as we enter into our 121st year.”

The UK High Commission explained that the UK will introduce ETAs, which will last for two years and cost $12, to improve the arrival process and reduce passport fraud. Qatar will be the first country to need ETAs to travel to the UK with Middle Eastern countries such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait set to join the scheme next month.

The High Commission said: “In line with other nations such as the US and Australia, the UK has announced it will introduce Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) for all non-visa countries. This will cost £10 ($12), be organised fully online via an official UK app, and the authorisation will last up to two years.

and they can happen, but we haven’t had much incidents involving armed robberies last year.

“We haven’t even had any incidents of car jackings or people breaking into cars because what we tell people is nothing about your movement as a security officer or as a client should be routine.” Despite the high murder rate, crimes against businesses have not seen a similar spike.

“This is just a small circle of individuals going back and forth with each other and nothing to do with any specific targeting of businesses,” Ms Fulford said.

“The benefits in the medium term of this system are substantial. For travellers, it will allow them to use the electronic gates at the border, dramatically improving the arrival experience. For the UK it will help reduce passport fraud and reduce queueing times at airports. Qatar will be the first country to join the new UK scheme, and other countries in the Middle East (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan) will join from February.”

PAGE 6, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

FTX BAHAMAS WIND-UP ‘HALTED’ IF NO RAY DEAL FROM PAGE B1 cross-border insolvency to-date” that the world has ever seen, Mr Greaves asserted in a January 4, 2024, affidavit: “For well over a year, FTX Digital Markets and the debtors have been sparring over complex cross-border legal issues, including the parties’ respective legal rights regarding more than $9bn of claims and cross-claims for international and domestic assets....

“The settlement resolves the disputes between the debtors and FTX Digital Markets (and its foreign

representatives), which raised many novel and complex legal issues in the largest digital asset crossborder insolvency to date.

“The settlement provides a landmark breakthrough in both the Chapter 11 Cases and Bahamian official liquidation, allowing for collaboration in the maximisation of the value of the FTX Group’s assets and the efficient adjudication of customer claims, with a collaborative approach that provides a road-map to accelerate distributions to creditors,” Mr Greaves continued.

“Thus, the settlement confers substantial benefits upon FTX Digital Markets and its estates while avoiding the risks and uncertainties of adjudicating the merits of FTX Digital Markets’ claims against the debtors in both this court and the Bahamas Court.

Importantly, the settlement avoids the costs of potentially litigating the claims twice and, potentially, in two different fora.”

Warning that such legal battles would consume “significant time, money and other resources”, thereby depleting both the

Bahamian and Chapter 11 estates and potential creditor recoveries, Mr Greaves added: “This, coupled with the risks and uncertainties related to prosecuting all of FTX Digital Markets’ claims, makes entry into the settlement in FTX Digital Markets’ estate and creditors’ best interests.

“It is my view that the terms of the settlement are fair and reasonable and should be approved. The settlement provides for a mutually beneficial solution to the complex cross-border legal issues raised by the circumstances of the collapse of the FTX group in a way that ensures customers in both proceedings receive, at similar times, substantially similar distributions on their claims...

“Without the settlement, liquidation of FTX Digital Markets’ estate would be halted, and creditors could wait for years in order to even submit their proofs of debt, much less receive distributions, in the Bahamian official liquidation.”

The latter statement again reflects how the Bahamian liquidation, which is in a much weaker financial position than Mr Ray, faced being financially starved into submission by the FTX US chief proceeding with the multiple legal battles and consuming all their assets and cash.

Meanwhile, Brian Simms KC, the senior Lennox Paton partner, who together with local PwC accountant, Kevin Cambridge, forms the rest of the FTX Digital Markets liquidator trio, revealed in a January 12, 2024, affidavit that they are seeking a three-week extension to the date on which the first creditors meeting will be held.

“The potential customers and creditors of FTX Digital Markets with whom the joint official liquidators have been able to discuss the global settlement agreement are supportive of the joint official liquidators entering the global settlement agreement,” Mr Simms said in filings that form part of the trio’s bid for Supreme Court approval of their deal with Mr Ray. “The joint official liquidators also seek an extension to the statutory 90-day deadline to hold the first creditors meeting due to the fact that the sanction application will be heard on January 22, 2024, and it is only after this application has been determined that the joint official liquidators will be able to circulate forms for proofs of debt that will include the option for customers to elect to prove their claim” in The Bahamas.

FTX creditors will also receive the necessary waivers “barring” them from seeking to claim twice in both The Bahamas and Delaware. The 90-day timeline to hold a first creditors meeting started running from when Mr Simms and the PwC duo were approved as official liquidators in early November 2022.

“As such, there will be insufficient time to hold the first creditors meeting

by February 8, 2024,” the senior Lennox Paton partner said. “The joint official liquidators therefore request an extension to February 29, 2024, to hold the first creditors meeting.

“As of January 9, 2024, the joint official liquidators have received a total of 60,933 notices of intention to file a claim through the creditor portal launched on

December 13, 2022. Given the time sensitivity of the instant application as set out above, and the amount of notice of intended claims lodged to-date, the joint official liquidators are unable to convene a meeting of creditors.”

This also extends to holding a vote on whether FTX Digital Markets creditors approve the deal with Mr Ray or the selection of a creditors’ committee. “The fact that the potential customers and creditors span the length and breadth of the globe creates further difficulties,” Mr Simms added.

The Lennox Paton senior partner also asserted that it “would be a herculean and nigh impossible task to reconstruct the books and records of FTX Digital Markets so as to identify with any accuracy” its assets and those of its customers given the extent to which they had been commingled with each other and other entities in the crypto exchange’s group.

Justifying the agreement to pool assets from the Bahamian and Delaware estates, Mr Simms said: “Pooling of assets will avoid costs and delay to the administration and distribution of the FTX Digital Markets estate in trying to untangle the assets and liabilities of the estates of FTX Digital Markets and the debtors - a task that might not even be possible.

“It is the joint official liquidators’ view that the affairs of FTX Digital Markets and the debtors are so entangled and mixed up that a pooling of the assets of the respective estates without regard to ownership and enabling customers and creditors to elect to receive dividends in either The Bahamas or US is the most sensible and practical means to resolve the issues in dispute between the parties and maximise recoveries.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 7

PHARMACHEM CLIENT PULLED PLUG ON OVERRUN, OUTPUT WOE FROM PAGE B1 anti-HIV retroviral and other drugs to consumers.

“As a result, we have made the decision not to continue to fund this project further so that Gilead can allocate its resources where they can have the greatest impact for patients.

This decision will not impact Gilead’s ability to deliver commercial product”, they said.

This confirms what Tribune Business reported last week in that PharmaChem Technologies had run into “technical and operational issues” with its $400m plant expansion, which one contact labelled as “a very ambitious project”.

The expansion, designed to expand the range of drugs supplied to Gilead, was said to have gone significantly over-budget due to cost overruns. And both Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the construction completion and production of test batches.

“In the chemical world, they have to do test batches, and each batch has to meet specific criteria before they can do a production run,” one contact, speaking on condition of anonymity,

said. It is understood there were issues with these test batches, while some PharmaChem staff were said to be reluctant to work the 24-hour production shift system that was required to meet Gilead’s orders.

Ultimately, with the Grand Bahama-based manufacturer unable to meet Gilead’s desired production timelines and volumes, the latter pulled its financial support from PharmaChem, resulting in yesterday’s closure announcement. Gilead is also thought to have provided a significant portion of the financing for the $400m expansion.

Pharmachem Technologies, in announcing its closure, said it will “immediately petition” for the company to be placed into full liquidation and woundup. More than 120 workers have seen their jobs terminated by the closure which took effect last Friday.

Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, yesterday said Howard Thompson, the director of labour, is currently in Freeport “wrapping up procedures” after the company gave the Government adequate notice of its intention to close down. She added that

employees are still receiving severance packages and the Ministry of Labour will be working to redeploy them in areas that fit their skills.

“Our director of labour, who has been very active and on the ground, is actually in Grand Bahama right now, in terms of PharmaChem, the wrapping-up procedures,” Mrs GloverRolle said. “We’ve been a part of it since the notification from PharmaChem that they would have to wind-up, and we’ve been working with them in the process.

“These PharmaChem workers, most of them are very skilled and specialised workers, so we are working with them right now.

They’re still in the process of receiving packages and, as that process winds down, then we will look to see how we can place them in positions that can suit their qualifications, if possible, or in fact, just be able to give them some type of employment until we can meet their needs in terms of their qualifications.”

The Government’s desired solution would be for a buyer for PharmaChem Technologies’ new plant to quickly emerge and

re-hire all the terminated staff. However, any sale will take time to conclude and would face some potential obstacles, not least that the potential buyer field would be relatively small given the company’s specialised nature.

Several sources suggested the likeliest purchaser would be a European drug maker who wanted to manufacture product for export into the US using the duty and quota-free concessions provided by the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act. However, knowing the the vendors are in a position of weakness, buyers will likely try to submit

low-ball price offers so reaching agreement on a sales figure could be difficult and take some time.

PharmaChem, which was founded by Italian entrepreneur, Pietro Stefanutti, supplied antiretroviral API drugs (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for Gilead, which employed them in the worldwide treatment of HIV/AIDS. This product helped treat one million persons worldwide, and the new plant was intended to give it the capability to produce an additional two to three drugs.

“We manufacture the single API for Gilead, the anti-retro viral drug for HIV/AIDS. We are looking for a sustainable

future by diversifying our product line, and the new facility will be a multi-product facility so we can handle two or three products at the same time,” said PharmaChem chief executive, Randy Thompson, in 2018.

“The best-kept secret in The Bahamas - right here we actually produce material that treats more than one million HIV/ AIDS patients around the world. Gilead is committed to offering product at a discount price at cost to various countries. Like Gilead, we at PharmaChem believes it is our responsibility to extend medicine beyond developed countries around the world.”

PAGE 8, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Stock market today: Wall Street dips as hopes dim for an imminent cut to interest rates A STREET sign is seen in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Wall Street inched lower ahead of the opening bell Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 and oil prices jumped after the U.S. and British militaries bombed Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks in the Red Sea that have disrupted international trade.

Photo:Seth Wenig/ AP

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer WALL Street slipped Wednesday following another signal that it may have gotten too optimistic about when the Federal Reserve will deliver the cuts to interest rates that traders crave so much.

The S&P 500 fell 26.77 points, or 0.6%, to 4,739.21.

It’s the second straight stumble for the index after it closed out its 10th winning week in the last 11 near its all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 94.45, or 0.3%, to 37,266.67, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 88.73, or 0.6%, to 14,855.62.

Rising yields in the bond market once again put downward pressure on stocks. Yields climbed after a report showed sales at U.S. retailers were stronger last month than economists expected. While that’s good news for an economy that’s defied predictions for a recession, it could also keep upward pressure on inflation.

That in turn could push the Federal Reserve to wait longer than traders expect to begin cutting interest rates after jacking them drastically higher over the last two years. Lower rates would relax the pressure on the economy and financial system, while also goosing prices for investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped immediately after the retail-sales report and climbed to 4.10% from 4.06% late Tuesday. Higher yields can crimp profits for companies, while also making investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks.

Higher yields hurt all kinds of investments, and high-growth stocks tend to be some of the hardest hit. Drops of 2% for Tesla and 0.9% for Amazon were among the heaviest weights on the S&P 500.

The smaller companies in the Russell 2000 index also slumped as much as 1.5% before paring their loss to 0.7%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, has less of an emphasis on tech and high-growth

companies. That helped limit its losses relative to the rest of the market.

The yield on the twoyear Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, also jumped.

It climbed to 4.34% from 4.22% late Tuesday as traders trimmed their expectations for the Fed’s first rate cut to arrive in March. Traders are now betting on a less than 60% probability of that, down from roughly 70% a month earlier, according to data from CME Group.

A top Fed official, Gov. Christopher Waller, said Tuesday that the central bank could take its time before its next move on rates given how resilient the economy has remained.

“These comments leave a rate cut as early as March on the table but also indicate that such a move is not a done deal,” according to economists at Deutsche Bank led by Amy Yang.

On Wednesday, across the Atlantic Ocean, the head of the European Central Bank warned in a speech about the risks of cutting rates too soon.

If Wall Street’s predictions for the timing of the rate cuts it desires so much do indeed prove wrong, it would be just the latest example of overzealousness by traders.

Interest rates are one of the main levers that set stock prices. The other is corporate profits, and several companies reported weaker results on Wednesday than analysts expected.

U.S. Bancorp fell 1.4% after reporting weaker profit than analysts had forecast. Big 5 Sporting Goods fell 8% after saying it expects to report a worse loss for the last three months of 2023 than earlier expected because of weak sales of winter-related products. The company said it was hurt by warmer temperatures and a lack of snowfall in the West from October through December.

Charles Schwab reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its stock still fell 1.3%.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that PAULETTE HARRIS of #9 Peardale, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 18th day of January 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that WILKENS GARCON of Great Cistern, Abaco, The Bahamas 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 18th day of January 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that FIAMINE PAUL, #102 Miami Street, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 11th day of January 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 9

‘No reason to panic yet’ on 91% deficit FROM PAGE B1 at Customs duty and VAT,” he explained. “That’s a good indicator of what’s happening for the rest of the fiscal period.”

VAT revenues, derived from September filings which included both monthly and quarterly filers, rose 7.5 percent or by $8.8m year-over-year to hit $126.8m for October 2023 as compared to $118m in 2022. And, for the first four months of the 2023-2024 fiscal year, VAT was up by 3.5 percent, growing by $15.6m to strike $464.6m as opposed to $449m.

However, despite the increase, as a percentage of the total full-year forecast the Government collected less VAT during this fiscal year’s first four months as compared to last year - 29.2 percent versus 31.8 percent.

VAT, which is the Government’s main revenue source, accounting for almost 48 percent or nearly half its recurrent income, has to increase by a much greater 27 percent or $339m over the $1.252bn collected in 2022-2023 to hit this year’s target of $1.591bn.

However, Mr Wilson said December’s VAT collections matched the 16 percent year-over-year revenue growth rate that the Government must achieve to hit its $3.319bn revenue target for the full year. “Where we ended up in December, we ended up roughly 16-17 percent ahead of the prior year for VAT,” he disclosed.

“We were up significantly in VAT. That says to me the economy is strong, and that bodes well for my peak revenue season. VAT was very robust in the first half of the year, and that bodes well. That should translate into strong revenue performance over the next two months.”

Mr Wilson said the Government’s revenue is “even more cyclical now”, with the bulk of its income concentrated in the first

four months of the calendar year. “If you look at the VAT performance, it’s a good indicator for what will happen for the rest of the year,” he reiterated. “It continues to perform strongly, and we feel confident going into peak revenue season.

“Our revenues are really concentrated in three to four months towards the end of the fiscal period. This is why we have to borrow so much early because we’re getting the bulk of our revenue at the end of the fiscal period, not the beginning.

“I think we will know for sure where we stand after March. This is the peak revenue season, so after March we’ll know. We’ll see what happens. There is no concern yet. I have no reason to panic yet. We’ll have a clear picture then,” Mr Wilson said.

“The key thing to understand; the key message is to look at VAT and Customs duty, what their performance is, and their performance tells you what will happen in other areas like the Business Licence fee and real property tax.

If they are performing, that bodes well.”

Mr Wilson’s message is not to write-off the Government’s prospects of achieving its $131.1m fullyear deficit target, which measures by how much its new spending exceeds revenue income, just yet despite the sceptics and naysayers who are basing the 12-month outcome on just one-third of the period.

But, while October’s $61.5m deficit represented a decline on the prior year’s

$74.9m by almost 18 percent, the amount of ‘red ink’ incurred over the first four months increased by 24.4 percent or $23.5m from $96.2m to $119.7m.

Total government spending for October, while increasing at a slower rate than revenue, jumped by 2.5 percent or $7.6m to hit $309.7m. And, for the first four months of 2023-2024, spending overall has risen by 5.5 percent to $1.032bn - a rate that is slightly faster than the revenue increase.

Recurrent spending, on fixed costs such as salaries and rents, grew by $43.6m or 4.8 percent to reach $952.4m.

Hubert Edwards, principal of Next Level Solutions, told Tribune Business on Wednesday that the projected $131m deficit for the current fiscal year is “already out the window” and sophisticated investors and the likes of the credit rating agencies will have already “baked into expectations” that it will come in much higher.

The IMF, in unveiling its statement on the annual Article IV consultation with The Bahamas in late November 2023, estimated that the current fiscal year’s deficit will be “considerably larger than that expected in the Budget” at a sum equal to 2.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

This is almost triple the Davis administration’s forecast of a deficit equivalent to 0.9 percent of GDP or total Bahamian economic output. The IMF’s prediction, if accurate, would mean that the deficit - which

measures by how much government spending exceeds its revenue income - would balloon to around $378.73m compared to the Government’s $131.1m forecast.

Meanwhile, Mr Wilson said the Government’s $500m loan that was partially-guaranteed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) “cannot be used” to refinance or pay-off old debt such as the $300m foreign currency bond that is due to mature this month.

He added, though, that the facility will not breach the $131m in net new borrowing approved

by Parliament for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The financial secretary explained that the proceeds will be used to smooth out the Government’s cash flows, and cover valley months when it runs deficits, while the Davis administration will use the months when it runs a surplus to remain within Parliament’s borrowing limits.

“It cannot be used for refinancing,” Mr Wilson said of the 10-year credit facility. “The release speaks to what the proceeds can be used for. It cannot be used for refinancing. When you read the Public Debt Management Act in conjunction

with the borrowing resolution for $131m, that helps people to understand how we can borrow at this level and the deficit still be $131m.

“One thing it is not going to be used for is to refinance existing debt. The Public Debt Management Act gives the minister of finance the ability to borrow to meet short-term cash needs.

Our revenue is cyclical in nature. We have very strong months of revenue when we have a surplus, and we have months when we run a deficit,.

“Between July and December the deficit expands, and between January and April the deficit shrinks. The borrowing resolution gives us the authority to borrow a net amount at the end of the fiscal period. During that period, borrowing goes up and down depending on how the deficit performs.

That’s what gives us the authority to borrow this amount.”

Reiterating that the Government is sticking to its plan to borrow the necessary $131.1m in net new money to cover the projected fiscal deficit, Mr Wilson said the $500m loan aligned with the Davis

administration’s 2023-2024 annual borrowing plan.

“We cannot deviate from the plan. Any deviation from the plan impacts your credit rating with the market, so you have to stick to the plan,” he added. And, while there have been calls for greater transparency surrounding the $500m loan, especially on its undisclosed interest rate and other terms, Mr Wilson said these have not been revealed because the transaction has not reached full maturity.

“I cannot speak to what the interest rate is because of non-disclosure agreements,” the financial secretary said. “The release had to be approved by both the bank [Santander, as lead arranger and placement agent] as well as the IDB. That was the information they felt which could have been disclosed at this time.

As the transaction matures we will be able to release that information, but right now the transaction is not mature.”

Mr Wilson said institutional investors were still securing hedges to protect their position, and added: “I can also say simply that the cost is significantly cheaper than if we went to market.

In a couple of weeks and so forth, once the transaction matures, we’ll be able to disclose that information.”

PAGE 12, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

COURT DOCUMENTS UNDERSCORE META’S ‘HISTORICAL RELUCTANCE’ TO PROTECT CHILDREN ON INSTAGRAM

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer NEWLY unredacted documents from New Mexico’s lawsuit against Meta underscore the company’s “historical reluctance” to keep children safe on its platforms, the complaint says.

New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Facebook and Instagram owner Meta in December, saying the company failed to protect young users from exposure to child sexual abuse material and allowed adults to solicit explicit imagery from them.

In the passages freshly unredacted from the lawsuit Wednesday, internal

employee messages and presentations from 2020 and 2021 show Meta was aware of issues such as adult strangers being able to contact children on Instagram, the sexualization of minors on that platform, and the dangers of its “people you may know” feature that recommends connections between adults and children. But Meta dragged its feet when it came to addressing the issues, the passages show.

Instagram, for instance, began restricting adults’ ability to message minors in 2021. One internal document referenced in the lawsuit shows Meta “scrambling in 2020 to address an Apple executive whose 12-year-old was solicited on

the platform, noting ‘this is the kind of thing that pisses Apple off to the extent of threating to remove us from the App Store.’” According to the complaint, Meta “knew that adults soliciting minors was a problem on the platform, and was willing to treat it as an urgent problem when it had to.”

In a July 2020 document titled “Child Safety — State of Play (7/20),” Meta listed “immediate product vulnerabilities” that could harm children, including the difficulty reporting disappearing videos and confirmed that safeguards available on Facebook were not always present on Instagram. At the time, Meta’s reasoning was that it did not want

to block parents and older relatives on Facebook from reaching out to their younger relatives, according to the complaint. The report’s author called the reasoning “less than compelling” and said Meta sacrificed children’s safety for a “big growth bet.” In March 2021, though, Instagram announced it was restricting people over 19 from messaging minors.

In a July 2020 internal chat, meanwhile, one employee asked, “What specifically are we doing for child grooming (something I just heard about that is happening a lot on TikTok)?”

The response from another employee was, “Somewhere between zero and

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that BENGY PIERCILUS, 94 Gambier Drive, Freeport, The Bahamas 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 11th day of January 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that ALEX AUGUSTIN of Crystal Way, Soldier Road, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 18th day of January 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ASSEDY JEAN, Knowles Avenue, Harold Road, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 11th day of January 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that SIMEON PETER COOPER, #13 Vizcaya, 24 Atlantic Drive, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 11th day of January 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

negligible. Child safety is an explicit non-goal this half” (likely meaning half-year), according to the lawsuit.

In a statement, Meta said it wants teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online and has spent “a decade working on these issues and hiring people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supported online. The complaint mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents.”

Instagram also failed to address the issue of inappropriate comments under posts by minors, the complaint says. That’s something former Meta engineering director Arturo Béjar recently testified about. Béjar, known for his expertise on curbing online harassment, recounted his own daughter’s troubling experiences with Instagram.

“I appear before you today as a dad with firsthand experience of a child who received unwanted sexual advances on Instagram,” he told a panel of U.S. senators in November. “She and her friends began having awful experiences, including repeated unwanted sexual advances, harassment.”

A March 2021 child safety presentation noted that Meta is “underinvested in minor sexualization on (Instagram), notable on sexualized comments on content posted by minors.

Not only is this a terrible experience for creators and bystanders, it’s also a vector for bad actors to identify and connect with one another.” The documents underscore the social media giant’s “historical reluctance to institute appropriate safeguards on Instagram,” the lawsuit says, even when those safeguards were available on Facebook.

NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

AQUARIAN INVESTMENTS LTD. Registration Number: 105799 B

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 notice is hereby given that AQUARIAN INVESTMENTS LTD., has been dissolved and has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 11th day of December, 2023.

________________________________ GSO Corporate Services Ltd. Liquidator NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

CAYLAND GROUP LTD. Registration Number: 135816 B

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 notice is hereby given that CAYLAND GROUP LTD., has been dissolved and has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 11th day of December, 2023.

________________________________ GSO Corporate Services Ltd. Liquidator

NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

DERES LTD.

Registration Number: 157927 B Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 notice is hereby given that DERES LTD., has been dissolved and has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 11th day of December, 2023.

________________________________ GSO Corporate Services Ltd. Liquidator

NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

GILMORE POINT LTD. Registration Number: 144281 B

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 notice is hereby given that GILMORE POINT LTD., has been dissolved and has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 11th day of December, 2023.

________________________________ GSO Corporate Services Ltd. Liquidator