02212018 business

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018

$4.45

$4.49

‘Alarming increase’ in scams warning

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

B

ahamians face being “hit very hard in the pocket” from an “alarming increase” in potentially fraudulent transactions, a local money transfer business warned yesterday.

Harvey Morris, Omni Financial Group’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that he worried consumers will start to question “the integrity of the money transfer system” after being scammed of their “hard-earned dollars”.

*’Very aggressive’ trend of suspicious transactions * Bahamians warned: ‘You’ll be hit hard in pocket’ * Fraudsters seem to view nation as ‘gullible’ Despite being no fault of Omni’s and other providers, Mr Morris said Bahamas residents appeared to be increasingly falling for simple frauds perpetrated online and via social media, while failing to question the person requesting them to send money.

He explained that this had prompted Omni to issue a ‘Consumer Fraud Alert’ to its customers on

‘LABOUR ON BLOCKS’ EVENT REGISTERS 2,500 JOB SEEKERS

By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Department of Labour has registered 2,500 job seekers through its ‘Labour on the Blocks’ events, as it moves to aggressively dent the Bahamas’ 10 per cent unemployment rate.

Robert Farquharson, director of labour, told Tribune Business yesterday that the department registered some 1,300 persons during

its most recent job fair on Grand Bahama.

“We had an extremely large number of Grand Bahamians turn out at the job fair on Grand Bahama,” he said.

“Approximately 1,500 persons turned out, and we registered some 1,300 persons in our database. Baha Mar took 600 applications for consideration. There were also a number of companies there from the industrial sector.”

SEE PAGE 4

‘UNNERVING’ ABACO POWER WOES END AFTER FOUR DAYS

By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power and Light (BPL) restoration of full power to Abaco following four days of “unnerving” outages was greeted with relief yesterday as businesses and residents began to determine the cost.

Darnell Osborne, BPL’s chairman, told Tribune Business that persons who attended a Town Meeting on Monday night to discuss

the issue were understandably angry over the rolling blackouts and load shedding. “There were angry customers, which was understandable, but I think they understood the position we explained to them,” she said.

“We explained the dilemma that we met with the pump. We had ordered the pump but, unfortunately, the pump that was there failed before the replacement parts arrived in the Bahamas. They had

SEE PAGE 4

February 13, 2018, warning them to beware when unknown persons contact them to wire money or cash a cheque on their behalf.

“Omni wishes to advise its customers and the general public that there has been an alarming increase in the incidences of potentially fraudulent transactions against consumers in the Bahamas,” the notice, obtained by Tribune Business, warns.

“Clients have attempted to use our money transfer services to send money for the following popular scams.” Omni identified these as including ‘the fake loan or grant scam’, where a purported loan company contacts a consumer to offer money once they send funds to cover ‘fees’, ‘service costs’ and ‘taxes’ in advance.

SEE PAGE 10

$4.63

$4.39

Gov’t urged: Focus on distressed homes for housing recovery

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government has been urged to focus on distressed properties, rather than new housing developments, in its “daunting task” of reviving the BOWE Bahamian mortgage market.

Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) president, told Tribune Business that the Government’s recently-announced housing initiative “doesn’t bode well for the economy” by threatening to further increase the existing oversupply of properties.

Mr Bowe, who is also Fidelity Bank (Bahamas)

* BICA CHIEF: NEW INITIATIVE ‘DOESN’T BODE WELL’ * LOW-COST LOTS PLAN TO INCREASE OVER-SUPPLY * ‘DAUNTING TASK’ TO RESURRECT MORTGAGE SECTOR chief financial officer, argued that the Minnis administration would better achieve its objectives by instead focusing on how to place existing homes - subject to delinquent mortgages - into the hands of qualified buyers at affordable prices.

Emphasising that a “structured” solution is

SEE PAGE 3

BPL TO INVEST $4-$5M IN ABACO ‘HARDENING’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light (BPL) will invest $4-5 million in “hardening” its Abaco network prior to peak summer demand, in a bid to prevent outages that have frequently plagued the island.

Christina Alston, BPL’s chief operating officer, told Tribune Business that Abaco was one of four islands - including New Providence - that has been selected by the utility provider for its summer readiness improvement programme.

She added that improved power supply reliability was BPL’s “primary

* New Providence among four islands for upgrades * Improved reliability utility’s ‘primary focus’ * Long ‘lead time’ projects deferred to 2019 focus”, and the state-owned monopoly was focusing on short-term issues and areas it can address to improve customer service before demand peaks.

Mrs Alston explained that some projects requiring long “lead times” of 30 weeks or more, where specialist equipment and other parts needed to be sourced, had been deferred to 2019 as BPL concentrated on what it can improve now.

Speaking before BPL restored electricity supply to all of Abaco early

yesterday morning, the BPL chief operating officer said the island and New Providence, as well as Exuma and Bimini, were the ones chosen for the summer programme.

Focusing on Abaco, Mrs Alston said BPL had already completed the annual overhaul and maintenance for its generation plant, and was now turning to transmission and distribution (T&D) upgrades.

She revealed that the utility was currently conducting a study on “sectionalising”

its power lines, identifying the areas to focus on first for restoration in the aftermath of a hurricane. These will be the locations that can restore service to the greatest possible number of consumers.

Mrs Alston said BPL had also acquired two sets of regulators to boost system voltage, recognising “there are problems with voltage dropping” in its Abaco grid.

And it was also undertaking a “thermal imaging”

SEE PAGE 6

PAGE 2, Wednesday, February 21, 2018

ADVERTISE TODAY IN THE TRIBUNE, JUST CALL 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

SHOWN (l-r): Zhivargo Laing, radio talk show host, Z Live: Off The Record; Andre Knowles, BTC chief commercial officer; Dennis D Deveaux, KPMG’s head of management for consulting and data analytics; Joan Albury, TCL president and founder of the seven-island Business Outlook series; and Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) chief operating officer, Christina Alston.

YOU ARE INVITED! Central Bank to Host Seminar on Blockchain Technology and Domestic Financial Services The Governor of The Central Bank of The Bahamas is hosting selected stakeholders to a half-day seminar on Blockchain technology on Thursday, March 1st 2018, at the British Colonial Hilton.

The Central Bank also looks forward to sharing more of its strategic plans to promote greater access and inclusion to financial services. In an island nation, aspirations lean rightly towards providing even more services digitally and securely.

Some of topics that will be covered include: • Plans to further evolve the local payments system • The basics of blockchain and distributed ledger technology • Blockchain applications in regulated industries such as Finance • The security aspects of blockchain technology • Potential paths to blockchain adoption in the domestic economy

Thursday, 01 March 2018 * 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Windsor Ballroom, British Colonial Hilton Hotel

No. 1 Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas Please RSVP your acceptance by email to the Governor’s office via: gov@centralbankbahamas.com or by calling 302-2632 or 302-9849.

Limited Seating.

For individuals who are unable to attend the event, a live stream link will also be available. www.centralbankbahamas.com

Business Outlook to focus on GB revival THE 20th Grand Bahama Business Outlook conference will focus on how to revive the island’s economy when it is held at the Grand Lucayan resort tomorrow.

Joan Albury, president of The Counsellors (TCL), and founder of the sevenisland Business Outlook series, said she had high hopes that this year’s speakers will help identify solutions to end Grand Bahama’s 10-year economic decline.

“They will come with deep knowledge of Grand Bahama’s economy, the nation’s economy and global developments and trends,” Mrs Albury said.

“The information that our Outlook speakers will provide will enable businesses

in Grand Bahama to plan, organise and strategise for a more productive and prosperous future.”

K P Turnquest, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, will be the keynote speaker.

Zhivago Laing, radio talk show host of Z Live: Off The Record, will moderate the day-long conference and give the ‘Vision’ presentation.

Other speakers will include: Senator Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for Grand Bahama; Mick Holding, president, Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce; Ian Rolle, president, Grand Bahama Port Authority; Bahamas Power and Light’s (BPL) chief operating officer, Christina Alston; KPMG’s head of management for consulting and data analytics, Dennis D Deveaux; Erica Paine, partner and head of Graham Thompson’s Grand Bahama office; Charlene Lewis-Small, lead investment officer, InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB); Paul Wynn, chief executive, the Wynn Group; and Andre Knowles, BTC’s chief commercial officer.

“What I am going to be talking about first of all is what might be the ingredients of that vision for Grand Bahama,” Mr Laing said. “What is it about that place that we could actually be seeking to pursue?

“And then I am going to delve into some possibilities in relation to the strategy for actually seeing that vision come to pass.

The question for Grand Bahama remains: ‘Are we sowing the right kind of seeds that produces the kind of harvest to create this world-class Grand Bahama that we desire?’

“I believe at the Business Outlook, based on the speakers I know and the topics they are presenting, we are going to get a fairly clear answer to that question.”

BPL’s Mrs Alston said her presentation will be centred around the Bahamas’ energy supply, and how to reduce its carbon footprint according to global standards.

“We feel that we are an intrinsic part of the ingredient that is needed to facilitate business development, and that is providing the right infrastructure,” Mr Knowles said of BTC. “I will be speaking about the smart city concept; how we are able to utilise the new on-going infrastructure that businesses require.”

KPMG’s Mr Deveaux said there were three important issues he plans to share at the Outlook to assist businesses in connecting with foreign investors, especially on the digital level. “…We want to advise primarily from the viewpoint of industry with the view to demystify and decloud this whole concept of digital [business], and outline some very actionable things that can be done to help businesses in Grand Bahama leveraging all of the developments around digital to grow,” he added.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CHERVIN GUEPSON BROWN of Gamble Heights, New Providence, 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 14th day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that JUNIOR JEAN-LOUIS of Gambier Drive, Whenchester Circle, Freeport, Grand Bahama 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 21st day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, PHILIS KNOWLES of Atwar Court, Foxdale, P.O. Box FH14420, Nassau, Bahamas, intend to change my name to PHYLLIS KNOWLES.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 the publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DAPHNE ELFRA of Gamble Heights, New Providence, 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 14th day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 21, 2018, PAGE 3

Gov’t urged: Focus on distressed homes for housing recovery FROM PAGE 1 required, Mr Bowe said resurrecting the local housing/mortgage market was “the most important element” in generating renewed economic growth and “swallowing” the $1.8 billion surplus liquidity currently drowning the commercial banking sector.

And he echoed concerns expressed by Tim Rider, Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) now-retiring vice-president of northern Caribbean sales, in a controversial speech at Fidelity’s recent Bahamas Economic Outlook conference by calling for clarity in the mortgage market’s legislative and regulatory framework. “When you look at the mortgage environment, the Government has a daunting task that it faces,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business. “There’s a lot of chatter around new housing developments and projects, but I would probably say the Government ought to look at the housing inventory that exists.

“Look at how to acquire those homes, and put them into the hands of borrowers who can afford them.

Building new homes while having excess inventory doesn’t bode well for the economy.”

The Prime Minister, in his recent national address, unveiled a plan to make low-cost serviced lots complete with utilities and the necessary infrastructure - available at a price of less than $30,000 to first-time Bahamian home buyers.

While purchasers would then be responsible for their own homes, Dr Minnis said they would also access Customs duty exemptions on imported construction materials and equipment if their homes were built within two years.

Emphasising that the Government’s primary goal was to expand affordable home ownership among young Bahamians, Dr Minnis said “the average home” today costs $180,000 and upwards - a price tag that he argued was out of reach for many.

“Remember, the average lot today may cost $100,000 or more, so that’s automatically a $70,000 savings,” the Prime Minister said last week. “When you are constructing your home, you paying duty; you talking about 30 to 50 per cent duty on various things.

“If that’s at least another $60,000 to $80,000 savings, you’re talking about $70,000 savings, another $60,000 to $80,000 savings, you’re talking about the average Bahamian being allowed to save at least a minimum of $120,000 when you remove all those extra taxes.”

Mr Bowe, though, argued that his plan would “get buoyancy back” and achieve the same goals without adding to the excess supply of housing and further depressing prices. With prices already experiencing “pressure”,

he said this provided the Government with an opportunity to get firsttime buyers into existing homes at affordable prices While some observers may view his comments as serving the banks’ interests, given their desire to shed non-performing mortgage loans/properties, the potential ‘Achilles heel’ of the Government’s plan is whether borrowers will qualify for loans even at reduced prices.

The Central Bank’s December economic report said less than half of all mortgage applications, just over 43 per cent, are currently being approved by commercial banks. This indicates the continued struggle to find qualified buyers able to service loans and meet the industry’s more stringent lending criteria.

Private sector-led initiatives have already enjoyed some success. Gateway Financial has been able to restructure some $60-$70 million worth of delinquent mortgages it acquired from Scotiabank (Bahamas) at between $0.25-$0.30 on the dollar, providing a

potential model for how Bahamian home ownership can be saved.

Mr Bowe, meanwhile, identified three issues excess housing inventory, the $1.8 billion in surplus bank lending assets, and regulatory clarity - that needed to be resolved if the housing market is to revive.

On the latter, he pointed to three recent initiatives set to impact the market.

Besides the recentlyintroduced Credit Reporting Bill, which facilitates the creation of the Bahamas’ first-ever Credit Bureau, the former Christie administration also passed the Homeowners Protection Bill and initiated the Mortgage Relief Plan’s second version.

“These three positions need to be very clear so as not to stagnate the mortgage arrears issue facing the country,” the BICA president warned.

K P Turnquest, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, has previously said the Government is reviewing both the Mortgage Relief Plan

NOTICE BalBoa limited NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) Balboa Limited is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 19th day of February, 2018 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Mr. Delano Aranha of Ocean Centre, Montagu Foreshore, East Bay Street, P.O. Box N-3247, Nassau, Bahamas H & J CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

Notice to:

BREDLEY SWAIN Please contact MITRE COURT LAW FIRM

Suite 227, Island Lane Building, Olde Towne, Sandyport

Nassau, The Bahamas 242-327-4150 Contact: Atty C. Hepburn

and Homeowners Protection Act. He expressed scepticism over the first, given that it has not assisted the number of distressed mortgage borrowers predicted by the Christie administration, while acknowledging that the latter Act risked unintended consequences.

And Sir Franklyn Wilson, the Arawak Homes chairman, last year branded the Homeowners Protection Act as “a real disaster” for the Bahamas’ struggling mortgage market in an interview with Tribune Business.

A well-known Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) supporter, he argued that it imposed overly-burdensome restrictions on what banks and other mortgage lenders “can and

cannot do” in relation to their distressed properties, and introduced concepts and definitions that were unworkable in practice.

Apart from regulatory clarity, Mr Bowe said the Government needed to focus on getting distressed properties back into “the performing portfolio” if it was to revive the housing market, something he conceded was no easy task.

“We have a significant inventory of houses on the market, and there needs to be a strong focus on getting those sold into the performing portfolio,” the BICA president argued. “That’s not easy as the economy is not producing a lot of qualified borrowers that get to but these homes in a distressed state.”

Acknowledging that this would result in ‘winners and losers’, with some delinquent mortgageholders losing their homes, Mr Bowe said making distressed properties available to qualified buyers at affordable prices would reduce both the housing over-supply and the banking sector’s liquidity clog.

“Some people will lose their homes, but equally it will be an opportunity for people coming into the housing market to have affordable homes,” he told Tribune Business. “There is a lot that has to be done in a structured manner.

“We want to see the liquidity swallowed up, and the only way that happens is if we have growth in the economy and housing market.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, February 21, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

‘Unnerving’ Abaco power woes end after four days FROM PAGE 1 already been ordered but the pump expired before they could get here, so we had to put an express on it. We are now back up.

From 6.41am Wilson City was fully restored. The parts got in Monday night.

We ordered two, one as a back-up. They were fully restored by 6.41am.”

Businesses and residents expressed relief that the situation appeared to have been rectified. “I’m glad that it seems to be getting sorted out now. The power came back on this morning but just went out 15 minutes

ago,” one businessman told Tribune Business.

Lance Pinder, operations manager at Abaco Big Bird Farm, said that while the power woes did not directly affect the farm’s operation it did affect restaurant sales.

“We have full back-up power from our generator but it is very un-nerving to

be using emergency power for so long,” he said. “It also has affected our restaurant sales somewhat, and with tourists leaving the island it has the potential to affect our overall sales now and in the future. We also had to burn $2,000-$3,000 dollars worth of diesel over the few days.”

BPL reported that there was a total system shutdown on Abaco at around 8 am, caused by “a sudden and unexpected fault” occurring with the cooling system at the Wilson City power station. The island

then had to endure a ‘load shedding’ schedule for the next three days, with whole areas of Abaco without power for hours at a time.

A blown cooling system pump was blamed for the power woes with McMahon Campbell, a BPL communications officer, indicating that this had resulted in “a complete shut down” of BPL’s main power generation facility on the island.

He revealed that the incident happened just after the replacement pump, which had been ordered months ago, left the Arizona

supplier to make its way to the Bahamas. It had been ordered to replace the current, blown part, and was said to be “custom made to be a better fit for Abaco’s systems”.

BPl, in a statement on its Facebook page yesterday, said: “BPL in Abaco wishes to advise that supply has been fully restored to the mainland and cays. The company apologises for the inconvenience, and would like to thank the residents and visitors of Abaco for their patience.”

‘LABOUR ON BLOCKS’ EVENT REGISTERS 2,500 JOB SEEKERS FROM PAGE 1 Mr Farquharson added that it was still too early to say how many persons had secured employment through the event, but this would be determined in about a week. He said the Labour Department plans to return to Grand Bahama for a second job fair, pointing out that once the Heads of Agreement for the sale of the Grand Lucayan is signed another 400-500 jobs will likely be created.

“We are looking forward to that coming on steam soon,” he said.

“Some repairs have to be conducted at the hotels as a result of hurricane damage, and that will create some jobs in construction,” Mr Farquharson said.

He added that the $5.5 billion Oban Energies project is also expected to generate employment on Grand Bahama. Mr Farquharson said the next job fair is scheduled for this Saturday at the Golden Gates

Park. “A significant amount of employers who will attend the job fair are looking to hire people on the spot; Baha Mar, Atlantis, Melia, SuperClubs Breezes and Warwick hotel have indicated a need to hire persons,” he said. “There will also be other companies from the private sector there.”

This Saturday’s job fair will be the fourth by the Department of Labour this year, with a fifth planned for March 24.

IN THE ESTATE OF MARCIAN KEANU BULLARD late of No. 26 Sunset Drive, Sunset Park in the Western District of the Island of New Providence one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, deceased NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demand against the said estate are required to send the same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 21st day of April A.D. 2018, after which date the Executor will proceed to distribute the estate having regard only to the claims of which he shall have had notice.

AND notice is hereby given that all persons indebted to the estate are required to make full settlement on or before the date hereinabove mentioned.

CEDRIC L. PARKER & CO. Attorneys for the Executor 9 Harcourt (Rusty) Bethel Drive Nassau, Bahamas

Rhone is a Swiss company established in 1982 with offices in Geneva, The Bahamas and Singapore. It advises clients on estate planning and the administration of legal entities.

To bolster its Bahamas-based Administration team, Rhone is seeking

MESSENGER/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

MISSION To act as the Rhone Bahamas Company Messenger and also to provide general office administrative support.

RESPONSIBILITIES Messenger: o Delivering and picking up packages and other items to specific locations Administrative Assistant: o Filing, scanning, archiving o Assisting with the preparation of all documents with respect to creation, control and filing of new mandates and database maintenance o Sorting and delivering mail, maintaining supplies, scheduling appointments o Maintaining and assisting with the use of office equipment o Assisting with in-house deliveries o Any other miscellaneous duties assigned by Office Manager PROFILE o Clean driver’s license and police record o Must have own reliable transportation o High school diploma or higher o Proficient in Microsoft Office o Excellent command of English, oral and written o Minimum of 1 year experience in a professional office environment No telephone calls accepted.

Resumes should be delivered BY HAND and addressed to: Rhone Trustees (Bahamas) Ltd. Building No. 1, Bayside Executive Park West Bay St. P.O. Box SP-63131 Nassau, Bahamas ATTN: OFFICE MANAGER Deadline for submission is February 28, 2018

PAGE 6, Wednesday, February 21, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

BPL to invest $4-$5m in Abaco ‘hardening’

LAND AUCTION ACKLINS ISLAND 8 Acres Waterfront Property

Please submit bid in a sealed envelope to HG Christie Real Estate, Millar’s Court, East & Shirley St., Label Re: Acklins Bid Attn: John Christie or Log onto: www.realtybidsbahamas.com To bid online and set auction information OPENING BID - $285K Submission Deadline Friday, March 2, 2018 5:00pm Eastern time

FROM PAGE 1

assessment of its transmission lines, “taking infra red shots” inside electricity poles to see if any needed repairing or upgrading.

“It gives us an opportunity to head off outages before they occur,” Mrs

Alston told Tribune Business, adding that BPL was also concentrating on ‘vegetation management’ to cut back vines and other shrugs that can interfere with its substations and lines.

“It will probably end up costing anywhere from

$4-$5 million,” she said of the Abaco upgrades.

“We’re trying to harden the system, thinking of points where failure may occur and hardening them to protect them against outages.

“That’s our primary focus; improving reliability.

That is a standard metric all utilities are measured against. One of my goals as chief operating officer is really around we want to improve our metrics in terms of reliability.”

Suggesting that BPL would become overwhelmed if it tried to address all areas that needed strengthening, Mrs Alston said it decided to focus on those islands where short-term

improvements that boosted reliability could be made prior to summer 2018.

“We picked four islands where we felt we could have some success by implementing a summer readiness programme,” she told Tribune Business.

However, “some improvements are beyond the scope of what can be accomplished” in the few remaining months, and will be deferred until 2019.

Mrs Alston said BPL’s summer readiness programme would also focus on areas “where we have problems”, with the Planning Department already charged with identifying these locations and uncovering what the problems were.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ADILIA ALDINOR MANGURA of Augusta Street, P.O.Box N1020, Nassau, 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 21st day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, ROSCOW HESLEY KNOWLES of Atwar Court, Foxdale, P.O. Box FH14420, Nassau, Bahamas, intend to change my name to ROSCOE HESLEY KNOWLES.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 the publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that SHANTINO LOUIS of Sunlight Village, New Providence, 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 14th day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

MARKET REPORT TUESDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2018

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 2,050.45 | CHG 2.48 | %CHG 0.12 | YTD -13.12 | YTD% -0.64 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 19.17 9.09 3.76 1.64 0.18 4.60 8.70 6.30 5.30 11.87 2.59 1.56 9.70 6.10 10.55 10.95 4.50 12.51 11.00

52WK LOW 3.50 17.43 8.19 3.32 0.90 0.12 3.50 8.40 5.83 3.15 9.00 2.18 1.40 7.75 5.83 8.78 5.67 3.35 12.01 10.00

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 Premier Real Estate

1050.00 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 Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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

E J K L M N

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB18 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) 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

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.12 4.14 1.98 178.69 153.40 1.54 1.70 1.62 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.48 1.62 1.57 1.04 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 3.90 17.43 9.09 3.34 1.00 0.18 3.60 8.70 6.10 4.72 9.90 2.60 1.50 8.05 6.10 10.10 6.24 4.47 12.51 10.00

CLOSE 3.90 17.43 9.09 3.34 1.00 0.18 3.60 8.70 6.10 4.74 9.90 2.50 1.50 8.01 6.10 10.10 6.24 4.47 12.51 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 -0.10 0.00 -0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

109.62 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

-0.10 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

109.72 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

VOLUME

34,769

33,077 280

1

VOLUME

NAV 2.12 4.14 1.98 178.69 153.40 1.54 1.69 1.62 1.09 7.16 8.40 6.29 11.28 11.60 10.21

EPS$ 0.475 0.932 -0.508 0.540 -1.220 0.000 -1.462 0.638 0.583 0.171 0.631 0.102 0.330 0.668 1.129 0.729 0.484 0.298 0.543 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.130 0.000 0.230 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.300 0.220 0.120 0.690 0.060 0.050 0.141 0.290 0.500 0.150 0.120 0.580 0.000

P/E 8.2 18.7 N/M 6.2 N/M N/M -2.5 13.6 10.5 27.7 15.7 24.5 4.5 12.0 5.4 13.9 12.9 15.0 23.0 0.0

YIELD 2.05% 6.48% 0.00% 6.89% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 3.45% 3.61% 2.53% 6.97% 2.40% 3.33% 1.76% 4.75% 4.95% 2.40% 2.68% 4.64% 0.00%

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 0.000 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 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

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

INTEREST 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 31-May-2018 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% 4.00% 4.39% 5.57% 5.69% 2.14% 2.44% 4.66% 3.89% 5.58% 6.65% 0.36% 4.29% -0.15% 3.50% 0.23% 3.89% -0.34% 4.66% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69%

NAV Date 31-Dec-2017 31-Dec-2017 31-Dec-2017 31-Dec-2017 31-Dec-2017 31-Jan-2018 31-Jan-2018 31-Jan-2018 31-Jan-2018 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017

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 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RODNY MACON of Malcolm Rd., Nassau, 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 21st day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ERICA PIERRE of #4 Adena Court, Forbisher Drive, Freeport, Grand Bahama 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 21st day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that FRITZ ALDINOR of Augusta Street, P.O.Box N1020, Nassau, 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 21st day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ALICIA DORMEUS of Forest Drive,P.O. Box AB-20377, 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 14th day of February, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, February 21, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

‘Alarming increase’ in scams warning FROM PAGE 1 Emphasising that legitimate lending companies never contacted consumers in this way, the money transfer business said demands for ‘advance payments’ were an immediate ‘red flag’ that should alert Bahamians.

“Don’t fall for it,” the advisory warned. “In cases like this, you do not get a loan or grant; you simply lose the money you send them.” Omni also warned of ‘the person in need’ fraud, where scammers often using hacked e-mails - claimed to be a friend, someone the consumer knows, or a even a police officer or attorney accompanying a family member.

“They then try to convince you to send money to bail your relative out of jail, pay a fine or cover emergency car repair expenses or medical bills,” Omni warned.

Christina Sands, Omni’s general operations manager, told Tribune Business the company witnessed a surge in suspicious transactions during the October-December 2017 period in the run-up to Christmas.

Describing the nature of many attempted scams as “so crazy”, she said the “aggressive trend” had slowed down in 2018 after Omni’s system flagged the

questionable transactions and spoke to the clients involved in a bid to prevent them becoming potential fraud victims.

With the sums involved ranging from $500 to $1,000 per transaction, Ms Sands warned that Bahamians and residents were going to be “hit very hard” unless they became attuned to the risks and started to ask more questions.

She also questioned whether the perpetrators viewed this nation as “gullible”, given the obvious warning signs that many schemes gave off, with many Bahamians seemingly finding it so easy to say ‘yes’.

“There was an alarming increase in these types of transactions; fraudulent transactions,” Ms Sands told Tribune Business. “I would definitely say it was from around October-December.

It’s slowed down a little bit, but we saw an aggressive trend.

“Luckily our system stopped these transactions for further review. When they go to high-risk jurisdictions, they’re frequently layered in terms of the transaction and size of transaction. We’re able to look at them and determine if any structuring is going on, or if there’s a potential fraud or suspicious transaction.”

“What we find is that it’s so crazy beyond what we discussed on that alert,” Ms Sands told Tribune Business. “A gentleman said he was sending some money for an investment. I said: ‘What type of investment, and what type of return do you expect to get?’

“He said he was told that if he made a minimum investment under $2,000, it would be turned into $40,000. This was based on someone reaching out to him through social media and saying you can use a money transfer business, and if you send money to us in a certain period of time, we will turn it into this for you.”

Ms Sands said another common concern was clients increasing the amount, and frequency, of monies wired to somebody they claimed to have “met in church when they came to visit Nassau or the Bahamas”.

“We see an increase in how many times they send to the person or attempt to send to the person,” she added. “They send $300 at first, and next time increase it to $800. That’s where we see the evidence of this kind of thing.

“We also see where a person says: ‘I have a purchase for you, and if you send me this amount of money I will send you this box’. In other cases, they tell people they’ve got a possible inheritance in the millions of dollars.”

Ms Sands said the scams appeared to “proliferate” or originate from several African countries, with the likes of Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Benin to the fore. She added that some scammers would appear to be based in the US, or American citizens, “but from the names we see

it appears these people are from Africa.”

“I see a lot of clients wanting to send money to Nigeria,” Ms Sands told Tribune Business, recalling one incident involving a woman who was “sending money to her ‘boss’ in Nigeria. I could hear him shouting at her on the phone, telling her this is why she was told to go where they don’t ask questions.

That’s not the first time I’ve heard people instructing the client”.

With money tight and unemployment still relatively high following the 2008-2009 recession’s aftermath, too many Bahamians and residents appear to be forgetting the saying that ‘if it sounds too good to be true it probably is’.

In a bid to obtain extra income, Omni executives said few were asking enough questions of those unknown persons contacting them via the Internet and social media ‘out of the blue’, offering sweet deals.

“I had this conversation with some of my co-workers this morning: Do you think these people look at the Bahamas and think we’re gullible,” Ms Sands told Tribune Business. ‘It’s so easy for some persons to say ‘Yes, I wish to send this money to this person hoping to get some money back in return’.

“The other say, someone said they were going to purchase online and send money to this person. It was going to the US originally, and then the other person said they needed to send it to Nigeria. We asked why they were doing it, and this person said they wanted to get what they’d purchased online. They were being asked to send more and more money.”

Ms Sands said scammers masquerading as celebrities or local politicians frequently proved hard for Bahamians and residents to resist, adding: “They’re consumers not engaging the persons speaking to them, and are freely giving them information.

“It’s a quick hit, and it’s going to hit their [consumer] pockets very hard.

Some clients even approach us saying: ‘We know this person. I understand that you want to try and protect me, but I know this person’.

I appreciate the question, but I’m OK with the transaction’. We’re not going to say the client is a liar.”

Ms Sands urged Bahamians to “not engage” with unknown persons who contacted them in relation to money. “If somebody reaches out to you saying they’re a lost cousin, friend and you’ve never met them, why send money to them,” she added. “This is sending your hard-earned dollars to somebody you’ve never met and probably will never meet.... If you see it happening to your friend and relative tell them ‘no’. Do not give out personal information, do not engage and do not communicate. You just want people to use their common sense.”

NOTICE A majority shareholder in a land holding company wishes to joint venture with a suitably qualified construction company, or individuals, to develop 200 acres of property on North Long Island Bahamas.

Contact us at

rahming361@gmail.com for further information.