01302024 Business

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business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2024

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Wynn’s 300 building jobs to ‘far outweigh’ environment impacts By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A $100m, 14-storey Goodman’s Bay penthouse complex will create 300 construction jobs and generate benefits “that far outweigh” the touted limited environmental impact, it has been pledged. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Wynn Development’s second phase expansion, unveiled yesterday as part of the consultation process ahead of a February 20 public

GOLDWYNN PENTHOUSES

hearing, asserted that the project will create “much-needed economic stimulus for New Providence” by also creating 30 permanent jobs and new tax earnings for the Government. The report, produced by Russell Craig & Associates, whose lead principal is Christopher Russell, former director of forestry in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, described any “unavoidable negative environmental impact” from the development’s construction and operation as “limited” and said sufficient “mitigation measures”

will be employed to minmise any fall-out even further. “The project construction timeline for the GoldWynn Penthouses is anticipated to be some two years, with a total investment cost of some $100m [and] a far-reaching, long-term beneficial impact on the economy of New Providence,” the EIA said, arguing that it “will further contribute to the economic vibrancy of Cable Beach”. “This is particularly significant given the high-end residential market demands in the Cable Beach area, attracting wealthy

‘No fear of contradiction’ on Govt $500m loan use By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Ministry of Finance’s top official last night denied that a recent $500m loan was used to pay-off a maturing government bond as the Opposition raised renewed concerns over the financing. Simon Wilson, the financial secretary, told Tribune Business he “can say without fear of contradiction” that proceeds from a facility partially-guaranteed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) were not employed to refinance a $300m US dollar bond

t 1SPDFFET AOPU VTFE UP SFQBZ NBUVSJOH N CPOE t #VU (PWFSOPS EFUBJMT ANBKPS 64 EPMMBS EFCU SPMMPWFS t 5PQ PGmDJBM #POE QBJE CFGPSF MPBO NPOJFT HBJOFE due to mature just days later on January 16. This confidence, he explained, came from the fact that the $300m bond’s investors were repaid prior to the Government receiving the monies from the half-a-billion dollar loan, which meant the latter could not have been

the regulator’s latest quarterly economic briefing that the Government had undertaken “refinancing operations” early in the New Year to “rollover significant US dollar debt”. Referring to a slight improvement in the country’s foreign currency reserves during the first weeks of 2024, Mr Rolle said: “Through the end of 2024, the most recent period, the external reserve balances showed a modest rebound from

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Gov’t launches solar ‘Decade of contraction’ ends bid for 100MW in with $50m credit expansion New Providence By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Prime Minister yesterday hailed “a turning point” for the Bahamian energy sector as the Government launched its search for up to 100 Mega Watts (MW) of renewable power for JOBETH New Providence. COLEBY-DAVIS Speaking at the formal unveiling of the bidding process, where his administration will seek offers from independent power producers (IPPs) to supply Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) with electricity generated by solar and other renewable forms, Philip Davis KC reiterated previous pledges by saying: “We didn’t come here to defend the status quo but to change it. “And if there’s one area crying out for urgent and major change, it’s energy. For far too long, high prices and unreliability have hurt Bahamian families and businesses, undermining our progress and our prosperity. We are building a new energy reality for our country – one that is cleaner, more affordable and more reliable.” Promising to deliver on these ambitious goals, Mr Davis added: “Today, we are taking a very big step forward, with an

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday revealed “a decade of steady contraction” in lending to the private sector was halted by 2023’s $50.3m credit expansion although mortgage activity remained “subdued”. John Rolle, addressing the regulator’s quarterly economic briefing, said last year saw further improvement in credit market conditions as non-performing loans declined by more than a full percentage point of outstanding credit and the ability of borrowers to service their debts also improved following the COVID-19 pandemic. “Lending to the private sector also expanded further, halting a decade of steady contraction, while the debt servicing capacity of private borrowers was further improved,” he said. “Meanwhile, the inflation rate eased in line with reduced price pressures on imported international goods and services.” The Central Bank revealed that outstanding credit advanced to private borrowers expanded by $50.3m in 2023 as compared to a $127.9m contraction the prior year. However, the growth was driven by

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Bahamian overseas investments ‘didn’t quite hit’ $250m prediction SIMON WILSON

employed for refinancing this existing debt. Mr Wilson spoke out after the Opposition seized on comments by John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, who yesterday seemingly contradicted the position taken by both Mr Wilson and the Ministry of Finance by telling

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consumer (personal) and commercial (business) loans, which expanded by $19.1m and $76.4m, respectively. Mortgage loans, by contrast, contracted by $45.3m. The domestic housing market weakness was acknowledged by Mr Rolle, who also conceded that while the Central Bank’s abolition of the mandatory mortgage indemnity insurance requirement to qualify for a lower down payment would improve access to financing for some home buyers, the longterm solution is to improve jobs and income. “Stimulus to the domestic housing market and building activity through mortgage lending remain subdued,” he said. “With the Central Bank’s December 2023 relaxation of mortgage lending conditions, some added positive impacts are expected over the medium-term, although more significant expansion is more likely to be linked to downstream benefits of future employment and income growth that increase the pool of eligible homeowners.” With foreign exchange flows deemed “healthy”, Mr Rolle added that the Central Bank plans “to support faster growth in domestic credit over the

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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN investments in international stocks, securities and real estate “didn’t quite hit” the predicted $250m mark for 2023 “but came close”, the Central Bank’s governor revealed yesterday. John Rolle, addressing the monetary policy regulator’s first quarter economic briefing, disclosed that overseas portfolio and property purchases via the investment currency market (ICM) exceeded $200m - sum higher that “we would have seen in any era before”. Responding to Tribune Business questions, he suggested that 2024 investment flows via the ICM may decline slightly year-overyear as 2023’s activity was boosted by investors taking advantage of a limited timeframe in which to acquire cut-price Bahamian government bonds denominated in US dollars.

“I think in 2024 the numbers might look a little bit more tempered only because last year there was also a significant amount of activity related to persons who took advantage of the under-priced debt of the Government in US dollars on the market,” Mr Rolle explained. “Last year we would have seen in the investment currency space numbers that look close to a quarter-ofa-billion dollars... We don’t think we quite hit the quarter-of-a-billion dollar mark, which we thought we would have hit, but we came close. We were above the $200m mark, and that would have been more than we would have seen in any era before in the investment currency space.” The investment currency market is frequently used by Bahamians, acting individually or through broker/ dealers and financial advisers, as well as institutions to acquire overseas stocks, securities and real estate.

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