02182021 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

$4.37 Grand Lucayan targeting 50-60 ‘fresh’ recruits

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Grand Lucayan’s chairman last night said the government-owned resort will not necessarily re-hire former staff among the 50-60 persons it is seeking to recruit for the re-opening.

Michael Scott, head of Lucayan Renewal Holdings, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds the resort on the government’s behalf, told Tribune Business that the March 25 re-opening was effectively a bridge to the hoped-for conclusion of the resort’s sale to the Royal Caribbean/ITM joint venture.

“We’re not recalling people. We terminated them, and the end is the end,” he said in reference to the permanent lay-offs that occurred last summer in anticipation of the sale closing then. “We’ll be engaging in the first instance between 50-60 people.

“It all depends on the volume of business. Let’s just leave it this way; we are going to hire people, and are not going to confine our horizons to people who formally worked in the hotel.

That’s as precise and firm as I’m prepared to be.”

The Lucayan Renewal Holdings Board had aimed to re-open the resort, long viewed as Freeport’s socalled “anchor property”, on February 1 but this was pushed back to the latest date of March 25 amid the wait for the Minnis Cabinet to approve the move.

Mr Scott described the re-opening of the 196-room Lighthouse Point property as a “stop-gap, interim situation designed to “get something stimulated” in terms of tourism and economic activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

SEE PAGE 9

$4.37

$4.39

DPM: Water Corp free ride now over

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE deputy prime minister yesterday voiced optimism that Water & Sewerage customers are “prepared” for price increases as he hinted they will no longer receive their first 3,000 gallons for free.

Desmond Bannister, who as minister of works also has responsibility for the corporation, told Tribune Business that the government has little choice but to drag the water utility “into the 21st century” following the fiscal and economic blow-out inflicted by a combination of COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.

With no tariff increase

• Hints 3,000 free gallon days ending • And price rises linked to use looming • Utility must be dragged ‘into 21st century’

for 22 years, he suggested it simply cannot continue to sell water to Bahamian businesses and households at a price below the cost incurred in purchasing it from Consolidated Water, the BISX-listed reverse osmosis plant operator, and then rely on annual $20m-plus taxpayer subsidies to cover the difference.

Besides ending the free provision of 3,000 gallons per customer every month, Mr Bannister said a price increase will also encourage DESMOND BANNISTER

SEE PAGE 8

Credit rating threat if BPC was halted

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas would have been “on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars”, and its credit rating endangered, if the government had halted Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) oil exploration.

Romauld Ferreira, minister of the environment and housing, yesterday reiterated to the House of Assembly that the Minnis administration believed this nation would have paid a heavy price for failing to renew BPC’s licences and/ or not provide it with the necessary approvals for its

• Bahamas ‘on hook for hundreds of millions’ • Minister: ‘Worst deal in oil exploration history’

ROMAULD FERREIRA Perseverance One well.

Suggesting that BPC’s licences and agreements were legally watertight, and could not be broken without inflicting a further

substantial cost on alreadystrained Bahamian taxpayers, Mr Ferreira said The Bahamas would have faced “far greater” liabilities had the government blocked the well’s drilling.

Acknowledging that the government was “on the hook legally”, Mr Ferreira was unable to later give Tribune Business a precise figure for the damages BPC may have been able to claim if its activities were blocked.

However, he described it as “significant” and potentially reaching nine-figure

sums. “The best person to disclose the exact quantum would be the attorney general,” Mr Ferreira told this newspaper. “They were [legal] opinions sought by his office.

“It’s in the order of tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s quite significant.” As to his earlier assertion that The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating may have been endangered if BPC was halted, and the question of compensation

SEE PAGE 6

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JEFFREY BECKLES

Digital provider targets $100m in payments

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN digital payments provider yesterday said it expects to increase the collective value of transactions it processes by 67 percent this year to $100m as it unveiled a “world first”.

Jeffrey Beckles, Island Pay’s managing director, told Tribune Business that its partnership with Mastercard had created the “world’s first central bank digital currency” credit/ debit card that will launch this Spring alongside the Sand Dollar’s roll-out.

The digital provider, which last year processed $60m worth of payments including unemployment benefits on behalf of the government and National Insurance Board (NIB), said the card will allow Bahamian consumers to use the Bahamian digital currency and traditional notes interchangeably.

Mr Beckles said the card’s roll-out will give Bahamians greater “flexibility and convenience” when engaging in transactions both at home and abroad, and voiced confidence that both consumer and merchant will see a reduction in transaction fees as a result.

Island Pay, which already has 20,000 digital wallet holder customers, is providing the technology platform while Mastercard is lending its brand, credibility

SEE PAGE 7

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 18, 2021, PAGE 3

BILL TO HALT GENETIC RESOURCE ‘PLUNDER’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister said legislation passed by the House of Assembly yesterday will halt “the plundering” of The Bahamas’ genetic resources by foreign researchers without this nation earning one cent.

Romauld Ferreira, minister of the environment and housing, in leading off debate on the Biological Resources and Traditional Knowledge Bill, said that while The Bahamas was “a hotbed” for such resources it presently has “no laws to ensure fair and equitable trade benefits” are received for its people.

Disclosing that researchers and scientists have discovered “what they believe is the start of a cure for cancer” in Bahamian waters, the minister said marine genetics and biological resources were yet another area where this nation has failed to maximise the potential economic benefits from its natural resources.

Mr Ferreira added that the Biological Resources and Traditional Knowledge Bill will “prevent that kind of thing happening ever again”, as he branded the former Christie administration’s commercial dealings with Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) as “the worst arrangement in the history of oil exploration.

He said the Ministry of Environment and Housing, which has driven the passage of ten environmental laws, orders and sets of regulations during the Minnis administration’s term in office, is “systematically building a framework to govern our natural resources”.

“It’s so important to put in a legislative framework to prevent different companies, different groups and

ROMAULD FERREIRA different people with different relationships from having to meet different criteria for the same permits,’ Mr Ferreira added. “That’s a form of victimisation that we’re opposed to. I certainly am.

“This particular Act is probably one of the most important pieces of legislation tabled in the House to govern our natural resources, particularly the marine environment of The Bahamas. The rich marine biodiversity of The Bahamas is of great economic value.

“Besides the value for food and for tourism in terms of recreational use, certain species have been recognised to have value to the medical and pharmaceutical industry, and over the past decades the waters of the country have been subject to plunder by researchers engaged in bioprospecting to extract various resources found in our country.”

Mr Ferreira identified the antillogorgia elisabethae, or “sea whip”, as one such genetic resource given “its powerful healing ingredient” that provides both medical and cosmetic benefits. These, he added, included neutralising skin irritations resulting from sunburn; reducing the pain and swelling from acne; slowing down aging; and its possession of anti-inflammatory properties.

However, Mr Ferreira said: “Historically, we continued to face the challenge of addressing unlawful harvesting of our biodiversity given the vast expanse of our territorial waters, particularly when we take into consideration the existing enforcement capacity.

“One problem that is of increasing concern to our country is the unlawful harvesting of samples of marine life for both research and commercial purposes, because of a lack of functioning national laws and a lack of an institutional framework to better enable The Bahamas to effectively implement the provisions and the obligations set out in the Nagoya protocol on access and benefit sharing (ABS).

“The current regulatory and institutional setting does not serve us.

Thus we are unable to harness the potential value of our genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. There is an absence of both systematic information management and little co-ordination between agencies,” Mr Ferreira added.

“Further many of our existing institutions which issue permits do not have sufficient resources to monitor research activities that they have permitted. Virtually no institutions receive monetary benefits from research conducted in our

country. Further, the fee structure for permits is very low and often times free.

“There is no question that The Bahamas is a hotbed for researchers, but we have no comprehensive permitting process and no clear management process for research. More so, laws to ensure fair and equitable benefits for the country do not exist.”

Mr Ferreira said the government, realising that there were no controls, imposed an 18-month moratorium on the issuance of new scientific and research permits in The Bahamas from May 2019 until November 2020 in response to the rising number of applications.

While this “only impacted permit applications which sort to export resources”, and was designed “to limit the entry and unlawful extraction of genetic resources of The Bahamas”, the minister said the moratorium will remain in place until the Bill is passed into law.

The legislation seeks to establish a regulatory, permitting and revenue-sharing regime with companies seeking to research and exploit this nation’s marine genetic resources. It creates an Access to Benefit Sharing (ABS) committee that

will review and make recommendations on whether to approve research and development applications by companies seeking to exploit them.

The committee, which will be staffed by civil servants from multiple government agencies, will recommend to the Competent National Authority - the entity in charge of all matters related to biological diversity - whether to approve such permits, and provide advice on the revenue/benefit sharing terms agreed with private sector entities.

Any earnings generated for The Bahamas will be placed in a so-called Benefit Trust Fund for the public’s benefit. While the legislation introduces more government bodies and bureaucracy, it also sets out a regulatory regime complete with penalties for those who illegally exploit the country’s biological and genetic resources.

And individuals and companies involved in previously unregulated “bioprospecting or other genetic prospecting related work in The Bahamas, including all registered resulting industrial property, will commit “an offence” if they fail to disclose this when applying for permits under the new regulatory regime.

The legislation thus aims to close a gap identified in an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report, revealed by Tribune Business in October 2020 last year, which exposed that the Bahamian people are earning nothing from foreign exploitation of resources that have produced over 100 “new natural products”.

The document, which accompanied the IDB’s recent $200m loan to the

government, disclosed that this nation was gaining zero commercial and financial benefits from the research activity it permits annually in the waters of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

This is despite the granting of more than 100 research permits per year, most of which are to institutions based in the US and Canada. The report revealed that many of these research initiatives had resulted in patent applications being made in the US, “a large cluster” of which covered “a marine microbe” found in Bahamian waters and its use in the lucrative global pharmaceutical industry.

The IDB said one of the “biomolecules” generated from this Bahamian microbe strain had made it to “clinical phase II” drug trials in 2014, but the failure of successive administrations to establish a commercial and regulatory regime to ensure this nation gains a just share of any resulting revenues/profit from such exploitation of its resources has deprived it of a potentially “significant” income source.

“The Bahamas used to issue over 100 research permits per year, about 90 percent of which were issued to foreign institutions (generally from the US and Canada) enabling access to genetic resources, mostly in the marine environment,” the IDB report said.

“A study published in 2012 calculated that 125 new natural products were discovered in EEZ in the 2000s. A preliminary review of the patent databases of the US revealed that a significant number of research initiatives conducted in The Bahamas applied for US patents.”

ASSISTANT AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE MANAGER A prominent car dealership is seeking an Assistant Automotive Service Manager.

The ideal candidate must have a wide range of experience in the automotive business as well as good written and oral communication skills.

QUALIFICATIONS: • • • •

• • • • • •

Experienced in all aspects of vehicle diagnosis and diagnostic equipment ASE certified technician or its equivalent preferred.

At least three years of supervisory experience.

Must have the necessary technical knowledge and the real world experience in the automotive field.

Should possess good administrative and time management skills Computer literate.

Good judgment and positive attitude.

Proven leadership and customer service skills.

Possess good communication and interpersonal skills.

Valid driver’s license and good driving record.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: • Keep an updated inventory list of vehicles on premises.

• Organize the various tool rooms and monitor and label all tools as required.

• Maintain lap tops, scan tools and carry out updates when required.

• Replenishment of materials etc. to ensure workshop stays operational.

• Provide assistance to the technicians when required.

• Dispatching and monitoring the daily workload.

• Must possess the capacity to work with, develop and lead the team.

• Must possess the ability to work under pressure and multitask.

• Responsible for the delivery of job-specific training courses to the technicians.

• Ensure all customers’ requests on the repair order are completed to high quality standard. Implement quality control checks.

• The capacity to be trained on dealership computer systems to complete relevant online training.

• Makes repairs when required to Engines, Suspension, Brakes, Diagnostics, Electrical work, Steering systems, wheel alignments, transmission diagnostics.

• Ensures safety comes first with regular checks on equipment, processes/procedures.

• Maintains shop equipment. Repairs equipment and machinery as necessary.

• Fill in for the Service Manager in his absence.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

BENEFITS OFFERED ARE: • An attractive compensation package which includes Group Medical and Pension Plan benefits.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Interested persons should send resumes and supporting documents to: P. O. Box N-9240 Nassau, Bahamas Or email address: bahamasmedia@gmail.com

Application Deadline: FEBRUARY 21, 2021

PAGE 4, Thursday, February 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Cable ‘reimagines’ TV gateway

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

everyone’s developing content. There is content that we may be getting that somebody already has a licence for in the region; that’s another player.”

Mr Burrows said the cut-throat competition for programming content meant Cable Bahamas and other regional players face “issues from time to time”.

He added: “For example, if we were to go back to Hallmark channel, the service could no longer be distributed to our country.

“But we knew that our subscribers were very interested in the particular content on Hallmark. So while the channel could not be distributed, the content that Hallmark itself owns, that Hallmark itself invests in, could be distributed.”

As a result, Mr Burrows said Cable Bahamas signed an agreement with

Hallmark two years’ ago and “purchased” this content for its Bahamian subscribers via a relationship it plans to continue.

“We had a channel, CineCanal, that we lost last year,” he added. “We went out and purchased 40 movies for this season. We started playing in November of last year and we have a contract for a year for that content.”

Noting that the emergence of online streaming services such as Netflix have dramatically changed the Bahamian TV market over the past ten years, Mr Burrows said: “The strategy that we’re working on right now is repackaging and saying: ‘How do you want to purchase content?’

“The way you’re purchasing content right now is you’re going out and saying: ‘I would like to have Netflix,

but I still would like to have a package that’s just for my kids. So in the way that our system is currently set up, you have to have this gateway package before you can go to this other premium service.

“What we are proposing right now is taking away that gateway, so that our customers can say: ‘I have my basic service; I’m just going to go and buy HBO. I’m just going to go and buy kids programming or family programming,” he continued.

“So we’re we’re kind of reimagining television based on the landscape that we’re currently in, making it even less expensive for customers, for example, to get a service like HBO. They don’t have a gateway product that they have to get first.”

Javier Figueras, HBO’s

corporate vice-president of affiliate relations for Latin America, agreed that such a “windowing model” was changing. He said: “Getting content in the Caribbean has been very challenging due to the fact of mainly the owners of the content, the studios, they have a business model that involves windowing.

“That means movies will go first to the movie theatres. Then it will go on to the home video. Then it will go to the premium channels and then we’ll go to basic ad-supported channels. It’s been very challenging, but I must say that in the last five years it’s been a tremendously huge advancement that has been done not only at the HBO channel, but also at supporter channels.

Mr Figueras said Latin American content producers tend to lump the

English-speaking Caribbean with these services, but added that HBO was working on a solution for this. He said HBO launched HBO Caribbean in 2011 due to the complaints about Spanish commercials and content being shown in Englishspeaking jurisdictions.

“It is not an easy fix,” he added. “But I do believe with the digital conversations, with the streaming of the platforms that we’re talking about that we’re seeing, this is something that will definitely be on the table for the next few years, and definitely market disruptions are going to happen and this dispersion of much of the content is also going to happen.

“So you will see content all over the place. You will be able to offer the Bahamians the precise content that they really want in their language.”

HBO: New channel cut Caribbean piracy

“Then we went on to the Caribbean and we also invested in the Caribbean to put together a channel that was a specific. Unfortunately, when we did the all this, we faced the fact that the Caribbean was a place where there was a lot of illegal transmission of the HBO channels from the United States.

“We came with an alternative and this alternative, at the end, at the beginning, it seemed like it was for Latin America. Now

you’re coming into The Bahamas, and the reason Is that when we came to The Bahamas, we came to offer a new thing. It was a new channel, specifically for the Caribbean with new offering, with new content, fresh content.”

HBO in a letter to the US Trade Representative’s Office in late 2019, argued that the online piracy of TV programmes and related content “has increased significantly in The Bahamas”.

Describing the use of illegal online platforms to download and watch such programming as “alarming”, HBO Latin America called on the Bahamian government to also crack down on IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) and illicit streaming devices (ISDs) that it says were facilitating these copyright violations.

“Back in 2011 when we launched this HBO on Demand service in The Bahamas with Cable Bahamas, it was huge news. It was a great service. We were coming in with something very innovative

for the Bahamians,” Mr Figueras said.

“Unfortunately, I will say a lot of people were very afraid of pressing the button in your control to access the movie. At any time, whenever you want to watch a movie, you were able to watch it and you still are able to watch it on HBO on Demand.

“But you have still people that are not the early adopters; that are afraid to press the button, thinking that they’re going to be charged for any particular movie as a rental. But no, we came in and we changed the story.

We came with a new offering, HBO on Demand, and the same thing we just did about two years ago, when we first offered with Cable Bahamas, HBO Go as a new streaming service,” he continued.

“Again, this is a service that you are able to watch at any time in any device that you will like. Again, early adopters will get to watch and to, you know, to get to know the content through HBO Go, and

there’s other people that are not so technical savvy that, unfortunately, they haven’t seen that there is a service that is called HBO Go.” Mr Figueras said HBO was able to accomplish this “by going through the barriers of the windowing and being able to understand that the Caribbean is in itself a territory, and we if we want to really make an impact as a company, and we want to create a business out of this, we need to really tailor our service and create something that is really tailored for the Caribbean.

And for Bahamians.”

David Burrows, Cable Bahamas marketing director, said: “With the HBO Go side of things that was very important. Where you may be introducing a programme and the words on the screen may be in a different language and so forth, with that innovation HBO on demand customers were able to access the programming 100 percent in English.”

A SENIOR Cable Bahamas executive yesterday competition and programming costs were impacting its ability to source all the TV content its subscribers desire.

David Burrows, the BISXlisted communications provider’s marketing manager, speaking at a forum it had organised, said: “There is a tremendous amount of competition these days with regard to who is getting which content.

“We’re negotiating for content networks, and negotiating for content, against whether it’s Netflix, whether it’s Hulu Plus, whether it’s Fox, whether it’s HBO, whether it’s Showtime. Everyone is competing for content,

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A MAJOR TV network yesterday said the English-speaking channel it developed for The Bahamas and wider Caribbean has cut piracy of its US transmissions across the region.

Javier Figueras, HBO Latin America’s corporate vice-president of affiliate relations,, speaking at a media roundtable organised

by Cable Bahamas, said: “It takes a lot of investments to put together a channel for a certain region, and we certainly did for Latin America many years ago.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 18, 2021, PAGE 5

BUD LIGHT DISTRIBUTOR MOVES TO COUNTER ‘UNOFFICIAL IMPORTS’ BUD Light’s Bahamian distributor has moved to distinguish its product from the increased volume of “unofficially imported” beer that has seized a 25 percent market share.

“We’ve unfortunately become aware of many people who have been purchasing unofficially imported Bud Light,” explained Oranique Hamilton, Bud Light ‘s trade marketing supervisor for The Bahamas. “Bud Light cares deeply about the product our fans consume, and so our distribution partners have created a label unique for The Bahamas, saying ‘The Official Imported Beer of The Bahamas’ on our authorised products.”

“As a company, we are committed to providing our retailers with licensed Bud Light, shipped under the Bahamian Brewery distribution license,” said Wellington Seymour, Bahamian Brewery & Beverage Company’s (BBB) executive sales and marketing manager. “As the official distributor of Anheuser Busch products, including the Bud Light brand, BBB is fully supporting this initiative.”

Bahamian Brewery is the only official distributor for Bud Light in The Bahamas. The new label

modification is in response to the significant amount of product that currently enters The Bahamas from unauthorised sources.

“We hope to mitigate the effects of this unofficially imported and distributed product,” said Elena Gonzalez, Anheuser Busch Bahamas’ sales and

marketing manager. “Our company decided to produce an exclusive label of Bud Light bottles and cans for The Bahamas so that the local authorities and the consumers can differentiate the official Bud Light from the rest. By checking the seal on the side of the label that reads

CUSTOMERS cracking open their Bud Light may have noticed something a little different about their bottles and cans. “We’ve unfortunately become aware of many people who have been purchasing unofficially imported Bud Light,” explained Oranique Hamilton, Bud Light’s trade marketing supervisor for The Bahamas. “Bud Light cares deeply about the product our fans consume, and so our distribution partners have created a label unique for The Bahamas saying ‘The Official Imported Beer of The Bahamas’ on our authorised products.” Photos: Bahamian Brewery/Barefoot Marketing ‘The Official Imported Beer of The Bahamas’ our consumers know it’s the ‘real deal’.”

“Currently about 25 percent of the Bud Light products are coming

unauthorised into the islands,” added Ms Gonzalez. “Those importing Bud Light [outside] the authorised dealer are not liable to pay the correct taxes and VAT on their products.

This not only hurts our country, our company, but also the Bahamian staff who are employed by licensed companies to market and distribute these products.”

Oil exploration costs decision in 48 hours

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court judge yesterday said she will rule within 48 hours on whether environmental activists must lodge a $200,000 performance bond to cover an oil explorer’s costs.

Justice Petra HannaAdderley announced here position after attorneys for the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) and its opponents, Save the Bays and Waterkeepers Bahamas, spent an afternoon battling to convince her of the merits of their respective cases.

Clare Montgomery QC, for BPC, branded the arguments put forth by the environmental groups Waterkeepers Bahamas as to why they should not

pay security for costs as “bizarre”.

She said that regardless of whether the groups possess liquid or illiquid assets, the Supreme Court must whether they can pay the $200,000 now as mandated by the Companies Act’s section 285.

“It is looking at not merely the overall financial viability of the company concerned, but looking at the precise question as to whether or not there are liquid assets that will be available at a point when a costs order is made, Ms Montgomery argued.

“It is not sponsored by the rather bizarre suggestion that somehow the fifth and sixth respondents could bring garnishee proceedings in order to raise money to cover the order for costs that they would have got that would have gone unpaid by

Save the Bays.”

Save the Bays has outstanding awards they have to collect from several other court cases, inclusive of their actions against Peter Nygard and the government, which they have pledged to put up as security for costs if needed.

Ruth Jordan, arguing on behalf of the Waterkeepers Bahamas, said: “Of course Waterkeepers Bahamas has the ability to pay.” She argued that the issue is not about ability to pay but BPC trying to put a “full stop” to her client’s ability to bring the Judicial Review challenge to BPC’s permits and approvals before the full merits are heard.

“The garnishing point is a ridiculous one. It’s very much a fallback, because what we’re saying is the assets are there. Now, if you

want to talk about realisation of the assets, which we say isn’t in the wording....,” she added.

“But if you want to talk about realisation of assets this is probably more relevant when we look at the exercise of discretion. Of course it’s relevant that these are costs orders against very secure creditors.”

Fred Smith QC, also representing the activists, added: “There is a process for enforcement, and that’s attachment of the debt under Section 21 of the Crown Proceedings Act. But we would maintain our arguments on garnishee issues with respect to the judgment debt from Mr Nygard and Keod Smith.

That is something that one or the other members of the team just brought to my attention.”

PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTS BOARD 141A NASSAU STREET • PHONE NO. 242 326-3114 EMAIL: bdmanager@coralwave.com or bdmanager@icloud.com

PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTS EXAMINATION SCHEDULE 2021 REGISTRATION 8th February 2021 – 19th March 2021 EXAMINATION BRIEFING 10th April 2021 CASE STUDY DUE DATE 21st May 2021 WRITTEN EXAMINATION 5th June 2021 ORAL EXAMINATION 26th June 2021

PAGE 6, Thursday, February 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Credit rating threat if BPC was halted

FROM PAGE ONE arose, Mr Ferreira added: “There are those implications.”

The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating currently lies below “investment grade” at so-called “junk status” with both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P). While any BPC

damages claim may not have adversely impacted the rating itself, given that it cannot sink much lower, it would have represented another significant liability for a country already faced with record debt and deficit levels.

The advice provided to the government also concluded that it, rather than

BPC, was responsible for the latter failing to fulfill its licence and well drilling obligations due to the long wait for the new regulatory regime, which ultimately ended when the former Christie administration passed the Petroleum Act and accompanying legislation in 2016.

Mr Ferreira yesterday

renewed attacks on that administration’s dealings with BPC, which he said produced “probably the worst arrangement in the history of oil exploration” when it came to the Bahamian people receiving a fair and equitable share of the returns from any commercial oil discovery.

“The Bahamas is down

there with the lowest,” he blasted, producing a chart that he alleged showed this nation receiving the smallest returns of any oil producing nation. “What does this mean? We were bound and obligated by a pre-existing arrangement we met in place that was probably the worst arrangement in the history of oil exploration.

“We’re not the average, we’re not in the mean.

We’re the lowest.... These are natural resources and we ought to get the best deal. That deal was so horrible that the principal officer of the oil company said publicly he would be willing to re-negotiate, take a second look. That’s how bad it was.”

Mr Ferreira appeared to be referencing, although this was not confirmed, the same Commonwealth Secretariat report that Carl Bethel QC, the attorney general, used to argue that The Bahamas would receive “abysmally low” royalty rates that are the world’s poorest.

He told Tribune Business in December 2020 that the Bahamian people were in line to receive the lowest return of any nation on their country’s potential natural resources as he blasted the former Christie administration for ignoring studies suggesting it should revise an oil royalty structure that was “in the pits”.

Disclosing the findings of a Commonwealth Secretariat report that showed, under the present structure, the highest royalty rate BPC will pay is some 20 percentage points below the lowest rate in other jurisdictions, Mr Bethel argued that the former government missed the chance to negotiate a better deal for the Bahamian people when the leases for the oil explorer’s five licence areas came up for renewal in 2015.

The attorney general then argued that the former Christie administration compounded that error by allowing the royalty rates to be based “on the net value of extracted petroleum”, which is the value after BPC has deducted all its production and investment costs, rather than on “gross tax at the well head” in accordance with international best practices.

BPC’s commercial terms with the government involved a “sliding scale” of royalty fees, with the rates tied to production (the daily volume of oil, measured in per barrel terms) that is extracted from Bahamian waters. The rates ranged from a low of 12.5 percent for 75,000 barrels per day to a peak of 25 percent for 350,000 barrels per day or more, with a production licence granted for 30 years.

Simon Potter, BPC’s

chief executive, previously pledged that the oil explorer would “pay double the royalties that the law provides for” to the government should it strike success.

However, as Mr Ferreira noted yesterday, that did not happen with Perseverance One. “The fact of the matter is that we’ve been drilling since 1947, and have drilled six wells,” he added. “The only thing significant and remarkable about this effort is the depth they were able to go to with modern technology. It created a lot of excitement, but here we are.”

Mr Ferreira argued that The Bahamas needed to know whether it possessed extractable commercial oil reserves to give it a potential bargaining chip to obtain “offset credits”, or financial compensation, from neighbouring countries such as the US in return for not pursuing oil production.

“Certainly I think that the broader discussion that really needs to be had is that if we don’t know whether or not we have oil resources, then we really have no quantum to bargain with in getting offset credits,” he explained.

The minister said South American countries had received such credits, or compensation, for not cutting down their rain forests to make way for new industries in response to pleas from other countries about the harm this would inflict on the whole planet.

Arguing that The Bahamas may have been able to do similar had BPC discovered commercial oil quantities, Mr Ferreira said the company now has to make the next move in determining whether it will seek to renew its five licences by the end-March 2021 deadline.

“We have to wait and see if there are any new applications,” he added. BPC’s five licences expire at end-June 2021, and the oil explorer has yet to give a definitive position on whether they will be renewed.

BPC said the decision hinges on a full analysis of the Perseverance One drilling results and, reading between the lines of its recent statements, whether it can finally secure a joint venture or “farm-in” partner to share the financial, technical and operational risk associated with any future Bahamian exploratory well.

It has repeatedly said it is seeking to “monetise”, or get a return on, its five Bahamian licences by attracting such a partner, indicating it does not plan to raise $120m to invest in another well by itself as the oil explorer’s attention turns to its assets in Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname and Uruguay.

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4 You need at least 30 minutes between your last meal and donating blood.

4 You will need at least 10 minutes rest after donating blood.

4 You can donate blood every 8 weeks.

4 The Blood Bank will do FREE Pre-screening tests to make sure you are healthy enough to donate blood.

BECOME A REGULAR DONOR

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO SUPPORT THE BLOOD DRIVES

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 18, 2021, PAGE 7

Digital provider targets $100m in payments FROM PAGE ONE and worldwide presence to boost Bahamian consumer confidence in using the card.

“We have been diligently working on this for the past 18 months,” Mr Beckles said, describing the card’s development as “a giant step” that shows The Bahamas is serious about establishing its presence in the digital payments space.

“I think consumers will have greater flexibility in using the Sand Dollar, and merchants will have increased opportunities as the Sand Dollar will be the dollar that Bahamians use

to trade. We had to figure out how to take this digital currency and make it more versatile. We see this as a giant step in the global advancement of a Central Bank digital currency.”

Mr Beckles said Bahamians will be able to use Sand Dollars, the Central Bank-backed digital currency, to conduct online transactions with the likes of Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target. “It will be accepted around the world wherever Mastercard is accepted,” he added of the card, “and that’s a pretty broad range for Bahamians to shop.

“This is a pretty big step in global recognition that The Bahamas is taking a

bold step to become part of the global digital community. If you’re going to do business, whether a consumer or merchant, this will help create the platform needed to achieve that objective.”

The Island Pay chief said he was “very confident” that consumers and merchants will “be paying a lot less than they are now” in transaction and settlement fees as a result of its Mastercard tie-up and digital currency, adding: “We’re very confident that it’s going to be felt and experienced in a real positive way.”

Island Pay and Mastercard, in a joint statement, said the Bahamas Sand

Dollar prepaid card gives people the option to instantly convert the digital currency to traditional Bahamian dollars and pay for goods and services anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, said in a statement: “We welcome this approach to combining digital currency use with access to foreign currency and other payment outlets.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas will continue to encourage fintech developments that tie into the Sand Dollar infrastructure, while allowing us to satisfy best global practices for regulation of the space.”

Richard Douglas, cofounder of Island Pay, added: “By working closely with the Central Bank of The Bahamas and Mastercard, we are able to issue a pre-paid card unlike any

other in the world. We are now able to bring immediate, critical benefits to our customers at a time when they are looking to find new, innovative ways to pay.

“The Bahamas is leading innovation in Central Bank digital currencies, and we’re thrilled to be able to play an important role in helping to democratise access to currency, especially in areas that are currently underserved.”

PAGE 8, Thursday, February 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

DPM: Water Corp free ride now over FROM PAGE ONE water conservation and better use of a scarce essential resource. He added that consumers who used significant amounts of water will be required “to pay appropriately”.

While he would not be drawn on the timing and extent of any water price increases, the deputy prime minister indicated that more will be revealed about the reform and turnaround plans for the Water & Sewerage Corporation when the 2021-2022 budget is unveiled in just over three months’ time in late May. “It’s very kind of you to say it’s mixed,” he replied to Tribune Business, when questioned about the corporation’s financial history that is stained with much ‘red ink’. “The Water & Sewerage Corporation has always lost money. It’s been a regular loser. It has never to my knowledge made any money, and has to be brought into the 21st century.”

With no tariff increase since 1999, or the 20th century, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s prices have failed to keep up with inflation let alone rising water production costs. Asked whether consumers can handle a price increase amid the fall-out from COVID-19, Mr Bannister said: “I think we have the people to do it. I think we have the leadership to do it.

“I think the Bahamian people are prepared for it.

I don’t see it being a huge increase. I think all of us, we have to appreciate that the corporation has been essentially giving away 3,000 gallons of water for free at the start of every billing period.

“The new tariff structure is going to help them in conservation. We understand it’s [water] an important natural resource, and we need to conserve more and use it appropriately.” Mr Bannister said the free provision of 3,000 gallons, and government subsidy, had convinced many Bahamians they were getting it for nothing even though their taxes undergird the corporation’s activities.

“We here in The Bahamas, we believe we’re getting something for free when we’re essentially paying for it out of the other pocket,” the deputy prime minister told Tribune Business. “What we are doing is going to ensure that users, especially heavy users, will pay for what you use rather than the use being subsidised by somebody else.

“I don’t see Bahamians having any challenge with it. The people who utilise a lot of water are going to pay appropriately for it.”

Many observers will likely question the wisdom of imposing increased utility costs at this time on an economy, businesses and households that are still struggling to regain some stability as the COVID-19

pandemic drags on.

However, Mr Bannister indicated that the Water & Sewerage Corporation and the government will seek to balance collecting what is due to the utility with a customer’s financial condition.

“Water is a necessity, so it’s a service we have to provide and ensure everyone can get it,” he added.

Providing no details on the timing and amount of any water price increase, Mr Bannister said of the Corporation’s planned turnaround: “That’s a project for the upcoming budget. We anticipate that in the next Budget we’ll be able to unveil any progress we have made with that.

“That process is ongoing. We know the kind of work we have to do. This is one of those issues where it’s important for us to to be able to make a difference in our country. It’s one of any number of major initiatives we have to bring to completion along with all the other matters going forward.”

The Water & Sewerage Corporation tariff increases are part of a bid by the government “to accelerate long overdue reform of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) given the combined $408m drain they have imposed on Bahamian taxpayers this year in the form of subsidies - a figure that is expected to sharply increase due to COVID-19.

Senator Kwasi Thompson, the newly-appointed minister of state for finance, revealed before Christmas that this will likely involve price/tariff increases for Water & Sewerage Corporation consumers as the government seeks to move them to a position where they can at least recover their costs.

Adrian Gibson, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s executive chairman, last year said it was facing a $30.8m “backlog” on payments due to vendors at end-August 2020, a sum that continues to grow, and a $15m-plus yearover-year decline in revenue for the year to-date.

“Frankly, the Water & Sewerage Corporation is in dire straits,” he said. “Our operating cash flow cannot sustain monthly payments for vendors and payroll.

“These challenges have resulted in a backlog of supplier payments that are steadily growing, and there’s concern about monthly payroll for the balance of 2020.

Our vendor payments backlog as at August 27, 2020, was some $30.8m.”

Mr Gibson said this payable covered everything from monies owed to thirdparty contractors; vehicle and building insurance; and loans due to multilateral institutions such as the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The corporation’s subsidy was also cut to $20m in the 2020-2021 budget as opposed to $25m in the previous fiscal year.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Grand Lucayan targeting 50-60 ‘fresh’ recruits FROM PAGE ONE

“We had some bookings and reservations when we had planned to open at the beginning of this month, but we couldn’t get confirmation,” he added.

“We had to cancel those bookings, and now we’re starting the process of marketing outreach again.”

Mr Scott’s confirmation that the Grand Lucayan is seeking fresh hires is unlikely to go down well with Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, with whom he clashed repeatedly after the government acquired the resort from Hutchison Whampoa’s real estate arm in September 2018.

Mr Ferguson, who heads the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA), the bargaining agent for the Grand Lucayan’s former middle management staff, has previously stuck to the position that the Employment Act changes in 2017 require terminated staff to be given “first preference” when a shuttered hotel reopens and starts hiring.

Speaking to Tribune Business yesterday, he argued that the hotel should never have been closed last summer and, in so doing, the government “effectively” wasted several million dollars in adding to the total $11m in severance it has paid out since taking over the Grand Lucayan.

Backing the re-opening, Mr Ferguson said: “We had adopted the position that the hotel ought not to have been closed because it knocked the whole economy of Grand Bahama.”

When this newspaper pointed out that the savings from not having to pay a $1m-plus monthly subsidy to keep the Grand Lucayan operating were probably equivalent to the extra severance pay, Mr Ferguson replied: “There would have been some losses from the continuation of the hotel, yes, but the employees’ incomes and wages would have been spent in Grand Bahama.

“If the volume of business is not there it would impact on the profitability of the company, but they would have been dealing with businesses and communities in Grand Bahama. You have to take the bigger picture into consideration. There was no

Thursday, February 18, 2021, PAGE 9 need to go through with that redundancy exercise.”

However, another Freeport hotelier previously warned that the Grand Lucayan’s re-opening threatens to inflict more losses on Bahamian taxpayers because it lacks the “three legs” required to sustain its revival.

Magnus Alnebeck, the nearby Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, told Tribune Business that the government and its Grand Lucayan Board have yet to reveal whether a hotel operator has been hired to manage the property or if marketing and airlift initiatives have been readied.

While acknowledging that it was better for Freeport’s “anchor resort” to be open than closed, he voiced fears its Lighthouse Point property will “just stand there because no one is coming” and cause “a big expense” for taxpayers unless these three elements are in place before February 2021.

“By itself it’s not going to bring any guests,” Mr Alnebeck said of the planned re-opening.

“Grand Bahama has really been closed to the tourist market for almost four years since Hurricane Matthew. It’s a bit better that the hotel is open than closed, but opening by itself is not going to solve the problem. Having an open hotel with no guests is not the solution.

“It needs to open with the right operator and right product so there’s demand for it, there needs to be a marketing programme in place and, what is really important, is that full airlift is in place. It’s good that they’re going to open, but they need to open it right as opposed to saying let’s open it and see, especially if people are going to a destination that’s been closed down for four years more or less.

“It’s really three legs that are needed to open the hotel. The first is having an attractive product consumers like, and second, they need to market so people understand it’s open. Then you need to have the airlift and boat lift so people can get to Grand Bahama otherwise it’s just going to end up costing you money.”

Mr Alnebeck said that if an operator, marketing initiative and air/sea lift for the Grand Lucayan were in place “they haven’t been announced yet”. He added: “What would have made sense to me would be to get an operator like Sunwing or someone who knows what they’re doing, come in with airlift and a marketing plan, and get the numbers to work.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 10, Thursday, February 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

STOCKS END MOSTLY LOWER ON WALL STREET, LED BY DROPS IN TECH Associated Press STOCKS mostly pulled back from recent highs yesterday, weighed down by a slide in technology companies.

The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% after giving up an early gain, while the techheavy Nasdaq composite gave back 0.6%. Small-company stocks also fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched higher, good enough for its second straight all-time high. The modest pickup was due in large large part to gains in Verizon Communications and Chevron, which climbed after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway said it made major new investments in them in the second half of last year.

Treasury yields, which have been climbing recently on expectations of higher inflation, mostly fell. The yield on the ten-year Treasury note held near its highest level in a year.

Energy prices rose again, adding to a sharp increase the day before due to

the frigid weather that’s impacted much of the US. The S&P 500 dipped 1.26 points to 3,931.33. The benchmark index’s winners and losers were roughly evenly split. The Dow added 90.27 points, or 0.3%, to 31,613.02. The Nasdaq fell 82 points to 13,965.49.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies lost 16.78 points, or 0.7%, to 2,256.11.

Optimism that Washington will come through on trillions of dollars of more aid for the economy and encouraging company earnings reports have helped stocks grind higher this month, along with hopes that the coronavirus vaccine rollout will set the stage for stronger economic growth in the second half of this year.

The Commerce Department said yesterday that US retail sales soared a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in January from the month before. It was the biggest increase since June and much larger than the 1% rise Wall Street analysts had expected. Meanwhile, the

Labor Department said US wholesale prices surged by a record 1.3% in January, led by big gains in health care and energy prices. The bigger-than-expected increase was the largest one-month gain on records that go back to 2009.

The data appeared to reinforce the perception that the economy is seeing more evidence of rising inflation even before the Biden administration has delivered on its proposed $1.9tn stimulus package and other spending aimed to get the economy back on solid footing.

The market’s pullback may reflect concern among some on Wall Street that the infusion of more government aid and spending on infrastructure, for example, will “help underpin the economy, but it will also foster quicker growth and perhaps a quicker uptick in inflation,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

That, she added, could eventually force the Federal Reserve to rethink its

current policy of keeping interest rates at ultra-low levels.

The minutes from the Fed’s January policy meeting, released yesterday afternoon, showed the central bank believed that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is still posing considerable risks to the economy. The minutes also reflect Fed officials’ widespread support for keeping interest rates low in order to boost the economy and help millions of Americans regain lost jobs.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has cautioned that inflation could accelerate for a time in coming months as the country opens up.

But he and many private economists believe this will be only a temporary rise and not a sign that inflation is getting out of control.

The yield on the ten-year Treasury slipped to 1.28% from 1.29% late on Tuesday, near its highest level in a year. The rise in bond yields has raised some concerns about the potential for higher inflation, but has also

been a sign that the prospect for economic growth remains good.

“I don’t know when inflation is going to increase but the bond market is starting to tell you that the economy is accelerating,” said Andrew Slimmon, portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

“As we’re coming out of COVID-19, as people get vaccinated, consumer confidence is growing at a time when we have a tremendous amount of cash on the sidelines.”

Last month’s jump in retail sales was largely driven by the $600 stimulus checks that went out to most Americans in late December and early January. The data shows that recessionhit Americans are eager to spend cash on necessities, and aren’t saving the funds — which is the goal of stimulus checks.

It potentially means that additional stimulus, likely in the form of $1,400 checks in the $1.9tn stimulus plan, will likely provide a necessary boost to the economy.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The public is hereby advised that I, RALSTON DAVID FERGUSON of Keyless Street off Mackey Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to SHELBY RALSTON DAVID FERGUSON. If there are any objections to the change of name by deed poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, MYRLANDE VICTOR of #65 Union Village, New Providence, parent of MYRLANDA SYANN VICTOR a minor, intends to change my child’s name to MYRLANDA SYANN BEAUBRUN. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas, no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The public is hereby advised that I, MARIO ROMEL PHILISTIN aka MARIO RONEL DALISMA of West End Avenue off Market Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to MARIO ROMEL DALISMA. If there are any objections to the change of name by deed poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

WEDNESDAY, 17 FEBRUARY 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.70 33.05 2.00 2.35 2.10 6.00 6.90 3.55 6.15 4.33 6.16 12.77 3.64 6.85 10.88 8.44 15.08 4.25 9.00 16.00

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 0.67 1.62 1.50 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.27 3.10 5.50 10.20 2.10 4.75 9.50 7.70 13.00 3.50 8.15 14.00

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

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

CLOSE

CHANGE

1965.63

0.50

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

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

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.03 -126.83

-6.06

CLOSE 4.60 32.12 1.62 2.35 1.59 6.00 6.61 2.93 4.74 3.10 5.65 10.20 2.61 6.80 9.84 8.40 13.50 3.75 8.35 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGR1320294 BSBGR1321391 BSBGR1322498

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FX BSBGR1320294 BGRS FX BSBGR1321391 BGRS FX BSBGR1322498

YTD%

LAST CLOSE 4.58 32.12 1.62 2.35 1.59 6.00 6.61 2.93 4.74 3.10 5.60 10.20 2.65 6.80 9.96 8.40 13.50 3.75 8.35 15.50

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

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

YTD

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

.

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

%CHANGE

CHANGE 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.00 (0.04) 0.00 (0.12) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 1,000 80,000 3,000

10,000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

VOLUME

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

P/E 19.2 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 17.9 -6.7 33.9 16.8 12.6 14.1 25.6 14.6 15.2 11.5 16.5 18.5 8.9 24.6

YIELD 3.70% 3.92% 1.23% 1.28% 0.00% 0.00% 3.93% 0.00% 0.00% 3.87% 3.89% 7.06% 16.63% 0.88% 3.33% 2.86% 4.00% 3.20% 2.40% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.81% 5.29% 5.65%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 15-Oct-2029 15-Oct-2039 15-Oct-2049

MATURITY

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.39 4.43 2.14 201.90 184.85 1.69 1.85 1.78 1.24 8.49 10.26 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.81 10.00 10.20 13.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.66 1.79 1.75 1.05 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Financial Conservative Fund Leno Financial Aggressive Fund Leno Financial Balanced Fund Leno Financial Global 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 2.39 4.43 2.14 201.90 184.85 1.68 1.79 1.76 1.05 8.49 10.03 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.05 N/A 10.20 13.79

YTD% 12 MTH% 4.55% 4.55% 1.58% 1.58% 2.60% 2.60% 3.47% 3.47% 10.86% 10.86% 1.03% 1.03% -3.14% -3.14% 0.26% 0.26% -12.29% -12.29% 1.76% 1.76% -1.97% -1.97% 4.91% 4.91% 5.28% 15.75% 0.05% 3.96% -0.35% -6.34% N/A N/A 8.60% 8.60% 11.90% 11.90%

NAV Date

31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020

MARKET TERMS

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

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

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

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

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

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

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

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

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

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

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

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

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

N/M - Not Meaningful

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

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

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ALIX LOUIS, of Montrose Avenue, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 11th day of February 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that KASSANDRA DERISSON, of Mackey Street, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 11th day of February 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau,

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ROCHELLE HIGGS, of #4 Seagull Close New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of February 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 18, 2021, PAGE 15

US STILL UNRAVELING ‘SOPHISTICATED’ HACK OF NINE GOVT AGENCIES WASHINGTON Associated Press

US authorities are still working to unravel the full scope of the likely Russian hack that gave the “sophisticated” actor behind the breach complete access to files and email from at least nine government agencies and about 100 private companies, the top White House cybersecurity official said yesterday.

Anne Neuberger, the newly appointed deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, also warned that the danger has not passed because the hackers

breached networks of technology companies whose products could be used to launch additional intrusions.

A task force is investigating the extent of the damage from the breach, assessing potential responses and trying to confirm the identity of whoever was behind it — a process Neuberger warned will take more time.

“This is a sophisticated actor who did their best to hide their tracks,” she told reporters at the White House. “We believe it took them months to plan and execute this compromise.

It will take us some time to uncover this layer by layer.”

US authorities have said the breach, disclosed

in December, appeared to be the work of Russian hackers. Neuberger, a former senior official at the National Security Agency who was appointed by President Joe Biden this month, went no further.

“An advanced, persistent threat actor likely of Russian origin was responsible,” she said, without providing any further details and sounding a cryptic note on potential responses.

“This isn’t the only case of malicious cyber activity of likely Russian origin, either for us or for our allies and partners,” Neuberger added. “So, as we contemplate future response options, we are considering

holistically what those activities were.”

The Russian government has denied involvement.

Private security company FireEye was first to identify the breach, revealing that hackers hijacked widely used network software from SolarWinds Inc to install malicious software through a what appeared to be a routine security update.

Intelligence agencies did not detect the breach because they largely have “no visibility into privatesector networks,” and it was launched within the US, Neuberger said. The Biden administration supports changes to “culture and authorities” that prevented

the hack from being detected on the federal civilian systems, she added.

The hack, Neuberger said, highlights the need to modernise the nation’s IT infrastructure and its cyber defenses, issues that will be addressed in an upcoming executive order from Biden aimed at addressing security and technology gaps highlighted by the breach.

Several agencies have acknowledged that they were breached, including the Treasury Department and Justice Department, but the full list has not been publicly released. Once inside, the hackers had full access to the victims’ data.

“The techniques that

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 68° F/20° C

TAMPA

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

Breezy and warm; isolated shower

Patchy clouds

Clouds and sun; breezy, warm, humid

A morning shower; becoming windy

Partly sunny and windy

A shower; breezy in the morning

High: 84°

Low: 73°

High: 84° Low: 71°

High: 77° Low: 67°

High: 77° Low: 68°

High: 80° Low: 69°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

88° F

75° F

88°-72° F

78°-63° F

74°-64° F

83°-68° F

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

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

10-20 knots

S

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 74° F/23° C

8-16 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 70° F/21° C

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 72° F/22° C

MIAMI

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

7-14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

Statistics are for Nassau through 1 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 82° F/28° C Low .................................................... 75° F/24° C Normal high ....................................... 77° F/25° C Normal low ........................................ 64° F/18° C Last year’s high ................................. 86° F/30° C Last year’s low ................................... 68° F/20° C Precipitation As of 1 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 1.86” Normal year to date ..................................... 2.26”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 73° F/23° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

N

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

tiDes For nassau Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

12:03 a.m.

12:12 p.m.

High

Ht.(ft.)

2.3 2.0

6:21 a.m.

6:27 p.m.

0.4 0.2

Friday

12:52 a.m.

1:01 p.m.

2.3 1.9

7:15 a.m.

7:15 p.m.

0.6 0.3

Saturday

1:46 a.m.

1:57 p.m.

2.2 1.8

8:15 a.m.

8:08 p.m.

0.7 0.3

Sunday

2:44 a.m.

2:57 p.m.

2.3 1.8

9:16 a.m.

9:05 p.m.

0.6 0.3

Monday

3:41 a.m.

3:56 p.m.

2.4 1.8

10:15 a.m. 0.5 10:02 p.m. 0.2

Tuesday

4:36 a.m.

4:51 p.m.

2.5 2.0

11:07 a.m. 0.4 10:56 p.m. 0.0

Wednesday 5:25 a.m.

5:41 p.m.

2.7 2.2

11:54 a.m. 0.2 11:47 p.m. -0.2

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:42 a.m.

6:06 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

10:52 a.m. none

First

Full

Last

New

Feb. 19

Feb. 27

Mar. 5

Mar. 13

CAT ISLAND

E

W

were used lead us to believe that any files or emails on a compromised network were likely to be compromised,” Neuberger said.

Some members of Congress have criticised the response based on what they have been told so far, all in private. “The briefings we have received convey a disjointed and disorganised response to confronting the breach,” Sen Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, and Sen Marco Rubio, Republican from Florida, said in a recent letter to the White House.

Neuberger said she intended to return to the Capitol to brief lawmakers in the coming days.

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

N

S

E

W

7-14 knots

S

8-16 knots

ANDROS

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 74° F/23° C

N

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 74° F/23° C

S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 74° F/23° C

H

E

W

8-16 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 81° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 81° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

L

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 83° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

10-20 knots

10-20 knots

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

Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday:

WINDS SE at 8-16 Knots S at 8-16 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots ESE at 8-16 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots E at 10-20 Knots ESE at 8-16 Knots SE at 8-16 Knots SSE at 7-14 Knots S at 8-16 Knots S at 10-20 Knots SE at 8-16 Knots SSE at 6-12 Knots E at 10-20 Knots E at 8-16 Knots ESE at 10-20 Knots ESE at 7-14 Knots E at 10-20 Knots ESE at 8-16 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots SSE at 7-14 Knots SE at 10-20 Knots ESE at 7-14 Knots SE at 8-16 Knots SSE at 7-14 Knots

WAVES 4-8 Feet 4-7 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 4-8 Feet 3-5 Feet 5-9 Feet 3-6 Feet 4-8 Feet 3-6 Feet 3-5 Feet 3-5 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 5-9 Feet 3-6 Feet 4-7 Feet 2-4 Feet 6-10 Feet 5-9 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 4-7 Feet 3-5 Feet 3-6 Feet 2-4 Feet

VISIBILITY 7 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 76° F 76° F 78° F 78° F 76° F 76° F 79° F 79° F 77° F 77° F 79° F 79° F 78° F 78° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 78° F 78° F 77° F 77° F 79° F 79° F 78° F 78° F

PAGE 16, Thursday, February 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Biden’s Medicare pick would be 1st Black woman to hold post WASHINGTON Associated Press PRESIDENT Joe Biden, pictured, has picked a former Obama administration official to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency oversees government health insurance programs covering more than one out of three Americans and is a linchpin of the health care system.

If confirmed by the Senate, Chiquita BrooksLaSure would be the first Black woman to head CMS, which has under its umbrella Medicare, Medicaid, children’s health insurance and the Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare”. The programmes cover more than 130 million people, from newborns to nursing home residents.

Brooks-LaSure has a long track record in government, having held health policy jobs at the White House, in Congress, and at CMS during the Obama administration. Most recently she led the Biden transition’s “landing team” for the Department of Health and Human Services, laying the groundwork for the new administration. Before her

return to government service, Brooks-LaSure was a managing director at the Manatt Health consultancy.

Her nomination was confirmed by a person familiar with the White House decision, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

CMS also plays a central role in the nation’s $4tn health care economy, setting

Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors, labs and other service providers. Government payment levels become the foundation for private insurers. The agency also sets standards that govern how health care providers operate.

Brooks-LaSure “gets the imperative of securing greater affordability for beneficiaries, taxpayers, and Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA marketplaces,” said Chris Jennings, a longtime health policy adviser to Democrats. “She is wellrespected and liked by the department veterans who have worked with her in the past.”

Years ago, Brooks-LaSure worked with Biden’s nominee to run HHS, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. She was a

staffer on the House Ways and Means Committee and he was a senior member of the panel during the 20092010 drive to pass President Barack Obama’s health care law. Senate committees will hold hearings next week on Becerra’s nomination.

Under Biden, BrooksLaSure will be expected to grow Obamacare enrollment by promoting HealthCare.gov and trying to persuade holdout states to adopt Medicaid expansion. She’s also expected to roll back Trump administration policies allowing states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, as well as insurance rules seen as undermining Obamacare.

Throughout her career, Brooks-LaSure has worked on Medicaid policy, and that

program has now grown to become a mainstay of coverage for many lowincome working people.

At CMS she’ll have to confront Medicare’s long-term financial problems, aggravated by a decline in payroll tax collections because of COVID-related job losses.

Prescription drugs will be a tricky policy area for Brooks-LaSure.

Biden wants to legally authorise Medicare to negotiate prices with drugmakers, but he may not be able to marshal enough support in a closely divided Congress.

Brooks-LaSure will be tasked with finding ways to use the agency’s rule-making powers to rein in prices.

Biden’s pick was first reported by The Washington Post.