04262017 business

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017

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Confidence ‘baby steps’ key to GDP growth cure

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Confidence-building “baby steps” are required to break the Bahamian private sector out of its “entrenched status quo” following a decade of growth “flat-lining”, an international economist argued yesterday.

Dan Levine, a practice leader with the Oxford Economics consultancy, told Tribune Business he had “heard surprisingly little” commitment to growth and investment from the Bahamian business representatives he interviewed.

Mr Levine, who led Oxford Economics in producing the just-published report on sustainable Bahamian growth strategies for the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), said the private sector was desperately looking for signs the economy “was moving in the right direction”.

To achieve this, he said the Government and private sector needed to start working “in tandem” to remove structural obstacles to growth, arguing that this “carries more weight than you might think”.

“One of the things that struck me is the impor-

Economist: Bahamas stuck in ‘status quo’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Real value added in the Bahamian manufacturing and agriculture sectors declined by 10 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, between 2011-2015, with “fundamentally different business conditions” needed to reverse the fall.

Oxford Economics, in its report on sustainable growth opportunities in the Bahamas, suggested that most manufacturers and farmers lacked the scale necessary to compete with better-equipped foreign rivals in export markets.

The study, produced for the Bahamas-based Organisation for Responsible gov-

Manufacturing down 10% in period to 2015 ‘Fundamental change’ needed to reverse decline Domestic market, import substitution focus, urged ernance (ORG), suggested that any development strategy for these industries first focus on ‘import substitution’ and breaking into the domestic supply chain.

“Both the agricultural See pg b4

‘More aggressive’ strategy needed on vacation rentals

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas was yesterday urged to adopt “a more aggressive strategy” towards the vacation rental market, given its potential for increasing local tourism industry ownership and developing Family Island economies.

Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business that its recently-published economic research showed vacation rentals “could blossom as lowhanging economic growth” if handled correctly.

Pointing out that the Bahamas already has “the greatest offering” of Airbnb properties compared to Caribbean rivals, Mr Aubry said the study, conducted for ORG by the Oxford Economics consultancy, had show ‘what could be’ if regulations were eased and

Invests $5.25m in mortgage restructurer affiliate

Nation’s GDP ‘flatline’ decade not sustainable

Agriculture’s ‘value’ falls 31% in 4 years

Sector can ‘blossom as low-hanging growth fruit’ Governance group: Policies discouraging compliance But sees empowerment, Out Island opportunities the correct policies implemented.

Dan Levine, practice leader at Oxford Economics, said focusing on vacation rentals “seems the perfect strategy” given the Bahamas’ strong competitive attractions for this market.

Referring to the interviews that Oxford Economics conducted on the sector for its study, Mr Levine said: “There were definitely See pg b6

RoyalStar profits drop 73% in 2016 Insurer suffers 63% claims rise from Matthew

‘Very few’ in private sector committed to growth

tance of baby steps,” Mr Levine told Tribune Business, when asked how the Bahamas could break out of its persistent ‘low GDP growth’ performance.

“It’s confidence-building measures that say we’re moving in the right direction. Many of the people I spoke to were simply looking for confidence measures that the Government and business can work on; incremental steps to improve how these things may occur.”

Oxford Economics, on ORG’s behalf, assessed and analysed the potential of three industries to drive sustainable growth for the Bahamas - manufacturing and agriculture for the local market (import substitution); the shipping ‘break bulk’ and logistics sector; See pg b5

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Converts Luxury Associates stake to investment

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Just a couple days before Baha Mar’s opening, the dump was ablaze yet again. Fire fighters make effort to extinguish the fire. Photo/Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

‘Band-aid’ fears over landfill bid deadline

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The eight-day tender for the New Providence landfill’s management contract was yesterday slammed as “highly irresponsible” by the attorney representing Jubilee Gardens residents impacted by the massive recent fires.

With bids due to be submitted by 4pm today, Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, said the tight deadline acted against the submission of “comprehensive,

QC: Eight-day timeline is ‘highly irresponsible’ Works against ‘comprehensive, sensible’ proposals Potential bidders ‘scramble’ to meet today’s cut-off sensible solutions” to the landfill’s health and environmental hazards.

He suggested that the

Government would likely end up with “a band-aid solution” that failed to properly tackle an issue affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of Bahamian residents and businesses.

Mr Smith, who is threatening to take legal action against the Christie administration on behalf of the Our Lives Matter: Jubilee Residents Association, told Tribune Business: “Government in the Bahamas is always reactionary.

“Instead of focusing on quality of life issues through the regulatory See pg b4

RoyalStar Assurance saw its 2016 profits decline by 72.8 per cent yearover-year due to Hurricane Matthew, with drove a more than-$4 million increase in net claims after reinsurance payouts.

The property and casualty insurance underwriter saw net income drop from $3.712 million to $1.009 million, as net claims jumped 80.8 per cent to $9.71 million.

This was the main factor that drove a 63 per cent increase in RoyalStar’s direct expenses, which increased year-over-year from $9.959 million to $16.237 million.

Its 2016 results, released late yesterday afternoon, showed that RoyalStar’s underwriting gain fell by 35 per cent, declining from $7.987 million to $5.187 million, due to Matthewrelated claims and the subsequent increase in claims.

While operating expenses were flat compared to 2015, standing at $5.278 million, RoyalStar also saw other income decline by See pg b5

PAGE 2, Wednesday, April 26, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Heavy rainfall ‘wreaks havoc’ on BAMSI crop The Bahamas Agriculturaland Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) yesterday said heavy weekend rains have “wreaked havoc on various crops”, undermining hopes of a “bumper harvest”.

The Institute said 2.36 inches of rain fell on North

Andros on Sunday, and resulting crop losses were likely to be “high”.

BAMSI said vegetables, such as cabbages and cucumbers on its Research and Demonstration Farm, would be especially hardhit.

Its Associated Farmers

Institute diversifying food production to other islands Programme (AFP), the flagship of the Outreach/ Extension programme, has also been impacted.

BAMSI added that unpredictable weather patterns in the Northern Bahamas had made it necessary to diversify food production into the southeastern Bahamas.

It is moving to create a network of greenhouses on Eleuthera, Long Island, Exuma, Cat Island and MICAL. The programme

Flooding at BAMSI’s Research & Demonstration Farm

will start next month in Eleuthera.

The greenhouse network will provide on-island farming communities with a range of vegetable seedling plant material, as well as banana suckers, to restart commercial banana production.

BAMSI said climate change is emerging as a major threat to agricultural production in the Bahamas, and was introducing climate smart technologies to address this issue.

New drought-resistant, salt tolerant varieties have been developed for various crops in conjunction with new technologies, such as elevating plots and building water retention systems.

Baha Mar to drive increase in airlift The Ministry of Tourism has spent the last three to four years courting new airlift to the Bahamas in preparation for Baha Mar’s opening.

Tyrone Sawyer, the Ministry’s senior director of airlift development, said the foundations had been set for sufficient airlift to accommodate the expected increase in stopover travel to the Bahamas because of interest in Baha Mar. “What happens when you have a new product like this is it creates excitement in the marketplace, and then it creates demand for our destination. Those are things that drive airlift. That is why we are so happy to see this grand opening today,” Mr Sawyer said.

Senior government officials, hotel executives and representatives from the China Export-Import Bank and China Construction America (CCA) were among those attending Baha Mar’s ‘soft opening’ on April 21.

Prime Minister Perry Christie said that once Baha Mar is fully operational, it will “generate an additional 315,000 air passenger seats

Baha Mar courtyard annually, an increase of 19 per cent over our 2015 record of arrivals and signalling in the marketplace the revitalisation of the Bahamas’ tourism brand”.

“Baha Mar’s first phase opening also ushers in a new era in our tourism industry as it will consolidate over 40 per cent of Nassau and Paradise Island’s total room inventory in the upscale and luxury product category, shifting this desti-

nation’s international lodging profile toward a more high-end, upscale market with added international brands, which is critical not only to improving brand recognition and experience - but increasing airlift capacity and delivery of sustainable, upmarket ADRs for the destination,” the Prime Minister said.

The resort welcomed its first invited guests to the Grand Hyatt this month.

Baha Mar boasts a convention centre, 100,000 square foot casino, 42 restaurants and lounges, 30 luxury stores, 11 swimming pools, an ESPA brand spa and an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course.

Baha Mar is made up of three hotel brands, Grand Hyatt, SLS Hotels and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, and has a total capacity of 2,300 rooms.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 26, 2017, PAGE 3

Customs rejects cargo inspection concerns

By NATARIO McKENZIE

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Imports assessed on ‘risk analysis’ basis

Cargo inspections by the Customs Department are being done on a “risk analysis” basis, its Comptroller confirmed yesterday, agreeing that inspecting nearly 100 per cent of imports - as suggested in a consultants’ report - is “not practical”.

While declining to comment extensively on the Oxford Economics research, Charles Turner told Tribune Business he took issue with the suggestion that the Bahamas still employs out-

dated practices by inspecting nearly 100 per cent of all cargo landed in this nation.

“We have a post-clearance audit team in place,” he explained. “Customs all over the world have shifted to risk analysis. We rely on our analysis and allow goods to be cleared immediately on arrival, and checks are done post-clearance.

“It’s impossible, not practical to do 100 per cent examinations on every ship-

Tribune Business Reporter

ment. It’s done on a risk analysis basis. What we continue to do is identify our high-risk goods.

“Sometimes members of the public see a container with goods being removed, and because there is no Customs officer there they become concerned. That often happens, but the public is unaware that containers released on a risk analysis basis will not be examined,” Mr Turner added.

“We don’t have enough officers to go to every site.

It’s not practical and makes no sense. We do know, in many instances, the highrisk and low-risk contain-

ers. Major food stores, we know, are low-risk because we deal with them all the time and we find very few or no infractions.

“There are times, however, when a low-risk may become high risk. There may be a time when an importer will have to be checked to see whether there stays remain low-risk or high-risk.

We are concentrating on post-importation checks as opposed to checking documents at the border.”

Mr Turner added that

without any ‘abnormalities’, a person can have their goods checked and cleared within an hour to two hours.

The Government has already moved to enhance efficiencies in Customs’ operations, introducing the revised Customs Management Act in 2011, and following this up with the Electronic Single Window (ESW) initiative.

The Bahamas-based Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), while giving the Government

credit for the initiative, warned against allowing Customs staff to execute the ESW project without oversight, as this “creates opportunity for non-compliance and corruption”.

Mr Turner said the ESW initiative was “going well”, and added: “On Monday we brought in all of the superintendents from the Family Islands and Nassau to update them on it. It will allow for us to communicate electronically with other stakeholders and sub-agents.”

‘Competition explosion’ from number portability

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Number portability could create an ‘explosion’ of competition in the mobile sector, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) acting chief executive said yesterday, describing it as a “critical enabler” to the sector.

Stephen Bereaux told Tribune Business that mobile number portability is expected to begin tomorrow, after technical glitches pushed the latest start date back two days from April 25.

Number portability is a process that will give the country’s 315,000-plus mobile subscribers the ability to change service providers

along well and met expectations. I think most users will attest to the significant benefits they are already receiving.

“The range of services without having to change being offered is also improving, so there are a lot their telephone number.

“People are very attached of benefits that competition to their numbers, and their has already created. We’re ability to keep their num- confident that with number ber if they decide to switch portability we will continue providers is a key enabler to to see an explosion of comcompletion,” Mr Bereaux petition. I believe that going forward we will have more said.

“Competition only works competition in all of the when the providers know electronic communications that if they don’t deliver, sectors.”

Mr Bereaux praised both their best customers will leave. If people are stuck BTC and Aliv for their coto a number and can’t take operation towards making their number when switch- mobile number portability ing providers, that is a bar- possible.

The Bahamas has benrier to full competition.”

Mr Bereaux described efitted from number portthe introduction of number ability in respect to fixed portability in the Bahamas telephone numbers since as a “significant milestone” December 2013. Mobile and a “very signficant step”. number portability was He added: “The informa- supposed to launch on Febtion that we have suggests ruary 14, 2017, but this was that competition in the mo- pushed back to March and bile sector has moved along then April.

Chamber releases its ‘business ease’ survey

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive said yesterday it was seeking private sector feedback on the “most pressing issues” concerning the ‘ease of doing business’ in the Bahamas.

Edison Sumner said the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ survey, launched yesterday, would serve as the “springboard” for the national con-

clave of Chambers’ agenda next month.

He told Tribune Business that the Chamber is hoping its membership, and businesses that may not be members, respond to the survey, which highlights issues such as starting a business, taxation, energy, labour and infrastructure development.

“We decided to focus on the ease of doing business,” Mr Sumner said. “We put the survey out there so we could get more feedback from the general business See pg b4

Edison Sumner

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PAGE 4, Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Agriculture’s ‘value’ falls 31% in 4 years From pg B1 and manufacturing sectors are declining in the Bahamas,” the Oxford Economics study found, basing its conclusions on National Accounts data from the Department of Statistics.

“Specifically, real value added in manufacturing declined 10 per cent, and real value added in agriculture dropped 31% per cent between 2011 and 2015. This adds impetus to a drive to build them up, but also suggests that fundamentally different business conditions might need to be cultivated to reverse these trends.”

The report noted that Bahamian companies, such as Marsh Harbour-based Abaco Neem, with its nat-

ural healthcare products, and the Symonette Group’s agricultural products, had succeeded in breaking into export markets via specialist, niche goods.

Yet these were largely the exception to the norm, and Oxford Economics added: “More typically, it was found that producers in the Bahamas lacked a clear competitive advantage or scale to make export feasible.

“In fact, it was often the case that basic food imports - even from other Caribbean nations - have successfully penetrated the Bahamas market.”

The Bahamas’ physical goods exports totalled $224 million in 2015, with 60 per cent of this sum generated

‘Band-aid’ fears over landfill bid deadline From pg B1 agencies, and establishing deliberate, transparent and accountable processes for governance, they always react by trying band-aid solutions.”

Tribune Business revealed last week how the Government had given private sector groups just eight days to submit bids to takeover the New Providence landfill’s management and remediation, after the formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process was advertised in the newspapers last Tuesday.

All bids are due to be submitted by 4pm today, and the proposals will then be opened, in the presence of all bidders, tomorrow at the Ministry of Finance.

Potential bidders who pay the $10,000 non-refundable deposit merely to obtain the RFP also have to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), barring them from speaking to the media or disclosing the tender document’s contents publicly.

Tribune Business,

though, understands that interested groups are “scrambling” to put together complete proposals in response to the 48-page tender given the limited time they have.

“They’re all scrambling,” one source, familiar with the landfill tender, said of potential bidders. “The time certainly isn’t going to allow people to give very much depth. It’s quite a comprehensive RFP.” Mr Smith, meanwhile, blasted: “Putting out an RFP to be responded to within eight days is highly irresponsible, and means that no prior thought has gone into this.

“It will militate against well thought-out and comprehensive proposals, and is also just a political ploy on the eve of an election to be able to say to the electorate that the Government has done something.”

Such sentiments have already been echoed by members of the Bahamian waste management and other observers, with some questioning whether the

THE TRIBUNE

by polystyrene products produced by Freeportbased Polymers International.

Other major exports were food and live animals, mainly crawfish, crab, conch and coral from the fisheries industry, which accounted for 28 per cent of the total. Crude minerals, including salt (Morton Salt) and crushed stone, comprised an 11 per cent share.

“The Bahamas population of 377,000 people is spread among several principal islands, making it difficult for domestic producers to reach the scale necessary to profitably export to the United States,” the Oxford Economics report found.

“Once required to ship from one island to another, even within the domestic archipelago, Bahamian producers lose much of the competitive advantage that would normally accrue to a domestic producer in com-

petition with a foreign import.”

Oxford Economics and ORG had initially examined whether the Bahamas could exploit its US proximity, and entry into numerous trading agreements, to generate export-led growth through Freeport.

“For all regions outside of Freeport, the size and nature of Bahamas manufacturing and agriculture did not seem particularly well positioned to make significant inroads into the US export market,” the report conceded.

“Rather than focusing on exports, it appeared that policies and programmes that help local manufacturing and agriculture producers successfully break into the tourism industry supply-chain in the Bahamas seem more promising.

“In fact, this appeared to be a prerequisite to any ambition to increasing exports

to the US. With more than six million tourists visiting the Bahamas each year, huge demand exists for high-quality manufactured and farmed goods on the islands.

“At present, this demand is almost entirely met by imports, mainly from the US but also from other Caribbean nations. This means that a major opportunity for domestic producers exists to secure a larger share of this domestic market. If properly supported, this could help to drive economic growth.”

The Bahamas’ entry into rules-based trade agreements made it “even more urgent” that local manufacturers and farmers break into, and cement, a position within the tourism supply chain.

“Bahamian producers must first reach the scale and efficiency to compete with imports before con-

sidering increased export opportunities,” the Oxford Economics report said.

“As a first step, Bahamas’ producers should strive to break into tourism supply chains and substitute more locally manufactured and farmed content for goods that are currently imported (largely from the US). After first succeeding in the local market, Bahamas producers might then be closer to offering the quality and pricing required to successfully export to the United States.”

The report added that with Donald Trump’s administration likely to take a harder line on trade, export opportunities to the US will be challenged.

“For all of these reasons, increasing competitiveness by focusing on increasing local content in the tourist supply chain is a key challenge to address,” Oxford Economics added.

eight-day bid deadline indicates the Government has already selected a manager, and is merely just going through the RFP process.

“It is not going to promote a sensible resolution to the very dangerous, toxic, hazardous situation facing the entire island,” Mr Smith argued of the RFP’s timelines.

“This is a monstrous human health problem affecting hundreds of thousands of people, and it is not something that can be cured overnight.”

The tight timeline for submitting bids, with interested parties effectively given six working days, would appear to favour Bahamian groups, such as the whollyBahamian Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG) consortium.

The 10 Bahamian waste service provider members have partnered with Providence Advisors and its chief executive, Kenwood Kerr, and will likely be able to draw on their previous research and proposals in forming a credible bid.

However, local waste management industry sources previously complained to Tribune Business

that the bid deadlines gave too little time for interested parties to conduct proper due diligence on the New Providence landfill following the recent blaze, especially since its remediation is one of the Government’s requirements.

“The Government is inviting proposals from the private sector relating to potential investment, remediation and management of operations of the Harrold Road [Tonique Williams Highway] landfill facility,” the advert states.

“The Government’s longterm waste management strategies include reforms which seek to introduce efficiencies in waste management at various facilities throughout the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

Renew Bahamas, the former New Providence landfill manager, walked away from its contract in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, citing security and safety concerns amid the absence of electricity supply, and a spate of thefts and shootings.

It had previously been seeking to renegotiate its management contract and associated financial terms

with the Christie administration, having revealed to Tribune Business it had been incurring continuous, heavy losses.

The Government subsequently charged that Renew Bahamas had used Hurricane Matthew as an excuse to pull-out, having realised that its business model which depended almost exclusively on the sale and export of materials recycled from the landfill - was not

viable or sustainable.

The imminent Baha Mar opening and general election has intensified pressure on the Government to resolve the landfill’s woes, which were brought to the fore again last month when Jubilee Gardens residents were forced out of their homes after a massive fire at the landfill blanketed the community in thick smoke.

Chamber releases its ‘business ease’ survey

Commerce on May 16-17 which will focus on the ‘ease of doing business’.

“While we believe we know what some of the challenges are, we don’t want to take the input of the business community for granted, and so we really want to get as many responses as we can,” Mr Sumner said.

“We are going to use the survey as a springboard to set the final agenda for the conclave, where we will release the survey results. We will have a roundtable discussion on the issues in the survey, and we are going to be putting together workable solutions. We want to see how we can improve the ease of doing business in the country in a real way.”

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From pg B3 community on what they consider the key areas of concern.

“We put out five general areas to find out how businesses rank those areas, the challenges in those areas, and also to see if there are other areas that businesses are concerned about.”

The BCCEC will be hosting its fourth annual National Conclave of Chambers of

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 26, 2017, PAGE 5

Confidence ‘baby steps’ key to GDP growth cure From pg B1 and tourism’s boutique hotel and vacation rental market.

It found that policy, and regulatory, reforms were essential to ease bureaucracy and remove growth impediments to all three sectors if the Bahamas was every to fulfill its true potential in each.

Mr Levine said that while none of the private sector representatives he interviewed were planning to pull out of the Bahamas, they equally had no job-creating growth or investment plans.

“Very few people were saying we’re really committed to growth here, things are going great and we’re ready to make large investments I heard surprisingly little of that,” he told Tribune Business.

“People are entrenched where they are. There are examples of companies growing, but by and large I think it goes back to what we said before. It’s stick

with the status quo.

“I do think part of the answer is incremental, small steps in the right direction.

Customs reforms came up repeatedly. These carry greater weight down the road than comes up at first blush.”

While acknowledging investments such as Pharmachem’s $80 million-plus expansion in Freeport, Mr Levine said Oxford Economics research showed “some of the smaller manufacturers in the space are really struggling.

“They start off saying they have this major customer and that major customer, but by and large they’re hanging on,” he added.

Mr Levine said Oxford Economics also heard multiple tales regarding investments that could have come to the Bahamas, but for a variety of reasons never did.

“We heard lots of examples of investments that might have come to the Bahamas, but did not come to the Bahamas,” he told Trib-

RoyalStar profits drop 73% in 2016 From pg B1 around 50 per cent due to a negative valuation adjustment associated with its income properties.

The insurer, though, did record a $470,607 boost after its 19 per cent equity interest in Luxury Homes (Bahamas), the real estate holding company that owns a 100-acre plus tract opposite St Andrew’s School at Yamacraw, was converted into an ‘investment in associate’.

The conversion, according to RoyalStar’s financial statements, occurred after one of its directors was appointed to Luxury Homes (Bahamas) Board in 2016, thus giving it “significant influence over this entity”.

Luxury Homes (Bahamas) other shareholder is

Arawak Homes, an affiliate of Sunshine Holdings, which holds most of the equity in RoyalStar’s 53.05 per cent majority shareholder, RoyalStar Holdings.

The financials also reveal that RoyalStar and the other shareholders have agreed “to contribute towards the repayment” of a $7 million CIBC FirstCaribbean loan taken out by Luxury Homes (Bahamas) in 2005, spending $82,322 on this last year.

RoyalStar also contributed $5.25 million towards the capitalisation of Gateway Financial, the mortgage restructuring business set up by Sunshine Holdings last year, and which purchased a portfolio of delinquent loans from Scotiabank (Bahamas).

une Business.

“That’s how the discussions went. ‘One time we were considering ‘x’, and it didn’t happen’. They said other plants can do this operation.”

The Bahamas has slipped consistently in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ rankings for the past several years, and Mr Levine said Oxford Economics’ own internal forecasts, like those of the IMF and World Bank, show “relatively flat economic growth” for this nation even with Baha Mar. “In general, when you look at the last 10 years of economic growth, it has flat-lined by any measure,” he told Tribune Business of the Bahamas.

“As the population grows and the demand for government services increases, flat-line growth is not a sustainable model. To bring sustainable growth, you’re going to need different strategies.”

Mr Levine and Matt Aubry, ORG’s executive director, explained that the ORG study had deliberately focused on industries where key supporting infrastructure elements were already in place to support

their development.

Freeport’s existing port facilities, for example, can support a fledgling ‘break bulk’ sector, and Mr Levine said the Bahamas needed to quickly assess how it can best leverage existing infrastructure assets to support diversification and new industries.

“Right now, there’s large infrastructure in place for key industries,” he continued. “The challenge is that

as things decline, you begin to lose capital, investment and innovation, and lose your competitive advantage.

“It seems to us that it’s a very strategic time to at core structures on the islands, and recognise that new strategies are needed to reinvigorate core areas.

“It’s time to start moving forward in a new direction, and reinvigorate key sectors while they’re still there to

be reinvigorated.”

Mr Aubry added: “If we continue on this path, it becomes more and more difficult to get out of it, and the issues are compounded.”

He emphasised that while the Bahamas’ debt-to-GDP ratio, and unchecked Government spending, needed to both be brought under control, greater GDP growth was equally important if this nation was to achieve economic stability.

The insurance underwriter invested $2.75 million into a Gateway Financial bond issue paying 6.75 per cent interest, and maturing in 2019. A further $2.5 million was injected into another bond tranche, this one paying 6.5 per cent and maturing in 2020.

The financial statements also disclose that $1 million was invested in a Sunshine Holdings bond issue held last year.

RoyalStar’s bottom line performance almost exactly matches that of its Bahamas First rival, which saw total comprehensive income for 2016 decline by 72 per cent due to the net claims increase stemming from Hurricane Matthew.

Like its competitor, RoyalStar is likely content to have ‘weathered the storm’ by remaining profitable, meeting all claims demands and staying solvent, with net equity closing 2016 just above $43 million.

ALIV

Employment Opportunity Core Network Manager The Core Network Manager is responsible for managing and maintaining ALIV’s core network, as well as monitoring the network’s performance. The Core Network Manager for the Northern Bahamas Mobile Operations reports to the Chief ALIV Innovator (CAI) for ALIV.

Core Responsibilities + + + + +

+ + + + + + + + +

Manage direct reports Assess & approve direct reports Manage the co-ordination and maintenance of all network standards Forecast and determine new equipment requirements Liaise with O&M, IP/IT, Switching, Customer Care, Technical Support, Huawei & other vendors, and external maintenance contractors on ongoing network activities to ensure optimal performance of the network, ensuring that all issues are escalated and resolved in an efficient manner Liaise with vendor to ensure that all Customer Service Requests (CSR) raised are dealt with in an efficient and timely manner according to contractual agreement Ensure that all contracts and/or Service Level Agreements are in place and up-to-date Ensure that key departmental objectives are met Interview prospective candidates and make recommendation to HR for hiring Identify and implement training needs of staff Conduct one-on-one meetings with staff on a regular basis Provide weekly performance and activities reports to the CAI Escalate all outstanding issues, network failures/potential failures and breaches of contract to CAI Provide extended support to staff beyond normal duty

Academic Qualifications & Experience + A degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field + Seven (7) plus years’ experience in a business or telecommunications environment + Comprehensive understanding of customer relationship systems; networks, databases, and application integration + Strong business acumen + Ability to manage influence through persuasion, negotiation, and consensus building + Strong empathy for customers and passion for revenue and growth + Deep understanding of value drivers in recurring revenue business models + Analytical and process-oriented mindset + Demonstrate a desire for continuous learning and improvement + Enthusiastic and creative leader with the ability to inspire others + Excellent communicator with superior verbal, written, interpersonal, technical and presentation skills + Ability to think critically and problem solve in a fast- paced, entrepreneurial environment Qualified applicants should submit Resumes on or before, April 26, 2017 electronically to the following email address: careers@bealiv.com with Subject: Core Network Manager.

Organized, Self-Motivated, Results Driven, Excellent Communicator.

If you have it, we want you.

Royal Fidelity invites applications for the position of:

CLIENT SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE Job Summary This role performs administrative and clerical support functions, including answering of incoming calls, receiving/directing clients, providing information regarding the Bank’s products and services, etc. This role is also responsible for the preparation of accounting entries and the processing of account opening documents. As the first point of contact with customers, the Client Services Representative is expected to be courteous, helpful, articulate and professionally dressed at all times.

Requirements/ Qualifications: • Bachelor’s Degree in related field • Minimum of 2 years’ administrative experience • Excellent interpersonal and effective communication skills (verbal and written) • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite programs • Ability to work in a self-motivated environment with little supervision • Ability to manage the administration of multiple tasks • Polished physical appearance

PLEASE SUBMIT BEFORE May 5th, 2017

HUMAN RESOURCES Re: Client Services Representative careers@fidelitybahamas.com

ABSOLUTELY NO PHONE CALLS

A competitive compensation package will be commensurate with relevant experience and qualification. Fidelity appreciates your interest, however, only those applicants short listed will be contacted.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, April 26, 2017

‘More aggressive’ strategy needed on vacation rentals From pg B1 quite a few competitive advantages the Bahamas has in this space....

“In the course of the interviews, it became clear this was an opportunity to move development away from Nassau to other parts of the country.

“On many levels, it seems the perfect strategy for the country to take a more aggressive stance towards.”

Oxford Economics’ study for ORG, which analysed the impact of a 50 per cent increase upon current vacation rental activity, found

this would grow stopover tourists by 8,350 annually, and generate $13 million in additional visitor spending.

Excluding 50 per cent of that $13 million from its analysis, as that represented lease costs, the ORG study said: “The full economic impact - direct, indirect, and induced - of additional spending by these new tourists is estimated at $9.8 million of additional GDP and 225 new jobs.

“The sectors most affected are community, social and personal services, which receives 35 per cent

Ernst & Young One Montague Place 3rd Floor East Bay S treet P.O. Box N-­‐3231 Nassau, Bahamas

of the GDP impact and 50 per cent of the jobs impact, and hotels and restaurants, which receive 23 per cent of the GDP and 18 per cent of the jobs impact.”

Mr Aubry, meanwhile, said the vacation rental market provided an opportunity to “empower” Bahamians and increase local ownership of the tourism.

He added that by diversifying development and activity away from Nassau, the overcrowding that has afflicted New Providence for decades could also be eased.

“This is one of those spaces that really speaks to how we can empower Bahamians to a more active, and stronger, part of the tourism product from an ownership standpoint,” Mr Aubry told Tribune Business, “and how

Tel: +242 502 6000 Fax: +242 502 6090 ey.com

Independent Auditors’ Report The Shareholders and Board of Directors Macro Bank Limited

Opinion We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Macro Bank Limited (the “Bank”), which comprise the consolidated statement of financial position as at December 31, 2016, and the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of comprehensive income, consolidated statement of changes in equity and consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended, and notes to the consolidated financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies.

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Bank as at December 31, 2016, and its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Basis for Opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the Bank in accordance with the international Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (IESBA Code), and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the IESBA Code. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Financial Statements Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, and for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free form material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, management is responsible for assessing the Bank’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless management either intends to liquidate the Bank or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Those charged with governance are responsible for overseeing the Bank’s financial reporting process.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial 1 A m ember firm of Ernst & Young G lobal L imited statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also: •

Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

•

Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Bank’s internal control.

•

Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.

•

Conclude on the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Bank’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the consolidated financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report.

However, future events or conditions may cause the Bank to cease to continue as a going concern.

Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the consolidated financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the consolidated financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

April 3, 2017 A m ember firm of Ernst & Young G lobal L imited

Bermuda’s and Cayman’s, at 38 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, but higher than Turks & Caicos’s 16 per cent.

When it came to yield, the Bahamas’ mean Airbnb nightly rate of $306 was higher than Bermuda and Cayman’s, but lower than Turks & Caicos’s. This nation’s guest ratings were also in line with its regional rivals.

Mr Aubry said an “easing of regulations, and policies that support moving to the Family Islands”, are required if the Bahamas is to maximise the benefits from the fast-growing vacation rental market.

Prominent Bahamian realtors, such as Mario Carey, have already urged the Government to get a better regulatory grip on the vacation rental market, warning that it is losing potentially valuable tax revenues.

However, Mr Aubry said existing government policies and regulations were effectively driving second homeowners not to declare that they were using their properties for vacation

NOTICE

Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements

•

we can foster the residual benefits to drive local products into the tourism supply chain.

“When you look at the data, the Bahamas by and large has the greatest offering of beds and rooms.

It also has a relatively low yield with turnaround. A lot of people are offering this, but don’t necessarily have the capacity.

“If we start to drive this, and pay more attention to it, it could blossom as low hanging fruit in terms of economic growth.”

Data obtained by Oxford Economics showed that the Bahamas had 1,878 properties registered with Airbnb, of which 908 - just under half - were deemed to be active.

Highlighting the vacation rental market’s growth and economic potential for the Bahamas, the ORG report showed these numbers were between eight to three times’ higher than comparable Airbnb data for Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos.

The Bahamas’ mean occupancy rate was lower than

2

Mr. Perry Stubbs of 282 Derby Road, Yellow Elder Gardens is asked to contact Mangra & Co. immediately at 322-4337.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that OLVI LOUIS of Jubliee Gardens, 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 19th day of April, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MARVINCE JEANLOUIS of #3 Fox Hill, 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 19th day of April, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, DERECK MARVIN COLEBROOK of No. 11 East Street South, Nassau, Bahamas intend to change my name to DERECK MARVIN WILKINSON. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

THE TRIBUNE rental purposes - thereby denying the Public Treasury valuable tax revenues.

“The way the policies are, they’re incentivising people to buy a home without declaring the purpose of the property,” he told Tribune Business.

“It creates problems of oversight and access to capital from the banks. If we look at this market, there are so many properties that are not being fully utilised.”

The Oxford Economics study suggested that old, impractical laws and regulations were impeding both growth and regulation in the vacation rental market, as it treated investors in these properties like their mega resort counterparts.

All vacation-based properties have to be approved by the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA), and the report said: “While vacation home owners and foreign owners can overcome these hurdles, this comes at a cost in terms of time and money.

“In the view of interviewees, most of the complexity reflects laws that are designed with mega-resorts in mind. For example, if the owner is not the primary occupant, then the applicant must present detailed business plans that address issues such as how many people will be employed, traffic issues, etc. For the vacation home rental market, this is not a practical approach.”

The ORG report called for vacation rental owners and investors to be treated as a new ‘investor category’, with faster approvals granted in return for tax and regulatory compliance.

It also suggested restricting vacation rental home development to speciallydesignated areas, such as Trade Development Zones (TDZs), until the Government perfected its policy approach to the sector.

Mr Aubry said he had personally witnessed the growth of the Bahamas’ vacation rental market, with two of the four properties in his townhouse row now used for such purposes.

And Tribune Business has also witnessed more tourists than normal walking to and from, and shopping at, the Super Value store at Winton compared to previous year.

Arlington (Ali) Capron, principal of RE/MAX Luxury Properties Bahamas, recently predicted that the vacation rental market will likely eat into hotel occupancy rates, estimating that 20 per cent of this nation’s stopover visitors are currently using such accommodation.

He said visitors were increasingly seeking a more authentic, personalised vacation experience that was intertwined with Bahamian culture.

advertise today! call the tribune today @ 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 26, 2017, PAGE 7

GOP budget hawks open to Trump tax plan despite deficit WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans who slammed the growing national debt under Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday they are open to President Donald Trump’s tax plan, even though it could add trillions of dollars to the deficit over the next decade.

Trump is scheduled to unveil the broad outlines of a tax overhaul Wednesday that includes a massive cut in the corporate income tax, reducing the top rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. The plan will also include child-care benefits, a cause promoted by Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

Echoing the White House, Republicans on Capitol Hill argued Tuesday that tax cuts would spur economic growth, reducing or even eliminating any drop in tax revenue.

“I’m not convinced that cutting taxes is necessarily going to blow a hole in the deficit,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee.

“I actually believe it could stimulate the economy and get the economy moving,” Hatch added.

“Now, whether 15 percent is the right figure or not, that’s a matter to be determined.”

The argument that tax cuts pay for themselves has been debunked by economists from across the political spectrum. On Tuesday, the official scorekeeper for Congress dealt the argument — and Trump’s plan — another blow.

The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation said Tuesday that a big cut in corporate taxes — even if it is temporary — would add to long-term budget

deficits. This is a problem for Republicans because it means they would need Democratic support in the Senate to pass a tax overhaul that significantly cuts corporate taxes.

The assessment was requested by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who has been pushing a new tax on imports to fund lower overall tax rates. Senate Republicans have panned the idea, and officials in the Trump administration have sent mixed signals about it.

The import tax is not

expected to be part of Trump’s plan.

Trump dispatched his top lieutenants to Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss his plan with Republican leaders.

No Democrat was invited.

“Today’s Democratic Party seems to be preoccupied with wealth transfer from those who have done well to those who have done less well,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “That’s unrelated to having a set of tax laws that promote growth.”

NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF DURWARD BIRKHEAD YOUNG a.k.a. DEWEY B. YOUNG, late of 4921 Wichita Circle, El Paso, in the State of Texas one of the United States of America, Deceased IT IS HEREBY NOTIFIED, for the information of those it may concern, that all persons having any claim or demand against the said Estate are required to send the same to the undersigned on or before the 20th day of May, A.D. 2017 and if so required by notice in writing from the undersigned to come in and prove such demand or claim or in default thereof be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved; AND NOTICE is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to settle their respective debts at the Chambers of the undersigned on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

Dated the 19th day of April, A.D. 2017 CALLENDERS & CO. Chambers, One Millars Court, P.O. Box N-7117, Nassau, The Bahamas Attorneys for the Personal Representative

Are you highly adaptable? Competitive? Energetic? Flexible?

If you have what it takes, we want you!

Fidelity is looking for a passionate, sales-driven, networking professional to fill the role of:

Loans Officer The ideal Candidate will be a proven sales leader who is target-driven and possesses excellent communication and interpersonal skills. This role is primarily responsible for the sale of Fidelity’s loans products and services, while ensuring the successful relationship management of clients. In addition to a fixed salary, this position also earns substantial performance-based incentives.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: • Perform the sale of loans, credit cards and other credit products.

• Meet with current and prospective clients regarding loan applications and other credit matters – utilizing effective relationship management skills.

• Prepare credit applications (loans, overdrafts, credit cards) and perform credit facility renewals.

• Perform collection of overdue loans/credit card payments.

• Serve as a relief for other Lending roles as required.

REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS: High school Diploma.

Minimum of 3 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry.

Must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills (verbal and written).

Must be energetic, competitive and goal-oriented.

Strong integrity and work ethics.

Proficient at Microsoft Office Suite programs.

Ability to work in a self-motivated environment with little supervision.

Ability to manage the administration of multiple tasks at one time.

PLEASE SUBMIT BEFORE May 5th 2017 to:

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

December 31, 2016, with corresponding figures for 2015 (Expressed in Swiss francs) Note

JOB SUMMARY:

• • • • • • • •

JULIUS BAER BANK & TRUST (BAHAMAS) LIMITED

HUMAN RESOURCES Re: Loan Officer

Assets Cash and due from banks Investments Available for sale Customers’ advances and loans Accrued interest and other assets Receivable under open forward currency contracts Property, plant and equipment Goodwill Intangible assets Total assets

4, 11 & 16

SFr

5, 11, 15 & 16 6, 11 & 16 4 4, 11, 13, 15 & 16 8 10 9 SFr

Liabilities and Equity Liabilities: Deposits Banks Customers Accrued interest and other liabilities Payable under open forward currency contracts Total liabilities

4, 7, 11 & 16 SFr 7, 11 & 16 4 4, 11, 13, 15 & 16

Equity: Share capital Authorized, issued and fully paid 20,000,000 (2015 - 20,000,000) shares at par value of SFr1.00 each Fair Value Reserve Retained earnings Total equity

2015

473,276,850

482,737,280

255,872,078 160,302,841 3,188,436

483,481,905 187,668,359 7,557,626

4,645,127 4,978,216 831,384 1,044,083 342,922 342,922 1,103,324 1,246,662 899,562,962 1,169,057,053

159,646,386 651,700,435 3,494,565

SFr

162,793,988 923,359,444 3,961,796

4,514,264 4,811,027 819,355,650 1,094,926,255

20,000,000 (414,452) 60,621,764 80,207,312

5

Total liabilities and equity

2016

20,000,000 (1,428,872) 55,559,670 74,130,798

899,562,962 1,169,057,053

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

These consolidated financial statements were approved on behalf of the Board on March 22, 2017 by:

ABSOLUTELY NO PHONE CALLS

Director

Director

careers@fidelitybahamas.com 3 JULIUS BAER BANK & TRUST (BAHAMAS) LIMITED

A competitive compensation package (including base salary and commissions) will be commensurate with relevant experience and qualification.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements Year ended December 31, 2016 (Expressed in Swiss francs)

1. Corporate information The accompanying consolidated statement of financial position is an extract from Julius Baer Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Limited’s (“the Bank’s”) consolidated financial statements. The auditors’ report included herewith should be read in conjunction with the full set of consolidated financial statements, which can be obtained at, or requested in writing from, the Bank’s registered office, Ocean Centre, 1st Floor, Montague Foreshore, Nassau, Bahamas.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, April 26, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Moving beyond China and Mexico, Trump targets Canada trade WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has long railed about unfair trade practices of China and Mexico. Now he’s drawn a new target — Canada.

The two countries are suddenly sparring openly over inexpensive Canadian timber and Canada’s barriers to U.S. dairy products — disputes that go back years but rarely get such a public airing.

Before sunrise Tuesday in Washington, Trump went on Twitter to declare: “Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch!”

Hours earlier, his Commerce Department had announced plans to impose duties averaging 20 percent on softwood lumber imports from Canada. U.S. homebuilders quickly warned that the move would drive up the cost of new houses.

The duties on Canadian lumber imports are “a pretty hard blow,” Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said of the lumber sanctions. “The message here is that the U.S. not only talks tough, it acts tough.”

As a candidate, Trump had vowed to declare China a currency manipulator and

A truck carrying wood goes through the customs checkpoint, yesterday in Champlain, N.Y. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that Canada and the U.S. could suffer from what he called a “thickening” border, a day after the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on softwood lumber. Trudeau was responding to the announcement of new U.S. duties of up to 24 percent on softwood lumber entering from Canada. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP) to rewrite or withdraw from the North America Free Trade Agreement because, he said, so many American factories had moved jobs to Mexico to exploit low-wage labor. Yet once in office, he softened his stand, deciding not to single out China for its currency policy and offering a draft rewrite of NAFTA that kept much of the original deal intact.

But now, the Trump administration is ramping up

the rhetoric against Ottawa.

“People don’t realize Canada’s been very rough on the United States,” Trump said Tuesday. “Everyone thinks of Canada as being wonderful, and so do I. I love Canada. But they’ve outsmarted our politicians for many years.”

In a way, the tensions are surprising. The U.S. and Canada, among the most open economies in the world, enjoy a boom-

Legal Notice NOTICE ALFA ASSETS CORPORATION

But dairy and timber have long bedeviled U.S.-Canada commercial relations. U.S. lumber mills have been complaining about cheap Canadian imports since the 19th century. The two countries have patched over their differences on Canada’s softwood lumber imports, most recently with a compromise that expired in 2015.

The Obama administration sought a new accord with Canada over softwood lumber. But Obama’s U.S. trade representative, Michael Froman, now at the Council on Foreign Relations, says the Canadians decided to gamble on the new administration. Froman suggested that they calculated that they might get a better deal from Trump.

As a builder, they perhaps reasoned, Trump might be

ing cross-border trade. Last year, the United States sold $267 billion in goods to Canada (led by autos and machinery), more than to any other country. Canada sold $278 billion in goods to the United States, led by fuels, autos and machinery.

The U.S. trade deficit in goods with Canada was just $11 billion last year — a fraction of America’s $347 billion trade gap in goods with China.

Legal Notice NOTICE FANCYFIELD CORPORATION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a)

Alfa Assets Corporation is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a)

Fancyfield Corporation is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 21st April, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(b)

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 21st April, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said Company is Shareece E. Scott of Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec House, Lyford Cay, P.O. Box N-3229, Nassau, Bahamas.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said Company is Shareece E. Scott of Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec House, Lyford Cay, P.O. Box N-3229, Nassau, Bahamas.

Shareece E. Scott Liquidator

Shareece E. Scott Liquidator

MARKET REPORT TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 2017

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

Legal Notice NOTICE HARPFIELD ASSETS CORPORATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a)

Harpfield Assets Corporation is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 21st April, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said Company is Shareece E. Scott of Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec House, Lyford Cay, P.O. Box N-3229, Nassau, Bahamas.

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,891.40 | CHG 0.10 | %CHG 0.01 | YTD -46.81 | YTD% -2.42 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 17.43 9.09 3.56 4.70 0.12 6.76 8.50 6.10 10.60 15.27 2.72 1.60 6.00 10.00 11.00 9.30 6.90 12.01 11.00

52WK LOW 3.20 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.64 0.12 3.80 8.15 5.69 8.50 11.00 2.18 1.31 5.80 6.90 8.56 7.11 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 2.05 3.93 1.95 170.77 146.34 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 11.50 2.31 1.55 6.00 9.75 9.00 9.30 6.90 12.01 10.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00 107.82 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.38 15.85 9.09 3.54 1.77 0.12 4.50 8.50 6.00 10.48 11.50 2.38 1.55 6.00 9.75 9.00 9.30 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 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 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

107.85 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.03 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 115

700 100

520

VOLUME

NAV 2.05 3.93 1.95 170.77 146.34 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 23.3 104.5 23.3 19.4 20.0 18.8 9.4 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

YIELD 1.83% 6.31% 0.00% 5.93% 0.00% 0.00% 2.00% 3.53% 3.67% 3.44% 4.26% 2.52% 3.87% 4.00% 4.10% 0.00% 3.55% 2.03% 5.33% 0.00% 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% 1.20% 4.48% 0.38% 2.83% 0.60% 2.62% 1.38% 3.66% 3.23% 9.50% 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-Mar-2017 31-Mar-2017 31-Mar-2017 31-Mar-2017 31-Mar-2017 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

Shareece E. Scott Liquidator Legal Notice NOTICE PEARLFIELD CORPORATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a)

Pearlfield Corporation is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 21st April, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said Company is Shareece E. Scott of Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec House, Lyford Cay, P.O. Box N-3229, Nassau, Bahamas.

Shareece E. Scott Liquidator

Legal Notice NOTICE LACEFIELD CORPORATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a)

Lacefield Corporation is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 21st April, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said Company is Shareece E. Scott of Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec House, Lyford Cay, P.O. Box N-3229, Nassau, Bahamas.

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

more sympathetic to anything that would limit the price of lumber.

Instead, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross this week announced duties ranging from 3 percent to 24 percent on softwood lumber imports, arguing that Canada unfairly subsidizes its industry.

“They’re generally a good neighbor,” Ross said Tuesday. “But they still have to play by the rules.”

The U.S. and Canada are also wrangling over dairy.

Ottawa shields its dairy farmers from foreign competition, regulating prices and production and taxing imports heavily. But a new American product — a type of unfiltered milk used in cheese — had not been blocked by Canada’s trade barriers.

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

Shareece E. Scott Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 26, 2017, PAGE 11

GOP drops US-Mexico wall demands as spending talks advance talks would produce "an agreement in the next few days."

An existing temporary funding bill expires Friday at midnight and all sides anticipated that another stopgap measure would be required to buy time for the House and Senate to process the massive spending bill, which would wrap together 11 unfinished agency spending bills through September.

Trump campaigned throughout the country last year promising a wall across the entire 2,200 mile southern border, promising that Mexico would pay for it.

But while the idea is a priority of Trump's most fervent supporters, it is resolutely opposed by Democrats and even many Republicans, who see it as wasteful and who prefer other steps like new technologies and additional border agents to curb illegal immigration.

"I support additional border security funding," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., a GOP critic of Trump who dined with the president Monday at the White House. "But a 2,200-mile wall, I don't think there's a whole lot of support for it."

Trump vowed to fight for the wall.

"The wall is going to get built," he said at the White House Tuesday. Asked when, he said, "Soon."

Democrats vowed not to give up, either, and look

forward to the fight.

"It's not a negotiation," Schumer said. "No wall."

Meanwhile, Trump appeared poised to procure about $15 billion to boost the military. Democrats said they were satisfied with the emerging outlines of the measure, which stick closely to versions of the legislation that were being negotiated late last year.

Sen. Patty Murray, DWash., observed that GOP negotiators "have simply ignored" a roster of "$18 billion in extreme cuts" offered by White House budget director Mick Mulvaney to lower the measure's cost, while maintaining foreign aid accounts that Trump has targeted.

Several issues remain unresolved. Democrats, with McConnell's help, were pushing to extend health benefits for 22,000 retired Appalachian coal miners and their families whose medical coverage is set to expire at the end of April.

Democrats faced White House opposition in an uphill battle to give Puerto Rico help with its Medicaid commitment, while Republicans are pressing policy "riders" to undo new Obama-era financial regulations.

Democratic votes are invariably needed to pass catchall spending bills, which typically are resented by many tea party Republicans.

FCA, Google begin offering rides in self-driving cars

cle, how they communicate with it and what kinds of information and controls they want.

Fiat Chrysler builds the Pacifica minivan in Windsor, Canada, just across the border from Detroit. It adds Waymo’s self-driving software and hardware, including sensors and cameras, at a facility in Michigan. Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. headquarters is in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

“This collaboration is helping both companies learn how to bring selfdriving cars to market, and realize the safety and mobility benefits of this technology,” said Waymo chief John Krafcik in a company release.

Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst for the car shopping site Autotrader, says studies have shown that a majority of Americans are still reluctant to ride in a fully self-driving car.

Opening Waymo’s vehicles to the public will help build riders’ confidence, she said.

“The key to acceptance is exposure and education,” she said.

Ultimately, Waymo says, self-driving cars could prevent many of the 1.2 million deaths that occur on worldwide roads each year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional negotiators on Tuesday inched toward a potential agreement on a catchall spending bill that would deny President Donald Trump's request for immediate funding to construct a wall along the Mexico border. The emerging measure would increase the defense budget and eliminate the threat of a government shutdown on Trump's 100th day in office this Saturday.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said Republican negotiators were following the lead of Trump, who signaled Monday evening that he would not insist on $1 billion worth of wall funding now as an addition to the $1 trillion-plus spending bill.

Trump told a gathering of conservative media reporters that he might be willing to wait until September for the funding.

A remaining stumbling block is a recent threat by Trump to scuttle a portion of former President Barack Obama's health law that helps low-income people afford insurance policies, but the decision by Trump and his GOP allies to back down on the wall steered the talks on the spending measure in a positive direction.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he was optimistic the

DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler and Google for the first time will offer rides to the public in the selfdriving vehicles they are building under an expanding partnership.

Waymo, Google’s selfdriving car project, said Tuesday it’s adding 500 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans to its self-driving vehicle fleet. It will allow hundreds of people in the Phoenix area to take rides in the vehicles so it can get feedback on the experience.

Phoenix-area residents could apply on Waymo’s website starting Tuesday.

The vehicles will also pick up riders in Chandler, Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert, Waymo said. All of the vehicles will have Waymo backup drivers who can take over in an emergency.

Fiat Chrysler and Waymo have been partners since last spring, when they announced they would build 100 self-driving Pacifica hybrids minivans. Those vehicles were delivered to Waymo in December. The companies have been test-

ing the vehicles in Arizona, California and Michigan.

Waymo began offering a small number of public rides in Arizona two months ago before deciding to expand the program, a spokesman said.

Waymo — created by Google in 2009 — has given rides to the public before in its hometown of Mountain View, California. In 2015, it let a blind man ride around Austin, Texas, in one of its completely self-driving pods. The Phoenix program will be much larger in scale, and it will be the first to use the Pacifica minivans.

Waymo isn’t the first to put regular passengers in self-driving cars in the race to develop the technology. Ride-hailing company Uber has had self-driving Volvos on the road in Pittsburgh since last fall. Boston startup nuTonomy is giving taxi rides to passengers in Singapore and Boston. In all cases, there is a backup driver behind the wheel.

Waymo said it wants to learn where people want to go in a self-driving vehi-

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., left, accompanied by, from second from left, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill yesterday, to discuss President Donald Trump’s first 100 days. (AP Photo)