01302020 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020

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GOWON BOWE

‘Uncharted territory’ on $508m deficit blow-out

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas is in “almost uncharted territory” over its unplanned $508m post-Dorian borrowing, a Fiscal Responsibility Council member said yesterday, while warning: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Gowon Bowe, who represents the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) on the oversight body, told Tribune Business he wanted to understand “how we are going to spend” to ensure that hurricane restoration financing achieves its greatest economic impact.

Pointing out that postDorian rebuilding will likely be spread over several years, he reiterated that there was no need for the government to rush to borrow - and draw down upon - huge sums of money until they were needed.

Calling for spending

SEE PAGE 6

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

C

OMPASS Point’s owner yesterday warned he will not renew his hotel licence for 2020 until the government agrees to support an examination of how the resort industry’s regulation can be improved.

Leigh Rodney, the West Bay Street-based property’s proprietor, told Tribune Business in a statement that he would not comply with a key requirement for his property to remain open until he was able to meet Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, to discuss his concerns.

Acknowledging “the risk to the livelihood of 60 fine Bahamians” employed at Compass Point as a result of his stance, Mr Rodney vented his frustration that his proposals to “make it better in The Bahamas” through improving the ease of doing business are seemingly being rejected or ignored.

Reiterating his longheld belief that the Hotel Licensing Board’s annual inspections are “pointless”, and a “waste of Compass Point’s time” and Bahamian tax dollars, matters came to a head on Tuesday

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MARLON JOHNSON The government’s revised 2019-2020 budget estimates, released yesterday, reveal that it anticipates losing

SEE PAGE 5

Consumer watchdog’s zero regulation ‘teeth’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE government’s consumer watchdog lacks enforcement “teeth” because it has zero regulations to support its activities, its chairman adding that planned changes will “bring us into the 21st century”.

Philip Beneby, the Consumer Protection Commission’s (CPC) chairman, said it urgently wants to address the absence of regulations so that it can “enhance” its platform to “deal with matters that

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Compass Point owner issues licence warning

$200m tax breaks drive revenue fall A “SIZEABLE proportion” of the $232.55m in foregone Dorian revenues relates to recovery zone tax breaks, the Ministry of Finance’s top official confirmed yesterday, Marlon Johnson, the acting financial secretary, said the government had taken “a very conscious decision” to forego taxes to bring relief and speed up the recovery effort” on Grand Bahama and Abaco.

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come to the CPC”.

Speaking at the Consumer Symposium 2020 held on Tuesday night, Mr Beneby said there were also 22 pending reforms designed to modernise the Consumer Protection Act that was passed in 2006.

“We have presented two Bills to the minister [of labour, Dion Foulkes] for consideration, and that is an amendment to the Act to help to bring the Act into the 21st century, and then regulations,” he explained.

“There are no regulations

SEE PAGE 4

Govt seeks extra • Will not renew for 2020 unless concerns addressed $120m for nonDorian spending • Blasts ‘pointless’ Hotel Licensing inspections • Notes ‘risk to lives of 60 Bahamian’ workers

when the board abruptly ended a meeting where Mr Rodney had sought to press his calls for it to become a “partner” - rather than a regulator - with the industry.

Ethan Adderley, the board’s chairman, said that “we need to put the brakes on right there” after Mr Rodney informed the meeting prior to its start that a Tribune Business reporter was present at his request to observe and report on proceedings.

He then told the Compass Point owner that “we had this conversation before” about “no press is allowed in our meetings”, but Mr Rodney denied ever being informed in writing or verbally by the Hotel Licensing Board about this.

The Board chair then told Mr Rodney that he thought the purpose of the meeting was to “talk about the matters relating to your licensing”, and invited the Compass Point owner to reschedule a time for this.

The duo again sparred over whether the media could be present, with Mr

Adderley saying “we do not have press at any of our meetings for any of our operators for our hotels”. Mr Rodney replied: “I guess this meeting is over, to which the Board chairman reminded him there is still “one outstanding communicae that we need for your license, which is the purview of this board”.

“I will not renew my licence until I am given the honour of a meeting with Mr D’Aguilar, and... until [then] and we decide something otherwise I am not renewing my license,” Mr Rodney said. “It is the prerogative of this board to send me a letter to close. I would like it to be sent with Mr D’Aguilar’s signature on it telling me to close my property and I will. I believe in following the laws of this country.”

Mr D’Aguilar could not be reached for comment before press time last night, but the situation effectively revives Mr Rodney’s warning last summer - communicated through a full-page advertisement in The Tribune - that he will shutter Compass Point

for good on the date of the next general election unless the government enacts the reforms he is seeking.

Saying that all he wanted was to improve the relationship between the hotel industry and the government, Mr Rodney wrote in his statement to Tribune Business: “I have told any authority that would listen that I will not renew my hotel licence until a plan is put in place, acceptable to me, to study and suggest appropriate changes to how hotel ‘partners’ are regulated and licensed.

“As it stands now, I have not renewed my 2020 licence and will not do so until I can have a meeting with Mr D’Aguilar. If time drags on, the governing authorities are obliged to enforce the law and tell Compass Point to close. If they fail to enforce the law, I will remind them of their duty to do so in a future advertisement.

“The authorities must also not forget one thing. If I close Compass Point it will disappear. It is a great place

SEE PAGE 5

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government plans to borrow almost $120m to cover unbudgeted nonDorian spending deemed “imperative for orderly, stable, sustainable and resilient governance”, it was revealed yesterday.

K P Turnquest, pictured, deputy prime minister, detailed several expenditures beyond the government’s budgetary limits that were approved in June 2019 including $30m to boost the civil service’s efficiency in delivering public services.

While this extra spending had been detailed in the government’s Fiscal Strategy Report released in November 2019, Mr Turnquest yesterday conceded that $23m - or 76.7 percent of this sum - was to cover the pre-Christmas lump sum payments awarded to civil servants.

“While the government continues to foster greater discipline in its fiscal affairs, there are some challenges that it cannot ignore, one

SEE PAGE 7

PAGE 2, Thursday, January 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Airbnb hails ‘Bahamas Furniture store aids Sabbatical’ partnership plastics end drive

FROM left: Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (MOTA); Charles Albury, MOTA; Joy Jibrilu, MOTA; Chloe Burke, Airbnb public policy associate; Carlos Munoz, Airbnb campaign manager, public policy and communications; Karen Seymour, MOTA. AIRBNB says its partnership with The Bahamas will both promote sustainable tourism and drive increased visitor numbers to this nation.

The vacation rental website linked with the Ministry of Tourism to unveil the “Bahamas Sabbatical”, which will offer five participants the chance to live in The Bahamas and explore the natural resources and cultural heritage of this nation.

“Thanks to this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), The Bahamas Sabbatical is a reality, and

we are sure this, together with our pipeline of additional projects, will help to strengthen tourism in the country,” said Chloe Burke, Airbnb public policy associate for the Caribbean and Central America.

“As any visitor to these shores can attest, the islands of The Bahamas are indeed idyllic, with other-worldly natural beauty that draws you in, and rich history and fascinating culture that envelops your mind, body and spirit. We are thrilled to share some of what makes this country so magical with our network of more than

six travellers, and help entrench five participants in a transformational twomonth experience.”

The Bahamas Sabbatical follows Airbnb’s Italian and Antarctic Sabbaticals, and is the first to launch in 2020. Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry of Tourism’s director general, said: “It will enhance our message in the travel marketplace that the islands of The Bahamas are open for business, with the net result of driving travel business to our island communities that are working to build a sustainable brand of tourism.”

A BAHAMIAN furniture store is backing the government’s single-use plastics ban by offering complementary reusable bags to consumers as long as supplies last.

Oasis Furniture sad its bag campaign is part of a broader sustainability effort that it practices in various aspects of its operations.

“For the past two years since our opening, we’ve packaged our items in both paper and plastic bags. In a sense our use of paper bags gave us a head start on the implementation of the Act,” said Jennifer Treco, the company’s interior designer.

“We believe that practicing sustainability across the board will allow us to enjoy our country’s future. Upon purchase, our customers will now receive a simple, yet chic, black multi-purpose reusable bag.”

Based on 2010 statistics from plasticfree242.com, 51,000 tons of plastic are sold in The Bahamas every year. The Environmental Protection Act is now aiming to slash this significantly by eradicating the use of single-use plastic and styrofoam products.

The Act prohibits

OASIS Furniture in Sandyport is offering reusable bags to all consumers. single-use plastic bags, styrofoam containers and cups, plastic utensils and plastic straws, labelled the “4-bidden-4”. The Ministry’s hope is that the 2020 plastic ban becomes an impetus for future environmental policies.

“We applaud the Ministry of Environment for its stance on, and implementation of, the single use plastics ban,” said Brooke Phillips Pyfrom, founder of Oasis Furniture. “We know that change is often difficult but we hope that the wider community is able to see the long-term benefit of eliminating single use plastics from The Bahamas’ environment.

“To influence a wave of recycling, we will take $1 off a customer’s purchase for each Oasis bag the customer reuses at our store.

At the very least, our hope is to make the transition easier with the use of our bags. “ Oasis, with outdoor furniture on east Shirley Street and indoor home décor, accessories, gifts and furniture in Sandyport, has built sustainability into its business model. One of the components for the outdoor furniture is upcycled, safely treated plastics.

When designing the new store, Mrs Phillips Pyfrom chose to re-purpose pallets that would otherwise have added to the landfill.

“We are proud to offer reusable bags to anyone who stops by our store so long as supplies last. It’s a small gesture that we hope catches on with others as we all do our part to protect the environment,” she added.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 30, 2020, PAGE 3

INSURANCE SWITCHING TO RISK-BASED TAXATION

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net REFORMS switching the Bahamian insurance industry to risk-based taxation are with the Attorney General’s Office and expected to be in Parliament “shortly”, it was revealed yesterday.

Vibert Williams, the Bahamas Insurance Association’s (BIA) deputy chairman of property and casualty, said the transition from the 3 percent premium tax to a risk-based levy was bring driven by industry regulator, the Insurance Commission of The Bahamas, and the Government.

“There is in place an ongoing review and some changes being proposed to the legislation and, once that is complete, the insurance premium tax will become a premium risk levy,” Mr Williams nevertheless confirmed.

Michelle Fields, the Insurance Commission’s superintendent, explained: “What we are looking to do, with regard to the change of the premium tax to the systemic risk levy, that is at the Attorney General’s Office

CONSUMERS TOLD: NOTHING CERTAIN ON BPL BOND COST

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light (BPL) cannot confirm how much extra consumers will be paying on their bills until the upcoming $580m bond refinancing is rated and placed, officials have revealed.

Quincy Parker, BPL’s director of communications, also affirmed that the stateowned utility monopoly’s business and residential customers will have to pay the additional charge on their

and we are just waiting to fine tune that. So we are expecting that to go to Parliament shortly. In fact, we expected that to have been done already.”

She also confirmed plans revealed by Tribune Business last year to merge the Domestic and External Insurance Acts into one, adding: “With regard to the merging of the legislation that, obviously, is a big project and that is on our agenda for this year. So we have the External Insurance Act and the Domestic Insurance Act and we are looking to put them together.”

The reforms contemplate replacing the existing three percent tax levied on insurance premiums with a systemic risk levy, replicating recent changes unveiled for the Bahamian bank and trust company industry, where fees are to be based on the systemic risk individual institutions pose and the amount of regulation they require.

The Bahamian insurance industry’s regulatory transformation appeared to be motivated by exactly the same thing occurring

with the banking sector to ensure The Bahamas meets its pledge to the European Union (EU) to eliminate socalled “ring fencing”.

The Bahamas cannot be seen to have two separate regimes for its domestic and external (captive) insurance sectors, as this would result in “ring fencing” or the provision of preferential tax breaks for foreign investors and non-resident entities that were not available to operators in the local sector.

Anton Sealey, the BIA’s interim chairman, added: “Our industry is not unmindful of the external pressures being exerted on smaller nations and socalled ‘tax havens’, such as ours, by the larger countries in an effort to ensure that they are receiving their just dues from their citizens.

“In this regard, as an industry we are committed to assisting our government in fully complying with any treaties or protocols that we, as a nation, are signed on to to combat the illegal or exploitive use of our systems. However, this must be in line with the applicable law.”

bills for 20-25 years - and not the ten months some believed prior to Tuesday night’s Consumer Symposium 2020 that he addressed.

Clarifying what BPL meant by “net neutral” in terms of the impact the National Utility Investment Bond fee will have on customers’ energy costs, he said: “What that means is that the imposition of the rate of the new National Utility Investment charge, which will be imposed on the bill beginning in March, is expected by August of this year, due to the fuel cost savings, to have no impact.

“That’s what our model shows, and please be aware that these are models and are based on current market conditions. They are based on kinds of assumptions that nothing changes between now and then.”

The additional charge is currently expected to be equivalent to 15 percent of a consumer’s consumption, but even this is not set in stone. Mr Parker said: “Even the 15 percent is an assumption based on market conditions. We can’t be specific until we place the bond. Once we get the bond, once we raise the bond, then we will have specific information.”

Responding to audience questions about how much the bond will cost, Mr Parker replied: “We can’t even say that for sure, but the term is we are looking between 20 to 25 years for the duration of the bond. “ He also clarified earlier misconceptions on how long consumers will be paying the extra 15 percent bond charge

SEE PAGE 4

Life insurance claims exceed $300m mark

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net LIFE insurance claim payouts are expected to top the $300m mark for 2019, the Bahamas Insurance Association’s (BIA) deputy chairman said yesterday.

Sandy Morley, speaking at the opening of Insurance Month, said: “I would just take a minute to highlight what is happening on the life and health side.

On that side of the business, we have combined assets based on the Insurance Commission’s website in excess of $1.9bn. In 2018, the industry collectively paid $298m in claims and I expect in 2019 that number will be in excess of $300m.

“Additionally, collectively we paid in excess of $13m in premium taxes.

Undoubtedly, with our partners on the general insurance side, the insurance industry has a major impact on the economy both now and will continue to do so in the years to come.”

Anton Sealey, the BIA’s interim chairman, reaffirmed that total Hurricane Dorian claims payouts will exceed $1.5bn and could be “as high as $2bn by the end of the day”.

While unable to pinpoint how many claims had been settled to-date, he added: “I would venture to say that as an industry we are well north of 50 percent of having most claims settled.”

Mr Sealey confirmed that the insurance industry’s long-running VAT dispute with the Department of Inland Revenue had been “settled in principle”, but added: “There are still some i’s to be dotted and some t’s to cross before we can say it is completely settled. But in principle it has been settled and we are very pleased with that outcome.”

Without going into the settlement details, he added: “We have agreed that the terms and amounts that are to be paid. It’s just a question to getting the document completely signed off on, but in principle it has been agreed upon.”

The quarrel stemmed from whether general insurance underwriters could recover VAT on all or only some claims that were settled on a cash basis.

While the insurance industry felt it had achieved “a clear understanding” with the former Christie administration that VAT was recoverable on all such claims, its successor adopted the position that this was only the case where the insured client was a VAT registrant - meaning a business with a turnover greater than $100,000 per annum.

As a result, Bahamian property and casualty insurers faced being unable to recover “the VAT portion” of any Hurricane Matthewrelated claims (and now Dorian claims) paid out to residential homeowners and other non-VAT registrants.

Given the $400m in insured damage inflicted

by that storm, this left the industry facing a massive, unexpected multi-million dollar financial burden, and would have exposed it to an even greater liability as a result of Dorian had there been no resolution.

Mr Morley, meanwhile, was asked about the existing death certificate laws and whether that was impacting post-Dorian claims involving persons still missing following the category five storm.

“I think the provisions in the existing laws are for seven years to produce a death certificate.

Those laws have not been changed, and recently there have been discussions and some channels open to having some amendments done to allow for this to happen sooner. But as for the industry we continue to be directed by the existing law,” he explained.

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PAGE 4, Thursday, January 30, 2020

CONSUMERS TOLD: NOTHING CERTAIN ON BPL BOND COST FROM PAGE THREE

adding: “What was said was not that the fee will go away after ten months.

Let’s be clear.

The National Utility Investment charge is a security for the bond, so that means it will be in place as long the tenure of the bond exists. So if the bond is a 20-year bond, then we will be paying that fee for 20 years.

“However, what was said was that by ten months after the imposition of the fee, BPL expects based on our modelling that you will not feel that fee. Our fuel costs are our most expensive costs, so the reduction in fuel costs - we expect that that will balance out any increase that you see in your bill because of the

imposition of the fee.”

“So when our executives or Board members talk about being net neutral that’s what they mean.

Yes, we will implement a fee, but you will have savings to balance that out so that, at the end of the day, the consumer will not see an increase in their overall fuel costs. It is an assumption, and I can’t guarantee that.”

Obtaining a credit rating is vital to pricing BPL’s bond, meaning it is key to determining how much BPL’s business and residential customers will pay to service the debt and repay the investors that buy it. With BPL announcing it hopes to place the issue by midFebruary, an assessment of the bond’s creditworthiness is needed imminently to meet this timeline.

THE TRIBUNE

BAIC REWARDING STRAW VENDORS ON TOP BOOTHS

BAIC chairman, Bishop Gregory Collie; Dot Miller, of Dot Miller Collections; and BAIC’s acting general manager, Debbie Strachan.

BISHOP Gregory Collie; Monique Glinton, of 242 Custom Creations; and BAIC acting general manager, Debbie Strachan.

THE Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) held its prize-giving ceremony for the winners of various competitions held during the 16th BahamaArts Festival.

More than 50 booths

Monique Glinton, were tied for first place in the Best Booth competition.

They were presented with baskets filled with gifts by BAIC’s chairman, Bishop Gregory Collie, and acting general manager, Debbie Strachan.

featuring arts and craft artisans, and food and beverage suppliers, were on display during the two-day event held at the Heritage Village, Arawak Cay, from November 1-2, 2019.

Dot Miller, of Dot’s Collections, and newcomer,

Bishop Collie told the straw craft vendors that BAIC fully supports them, and he encouraged them to produce the best work they can. Bishop Collie said BAIC will assist in promoting their businesses on social media.

Consumer watchdog’s zero regulation ‘teeth’ FROM PAGE ONE governing consumer protection. We hope we can get those out to Parliament in

short order, so that we will have more administrative and workable documents with respect to our recommendations and others.”

Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Beneby continued: “There are two Bills we have been working on for the last couple of years with respect to enhancing the consumer protection regime”, revealing that 22 amendments are planned to the Consumer Protection Act to “bring us into the 21st century”.

“Then the other Bill is the regulations, really to do with consumer rights,” Mr Beneby confirmed. “There were no regulations, and Section 52 of the Act empowers the minister to impose additional regulations.”

Both Bills are “currently with the Law Reform Commission, headed by Dame Anita Allen, but we hope by this year these Bills will come forward”.

Explaining how the Bills will enhance the consumer protection regime, Mr Beneby told Tribune Business: “It will enhance the ability of the CPC to have more teeth. There are some deficiencies now because we

have no regulation.

“Take, for example, if we have a case and we bring the parties together and there is no resolution. We have to refer to the Attorney General’s office, and therefore that can take some time.”

Mr Beneby added: “We would like to see perhaps an arbitration unit, similar to that in Jamaica, where a panel of magistrates or retired magistrates adjudicate, or like in the US where you have the TV judges. The parties come together, the matter is adjudicated and end of story.

“So I think we can be more efficient in those kinds of things, but there is a number of things in the proposed Bills that will overall give consumers more rights and enhance our platform to be able to deal with matters that come to the CPC.” Reminding Bahamians of the agency’s importance, Mr Beneby said: “The CPC, many of you may have heard, is an agency of the government with its primary function being the protection of consumers within The Bahamas.

“We have the largest group; larger than the FNM, larger than the PLP, larger

than the DNA and independents. We have about 400,000 persons in our group; you the consumer. So it is an important agency.”

Mr Beneby added: “The CPC was created by statute pursuant to the Consumer Protection Act 2006. This act provides for the formulation and implementation of standards in relation to consumer protection policy.

“Further the Act makes provision for any consumer who hags been adversely affected in respect to sales of goods or the provision of services to have proper recourse wherever they live in The Bahamas. In other words, the legislation seeks to provide remedy to consumers who are disadvantaged daily by exorbitant prices, substandard products and unscrupulous practices of merchants and service providers.”

Reiterating that an “educated consumer is the best customer”, Mr Beneby said “The CPC will hold two to three of these forums a year” with all of the relevant utility corporations so it can “ratchet up” consumer knowledge.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 30, 2020, PAGE 5

Compass Point owner issues licence warning $200m tax

FROM PAGE ONE

for another private condo complex that reduces further the Bahamian public’s access to enjoy their beautiful ocean and spectacular sunsets,” Mr Rodney continued.

“I hope the potential loss of public access to Compass Point’s beautiful, privatelyowned space or the risk to the livelihood of 60 fine Bahamians will finally force Mr D’Aguilar to schedule a meeting.”

Mr Rodney’s relationship with the Hotel Licensing Board has been somewhat strained in recent years, with the regulator having made initial moves to close Compass Point down in 2018 after he allegedly proved “defiant” and failed to apply for his annual licence renewal that year.

Nothing seemingly resulted, but Mr Rodney yesterday made clear view that the Board and its processes are unnecessary ‘red tape’ and bureaucracy that the resort industry has to contend with.

“After almost ten years of tolerating without complaint the pointless hotel inspections, conducted by the Ministry of Tourism’s licensing department, I decided the inspection was a waste of Compass Point’s time, an unnecessary use of government’s (Bahamian citizens’ tax dollars) and an activity that contradicts the word ‘partnership’ when describing the government and industry’s desired relationship,” he wrote.

“I began an effort to try to get the government to reconsider the entire purpose of this department. Not only is it contradictory to the word partnership, but its activities have become unnecessary.”

Mr Rodney told

Tribune Business that a “hotel licence” did not exist in three US states he had studied, namely Michigan, Nevada and California, although aspects of resort operations were subject to health, sanitation, environmental and safety checks by state, local and federal regulators.

After initially trying to push his ideas to the former Christie administration, Mr Rodney said he was able to secure a meeting with Mr D’Aguilar a few months after the May 2017 general election. He added that the minister “agreed with my observations, and expressed confirmation and sympathy to my frustrations”, and he left believing Mr D’Aguilar “had the same goals as me” to improve governance.

“With the election of the FNM, and its promise to make doing business simpler in The Bahamas, I thought that there would be a receptive new administration, eager for ideas on ow to fulfill their promises,” Mr Rodney said.

He added, though, that he had quickly become disillusioned by his failure to secure a follow-up meeting with Mr D’Aguilar. Noting that many Compass Point staff have been with the resort for ten years or more, Mr Rodney said the property was now six months closer to his closure deadline and no progress had been made in addressing his concerns.

He likened his situation to being an employee with Mr D’Aguilar as “my boss”, adding that any worker unable to get management to listen to their concerns was effectively being told to “quit”. “If I am forced to quit my job... I want my employees to know why I quit, and I want the Bahamian public to know why I quit,” Mr

Rodney said.

Mr D’Aguilar, responding to Mr Rodney’s advertisement last summer, said he would “not be bullied” by the Compass Point owner and blasted that he was “completely out of line”.

He told Tribune Business that Mr Rodney needed to become “less confrontational” and stop using his employees as bargaining chips and leverage in his dealings with the government.

And he added that he did not necessarily consider Mr Rodney’s complaints over the hotel licensing process as “rationale”, and warned the US investor that as a non-Bahamian he “must remember he is a guest in this country”.

While admitting his concern for Compass Point’s 60 staff and their families, the minister reiterated he is “not going to stand for” Mr Rodney’s conduct and said he was “sure the Bahamian people will understand why I’m taking the position I’m taking”.

Mr Rodney acquired Compass Point in 2006. The property’s purchase from Island Outpost ended its two-year post-Hurricane Frances closure, although the iconic Compass Point Recording Studios were not included in the deal.

Mr Rodney is president of Detroit Forming Inc, a Detroit-based designer and manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, a family-owned business that was started by his father in 1962.

He told this newspaper in 2006 that he had been visiting the Bahamas for 20-30 years, having first come here in the 1970s and visited this nation once a year since then.

He also owned a residential property at Love Beach, which helped him become familiar with Compass Point.

breaks drive revenue fall FROM PAGE ONE

$126.9m in projected VAT revenues due to a combination of tax breaks and reduced economic activity in Dorian’s aftermath.

It is also projecting a $52.794m drop-off in taxes on international trade, and a $28.457m decline in Excise Tax, compared to initial budget estimates made last May. Real property tax is forecast to be down by $17.4m, while taxes on the “use and permission to use goods” are projected to be down $7m.

However, K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister, yesterday told the House of Assembly that the government had rejected new or increased taxes as an option to finance postDorian reconstruction and will instead totally rely on new borrowing/spending.

“The government has determined that additional taxes would not be optimal at this time, given

the substantial impact of Dorian to our economy and the need to maintain private consumption levels,” he said. “Accordingly, and very conscientiously, the government has decided to fund the revenue loss and expenditure requirements through additional borrowings.”

Mr Turnquest added that the government was relinquishing more than $200m in revenues as part of its Special Economic Recovery Zone initiative on both Grand Bahama and Abaco to ensure the two islands are able to rebuild more rapidly and cheaply.

“It is important to remind this House that given the magnitude of the impact of Dorian on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, the government unveiled an unprecedented package of tax incentives and concessions as a key part of the establishment of the Special Economic Recovery Zone (SERZ),” Mr Turnquest said.

“I know that members opposite agree - like all Bahamians - that this was, and is, the right thing to do. However, the impact of those much-needed tax concessions for those

islands means that over $200m in tax revenues is being deliberately and consciously foregone. This is being done so that the government is doing as much as it reasonably can to aid the speedy recovery and restoration of those impacted communities.”

He continued: ‘We anticipate that total revenue for fiscal year 2019-2020 will now be reduced by $232.6m due to revenue losses and revenue foregone from VAT, business licence fees, Customs, and a number of other taxes in the hurricane-affected islands.

“Thus, at year-end, we project a revised aggregate revenue of some $2.395.6bn in fiscal year 2019-2020 as opposed to the $2.628.2bn estimated at the time of the annual budget exercise.”

Mr Johnson yesterday said the government had suffered a “substantial revenue fall-out because Grand Bahama and Abaco went off-line from an economic standpoint. The government took a policy decision to help ensure their economies get back up and running as quickly as possible, and for residents whose livelihoods had gone to restore and rebuild”.

PAGE 6, Thursday, January 30, 2020

‘Uncharted territory’ on $508m deficit blow-out FROM PAGE ONE

patterns to be “aligned” with when they will have the greatest economic impact and return in the disaster-hit areas of Abaco and Grand Bahama, Mr Bowe urged the government to keep its regular expenditure “separate” from funding directed to infrastructure rebuilding and other recovery efforts.

He called on the Minnis administration to ensure the timing and direction of its post-Dorian spending has the “greatest economic impact possible”, and to focus on restoring commerce on the two islands so that “revenue-generating activities” rapidly replace deficit-fuelling expenditure.

Mr Bowe spoke after K P Turnquest, deputy prime minister, detailed the various sources that the government will draw upon to finance its enlarged $677.5m deficit for the 20192020 fiscal year in the House of Assembly yesterday.

With the government’s borrowing needs having increased more than sevenfold beyond the $72.4m

approved last May, Mr Turnquest said the bulk of the financing will come from a $200m “club loan” put together by a consortium of Bahamas-based commercial lenders.

A further $177.9m will be “sourced by way of other instruments”, which Tribune Business was told is a reference largely to bonds or Bahamas Government Registered Stock (BGRS). Mr Turnquest made no mention of tapping the international capital markets, although some observers believe the government will have to move in this direction to boost the external reserves as they are drawn down post-Dorian.

The deputy prime minister revealed that the balance of the $507.9m in unanticipated post-Dorian borrowing will come via a $50m Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) loan plus $80m that will be taken from the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) $100m contingent credit line.

With Dorian having blown out the originally-projected $137m deficit almost fivefold, Mr Turnquest said $20m taken from the Central Bank’s dormant accounts fund and the $12.8m payout from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) would largely cover the remainder of the $540.7m in additional “red ink” that the government is forecast to incur.

THE TRIBUNE The category five storm’s impact on the country’s short and medium-term finances, and which has placed fiscal consolidation firmly on the backburner for the time being, shows that a 20192020 deficit equivalent to 5.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) will drive the government’s direct debt beyond the $8.205bn mark by end-June 2020.

The direct debt-to-GDP ratio will increase by more than seven percentage points compared to initial projections, rising from 57.3 percent to 64.4 percent by the time the fiscal year closes. This ratio is forecast to peak at 66.6 percent at the end of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, and will only have come down slightly to 65.9 percent some two years later.

The government’s revised budgetary projections show more than $1.7bn being added to its direct debt over the four years from endJune 2019 to the close of the 2022-2023 fiscal year, taking it to $9.243bn.

If roughly $700m of contingent liabilities guaranteed on behalf of loss-making state-owned enterprises are thrown in, together with potentially at least $1.5bn in unfunded civil service pension liabilities, then the true scale of The Bahamas’ debt is placed nearer $11.5bn.

Based on the figures tabled in Parliament yesterday, the Minnis administration is on course

to add $2.105bn to the government’s direct debt during its five-year term in office. That is just shy of the record $2.2bn added by its predecessor Christie administration, although both will argue that they were blown off-course by disastrous hurricanes.

Mr Turnquest, describing the scale of Dorian’s financial blow as “unprecedented” in Bahamian history, pledged that the Ministry of Finance would “maintain a very close tracking of expenditures and revenue in the coming months to determine the extent to which we could realise savings from the revised fiscal positions we are presenting today”.

He added that while the government had been forced to adjust its fiscal consolidation targets and increase borrowing, its reaction to Dorian - and tabling of the estimated budgetary revisions - shows it “does not operate with its head buried in the sand”.

“Notwithstanding the new deficit and debt positions being projected as a result of Dorian and its economic fallout, the Ministry of Finance will remain vigilant and will work hard to come in at a number below the $677.5m deficit currently being projected,” Mr Turnquest said.

“In other words, while the government has been and will continue - to fully fund the recovery efforts, this unfortunate event will

not be used as a pretext to go on unnecessary spending binges. This government will remain committed to the principle of sound fiscal principles. Simply put, we will not use the hurricane as an excuse to go ‘buck wild’ and waste the people’s money.”

He added that there had been a “particularly good performance in revenue collections” during the six months to end-December 2019, crediting this to the government’s enforcement initiatives such as the re-established Revenue Enhancement Unit (REU) and Customs new electronic goods clearance platform, Click2Clear.

Mr Bowe, though, urged the Government to manage its post-Dorian spending in such a way that it maximised the impact of every dollar spent for both taxpayers and residents/businesses in the disaster-hit areas.

“I want to understand how we are going to spend,” he told Tribune Business.

“When I say that, I’ll go back to the saying: ‘Rome was not built in a day.’ We need to be methodical in not spending money before it has the greatest economic benefit.

“When you borrow you expect to have the greatest economic impact possible because you’ve structured the spending, and restored the economy, commerce and revenue-generating activities that make a direct

contribution to the Public Treasury.

“We know there’s a tremendous amount of money that has to be spent by both the private and public sector in the restoration effort, but that will be spent over a few years. We should not be confusing expenditure we should always be doing with expenditure for the hurricane. The only way to keep those two separate is by being methodical and working our way through.”

With The Bahamas almost five months removed from Dorian’s passage, Mr Bowe added: “In reality we don’t anticipate a tremendous amount of activity that requires all the borrowing to be done by the end of this fiscal year.”

With an 18 to 24-month timeline more realistic for drawing down on the postDorian financing, he said the restoration approach could not afford to ignore the social impact and this needed to be properly co-ordinated with the economic and fiscal aspects.

“I’m looking for our expenditure patterns to be aligned with having the greatest impacts” in Grand Bahama and Abaco, Mr Bowe continued. “We have to balance between facilitating redevelopment by private sector citizens while government revenue replaces expenditure as quickly as we can by getting commerce restored.

Position Available A newly formed Accounting & Audit firm is seeking the following person: Senior Accounting & Audit Manager with • College graduate, with CPA designation • Minimum of 10 years’ experience in the financial services industry • Responsible for Clients with very complex investments • Experience with Fund Accounting (NAVs) • Experience with Auditing financial services entities • Experience in reviewing NAV and Audit Files • Supervised Managers and Accountants • Possess superior Problem Solving skills • Possess excellent “People” skills • Possess Foreign Language skills - optional (Portuguese/ Spanish) Please submit resumes via email to: infohrcfsg@gmail.com

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 30, 2020, PAGE 7

Govt seeks extra $120m for nonDorian spending FROM PAGE ONE of which is the pressing transformation of the public service to achieve greater effectiveness in the delivery of public services through skills enhancement and other human resources initiatives,” the deputy prime minister said.

“Towards this objective, the government has set aside $30m for fiscal year 2019-2020 and another $100m over the next three fiscal periods. Of the total for fiscal year 2019-2020, approximately $23m was expended in December 2019 toward lump sum payments to eligible civil servants.”

Other unplanned nonDorian spending previously flagged by the government, and which was included in yesterday’s $119.9m, was a $16.1m subsidy to Lucayan

Renewal Holdings, the government-owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds Freeport’s Grand Lucayan resort ahead of its potential sale to the ITM/ Royal Caribbean joint venture.

However, Mr Turnquest announced an additional $30m spend to finance the purchase of Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) new generation unit from General Electric (GE).

That will be based at the Blue Hills power plant, with the deputy prime minister pegging the acquisition cost at $27.3m. Savings to the government were said to be $2.7m.

Then there were the previously-unknown multimillion dollar upgrades for Princess Margaret Hospital.

“The government recognises that the current state of the Princess Margaret Hospital

(PMH) is unsatisfactory, and the renovations to this key pillar of infrastructure can no longer be delayed,” Mr Turnquest said.

“Hence, the government will bring forward an additional $37m in fiscal year 2019-2020 for spending related to the Public Hospital Authority (PHA) to initiate this renovation, as well as address a number of other critical operational needs.” The PHA is receiving a $12m increase to its subsidy for the current fiscal year, while the Ministry of Health’s recurrent spending budget has been expanded by $22.572m.

Rick Lowe, a fiscal hawk with the Nassau Institute think-tank, yesterday voiced concern that the government could use Dorian’s devastation as an excuse to increase spending generally rather

than just for post-storm restoration and recovery.

Describing the increased deficit and debt numbers (see other article on Page 1B) as “certainly an albatross” for The Bahamas’ fiscal future, he told Tribune Business: “I hope they’re not using it [Dorian] as an excuse to just spend.

“They have to know about those items but decide not to budget for them. It seems crazy. The BPL thing is understandable though not acceptable. Now the chips are down they’re throwing it all into the mess and will see how it works out.

“It’s certainly discouraging, and is going to lead higher taxation of course and the whole nine yards.

Expansion of the economy is critical. You have more people going back to Abaco, but people are anticipating a two to three year drought.”

Mr Turnquest, meanwhile, yesterday reaffirmed the $157.6m increase in recurrent spending previously projected in the Fiscal

Strategy Report. Taking total fixed-cost expenditure to $2.687bn for the 20192020 fiscal year, some $82.7m of the increase is associated with Hurricane Dorian.

The Ministry of Social Services is to receive an extra $9.8m for cash allowances, the government’s figures revealed, as it seeks to expand the National Insurance Board’s (NIB) unemployment benefit from 13 weeks to 26 weeks for storm victims.

“Given the total incremental spending that the government will have to undertake to initiate rebuilding and restoration efforts, we anticipate that total expenditure will increase to $3.073bn for fiscal year 20192020 in comparison to the $2.765bn initially budgeted and approved,” Mr Turnquest said.

“On the capital side, spending is estimated to grow by some $150.5m to a revised $385.5m, with $100m being directly related to hurricane restoration.”

Of the latter sum, $40m has been allocated to electricity restoration on Abaco, with a further $7m going towards helping small and medium-sized businesses.

Some $5.7m will be directed to building repairs, $4.1m for clinic repairs, and $3m for repairs to the Rand Memorial hospital.

Mr Turnquest said some $31.8m of this sum had already been spent, including $3m on the Leonard Thompson International Airport in Abaco to restore it to international standards.

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PAGE 8, Thursday, January 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

ADVOCATES: CRUCIAL BANK LAW SOFTENED UNDER TRUMP PROPOSAL

By KEN SWEET and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER THE Trump administration is proposing changes to a decades-old law designed to keep banks from discriminating against the poor and disadvantaged, but critics argue the changes could make it easier for banks to potentially ignore the under-served, particularly communities of color.

The Community Reinvestment Act has, over the past four decades, spurred hundreds of billions of dollars in lending to low- and middle-income communities. But it’s out of date and in need of an overhaul.

Some community advocates say the changes the administration is proposing will allow banks to meet the law’s criteria without making the types of loans that are most beneficial

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

JEROME POWELL

to the communities they serve. Worse, critics argue that discrimination against poor and communities of color by the banking industry could increase under the proposal.

The Community Reinvestment Act was passed in 1977, when bank branches were one of the few ways to measure a bank’s presence in a community. It was last revised in the mid1990s, when online banking

barely existed. There are now banks that have zero physical branches, making it more difficult to measure what constitutes a community under the law.

In addition, the law rewards banks that make mortgages and small business loans in their communities but is murky about what other types of loans or activities can count as “community reinvestment”. Bankers, regulators

and activists alike have all called for an overhaul.

The Trump proposal aims to broaden the definition of what constitutes a bank’s community — taking into account that online banking now exists — while broadening the types of loans and services that would qualify under CRA. Under the administration’s new proposal, banks could get credit for other types of lending to low-income customers like credit cards and personal loans — a move that would greatly benefit the largest of the country’s banks because they already dominate those lines of business.

The regulations would also give banks credit, under certain circumstances, for loans they make to build or improve facilities such as sports stadiums and hospitals.

It’s the broadening of what would qualify under CRA that has community groups upset.

“We all agree there needed to be a list. The problem is what the (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) has put on that list,” said Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, an umbrella group for dozens of community groups trying to get banks to do more work in low-income neighbourhoods.

The overhaul of the CRA is being led by Joseph Otting, the Comptroller of the Currency and one of the primary regulators of the national banking industry. Otting had personal experience dealing with CRA due to his long career in banking before taking the comptroller job.

He was CEO of OneWest Bank for five years, where Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin served as chairman. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, is also on board with the OCC’s plan.

“I know, and care about, these communities. My intent is to strengthen CRA, not weaken it,” Otting said yesterday.

But Otting’s proposed overhaul has caused one of the three national bank regulators — the Federal Reserve — to be unwilling to sign on to his proposal.

It’s caused a rare public divide between regulators. The public face of the Fed’s reluctance has been Lael Brainard, the last remaining Fed governor appointed by President Barack Obama.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he still preferred a combined proposal on the CRA from the three agencies and added that he hoped it would happen.

“We worked very hard to get on the same page as

the other two agencies,” he said, adding that a rule written by the three agencies would have been “the best outcome.”

Powell also said he was “comfortable” with the position that Brainard had outlined in a speech she made earlier this month that effectively laid out the Fed’s issues with the OCC’s proposa l.

There has also been criticism of the how quickly the OCC is moving forward with its overhaul. It has set only a 60-day comment period instead of the usual 90- or 120-day period.

Banking and community groups have said privately that the timeline is too short for such a substantial overhaul. Otting has publicly said he does not plan to waver from the 60-day period.

Otting took heat from congressional Democrats yesterday during a scheduled appearance before the House Financial Services Committee. A significant number of the senior Democrats on the committee are black, including Chairwoman Maxine Waters, and consider CRA to be a critical tool to help black and minority communities.

“CRA was, and still is, a civil rights bill,” said Rep Gregory Meeks, D-New York.

“Your proposal would undermine that.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 30, 2020, PAGE 9

Microsoft plows ahead in cloud business growth

By MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press MICROSOFT yesterday gave another solid quarterly report card to Wall Street, as it plows ahead in selling its cloud computing services to big businesses and the government.

The company reported fiscal second-quarter profit of $11.6bn, up 36% from the same period last year.

Net income of $1.51 per share beat Wall Street expectations.

The software maker posted revenue of $36.9bn in the October-December period, up 14% from last year and also beating forecasts.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to earn $1.32 per share on revenue of $35.7bn for the October-December quarter. They are predicting a forecast of $1.24 in earnings per share on revenue of $34.1bn for the JanuaryMarch quarter.

Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini said in a note to investors yesterday that Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing business has been growing faster than the broader cloud market. Azure’s quarterly revenue grew 62% percent from the same time last year.

Bellini said the company’s subscription-based Office 365 workplace software products also remain “front and centre” as businesses look to transform their digital operations.

She said price increases that began in October 2018 are continuing to drive revenue, as are Microsoft’s moves to phase out older products such as Windows 7, which came out in 2009.

Microsoft stopped providing free security updates for the legacy operating system earlier this month, forcing users to upgrade to Windows 10 if they don’t want to be vulnerable to malware and hacking.

Microsoft’s efforts to catch up to number one cloud provider Amazon got a big boost in October when the US Department of Defense awarded Microsoft a $10bn contract to supply the US military with cloud services for the next decade.

Amazon is protesting Microsoft’s award, saying

President Donald Trump improperly influenced the bidding process, and asked the US Court of Federal Claims this month to halt any substantive work while its lawsuit proceeds. The Pentagon wants Microsoft to start sooner, arguing that the computing project known as JEDI is urgently needed for national security.

The project, formally called the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure plan, would store and process vast amounts of classified data.

Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz said in a note that the JEDI cloud contract was a game-changer for Microsoft that goes beyond its likely $10bn in revenue over the next decade. He said it could also serve as a template leading to broader adoption by other government agencies and business customers.

Microsoft’s Surface hardware business grew by 6% from the same time last year after the company launched new laptops and tablets in the fall. But another consumer business, the Xbox gaming system, experienced a 11% revenue decline as Microsoft’s gaming division prepares to release a new console later this year.

Revenue from the company’s professional networking service, LinkedIn, grew by 24%.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella celebrated the strong profit and revenue in a statement yesterday, while also calling attention to the company’s work “to ensure the technology we build is inclusive, trusted and creates a more sustainable world”.

Nadella pledged earlier this month that by 2030 the company will be removing more carbon from the environment than it emits.

To get there, the company said it plans to cut emissions from its business and supply chain, while helping to fund the development of new technology to remove carbon from the air.

Shares in Microsoft Corp, which is based in Redmond, Washington, rose $5.54, or 3.3%, to $173.58 in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report.

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PAGE 12, Thursday, January 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Facebook reports 4Q profit, user growth despite challenges SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press

PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY CORPORATE OFFICE

VACANCY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER (CIO) The Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) invites applications from suitably qualified persons for the post of Chief Information Officer (CIO).

Position Summary: The Chief Information Officer’s (CIO) role is to provide vision and leadership for developing and implementing information communication technology initiatives. The CIO directs the planning and implementation of enterprise ICT systems in support of business operations in order to improve cost effectiveness, service quality, and business development. This individual is responsible for all aspects of the organization’s information communication technology and systems. Additionally, the CIO directs and oversees the Projects Office to ensure that various programs and projects meet organization goals and requirements. In this capacity, the CIO develops and implements Project Management Office (PMO) processes and policies, directs project management staff, and works with other department leaders to define, prioritize, and develop the enterprise project portfolio.

Key Accountabilities For This Role Include But Are Not Limited To The Following: • Participating in strategic and operational governance processes of the business organization as a member of the senior management team; • Leading ICT strategic and operational planning to achieve business goals by fostering innovation, prioritizing ICT initiatives, and coordinating the evaluation, deployment, and management of current and future ICT systems across the organization; • Developing and maintaining an appropriate ICT organizational structure that supports the needs of the business; • Establishing ICT departmental goals, objectives, and operating procedures.

• Assessing and communicating risks associated with ICT investments; • Developing, tracking, and controlling the information technology annual operating and capital budgets; • Coordinating and facilitating consultation with stakeholders to define business and systems requirements for new technology implementations; • Reviewing hardware and software acquisition and maintenance contracts and pursue master agreements to capitalize on economies of scale; • Ensuring continuous delivery of ICT services through oversight of service level agreements with end users and monitoring of ICT systems performance; • Ensuring ICT system operation adheres to applicable laws and regulations; • Promoting and overseeing strategic relationships between internal ICT resources and external entities, including government, vendors, and partner organizations; • Supervising recruitment, development, retention, and organization of all Project Management staff in accordance with corporate budgetary objectives and personnel policies.

FACEBOOK had a strong fourth quarter, making more money on advertising and adding more users despite challenges around regulation, privacy and efforts to fight election interference.

Its profit and revenue both handily surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.

The company also said it settled a lawsuit filed in 2015 over its facial recognition practices and will pay $550m as a result. The suit alleged Facebook violated Illinois privacy regulations with a feature that suggested to users other people to tag in their photos.

Facebook replaced the tag suggestion tool with a broader facial recognition setting last year.

Facebook said that about 2.89 billion people use at least one of its services — Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger — each month. About 2.26 billion people use at least one every day. The Menlo Park, California, company said its main service had 2.5 billion monthly users at the end of the year, up 8% from a year earlier.

“This is a company that has shown that it can withstand ongoing criticism of its practices and yet still pull out gains in both revenue and users,” said eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

Facebook is under growing regulatory scrutiny around the world. In the US, it faces several government investigations for alleged anti-competitive behavior. Last August, it was fined $5bn by the Federal Trade Commission for privacy violations, the largest FTC fine ever for a tech company.

Amid ongoing criticism about how Facebook handles the private data of its users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company was shifting course for a more “privacy-focused” future.

This includes emphasising

MARK ZUCKERBURG small-group and private communication, though details are still scant.

It’s not clear if this privacy focus will mean anything for how ads on Facebook are targeted, which has always been among the chief concerns for privacy advocates.

And Facebook continues to face challenges over election interference. After Russian actors used social media platforms like Facebook to interfere in the 2016 US elections, the companies have tried to clamp down on fake accounts, misinformation and other forms of misuse. This Election Day will be a test of whether they’ve done enough.

In reporting fourthquarter results yesterday, Facebook said it earned $7.35bn, or $2.56 per share, up 7% from $6.88bn, or $2.38 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 25% to $21.1bn from $16.9bn, the bulk of that from ads.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.52 per share and revenue of $20.9bn, according to FactSet. Facebook’s stock dropped more than 6% in after-hours trading after the results came out. Some investors may be concerned about the company’s growing expenses, while others could simply be cashing out following a record high for the stock earlier in the day.

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NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that KEVONN CLERVEAVD of Spanish Wells, North Eleuthera, 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 30th day of January 2020 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Board Certified Dematologist

Educational/Competency Requirements: • A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in the field of Computer Science or Business Administration; Master’s degree in one these fields preferred; • Relevant industry certification; ITIL certification preferred; • Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred; • Minimum of 10 years management experience at a senior level in an ICT operation and 5 years’ experience working in a healthcare or related industry preferred; • Substantial exposure to data processing, hardware platforms, enterprise software applications, and outsourced systems; • Excellent understanding of computer systems characteristics, features, and integration capabilities; • Experience with systems design and development from business requirements analysis through to day-to-day management; • In-depth knowledge of applicable laws and regulations as they relate to ICT; • Proven leadership ability; • Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills; • Superior analytical, evaluative, and problem-solving abilities; • Strong negotiating skills;

Letter of application and curriculum vitae should be submitted to The Director of Human Resources, Public Hospitals Authority, Third & West Terraces, Centreville, Nassau, Bahamas or

via email: jobs@phabahamas.org no later than, Friday, February 7, 2020

15 years Clinical experience including Mohs surgery

Submit Resume to Hr@familymedicinecenter.org

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 30, 2020, PAGE 13

Record sales push Tesla to 2nd straight quarterly profit DETROIT Associated Press RECORD electric vehicle sales in the fourth quarter helped to push Tesla Inc to its second-straight quarterly profit, giving bullish investors optimism that sustained black ink lies ahead.

The Palo Alto, California, company said it made a $105m net profit from October through December, or 56 cents per share, but still posted an annual loss of $862m.

The fourth-quarter earnings continued Tesla’s meteoric stock appreciation.

Shares rose nearly 12% in after-hours trading yesterday to $648.50 The company said in its quarterly investor letter that it is starting to ramp up production of the Model Y small SUV in Fremont, California. The Model Y is a key product for Tesla’s future because consumers are buying smaller utility vehicles. Deliveries are to start by the end of March.

The Model Y will be able to go up to 315 miles per charge, an increase over Tesla’s previous estimate of 280 miles, according to the letter.

Tesla also expects to “comfortably” exceed production of 500,000 vehicles this year at its factories in Fremont and Shanghai. Model Y production in Shanghai will start in 2021. The company also said it plans to start producing limited numbers of its electric semi truck this year.

On a conference call yesterday, CEO Elon Musk said Tesla is making progress on a full self-driving feature that he has said will be deployed this year. But the company still has a long way to go before its vehicles can travel without humans taking the wheel.

Last year, Musk said he expected to start converting Teslas to self-driving in 2020 as part of a plan to create a network of robotic taxis to compete against ride-hailing services.

Critics have said Tesla doesn’t have the sensors or proper technology to offer fully self-driving vehicles.

The coronavirus outbreak in China could temporarily delay production at the

company’s new Shanghai factory, Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said, and that may have a small impact on Tesla’s firstquarter profitabilty.

The company hasn’t seen any parts-supply disruptions due to the outbreak but is monitoring the situation, he said. “This is an evolving story.”

Musk said demand for the company’s angular “Cybertruck” pickup has been high, but gave no numbers. “The demand is just far more than we could reasonably make in the space of three or four years, something like that,” he said.

Tesla also said in its investor letter that it’s moving ahead with preparations for a factory near Berlin, and the first deliveries from the factory are expected next year.

Tesla expects net profits going forward, with some possible exceptions at times surrounding the launch of new products.

“We continue to believe our business has grown to the point of being self-funding,” the letter said.

Tesla shares have more than tripled in value since May of last year, pushing the company’s market value above giant German automaker Volkswagen as well as the combined values of General Motors and Ford.

The electric vehicle and solar panel maker’s fourthquarter revenue grew 2% to $7.38bn as Tesla delivered about 112,000 vehicles during the period and a record 367,500 for the full year.

Tesla continued to build its cash balance during the fourth quarter, reporting $6.27bn available. That’s up from $5.34bn at the end of the third quarter.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives called Tesla’s performance “potentially game changing”, and a sign of what could be a new era for CEO Elon Musk and the company.

“We would characterise the fundamental performance as impressive with clear momentum looking ahead as a global inflection in EV (electric vehicle) demand appears on the horizon,” Ives wrote in a note to investors yesterday.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

Pure Ventures Limited (Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of The International Business Companies Act 2000 the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 27th day of January, 2020. The Liquidator is Kim D. Thompson of Nassau Bahamas.

Kim D. Thompson (Liquidator)

NOTICE

NF FUND SAC LIMITED (In Voluntary Liquidation)

PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY CORPORATE OFFICE

VACANCY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FINANCE The Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) invites applications from suitably qualified individuals for the post of Executive Director Finance.

Position Summary The Executive Director Finance will report directly to the Deputy Managing Director. He/she will be required to actively work with relevant executives, managers/supervisors and line staff in undertaking this job.

The main objective of this role will be to strengthen the overall resource capacity and financial performance of the PHA, with a view to drive the company’s strategic financial planning and support its efforts to grow and secure new business.

Key Accountabilities For This Role Include But Are Not Limited To The Following: • Provide overall strategic direction for the Finance Department of the PHA; • Monitor and direct the implementation of financial business plans; • Identify revenue opportunities and cost cutting initiatives; • Forecast staff and capital requirements; • Analyze variables and identifies areas for improvement; • A comprehensive assessment of the existing organizational structures, staffing levels, skill sets and workflows within the Finance Departments with recommendations and action plans to address deficiencies; • Review, revise and implement, as necessary, relevant policies and procedures for Revenue Cycle Management; • Reviewing and strengthening revenue and control systems throughout the PHA; • Actively participate in the implementation of the integrated Health Information Management System (iHIMS) inclusive of applications to support the Revenue Cycle (i.e. Patient

Registration, Patient Accounting, Electronic Medical Records, Coding & Billing, Claims Submission & Reimbursement as well as General Financial Reporting); • Develop and implement a robust Revenue Cycle to support patient revenue generating Business Units; • Conduct Cost/Benefit Analyses for outsourcing specific services to ensure maximization of resources and efficiency; • Oversee review of all management services contracts with a view to recommend amendments as necessary; • Identify and facilitate the implementation of strategies for improving accountability, monitoring, evaluation and management reporting within the PHA, inclusive of the use of appropriate financial services performance indicators and metrics;

• Develop and implement training for institutional and Agency Department Heads in the development, interpretation and use of financial reports; • Collaborate with the Chief Information Officer to promote and introduce technology based initiatives that create synergistic improvements throughout the PHA from a financial perspective.

Educational/Competency Requirements:

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of The International Business Companies Act 2000 the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 28th, day of January, 2020. The Liquidator is Dillon R. Dean of Nassau Bahamas.

Dillon R. Dean (Liquidator)

•

•

•

•

Qualified Chartered Public Accountant (CPA) with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Administration or equivalent and 10 years post qualification experience (Master’s Degree preferred); Demonstrated experience in business analysis, and implementing financial systems reforms and capacity building; and extensive experience in policy related work, planning and management; In-depth understanding of the organization and management of Public and Private organizations with a focus on Financial Service Management; Proven ability to work with team members and stakeholders from different backgrounds.

Letter of application and curriculum vitae should be submitted to The Director of Human Resources, Public Hospitals Authority, Third & West Terraces, Centreville, Nassau, Bahamas or

via email: jobs@phabahamas.org no later than, Friday, February 7, 2020

PAGE 16, Thursday, January 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, SANDY SEYONNE SMITH RAMSAY of Rosebud Road, Chippingham, P.O. Box SP-60776, Nassau, Bahamas, parent of DEAVION LIAM RAMSAY, intend to change my child’s name to DANIEL LIAM RAMSAY. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that VANESSE ANNMARIE MOXEY of Fresh Creek, Abaco, 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 30th day of January 2020 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

WEDNESDAY, 29 JANUARY 2020

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,231.75 | CHG: -0.10 | %CHG: 0.00 | YTD: 0.15 | YTD%: 0.01 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 6.70 2.60 2.00 5.47 12.00 6.17 4.50 11.01 2.81 5.06 10.57 7.90 16.99 9.40 3.80 15.20

52WK LOW 3.35 20.91 5.50 5.38 1.60 0.67 2.00 9.50 5.60 3.95 6.45 2.35 1.76 8.00 6.30 12.38 6.80 3.01 13.50

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

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

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

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

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

LAST CLOSE 3.35 17.43 6.00 6.68 2.30 1.62 3.80 11.61 6.00 4.40 6.49 3.56 4.60 11.21 7.60 15.05 9.33 3.80 15.20

CLOSE 3.35 17.43 6.00 6.68 2.30 1.62 3.80 11.61 6.00 4.40 6.49 3.52 4.60 11.14 7.60 15.05 9.33 3.80 15.20

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.04 0.00 -0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

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

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

VOLUME 285 50

VOLUME

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

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

P/E 14.0 18.7 N/M 18.1 N/M N/M -8.7 16.1 13.4 23.9 46.4 34.5 9.9 17.2 10.4 18.4 9.9 18.7 24.1

YIELD 5.07% 7.23% 0.00% 3.89% 0.00% 1.23% 0.00% 6.20% 3.67% 2.73% 0.00% 12.33% 1.30% 2.94% 3.16% 3.59% 2.14% 3.16% 4.01%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.73% 3.73% 2.93% 2.93% 2.67% 2.71% 5.76% 5.76% 12.81% 12.81% 3.93% 3.93% 6.38% 6.38% 4.50% 4.50% 7.96% 7.96% 11.57% 11.57% 18.35% 18.35% 5.17% 5.17% 15.86% 15.86% 5.67% 5.67% 3.40% 3.40% N/A N/A 10.80% 2.60% 10.40% -4.00%

NAV Date 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 27-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.29 4.37 2.09 195.13 166.73 1.66 1.85 1.76 1.20 8.34 10.26 6.94 12.01 12.35 10.74 10.00 8.98 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.60 1.74 1.69 1.12 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 2.29 4.37 2.09 195.13 166.73 1.66 1.85 1.76 1.20 8.34 10.23 6.94 12.01 12.35 10.73 N/A 8.98 11.40

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

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

30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000. Notice is hereby given that DOVE SECURITIES S. A. is in dissolution and the date of commencement of the dissolution is the 13th December 2019. The Liquidator of said company is ELCO CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. Located at Loyalist Plaza, Don Mackay Blvd., P. O. Box AB 20377, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas.

Request For Proposals

EXTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES YEARS ENDING 30 JUNE 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 AND 2020

This Request for Proposal invites proposals from suitably qualified firms to conduct the annual audit of the financial statement of the Straw Market Authority (SMA) for the years ending 30 June 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Prospective auditors may review the Audited Financials prior to submitting their bids.

Proposals are to be submitted to the Straw Market Authority in a sealed envelope by Friday 7 FEBRUARY 2020.

Proposal for Audit Services Managing Director Straw Market Authority Woods Rodgers Wharf New Providence, Bahamas

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 30, 2020, PAGE 19

More airlines drop flights to China as virus spreads BANGKOK Associated Press BRITISH Airways halted all flights to China and American Airlines suspended Los Angeles flights to and from Shanghai and Beijing as efforts to contain a new virus intensifies.

The coronavirus has now infected more people in China than were sickened in the country by the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003. The number of confirmed cases jumped to 7,711, surpassing the 5,327 in mainland China from SARS. The virus has killed 170 people.

The British and US carriers yesterday joined several Asian carriers that are either suspending or significantly cutting back service there as fears spread about the coronavirus.

Air India and South Korean budget carrier Seoul Air are also halting all flights to the country, and Indonesia’s Lion Air plans to do the same. Other carriers including Finnair, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, and Singaporebased Jetstar Asia are slashing service.

Beyond disrupting travel, the move is heightening concerns about the broader economic impact of the virus outbreak. Hotels, airlines, casinos and cruise operators are among the industries suffering the most immediate repercussions, especially in countries close to China. The crisis has also begun to ripple through US companies with operations in China.

In a conference call Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company’s suppliers in China have been forced to delay reopening factories that closed for the Lunar New Year holiday until Feb 10.

Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment, the maker of the popular LOL dolls, said he’s nervous that many workers won’t come back to factories and they may close.

“I’m very concerned about all consumer goods and retail business in 2020,” Larian said.

Starbucks’ shares tumbled 2.5% yesterday after the company said it will take a financial hit from store closures in China.

The Seattle-based coffee giant said more than half of its 4,292 stores in China are now closed. China represented 10% of Starbucks’ revenue during its most recent quarter.

By contrast, McDonald’s shares were up 2% Wednesday after the company said the financial impact so far has been minimal. McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said the Chicago-based company has closed several hundred restaurants, including all of its properties in Hubei province. But 3,000 remain open elsewhere in the country. China accounts for

4-5% of McDonalds’ revenue, he said.

British Airways said it was immediately suspending all flights to and from mainland China after the UK government warned against unnecessary travel to the country amid a virus outbreak.

The airline operates daily flights from London’s Heathrow Airport to Shanghai and Beijing. It took the measure a day after Britain’s Foreign Office updated its travel advice on China, warning against “all but essential travel” to the mainland, not including Hong Kong and Macao.

The US has not put into place travel restrictions, though Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said “it’s important to not take anything off the table,” when he was asked about that potential.

American Airlines said yesterday it will suspend flights between Los Angeles and both Shanghai and Beijing from Feb 9 through Mar 27. The airline cited “the significant decline in demand for travel to and from China”. Flights from Dallas-Fort Worth will continue, the airline said.

China has cut off access to the central city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak, and 16 other cities to prevent people from leaving and spreading the virus further. That has trapped more than 50 million people in the most far-reaching disease control measures ever imposed. The outbreak has infected more than 6,000 on the mainland and abroad.

Online flight notice boards for the Beijing and Shanghai airports showed numerous cancellations for both domestic and foreign airlines yesternesday: • Air Seoul, a budget airline, became the first South Korean airline to suspend its fights to mainland Chinese destinations apart from Wuhan, stopping its flights to the cities of Zhangjiajie and Linyi.

• Indonesia’s Lion Air said it has canceled more than 50 flights to China well into February. The flights are from five international airports in Manado, Surabaya, Jakarta, Batam and from Denpasar, in Bali, to 15 airports in China. The suspension will be phased in gradually and continue until further notice.

• Hong Kong airlines are cutting the number of their flights to the mainland by about half through the end of March in response to government virus-control efforts.

• Cathay Pacific Group said flights to 24 mainland destinations would be reduced to 240 weekly.

The company owns Cathay Pacific Airways, cargo carrier Air Hong Kong, Cathay Dragon and Hong Kong Express.

• Air India is suspending Delhi-Shanghai flights, which operate six times a week, from Friday until Feb 14.

• Finland’s Finnair, which has actively promoted its position linking Asian and Western destinations, said it was canceling three weekly flights to Beijing Daxing International Airport through late March, as well as its twice-weekly flights to Nanjing.

• Jetstar Asia will temporarily suspend flights to the Chinese cities of Hefei, Guiyang and Xuzhou starting Thursday through the end of March due to a drop in demand.

• South Korea’s secondlargest carrier, Asiana Airlines, will temporarily suspend flights to the Chinese cities of Guilin, Changsha and Haikou starting next month.

• Korean Air, South Korea’s biggest airline, said it is also considering grounding some of its flights to mainland China as passenger demand drops.

Korean Air had operated four flights a week to the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, before suspending them on Jan 23.

• Taiwan’s Eva Air announced a partial cancellation of flights to and from mainland China for two weeks starting Feb 2. In addition, the airline also has stopped providing towels, magazines, table clothes, and is limiting use of blankets and pillows on its flights.

• Kazakhstan, which shares a long border with far western China, announced yesterday that it plans to suspend all flights, train and bus traffic and to halt issuing visas to Chinese nationals. Before yesterday’s suspension, there were 24 flights a week from Kazakhstan to China, including a daily flight to Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

• Japan’s JAL said it had not changed its flight plans, while German carrier Lufthansa said it was monitoring the situation “very closely” and would if necessary make changes in consultation with the authorities.

• Dutch carrier KLM is cutting a number of flights to Chinese cities for a month because of a drop in bookings. As of today it is suspending direct flights to Chengdu and Hangzhou.

Flights to Xiamen will be suspended from tomorrow.

The carrier also is reducing the number of flights to Shanghai from 11 to seven per week.

• Air Canada, the country’s largest carrier, is temporarily suspending all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai. Flights will be suspended until Feb 29.