03202017 business

business@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

$4.20 Baha Mar: No casino license 21 days out

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Baha Mar’s prospective purchaser was yesterday said to be confident it will obtain the necessary casino license prior to its April 21 opening, even though one will not be issued before the end of March.

An innocuous-looking advertisement from the Gaming Board, placed in the newspapers last Friday, announced that a public hearing on a gaming license application from Sky Warrior (Bahamas) Ltd will be held on March 31 at the British Colonial Hilton.

Sky Warrior (Bahamas) is the subsidiary of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), Baha Mar’s prospective purchaser, that will own and operate the project’s 100,000 square foot casino, the largest in the Caribbean.

This means that the Gaming Board ad relates to the Baha Mar casino license.

Read another way, it says that just three weeks prior to the $4.2 billion development’s ‘soft opening’, CTFE does not have the necessary casino license in place.

It also raises questions as to why Baha Mar has begun training casino staff without first holding the necessary license, the project announcing last week that it had begun dealer training for 170 recently-hired gaming employees.

Robert Sands, Baha

CTFE said confident it will have one for opening Sarkis ally: ‘Cart being put before the horse’ ‘Fait accompli’ query, as hearing set for March 31

$4.24

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Large employers mull wages, hirings freeze

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas’ biggest employers, including some of the largest hotels, are mulling whether to impose a wages and hiring freeze in retaliation for the Government’s decision to force controversial labour reforms “down our throats”.

Tribune Business sources yesterday confirmed that a private sector, outraged by legal changes that will dramatically increase the costs and bureaucracy associated with doing business, plans to fight back in a very real

Labour laws: Hotels, others plan ‘forceful reply’ Chamber chief says big companies to meet today ‘Biggest bang for buck’ on worker welfare is pensions way against the Employment Act and Industrial Relations Act amendments.

This newspaper can re-

veal that members of the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association (BHREA) plan to meet this afternoon to determine their strategy and way forward, viewing this as one battle they cannot afford to lose if they are to maintain their economic viability.

Tribune Business was also informed that the hotel industry is seeking the participation of other large employers, including the commercial banks and retailers, in a bid to form a united front to push back against the Bills.

Robert Sands, the BHREA’s president, did

not confirm or deny whether his members were planning to freeze wages and new hirings as a response to the Government’s legislative changes.

He did, though, yesterday confirm that the BHREA and its hotel members had discussed a number of options in relation to the proposed labour reforms, with the Association set to issue another formal statement on the matter imminently.

“We’ve been meeting continuously on the matter, but we’re not going to discuss the details until we finalise everything,” Mr See pg b7

Sebas’s Brickell in Govt PPP market

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Robert Sands Mar’s vice-president of government and external affairs, declined to comment yesterday when questioned about the Gaming Board ad, and its implications for Baha Mar’s casino license and possible April 21 opening.

However, a source familiar with Baha Mar’s status, speaking on See pg b5

Sebas Bastian’s Brickell Management Group (BMG) has entered the publicprivate partnership (PPP) market through a contract to construct a new “multipurpose” government office complex on Harbour Island.

Paul Major, BMG’s president and managing director, confirmed to Tribune Business that work on the project was set to begin “within weeks”, with the new offices to be built on the site of the

Building new Govt office complex on Harbour Isl. But not at historic Commissioner’s residence existing complex.

He also reassured concerned Brilanders that the project did not involve demolition of the historic Commissioner’s residence

on Dunmore Street, and its replacement with the new office complex, as several contacts had suggested to Tribune Business.

“It’s not the ex-Commissioner’s residence,” Mr Major told Tribune Business of the location for BMG’s PPP project. “That’s a protected site and an historical site.

No, no. That’s across the street. We’re not going to touch it.

“That stately looking building, although dilapidated, no one’s touching that. I spoke to Courtney Strachan See pg b4

Sebas Bastian

Aliv in ‘phenomenal position’ financially

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas’ new mobile operator is in “a phenomenal position” financially, having secured $186 million in start-up funding prior to this week’s planned capital raising.

Johnny Ingle, Aliv’s ‘chief champion’ (chief marketing officer to many), told Tribune Business that investors could have “the utmost confidence” in its impending $30 million bond issue, given how the new operator had delivered on multiple commitments since its November 23 launch.

Arguing that Aliv had fulfilled promises to offer choice, value and service

Mobile operator ‘secured $186m before we started’ Investors can have ‘utmost confidence’ in bonds Says delivering on pledges, as subscribers hit 50,000 quality to Bahamian consumers in just four months, Mr Ingle pledged it will “not rest on our laurels” as the operator continues to expand its network infrastructure into the Family Islands.

See pg b6

BORCO gains US court help on $23m claim

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas Oil Refining Company (BORCO) has obtained US judicial permission to serve subpoenas on a marine accident investigator and his firm, as it pursues a $23 million claim in the Supreme Court.

Legal documents obtained by Tribune Business reveal that the Grand See pg b9

Gets permission to subpoena US surveyor, firm Seeking ‘critical’ details on tanker’s jetty collision Vessel’s owner counterclaims for $1.233m

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Commission, Chamber team on crowdfunding

The Securities Commission is teaming with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) to will jointly host a ‘crowdfunding’ seminar on Thursday, March 23.

The seminar will introduce draft legislation designed to provide greater

access to financing for Bahamian small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs).

The draft Securities Industry (Business Capital) Rules 2017 will allow entrepreneurs to use crowdfunding to raise up to $1 million, and make it easier for SMEa to raise up to $3 million per year form the general public.

The Rules are designed to lighten the regulatory burden, and open access to funding, for SMEs via the public markets while maintaining appropriate mechanisms to protect investors.

The half-day seminar will be held on Thursday at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel, starting at 9am, Presenters from both the Chamber

and the Securities Commission will summarise the funding opportunities for SMEs that will be opened by the Rules.

The Rules were drafted by the Securities Commission, which regulates the investment funds, securities and capital markets in the Bahamas.

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THE TRIBUNE

‘Market based pricing’ for Govt debt unveiled The Central Bank of The Bahamas will introduce a market-based pricing formula on April 17, 2017, for government debt that trades in the secondary market.

The regulator, in a statement issued on Friday, said the move was “to ensure” that the yields on already-issued Bahamas Government Registered Stocks (BGRS) “are equalised” against new debt with the same maturity structure.

The Central Bank currently facilitates over-thecounter secondary trading of BGRS debt, and sales of securities against its own portfolio, to meet the needs of domestic investors in the absence of private frameworks for such transactions.

Under the new pricing formula, new bonds will continue to be priced at ‘par’, with liquidity and other market conditions determining the fixed-coupon rates at which these will be offered to investors.

These new BGRS issues will serve as benchmarks for the “prevailing rates”.

While investors in an existing BGRS security will continue to receive the same

interest rate until maturity, those seeking to buy that same security on the secondary market today would receive a rate determined by that attached to existing BGRS issues.

The Central Bank said: “For example, a security holder who initially purchased a 4.5 per cent, 20year BGRS at par will continue to earn interest based on that 4.5 per cent coupon.

“However, if he/she wished to purchase that same security today, the price would be determined by the prevailing market interest rates, and could result in a discount under or premium over par.”

It added: “The same is the case for security holders seeking to redeem their holdings, whether in part or in full. The Central Bank will purchase those securities at the prevailing market price, as outlined in the table above.”

The Central Bank said it will effectively re-price its securities on the 15th day of each month, or on the following business day if the 15th day falls on a weekend or a holiday.

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, March 20, 2017, PAGE 3

Govt urged: ‘Don’t penalise all firms’

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Government has been urged not to “penalise” all businesses for the actions of a few through its labour reforms, the Chamber’s chairman calling for longer term employee safeguards to be put in place.

Gowon Bowe told Tribune Business: “When we’re making moves to protect employees, we should do so with long-term prospects in mind, not in reaction to immediate events.

“There is a potential that some of these amendments were in response to certain action taken in recent times by certain companies. The Government has mechanisms to deal with those enterprises and it should not be looking at penalising, if you will, all businesses for actions they believe were inappropriate by one or two parties.”

Employers have slammed the proposed changes to the Employment and Industrial Relations Acts, warning that the increased costs and bureaucracy they will create

could “cripple” and “bankrupt” businesses across all sectors.

Key among employer concerns is the 67 per cent, or two-thirds increase, in the Employment Act’s redundancy pay ‘cap’.

Line staff are currently entitled to a maximum 24 weeks or six months’ redundancy pay under the Employment Act, gaining two weeks for each year they have been employed up to the 12-year ‘cap’.

However, the Bill requires the ‘cap’ to be increased to 32 weeks (16 years) immedi-

Training partnership aids Eleuthera revive A partnership between the One Eleuthera Foundation and The South Eleuthera Mission is aiming to reverse an unemployment rate that reaches up to 70 per cent through training and innovation.

The creation of the Centre for Training and Innovation (CTI) is designed to strengthen a workforce that is largely unskilled, and reduce a poverty rate estimated at around 20 per cent.

In early 2016, CTI became the first tertiary education facility to serve Eleuthera with several training and skills programmes that are accredited by the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of the Bahamas (NAECOB).

Their training areas include housekeeping, landscaping, farming, carpentry, plumbing and electrical.

Maths and English preparation courses for BJC and BGCSE exams, introduction to computers, life enrichment and student life are part of the curriculum created by the two non-profit organisations.

Situated on the old Rock Sound Club, the CTI has created a live laboratory setting for up to 60 students

and 10 instructors to-date.

Those efforts were showcased at an open house on March 5, 2017, where 50 visitors toured the property’s first stage of hotel renovations, classrooms and the establishment of a fouracrefarm.

Almost $3.5 million, primarily for the purchase, renovation and improvement of the 40-acre Rock Sound Club, has been invested into CTI and the creation of the school.

Twelve acres were cleared and landscaped, while infrastructure work included the restoration of three cottages that offer 12 rooms for rental income; one cottage with four rooms for office and classroom space; a staff centre with IT room; trainee lounge; sick bay; and a laundry room. A centre with 10 offices, 2 bathrooms, conference rooms and a kitchen were also completed.

Moving into its next phase, CTI is seeking $1.4 million to renovate an additional eight rooms at the hotel; install an IT infrastructure; and repair the large half-size Olympic swimming pool to ready it for guests and a swim club.

Donations and income-

generating activities are core contributors towards CTI’s viability. Income from farm produce, furniture made or services provided is ploughed back into the Centre.

A donation of $385 provides one tool kit for a student; $17,000 furnishes a carpentry workshop; and an $18,000 donation will train and apprentice a CTI student for one year.

“CTI’s main areas of focus are education, training and economic support,” said Shaun Ingraham, its chairman and president.

“When people can see how the funds are being used, and the positive impact being made, it’s a win-win for all.”

In February 2016, the ratio of male to female students was equal out of a total of 58. In December, out of 25 students, 40 per cent were female.

Mavis Munnings, a carpentry student, who is in her early 60’s, said: “Since I liked working with my hands, I took up carpentry.

I have assisted with making the headboards for the hotel and helped with the construction of a shed for the farm.”

ately upon enactment of the reforms. And, ultimately, the ‘cap’ for line staff redundancy pay is to be increased to 40 weeks some two years after the amendments are passed.

As for managerial staff, the existing 48 weeks (12 months/one year) redundancy pay maximum that they are due currently under the Employment Act is to be immediately increased to 64 weeks. Should the proposals pass, the ‘cap’ will ultimately be lifted to 80 weeks after two years.

Mr Bowe said: “Right

Electrical instructor, Stephen Galanis, taught at Central High School before moving to CTI. He said: “It is much more rewarding touching the lives of young men and women. This is a different way of making a difference. We have become a safety net to these students. It’s a chance for them to learn a trade and real skills that are marketable.”

Errol McPhee, CTI’s chief executive officer and a long-time educator, added: “For many, being a part of CTI is a second chance.

Some had not completed high school or had the opportunity to improve educationally or as individuals.

“With our learn and earn programme, we target the 50 per cent to 70 per cent of secondary school leavers who are most likely unemployable, and assist them by providing a vocation that will help them earn a living.”

So far, an average of 81 per cent of trainees have passed their academic courses, with an average grade of 75 per cent.

All students have created budgets compared to none when they first enrolled. Many have also set up bank accounts with the One Eleuthera Cooperative Credit Union, another organisation working to positively change some of the negative trends on Eleuthera.

now you create an exorbitant cost to having an employee with you for an extended period of time. There is no business that is going to actually employ persons for extended periods of time because they can’t afford to disengage with them if the business needs says so.

“That’s where the tenure of employment effectively becomes a liability. While you may have the best performing workers, their tenure becomes a liability and businesses will have to make a choice on whether to keep long-serving employees, as

they may not be able to afford to pay out their tenure of contract if anything happens.”

The Chamber chairman argued that the development, and passage, of pension legislation would “have far greater benefits” than changes to the redundancy law, and the employee-employer relationship, when it came “to the protection of rights of employees”.

“It gives the employees a nest egg essentially that accumulates over the length of their employment,” Mr Bowe added.

Photo/Azaleta Ishmael-Newry CTI students Hershal (left) and Cercelia (middle) pose with second home owner and One Eleuthera Foundation co-founder, Marjorie Findlay, at CTI’s open house in March 2017.

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Sebas’s Brickell in Govt PPP market From pg B1 at the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC), and he said they were developing plans to restore and rebuild that.”

The AMMC last year partnered with the University of Miami School of Architecture to assess the

historical significance of the Commissioner’s residence, and the potential for its restoration and future preservation.

The property had accommodated commissioners, or island administrators, from 1900, was also Governor Dunmore’s residence from

1786 to 1797. Its history also involves hosting receptions for former colonial governors, and other key events.

Mr Major, meanwhile, said the construction plans called for the demolition of Harbour Island’s existing government office complex, which features the local administrator’s office, courts, police station and apartments for police officers.

“All that will come down, and we’ll build a new, multipurpose government office

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complex where the current one is,” he confirmed to Tribune Business.

Mr Major said BMG was exploring the possibility of bringing in temporary trailers to accommodate impacted police and government officials while construction took place, noting the “scarcity of space” on Harbour Island.

He added that the plans for the new complex consisted solely of offices for the local administrator and police, plus the jail and court facilities, with officer accommodation not included.

Mr Major said the new government offices would cost “at least a couple of million dollars” to construct, describing the PPP project as “quite a sizeable building” that would “take up most of the existing space”.

He added that demolition of the existing government building was still being priced, with BMG seeking to employ as many sub-contractors and vendors from Harbour Island and Eleuthera as possible.

“We will take some of our equipment,” Mr Major said, “but what’s on the island in

THE TRIBUNE terms of labour, resources and equipment, we’ll seek to employ it. We’re starting to ask around for electricians, plumbers and the like.

We’ve got people scouting around.”

He noted that the Harbour Island project presented potential logistics challenges, given its distance from Nassau and issues in transporting manpower and equipment, adding: “If you’re short one jack hammer, you’ve lost two days.”

Mr Major said between 12-15 construction workers were likely to be employed on the Harbour Island government offices project.

The Government is increasingly turning to publicprivate partnerships (PPPs) to meet its real estate and infrastructure needs, in the belief that it will reduce or eliminate a heavy demand on the Public Treasury.

Rather than use increasingly scarce taxpayer funds to finance the construction of government office buildings, especially given its strained fiscal position, the Government is turning to private capital and entrepreneurs.

It is entering into contracts where private investors/developers will finance and construct new government buildings, then lease them to the Government for a set period of time, so they can recover their investment and earn a profitable return.

Under these contracts, which are typically referred to as build/own/operate/ transfer or (BOOT) arrangements, the properties are turned over to Government ownership, once the period for the developer to regain his capital and maintain the site has expired.

The proposed Road Traffic Department headquarters on Tonique Williams Highway, and new Post Office site at the Independence Drive shopping centre, where the old City Markets store was based, are two examples of PPPs. Mr Major said he thought the Harbour Island contract was for a seven-year BOOT arrangement, confirming that the project was the first PPP arrangement between the Government and Brickell.

When asked whether Brickell would seek similar deals with the Government elsewhere, he added: “Possibly, if we’re minded to do so.

“We’ll certainly consider it. We have the infrastructure to do it. We have the equipment and construction company to do it.”

BMG is the property development, management and construction company launched by Island Luck chief executive, Sebas Bastian.

Its real estate developments include the Venetian West out at Old Fort Bay, and the Venito West at Westridge. BMG also manages a property portfolio that includes Aventura Plaza on JFK Drive, plus assets on Madeira Street and Rosetta Street.

Apart from Messrs Bastian and Major, BMG’s Board in 2014 included Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) chief executive, Leon Williams; IBM (Bahamas) executive, Felix Stubbs; Atlantis PR chief, Ed Fields; and political aspirant, Cassius Stuart.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, March 20, 2017, PAGE 5

Baha Mar: No casino license 21 days out From pg B1 condition of anonymity, downplayed the Gaming Board advertisement, even though it said the regulator would not make a “final adjudication” on CTFE/Sky Warrior’s application before March 31.

They added that the Gaming Board was merely following the procedure outlined in the Gaming Act 2014, especially section 20 (2), which states: “The Board shall conduct a hearing in respect of an application for a gaming license.”

The source said: “That is a statutory requirement, and CTFE is satisfied that it will have its casino license in time for the opening on April 21.

“There are many things that they have to do in anticipation of the 21st. It’s a process they have to go through.

They’re doing everything that’s required for them to be open on the 21st, and all their statutory requirements will be in place.”

Two Cabinet ministers who were heavily involved in the negotiations to resolve the Baha Mar debacle, and get the property open, Allyson Maynard-Gibson and Jerome Fitzgerald, did not return Tribune Business e-mails seeking comment on the casino license situation. Mobile voice mail boxes for both Mr Fitzgerald and Obie Wilchcombe, minister with responsibility for gaming, were said to be full when this newspaper called.

However, the Gaming Board ad was seized upon by the Government’s political opponents and allies of former developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, who argued that the “cart is being put before the horse” on Baha Mar’s casino license.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, the FNM candidate for Freetown and a former Baha Mar director under Mr Izmirlian, said the casino license award should have come before CTFE hired its senior gaming management, ordered and installed its machines, and trained staff.

“This is obviously putting the cart before the horse and a bending of the rules to accommodate the Chinese,” Mr D’Aguilar blasted to Tribune Business.

“They are doing whatever they have to do to get this hotel open by April 21.

There’s no doubt about it.

“There’s so much shenanigans going on in the background. The deal has not been revealed, the casino license application is only now being heard, and they want to get this done before the election.”

Mr D’Aguilar continued: “They are rushing, and bending the rules and procedures in time for the election, so they can tell the Bahamian people: ‘We’ve opened this great hotel’.

Everyone knows it’s an election gimmick.

“You can’t book a room at Baha Mar online, they’ve done no marketing and don’t have a casino license.

What do you have? You have nothing.”

Others suggested that CTFE’s actions, hiring and training employees ahead of the casino license award, suggested that the March 31 hearing was “a fait accompli’, with the decision already taken and the company knowing it would receive the necessary approvals.

“I suppose the argument could be made that it’s a fait accompli, and so they’ve jumped the gun to get a head start,” K P Turnquest, the FNM’s deputy leader, told Tribune Business.

He backed Mr D’Aguilar, agreeing that the casino license situation and lack of marketing, raised questions about the April 21 opening and whether it was achievable.

“We’re obviously very pleased that Bahamians are being employed. We hope there will be a job for them when the project opens, and that it will open in timely fashion,” Mr Turnquest said.

“One of the things we don’t want to be accused of is hoping for a failure, like the Government says; that’s not the truth at all....

But with no casino license granted thus far, we are concerned about the long-term nature of this engagement.”

Mr D’Aguilar said it was currently impossible to book a room at Baha Mar on top websites such as Expedia, Travelocity and hotel.com, and accused the Government of seeking to “bamboozle” Bahamians into think everything was well at the Cable Beachbased property.

While emphasising that he wanted Baha Mar open, and for Bahamians to be employed, Mr D’Aguilar also expressed concern over whether the first 1,500 Bahamians hired would be continuously employed. He questioned whether they would be released after April 21, and then re-hired in 2018.

The casino is among the amenities scheduled to be opened next month, along with Baha Mar’s convention centre, golf course and between 2,000-1,000 rooms at the Hyatt-branded casino hotel.

CTFE has also emphasised that it is more focused on delivering the promised guest experience as opposed to a rapid-fire opening, as it moves for a phased ramp-up of operations and staff in preparation for a full launch in 2018.

The casino license is vital to both Baha Mar’s operations and the CTFE purchase, given that the amenity sits at the centre of the property and was designed as the largest in the Caribbean, making gaming the chief attraction for visitors.

CTFE and its owners, the Cheng family, do not have a history as casino operators, instead being investors in the industry in Macau through Stanley Ho’s STDM and SJM companies.

However, both Atlantis and Baha Mar’s original developer, Mr Izmirlian, have - and sought to - develop casino gaming under their own brands, bringing in the necessary management expertise.

CTFE has recently publicised the re-hiring of former expatriate casino executives who were originally engaged

by Mr Izmirlian to operate and run the Baha Mar casino.

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PAGE 6, Monday, March 20, 2017

Aliv in ‘phenomenal position’ financially From pg B1 He added that Aliv’s subscriber numbers had continued increasing to the current 50,000, with the operator also planning to grow its ratio of Bahamian to expatriate employees, which currently stands at 16:1.

While Aliv’s latest $50 million capital raising,

which combines the bond issue with $20 million in bank credit, will help finance the further nationwide roll-out of its mobile network, Mr Ingle said it would merely add to already-deep pockets.

Apart from the $136 million in start-up financing provided by its two

shareholders, BISX-listed Cable Bahamas and HoldingCo (which is 100 per cent owned by the Government), Aliv also received “in excess of $50 million” in vendor financing from its main technology provider, Huawei.

“Financially, the business is very, very strong,” Mr Ingle told Tribune Business.

“We had secured from last year everything we needed to get secured. We’re already financed. We had our

money before we started.”

He added that the bond issue, which will launch either tomorrow or Wednesday via private placement, was structured as an attractive opportunity for Bahamian institutional and high net worth investors.

“This is an opportunity for very canny investors in the Bahamas to make a very sound investment. There is absolutely every reason for investors looking at this opportunity to do so with the utmost confidence,” Mr Ingle said.

“You’d expect me to say that, but take a step back.

The financing is already in; $50 million on top of the $136 million, which was secured from our technology provider. When you have vendors as big as this one invested, it’s a phenomenal position to be in.”

He suggested that Huawei’s investment, as well as Aliv delivering on its commitments to-date, should give potential Bahamian investors further confidence ahead of the bond issue’s launch.

“We have, in a very short space of time, built a phenomenal business,” Mr Ingle said. “We have over 50,000 customers at this stage from a position of launching on November 23.

“We are already on track against our business objectives. No one can argue against our performance todate. Everything we’ve said, promised to provide, those things we’ve already delivered on, and we’re not resting on our laurels. It’s full

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NOTICE EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION EGYPT (VENTURES) LIMITED Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by The Registrar General on the 7th day of March A.D., 2017.

Dated the 20th day of March, A.D., 2017

Michael C. Miller Liquidator

T.A. Parmenter Liquidator of EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000

NOTICE

SAHAL HOLDINGS GROUP LTD. NOTICE is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138 (8) of The International Business Companies Act, 2000, the Dissolution of SAHAL HOLDINGS GROUP LTD. has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was the 27th day of February A.D., 2017.

Michael C. Miller Liquidator

any of them,” Mr Ingle told Tribune Business. “We said we’re going to do it, have done it, will continue to do it and not rest on our laurels.

“We are providing an exceptional network, exceptional value, and exceptional service for consumers of the Bahamas. It’s a choice that is very different from what existed previously.”

Mr Ingle said Aliv had established its own graduate trainee programme, and links with the National Training Agency(NTA), as it bids to increase the Bahamian component of its workforce.

Pointing to Aliv’s 250plus Bahamian staff, and 90 local contractors, he revealed that the ratio of Bahamian to expatriate employees was 16:1.

“It’s not that the place is overrun with foreign executives,” Mr Ingle said. “It’s not. A lot of that came from our technology requirements at the initial stages.

“We’re a company in the business of providing service; we’re not a company in the business of being service. That’s a fundamental difference in character, philosophy.”

As revealed by Tribune Business in February, Aliv’s $30 million bond issue will be split into two equal $15 million tranches.

One tranche, with a 10year term, will carry an interest coupon of 8 per cent.

The second tranche, which will have a 15-year maturity term, will carry a dividend of 8.5 per cent to compensate investors for the longer term and extra risk.

NOTICE is hereby given that CHARLENE NIVONE of Lightbourne Ave./Rock Crusher, P.O.Box N-10326, 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 20th day of March, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Resolution of the Council of the above-named Executive Entity was duly executed on the 13th day of March, 2017 the following resolutions were passed: 1. That PROSPECTUS E.E. be wound up voluntarily.

2. That Mr. Delano Aranha of Ocean Centre, Montagu Foreshore, East Bay Street, P.O. Box N 3247, Nassau, Bahamas be appointed the Liquidator for the purpose of such winding up.

RAINBOW JEWELS LIMITED

steam ahead for the Family Islands.”

Aliv remains in capital intensive mode as it moves to expand its network into Exuma, Bimini, Andros and the other Family Islands, and fulfill the roll-out obligations it committed to hit in its license from the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA).

URCA previously confirmed that the operator had hit its first service quality and roll-out targets, which were 99 per cent coverage on New Providence and 80 per cent on Grand Bahama.

Mr Ingle said this represented “the first of many” such deadlines that Aliv planned to meet in accordance with the build-out and service quality targets set out in the license received from URCA. He pointed to “the rapidity” with which Aliv had constructed two LTE (Long Term Evolution technology) networks across New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco and Eleuthera, plus “the consumer plans never seen before in the Bahamas”.

Mr Ingle noted the “free service” option that will be provided to all Aliv’s corporate customers until April 25, 2017, the date that coincides with the launch of mobile number portability and their ability to keep the same number when switching provider from the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC).

The Aliv ‘chief champion’ said the operator had also delivered on promises not to charge customers for accepting incoming fixed-line calls, and to base charges on per second, rather than per minute, billing.

“We launched with all of them, and have not changed

NOTICE

PROSPECTUS E.E. __________________________________________

Legal Notice International Business Companies Act, 2000

THE TRIBUNE

SOFGEN S.A. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, notice is hereby given that the abovenamed Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by The Registrar General on the 7th day of March A.D., 2017.

Dated the 20th day of March A.D., 2017.

Narendra Soni Liquidator of SOFGEN S.A.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, March 20, 2017, PAGE 7

Large employers mull wages, hirings freeze From pg B1 Sands told Tribune Business.

“Certainly, we discussed a number of wide-ranging topics, and once it’s finalised we will lay out all the options we’re focused on.”

However, one private sector insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the discussions among large employers particularly in the hotel sector - over imposing a wage and hiring freeze across their companies.

“That’s very, very accurate,” the source said, when Tribune Business put the wage and hiring freeze to them.

“There is a sentiment out there to take some action against what’s being forced down our throats. We’ve got to come together to figure out how to initiate some kind of action to show the Government we’re serious.

We want to be forceful in doing it.”

With the peak winter tourism season coming to an end shortly, and labour the largest cost component for Bahamian hotels, the source hinted that some resorts may elect to downsize immediately ahead of the proposed reforms becoming law.

“We might have to rightsize those businesses fairly quickly,” the source said.

A wages and hiring freeze, and possible redundancies, could impact the livelihoods and well-being of hundreds, if not thousands, of Bahamian workers should employers follow through with their threats, in addition to complicating efforts to reduce an 11.6 per cent national unemployment rate. Youth unemployment remains at 25 per cent.

Bahamian employers, though, will likely argue that they have little choice but to take a stand, given the threat posed to their economic survival in an environment where it is becoming harder and harder to conduct business.

The labour law reforms are hitting after a period in which the private sector has had to contend with ValueAdded Tax (VAT), an increased minimum wage, an increasingly regressive Business License tax, anemic economic growth and a declining ‘ease of doing business’. Business costs and bureaucracy, in contrast, have increased significantly, with no appreciable rise in productivity.

Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chairman, confirmed yesterday to Tribune Business that the hotels were planning to meet today on the Employment Act and Industrial Re-

Share your news The Tribune wants to hear from people who are making news in their neighbourhoods. Perhaps you are raising funds for a good cause, campaigning for improvements in the area or have won an award. If so, call us on 3221986 and share your story.

lations Act changes.

With the Chamber’s participation invited, Mr Bowe said the private sector body had also recommended that the commercial banks and retail association be asked to attend.

“I believe cooler heads have to prevail,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business. “It’s how do we speak to the Government to ensure they appreciate the consequences of what they’re proposing.”

He added that the private sector needed to provide empirical evidence of the impact the reforms will have, not just on businesses but the wider Bahamian economy, and reiterated calls for the Government to instead introduce mandatory pensions legislation.

“If you’re trying to provide financial security for workers, the biggest bang for your buck is pensions legislation, which is far more forward-looking, far more progressive than asking you to pay as you go,” Mr Bowe said.

Key among employer concerns is the 67 per cent, or two-thirds increase, in the Employment Act’s redundancy pay ‘cap’.

Line staff are currently entitled to a maximum 24 weeks or six months’ redundancy pay under the Employment Act, gaining two weeks for each year they have been employed up to the 12-year ‘cap’.

However, the Bill re-

quires the ‘cap’ to be increased to 32 weeks (16 years) immediately upon enactment of the reforms.

And, ultimately, the ‘cap’ for line staff redundancy pay is to be increased to 40 weeks some two years after the amendments are passed.

As for managerial staff, the existing 48 weeks (12 months/one year) redundancy pay maximum that they are due currently under the Employment Act is to be immediately increased to 64 weeks. Should the proposals pass, the ‘cap’ will ultimately be lifted to 80 weeks after two years.

The reforms effectively make redundancy ‘cost prohibitive’ for employers.

Among the consequences could be employee ‘churn’, and a reluctance to employ older workers given the cost of dismissing them, and labour market inflexibility at a time when the likes of the IMF have called for structural reform in this area.

Mr Bowe said that while no employer would reject the argument that workers needed to be “appropriately compensated” and looked after, this had to be balanced with the fact businesses have “limited resources”.

“There has to be a balance between ensuring businesses remain, and remain economically viable, and providing adequate benefits,” he told Tribune Business.

“This has to be one where we all sit down, and very calmly go through, and spell out, the implications - positive and negative - from de-

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ALEXANDRIA JEAN BAPTISTE of Central Pines, Dundas Town, Abaco 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 20th day of March, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

cisions made.”

Mr Sands, meanwhile, said the hotel industry was “extremely concerned” about the proposed labour law reforms should they be enacted - not just for its members, but Bahamian businesses in general.

“It is a concerning situation, and we would have hoped that, certainly, our inputs into these discussions would have been considered,” he added, “and the opportunity to at least have discussions on the proposed Bills prior to their subsequent publication would have been helpful.”

The proposed reforms also impose bureaucratic notification requirements on Bahamian businesses, whenever they are considering redundancies, and a fine equivalent to 30 days’ extra pay for each terminated employee should these not be adhered to.

Employers will have to give relevant trade unions, or employee representatives, a “written statement” explaining the reasons for the redundancies and “facts” behind the move, along with the number and category of jobs impacted, and the timeframe over which the terminations will take place.

“Recognised” trade unions must be consulted “no later than six weeks” before the redundancies will occur in a bid to “mitigate” the

impact, and determine the processes and procedures that will be used. The Minister of Labour must be given 30 days’ notice.

Meanwhile, the proposed reforms to section 51 of the Industrial Relations Act deem the terms and conditions of industrial agree-

ments as automatically incorporated into individual workers’ contracts.

Other proposed amendments force employers to start collective bargaining talks within 45 days of receiving a trade union’s industrial agreement proposal.

TEACHING JOB OPPORTUNITY A preeminent, well-established, independent international school in Nassau is seeking full-time qualified Primary and Secondary teachers for August 2017 for our growing school.

Candidates should have sound classroom experience; a passion for innovative education; a professional attitude towards work; a friendly and cooperative disposition; a willingness to work in a team environment; a determination to grow professionally; and strong communication & organisational skills.

Successful candidates will be required to: • Prepare and deliver well-planned learning experiences and curricula • Differentiate curriculum objectives to support a diverse range of learners • Show consistent, compassionate classroom management skills • Assess student learning and produce detailed reports • Use learning data to inform and adapt instruction • Contribute to the co-curricular programme and whole-school activities in a committed and enthusiastic manner • Maintain high standards of professionalism • Communicate positively with parents, staff, and administration If you think you have the commitment, passion, and energy for our school, please forward your resume and introduction letter by email to teachingbahamas@gmail.com.

PAGE 8, Monday, March 20, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, March 20, 2017, PAGE 9

BORCO gains US court help on $23m claim From pg B1 Bahama-based petroleum storage and blending facility was given permission by the south Florida district court on March 15, 2017, to serve subpoenas on Charles Gillespie and Pembroke Pines-based 3D Marine.

BORCO’s search for evidence is part of its continued pursuit of damages against the owners of Cape Bari, the oil tanker that smashed into its Number 10 jetty on May 25, 2012, causing more than $23.5 million in damages.

Oscar Johnson, a Higgs & Johnson attorney and partner, who is acting for BORCO in its Supreme Court battle over the accident, alleged in a March 6, 2017, affidavit that Mr Gillespie had been asked to examine the Cape Bari for damages by its owners on one day after the accident.

This examination, which Mr Johnson alleged also took place on May 30, 2012, “included a visual inspection of the hull plating on the outside of the vessel, as well as an inspection of the internal structure and a review of the vessel’s log books and tank soundings”.

The Bahamian attorney alleged that Mr Gillespie inspected other areas of the Cape Bari, and its equip-

ment, in a bid to determine the cause of the collision.

“Mr Gillespie issued a one-page document stating his opinion that the vessel ‘was not damaged beyond hull plating coating and that the vessel is structurally sound’,” Mr Johnson alleged.

“BORCO considers that, given the extent of Mr Gillespie’s inspection, he likely created more documents than the one-page document that was produced in the Bahamian proceeding, and also likely has personal knowledge of the facts surrounding the [accident].”

Hence BORCO’s request for judicial assistance, granted last week, to serve subpoenas for 3D Marine to hand over documents relating to the Cape Bari crash, and for Mr Gillespie to be deposed and interviewed as part of its evidence-gathering.

“BORCO’s primary case... is that the vessel allided with BORCO’s dock structure, and caused over $23 million in damage, and for which the defendants are contractually obligated to indemnify BORCO,” Mr Johnson alleged.

“The defendants [Cape Bari’s owner and its shipping agent, Gemini] have

call 502-2394 to advertise today!

TEACHING JOB OPPORTUNITY A preeminent, well-established, independent international school in Nassau is seeking full-time qualified Primary and Secondary teachers for August 2017 for our growing school.

Candidates should have sound classroom experience; a passion for innovative education; a professional attitude towards work; a friendly and cooperative disposition; a willingness to work in a team environment; a determination to grow professionally; and strong communication & organisational skills.

Successful candidates will be required to: • Prepare and deliver well-planned learning experiences and curricula • Differentiate curriculum objectives to support a diverse range of learners • Show consistent, compassionate classroom management skills • Assess student learning and produce detailed reports • Use learning data to inform and adapt instruction • Contribute to the co-curricular programme and whole-school activities in a committed and enthusiastic manner • Maintain high standards of professionalism • Communicate positively with parents, staff, and administration If you think you have the commitment, passion, and energy for our school, please forward your resume and introduction letter by email to teachingbahamas@gmail.com.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Establishment information A well-established Retail Company with several locations.

Education and Experience • A CPA with strong background in Retail costing • Excellent communications skills and the ability to meet strict deadlines • Preferable age: 30 and older Principal Responsibilities • Timely and accurate preparation of weekly, monthly, and annual financial statements • Preparation of all government required documents which includes Vat returns • Monitoring and improving the Company’s internal controls Interested and qualified persons should submit their resume via email to 242jobnow@gmail.com

asserted that the Pilot or masters of the assisting tugs were incompetent and/or negligent, that all damage suffered by BORCO was as a result of that incompetence and/or negligence, and that the defendants have no liability to BORCO.” Mr Johnson’s declara-

tion reveals that the Pilot in question is Captain Eglon Hanna, who was assisted by a trainee pilot, Captain Jonathan Knowles.

It also discloses that the Cape Bari’s owners and Gemini have counterclaimed in the Supreme Court against BORCO, while also launching a

$1.233 million claim against its BORCO Towing Company affiliate for “alleged damage to the vessel and loss of hire”.

Given the claims and counter-claims, Mr Johnson said BORCO believed Mr Gillespie and 3D Marine “will most likely have information critical to sup-

port BORCO’s allegation” in the Supreme Court.

“This information will enable BORCO to prove its allegations against the defendants, and defend against defendants’ counterclaims in the Bahamian proceedings,” the Higgs & Johnson partner alleged confidently.

A leading financial organization is seeking an applicant for the position of:

IN-HOUSE LEGAL COUNSEL

Job Description The Legal Counsel will support the Company’s corporate functional groups, including Business Development, Finance, Investment, Treasury and the Corporate Secretary. The Legal Counsel will act as a subject matter expert and provide guidance on corporate governance, business development, investments and securities activities, including complex transactions, both domestically and internationally, and provide assistance on a broad range of other corporate law matters.

The Legal Counsel will also be expected to have an extensive understanding of Trust laws, estate planning structures and fiduciary products and be able to draft, review, and amend all and any related documents.

The successful candidate needs to demonstrate a strong ability to establish excellent working relationships and liaise closely with a wide range of both external and internal contacts, including clients, Trustees and external counsels.

The successful candidate would need to be highly professional at all times and demonstrate a strong set of general legal skills. You will ideally have between 7-10 years’ experience either at a law firm or a mix of law firm and in-house. In addition, the successful candidate must: •

Have outstanding verbal and written communication skills, the ability to work effectively in a team and demonstrate a self-starting attitude and a high level of independent thought; Be able to quickly form strong working relationships with internal and external colleagues and contacts; Demonstrate commercial awareness and the ability to apply legal knowledge and experience within a dynamic commercial environment; Have strong organisational skills and attention to detail; Demonstrate a high degree of personal motivation and the desire to develop within the role and take on additional responsibility; Be highly responsive with ability to manage a large workload efficiently and effectively; Be solution-oriented with a focus on exceptional client service.

• • • • • •

Qualifications The applicant must be a Counsel and Attorney of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and a member of the Bahamas Bar Association in good standing.

We offer an excellent benefit package and salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Interested applicants may submit resumes by email to legalad2017@gmail.com

MARKET REPORT FRIDAY, 17 MARCH 2017

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,904.31 | CHG 0.01 | %CHG 0.00 | YTD -33.90 | YTD% -1.75 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 17.43 9.09 3.56 4.70 0.12 7.20 8.50 6.10 10.60 15.27 2.72 1.60 5.83 10.00 11.00 9.25 6.90 12.01 11.00

52WK LOW 2.70 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.77 0.12 3.80 8.15 5.56 7.72 11.00 2.18 1.31 5.80 6.79 8.56 7.00 6.35 11.92 10.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

900.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 106.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 105.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 105.50 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

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 Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol ICD Utilities J. S. Johnson Premier Real Estate Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00 100.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-3Y 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 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

113.70 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.03 3.92 1.94 169.70 141.76 1.47 1.67 1.57 1.10 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.94 11.21 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.41 1.61 1.52 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.38 15.85 9.09 3.54 1.77 0.12 4.50 8.50 6.00 10.48 11.86 2.11 1.55 5.83 9.75 9.85 9.25 6.90 12.01 10.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00 105.29 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.38 15.85 9.09 3.54 1.77 0.12 4.50 8.50 6.00 10.48 11.86 2.12 1.55 5.83 9.75 9.85 9.25 6.90 12.01 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.11 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

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

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

104.98 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

-0.31 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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 40,000

600

VOLUME 2

NAV 2.03 3.92 1.94 168.44 141.76 1.47 1.64 1.56 1.04 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.80 11.13 9.63

EPS$ 0.029 1.002 -0.144 0.170 -0.130 0.000 -0.030 0.607 0.430 0.450 0.110 0.102 0.080 0.300 0.520 0.960 0.820 0.294 0.610 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.000 0.000 0.210 0.000 0.000 0.090 0.300 0.220 0.360 0.490 0.060 0.060 0.240 0.400 0.000 0.330 0.140 0.640 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 0.000

P/E 151.0 15.8 N/M 20.8 N/M N/M -150.0 14.0 14.0 23.3 107.8 20.8 19.4 19.4 18.8 10.3 11.3 23.5 19.7 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 0.0

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 7.00% 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2017 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 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 15-Dec-2017 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% 4.30% 4.30% 3.82% 3.82% 2.73% 2.73% 3.95% 3.95% 6.77% 6.77% 0.40% 4.04% -1.76% 1.06% -0.34% 2.70% -0.95% 1.55% 4.35% 4.69% 4.13% 4.28% 4.22% 4.64% 6.19% 3.43% 2.77% 2.98% -3.66% -3.90%

NAV Date 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2016 31-Jan-2017 31-Jan-2017 31-Jan-2017 31-Jan-2017 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016

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 1.83% 6.31% 0.00% 5.93% 0.00% 0.00% 2.00% 3.53% 3.67% 3.44% 4.13% 2.83% 3.87% 4.12% 4.10% 0.00% 3.57% 2.03% 5.33% 0.00%

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

PAGE 16, Monday, March 20, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Top economies yield to US, drop no-protectionism pledge BADEN-BADEN, Germany (AP) — The world’s top economic powers dropped a pledge to oppose trade protectionism amid pushback from the Trump administration, which wants trade to more clearly benefit American companies and workers.

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 countries meeting in the southern German town of BadenBaden issued a statement Saturday that said only that countries “are working to strengthen the contribution of trade” to their economies.

By comparison, last year’s meeting called on them to resist “all forms” of protectionism, which can include border tariffs and rules that keep out imports to shield domestic compa-

nies from competition.

The statement from the G20 finance ministers and central bankers helps set the tone for further global economic cooperation.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, taking part in his first international meeting since being sworn in, sought to downplay the wording issue. He said that the statement needed to reflect the discussion at the current summit. “The historical language was not really relevant,” he said.

“We believe in free trade: we are one of the largest markets in the world, we are one of the largest trading partners in the world,” Mnuchin said. “Having said that, we want to re-examine certain agreements... And to the extent that agreements are old agreements

and need to be renegotiated we’ll consider that as well.”

He said trade deals need to offer a “win-win situation.”

Mnuchin said the administration would be looking at relationships where the U.S. was buying more than it could sell to its partner, and would be more aggressive in seeking enforcement of existing rules that would benefit U.S. workers through the Geneva-based World Trade Organization. The WTO operates a system of negotiated trade rules and serves as a forum for resolving disputes.

China and European countries had pushed for a stronger affirmation of cross-border trade without tariffs or barriers. Ironically, China and some European states tend to intervene U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, left, shakes hands with Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s Second Minister for Finance, at the G20 finance ministers meeting in Baden-Baden, southern Germany, Friday, March 17, 2017. (AP Photo) more often in private sector business than the U.S. government.

Canada took a middle approach in the talks, urging a statement supporting free trade but not taking a position on specific wording.

Host Germany dropped the no-protectionism pledge in the early drafting process ahead of the meeting, in apparent hope of not antagonizing the U.S. and then finding a substitute that would also uphold free trade. But attempts to include such language did not find agreement.

Trump and other critics of free trade argue that it can cause jobs, such as in the labor intensive manufacturing sector, to move to lower-cost countries. Proponents say technological advances, such as automation that replaces workers with robots, are more to blame for the loss of jobs in such sectors.

Some advocates, like the International Monetary Fund, readily concede that the benefits of free trade have been uneven across societies, as less skilled workers lose out and the better trained prosper. But they

argue that trade restrictions will not help those left behind by the globalized economy and point to better training and education as part of the answer.

Trump has already pulled the U.S. out of a proposed free trade deal with Japan and other Pacific Rim countries. He also has started the process to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.

Wolfgang Schaeuble, the finance minister of host country Germany, argued that it was not true that officials failed to find common ground. “It’s completely clear we are not for protectionism. But it wasn’t clear what one or another meant by that,” he said.

The G-20 is an informal forum on economic cooperation made up of 19 countries plus the European Union. The finance ministers’ meeting will pave the way for a summit of national leaders in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7-8. Its decisions don’t have the same force as an international treaty but simply depend on individual countries’ promises to follow through on them.

EU citizens in UK anxiously seek security before Brexit LONDON (AP) — Sam Schwarzkopf, a German neuroscientist at University College London, was startled to receive a letter from the British government telling him that his application for permanent residence had been rejected and he should prepare to leave the U.K. As a European Union citizen, he is legally entitled to live in Britain, and last year’s decision by U.K. voters to leave the 28-nation bloc hasn’t changed that. But he is one of hundreds of thousands of Europeans battling British bureaucracy to confirm their legal status — and sometimes discovering that the process only increases their uncertainty.

Schwarzkopf, who has lived in the U.K. since 1999 and is married to a Briton, thought his application for a permanent resident card “would be a formality.”

When he got the rejection saying he should prepare to leave, he was at first surprised, then angry.

“It’s outrageous that they use statements like that, especially at a time like this,” he said.

Schwarzkopf was trying to obtain a small blue card emblazoned with the logo of Britain’s Home Office and the words “U.K. residence documentation” for European nationals.

Before last year’s EU membership referendum, most people didn’t even know the cards existed.

Residents of EU nations can live and work across the bloc — no special visas or paperwork are needed for Europeans living in Britain.

That will change once Britain leaves the EU, after a two-year divorce process due to begin by March 31.

But no one is sure exactly how.

Britain says it will end free movement and impose controls on EU immigration, but has given no details. Officials in both the U.K. and the EU say the 3 million EU citizens living in Britain — and the 1 million Britons who reside elsewhere in the bloc — should be allowed to stay. But there has not been a formal guarantee, or a decision on when the cutoff date for legal residence could be.