05132019 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2019

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Water Corp cuts debts by $7.4m

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Water & Sewerage Corporation’s debt to its main BISX-listed supplier was slashed by $7.4m in April 2019, financial filings have revealed, with the balance owing cut to $11.6m.

However Consolidated Water, the New Providence reverse osmosis plant operator, continues to describe its relationship with the state-owned utility as a material “risk factor” that could result in its Bahamian operations having “insufficient liquidity” and cash flow to maintain normal operations.

Such a situation, should it ever occur, would have the potential to disrupt water supply to the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s New Providence customers given that it relies entirely on Consolidated Water’s Blue Hills and Windsor reverse osmosis plants for this.

To prevent such an outcome, Consolidated Water’s latest 10-Q quarterly filing, submitted to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, said the parent Nasdaq-listed company would provide funding to its Bahamian subsidiary should the liquidity/cash

SEE PAGE 6

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Albany closes in on South Ocean deal

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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LBANY’S developers are getting closer to acquiring their 383-acre neighbour, Tribune Business can reveal, after all South Ocean staff were last week told to report to its human resources unit.

Multiple highly-placed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that a three-way joint venture involving South Ocean’s current owner and the adjacent ultra-luxury community is being put together to finally revive a property that has been closed for some 15 years.

Besides Albany and the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP), the third party in the proposed deal features “people who formerly worked for Greg Norman” - the Australian professional golfer whose real estate company

• Resort staff to report to neighbour • Three-way JV targets closed resort produced a masterplan for South Ocean’s development back in 2012.

It is understood they will focus on redeveloping South Ocean’s golf course, widely-regarded as the best in New Providence, which was remodelled under Mr Norman’s Blue Shark brand more than a decade ago only for the then-purchaser’s acquisition to fall through.

However, this newspaper was told that Albany, whose developers include the Tavistock Group, the vehicle for worldwide investments by Lyford Caybased billionaire, Joe Lewis, plus world-renowned golfers Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, will be in the lead and the driving force behind South Ocean’s redevelopment.

Tribune Business has made multiple attempts to

reach Christopher Anand, Albany’s principal, over the past weeks. On the one occasion it was successful, Mr Anand said he was unable to speak and ended the call. Subsequent calls and messages have not been returned.

Still, this newspaper was told that Albany plans to use South Ocean to expand as necessary to meet demand, with the property likely to be developed for more high-end, multi-million dollar real estate and amenities plus boutique hotels.

Its strategy appears to now be moving forward and gathering momentum, with well-placed contacts last week revealing that South Ocean’s remaining “skeleton” workforce - the likes of security and maintenance personnel - had been ordered to report to

Albany’s human resources department.

Craig “Tony” Gomez, the Baker Tilly principal, whose accounting firm acts as South Ocean’s financial manager on CCWIPP’s behalf, declined to comment on the staff switch to Albany when contacted by Tribune Business.

This newspaper was told, though, that Albany and the joint venture’s take over of South Ocean may not close “for quite some time”.

This is because CCWIPP has to market the property for sale to all-comers in compliance with a Supreme Court Order setting out how it should be auctioned off.

The Canadian pension fund, which provides retirement income for supermarket/grocery

SEE PAGE 5

$4.95 Trade expert challenges FDI policies

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas’ nearexclusive focus on large-scale, multi-million dollar foreign direct investment (FDI) projects has come under fire from a trade expert.

Ramesh Chaitoo, one of the co-authors of the Oxford Economics report on full World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) likely impact on The Bahamas, questioned whether this nation realises any value from such mega FDI projects due to the land and tax breaks granted to their developers.

Speaking to Tribune Business, he said this nation’s concentration on such developments was at odds with research that shows small businesses are the greatest drivers of economic growth and job creation on a global scale.

“One of the problems with this economy, looking from the outside in, is the main investment thrust is big projects,” Mr Chaitoo

SEE PAGE 8

Realtors: Use us more over tax crackdown

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government has been urged to “make more use” of Bahamian realtors to save time and money on the $7.2m project to make real property tax rolls “unassailable”.

Christine WallaceWhitfield, the Bahamas

Real Estate Association’s (BREA) president, and other realtors told Tribune Business that Association members, firms and the industry’s Multiple Listing System (MLS) already possess much of the sales, appraisal and valuation data that the government is after.

SEE PAGE 7

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PAGE 2, Monday, May 13, 2019

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PROPER via sea. Residents rely means of heavily on the mail boat to inter-island get basic necessities since transportathese islands are situated tion and accessibility is further away from the capiimperative for the eco- tal. This makes it even more nomic growth of the Family critical for the mail boat Islands. Achieving this is system to function properly. not an overnight task, but However, complaints have now is the time for better surfaced that mail boat sersolutions - outside of the vices have become more government - on how resi- unsettling to residents dents and business owners than beneficial. It has been in these Family Islands can alleged that mail boat maximise such links. There operators charge residents is need for an improved what they want to transport mail boat system and postal goods/inventory, resulting services across the Family in price fluctuations. These Islands because many resi- reports suggest that mail dents still depend on them boat operators have not to obtain gasoline, supplies, been abiding by the tarfood, basic necessities, iffs set by the government. equipment and monies. The Mail Boat Owners and However, these services are Operators Association has inconsistent and subpar. often advocated And potential invesfor an increase tors may not be in these There is a interested in tariffs vast amount of doing business but, before untapped potential on islands where there is here, and that alone such problems such a rise, should be motivation residents are evident and for someone to ongoing. should be guaranteed step in.

AS IT STANDS a more reliable service The Family Islands are that exceeds their in need of an improved expectations. This does means of transportation not change the fact that

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government does need to quickly look into changing these tariffs, which are antiquated and definitely in need of reform.

The cost of living is higher in the Family Islands, and business owners are placed at even greater disadvantage if their inventory is shipped at a later date or does not arrive at all. While these problems

THE TRIBUNE have existed for years, and should be addressed by the government, perhaps there is another alternative that does not require significant taxpayer subsidy.

DRAWING BOARD Perhaps the time has come for a group of private investors to get together and form a solution that involves a new inter-island freight company that can service the Family Islands. This potential alternative to the mail boats comes with both its advantages and disadvantages. With all things being held constant, competition can usher in more reliable services, on time deliveries, and a more collaborative relationship with customers. However, a private company operating without government subsidy while still incurring fuel costs will then have to pass these expenses on to the consumer. Therefore, the pricing for services may differ. The choice then comes down to the consumer. Will a consumer rather pay $20 for a better service or $5 for another service where there is a high probability of longer wait times? Some consumers may not be able to afford the better service but others, particularly small business owners, may gravitate towards the possibility that a new freight company could help to increase efficiency and financial opportunities. As a business owner who is heavily dependent on freight services, a faster and more reliable version could mean more business and eventually help to achieve increased consumer spending.

It is important that freight companies help to create economic growth rather than wait for business to pick up and then meet consumer demands.

But this cannot happen if there is political interference and bureaucratic “red tape”. These businesses can help each island become a developed hub for receiving/shipping goods given the geography of The Bahamas. There is a tremendous amount of economic potential in such ventures, but it is currently not being maximised.

The most disturbing factor is the time that it has taken those previously, and currently, in charge to get to the bottom of fixing issues that have been lingering now for decades. While the dollar value of such economic opportunities has not been captured, one can assume that it might well be in the millions.

POSTAL REFORM

Another problem that Family Islanders face is the need for an advanced postal system, which could ultimately replace traditional banking. In 1836, the “Public Bank of The Bahamas” was the first bank to open offering commercial services. It was run by the Post Office and closed in 1886. Shortly after, the Bank of Nassau offered similar services, and was open from 1889 to 1916.

While the structure of this set-up was simple, it was functional.

The maintenance of a proper postal system has declined over the years with the rise of modern banking and other money transmission businesses.

However, many residents in the Family Islands still rely on postal services to receive goods, services and perform banking services.

The absence of a working postal system in New Providence has thus complicated life for many who rely on this facility. While other means of getting monies are available, it may not be financially prudent for all to use them. It is key to have different avenues to help accommodate residents living in these islands and ensure all forms of economic growth are being captured. It is also important, once New Providence’s postal services get up and running, that these reforms and restructuring should be adopted in all Family Islands.

CONCLUSION There is a vast amount of untapped economic potential here, and that alone sholuld be motivation for someone to step in and make a difference in the inter-island transportation business in The Bahamas. The Post Office is another route to accessing many items that allow residents to survive. If this is not being properly addressed, then two major means of accessibility are not being fully utilised.

Infrastructure and capital are two very important parts of a growing economy.

The need to fix these issues adds to the work involved in improving the ease of doing business in The Bahamas. It should start with fixing the connectivity issues that will help foster a holistic approach to achieving economic growth.

Whether the government or private investors become the solution, until then, residents and business owners will continue to be at a disadvantage.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 13, 2019, PAGE 3

TAXI UNION CHIEF’S FEAR FOR HUNDREDS OF DRIVERS

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net HUNDREDS of taxicab drivers could potentially be left jobless at month’s end, the Bahamas Taxicab Union’s (BTCU) president fears, with the 80 percent holding leased plates most at risk.

Wesley Ferguson told Tribune Business that existing owners of taxi cab plates were exploiting the Government’s plan to clean-up the industry by seizing plates back from drivers before this can be put into effect.

The Minnis administration’s strategy is to take back all existing plates and then reissue them to the taxi drivers, rather than present owners.This is a bid to end the practice where plates are acquired by persons who have no relationship to a taxi, and never set foot in one, but merely lease the plates to drivers for fees that are often deemed excessive.

Mr Ferguson, though, said many plate owners had moved to head-off the Government’s plan by reclaiming them from the driverrs. “The Prime Minister had given me a proposal to throw out to the taxi drivers on the moratorium,” he explained.

“The proposal was that the Government was going to take back all plates and reissue to drivers on the basis that the leasing fee would be paid to the Government. The Government wants to stop the leasing of plates. The Government has yet to act on that, and the owners have seized the opportunity to take plates back from the drivers.”

Mr Ferguson added: “Ultimately at the end of this month you will find persons unemployed.

These drivers have

mortgages, purchased the cars they use, have children in school etc. The owners are covering their backs by taking their plates back.

“The number of drivers using leased plates could be in the hundreds. Eighty per cent of the 1,135 taxi drivers used plates that were leased. The Taxi Cab union has now been put in a precarious position and will be forced to act if the Government doesn’t intervene.”

Tribune Business made several attempts to reach Renward Wells, minister of transport and local government, with no success. He, however, said back in March that the Minnis administration is committed to lifting the moratorium on taxi plates.

The minister added that the Government will be reviewing all dormant and inactive plates, will “seek to issue the requisite plates” to individuals who are actually interested, and will not “perpetuate” the practice of leasing plates.

Mr Ferguson said there were also other issues of concern for the union, and explained: “The government had promised to change the colour of taxi plates from SD (selfdrive) plates. I am very concerned that hackers are renting SDs and picking up tourists while pretending to be taxi drivers. I am concerned about that.

“An SD is not insured to take tourists. Also, it opens the door for drug peddling,rape and assaults.

Unsuspecting persons can get with these unregulated drivers and risk their lives.

I’m concerned because we have had several travel advisories and, to this date, the Government is well aware of our issues and has done nothing concrete to alleviate them.”

BAHAMAS AIMS TO HARNESS ‘POWER OF MEXICAN MARKET’ A CABINET minister headed a combined private and public sector delegation that sought to harness “the power of the Mexican market” for Bahamian tourism’s benefit.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, and ministry officials were joined by executives from Atlantis, Baha Mar, the British Colonial Hilton, The Four Seasons Ocean Club, Sandals Resorts, the RIU, Meliá Nassau Beach Resort, Viva Wyndham Fortuna, Majestic Tours, Bahamas Experience, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, the Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board and the Nassau/Paradise Island Promotion Board on a trade mission to Mexico.

The group gave a series of presentations to Mexico City-based media outlets and tour operators on a trade mission that highlights the Ministry of Tourism’s intent to develop the Latin American market.

“We recognise the power of the Mexican market which, with 85 million Internet users, is the fifth largest market in the world on Facebook,’’ said Mr D’Aguilar. “The exciting tourism developments in our country, coupled with the increasing economic potential of the Mexican market, makes this an opportune time to explore business relations.”

Mexico is among the top three countries in the Latin American region that contribute to The Bahamas’ visitor arrivals.

“Our presence here is just one of many initiatives to offer and further promote the multiple and diverse islands of The Bahamas to this important group of travellers, and simultaneously, to continue promotional efforts geared toward Mexico’s local media and travel influencers to ensure that our message resonates loud and clear

PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY

NOTICE

TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF HOSPITAL BEDS Tenders are invited from Vendors to provide hospital beds for the institutions of Public Hospitals Authority.

Tender documents, which include instructions to Tenderers, specifications and other relevant information can be obtained from the Public Hospitals Authority.

The Tender proposals must be submitted in printed hard copy and on a flash drive in a sealed envelope or package identified as “TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF HOSPITAL BEDS, PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY” addressed to: The Chairman Tender Committee The Public Hospitals Authority Corporate Centre Building “B” Third & West Terraces, Collins Avenue P.o. Box N–8200 Nassau, Bahamas Tenders are to be submitted to the Public Hospitals Authority no later than 12:00 p.m. Friday, May 31st, 2019 at 12 noon. Late tender(s) WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. All Tender submissions must be accompanied by: (i) a current Business License that states your company is Licensed to provide medical equipment; (ii) three (3) references from current or previous clients; (iii) Value Added Tax (V.A.T) Registration Certificate; (iv) An up-to-date (not less than one (1) month old) V.A.T Compliance Certificate; (v) a copy of Insurance Policy Certificate indicating that your company is insured against loss of life, injury or damages; (vi) a letter from the National Insurance Board (NIB) stating that your company is up to date (not less than one (1) month old) and in good standing in the payment of its NIB contributions on behalf of those persons employed in your company; and (vii) a signed copy of the Public Hospitals Disclosure statement.

The Public Hospitals Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all Tender(s).

to their audiences,” said Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general.

Tourism and hospitality professionals who joined the trade mission to Mexico included Erica Valbuena, director of international leisure sales for Atlantis; Amy Mencl, vice-president of leisure sales for Atlantis; Carey Turnquest, assistant director for the Cove Atlantis; Karin Salinas, senior vicepresident of marketing for Baha Mar; Ana Cerna, international marketing director for Baha Mar; Edgar Rubio, leisure sales manager for the British Colonial Hilton; Monica Majors, director of public relations for The Ocean

Club; Maria Guadalupe Espina, Mexico’s business development manager for Sandals Resorts; Adriana Laguna, Mexico sales manager for RIU; Nashelly Tapia, director of sales and marketing for Meliá Nassau Beach; Lucila Vargas, sales executive for Viva Wyndham Fortuna; Fred Lounsberry, chief executive, Nassau/ Paradise Island Promotion Board; Mary DiPasquale, director of tour and travel marketing for the Nassau/ Paradise Island Promotion Board; William ‘AJ’ Saunders III, director of Majestic Tours; Perez Rodgers, Majestic Tours; Michael Symonette, chief executive of Bahamas

Experience; Nasly Osorio, manager of partner relations for Bahamas Experience; and Carmel Churchill, Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board.

“Traveling great distances to promote The Bahamas is no easy task, but it speaks volumes that our local partners are here and recognise the importance of missions such as these to our domestic tourism product,” said Ms Jibrilu.

“This is only the beginning of a truly remarkable partnership between The Bahamas and the Mexican market, and we are so excited about the endless future opportunities.”

PAGE 4, Monday, May 13, 2019

TOM BILYEU

THE TRIBUNE

CINDY ECKERT

DAN FLEYSHMAN

OWN BAHAMAS UNVEILS THIRD SPEAKER SEMINAR THE OWN Bahamas Foundation is preparing to host its third free speaker seminar to give Bahamian entrepreneurs insights into how to grow their own businesses.

The OWN Talks event, set for the Baha Mar Convention Centre on Thursday, May 23rd, is one component of the support provided by the Foundation to entrepreneurs and start-ups beyond the $1m in grants and other financial support already offered.

Besides providing Bahamians with ideas on starting, growing and creating wealth

from their business endeavours, this year’s speakers will address the three different stages of the business cycle– uncovering and building on an idea that is unique; growing the business once you have started it; and leveraging business success for even greater success.

“This year we wanted to find speakers that would not only inspire our entrepreneurs but give them information that can transform the way they approach their business.

This is mentorship on a large scale,” said OWN Foundation founder, Sebas Bastian, pictured.

“Many entrepreneurs have difficulty figuring out how to take an idea and make it distinctive. Others get their business up and running but can’t figure out how to grow it.

And, for those who are successful in starting and growing their business, the question becomes: ‘What next?’ Each of the speakers we invited this year will give entrepreneurs vital information to take on each

of these challenges because they’ve succeeded at it.”

In addition to the event’s speakers, Mr Bastian said he will announce a new investment opportunity from the OWN Talks stage.

“We are very excited to launch this new investment opportunity. We believe it will put investment within reach of many Bahamians who may have otherwise felt excluded in the past.

Equally as important, it will open a sector of the Bahamian economy which has, up to now, been closed to outside investment,” he said.

The speaker roster for this year’s OWN Talks event includes Cindy Eckert, Tom Bilyeu and Dan Fleyshman.

Ms Eckert founded two pharmaceutical companies, Slate Pharmaceuticals and Sprout Pharmaceuticals, and is an experienced “angel investor” with total exits worth more than $1.5bn.

She sold Sprout Pharmaceuticals in 2015 for $1bn after the company won US

federal approval for the drug Addyi, the first drug designed to enhance female libido. Previously, other pharmaceutical companies found no value in addressing the needs of women in this way.

After the sale of Sprout, she launched The Pink Ceiling for women-led or womenfocused businesses that are primarily in the health technology space. The Pink Ceiling has invested in 11 start-ups with products such as Undercover Colors (a company that is developing wearable nail tech to detect the presence of a date rape drug in drinks), and Lia Diagnostics (which produces a flushable pregnancy test).

Tom Bilyeu co-founded Quest Nutrition in 2010.

The company grew by 57,000 percent in its first three years, and was ranked second on the Inc 500 fastest-growing companies in the US. In 2014, he and his wife, Lisa, started Impact Theory, a media company

designed to “leverage the self-sustaining power of commerce to radically influence global culture”.

Finally, Dan Fleyshman is the youngest founder of a publicly traded company in history. At the age of 23, after selling $15m worth of clothing in six department store chains and surpassing expectations with his $9.5m licensing deal with STARTER apparel, he launched the “Who’s Your Daddy” energy drink into 55,000 retail stores.

He later went on to launch Victory Poker, which became one of the top five online poker brands internationally.

The doors at OWN Talks will open at 5pm and audience members can register for a free ticket at http:// owntalks2019.mysuncash. com. OWN Bahamas, launched in 2015, is an initiative focused on offering support to Bahamian entrepreneurs who have new and exciting ideas within existing or emerging industries.

THE TRIBUNE

KYC FINES ‘NO LAUGHING MATTER’, REALTORS WARNED

Monday, May 13, 2019, PAGE 5

Albany closes in on South Ocean deal FROM PAGE ONE

BREA’s new and returning officers, sitting from left: Jolika Buckner; Christine Wallace-Whitfield; Heather Peterson. Standing from left: Kim Kikivarakis-Dillet; Kirk Ingraham; Lana Rademaker; Hartman Longley; Helen Aaron-Dupuch; Cara Christie; Mike Lightbourne; Sally Hutcheson.

BAHAMIAN realtors must apply Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence to real estate buyers or face fines that are “no laughing matter”, the industry has been warned.

The Bahamas Real Estate Association’s (BREA) annual general meeting was told that plans to update the 20 year-old Real Estate (Brokers and Salesmen) Act had been placed on hold so that the industry could focus attention on the implications of the new Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA).

The FTRA reforms, designed to address deficiencies in The Bahamas’ anti-financial crime defences, mean that before turning over a key and collecting a commission every sales associate must be sure their firm’s broker has all necessary KYC information available on the buyer, bringing the real estate industry and developers in line with what is expected of banks and law firms.

In meetings with government officials, BREA has argued that all finances go through law firms that already have – or should have – all required KYC and financial information on their clients.

The association’s position is that asking the client to resubmit extensive background information to yet another source - realtors - creates an undue and onerous burden on both parties.

David Morley, president of Morley Real Estate and

chairman of the BREA compliance committee, said: “Regardless of whether you touch the money, the new regulations make all licensed brokers gatekeepers.”

He told developers and brokers they had more than five years to prepare, adding: “The legislation stems from guidelines set by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) in 2012. The Bahamas waited until 2018.

What is being asked of us is not unique to us in this country, and it is not as onerous as it is in other countries.”

In some jurisdictions, brokers are required to file KYC background information before leasing. In The Bahamas, it only applies to sales. Brokers who fail to comply can be fined $5,000 a day. Brokers are also required to hold that information on record for five years before they destroy it. If records are held longer than five years, the fines can reach $20,000.

“The fines in this legislation are no laughing matter,” said Mr Morley, who was thanked for studying the 100+page Act, reviewing with legal authorities and reporting.

“This has been another interesting year with many obstacles and challenges,” Christine Wallace-Whitfield, BREA’s president, told a packed AGM at the Nassau Yacht Club.

BREA stepped up its education and ethics efforts in 2018, and offered an

advanced course in luxury property sales marketing by the American-based National Association of Realtors (NAR) leading to NAR certification. The course, which was three years in the planning under sales associate Laura Kimble, drew a record 35 persons.

BREA plans an appraisal course later this year, and intends to strengthen its basic entry level curriculum. It also wants to re-charge interest in Family Island branches.

Its other goal is to end the practice of foreign sales agents and brokers coming to the Bahamas to sell property without going through a Bahamian real estate firm, a practice that is against the law but is challenging to enforce without evidence of the transaction having taken place and the foreign agent being paid. Mrs WallaceWhitfield said BREA is working closely with officials to build awareness and rampup enforcement.

Sales associates, brokers and developers who attended the meeting returned BREA’s full slate of officers, and elected new directors.

Officers include Christine Wallace-Whitfield, president; Heather Peterson, vice-president; Cara Christie, secretary; Sara Callender, treasurer.

Directors include Lana Rademaker; Mike Lightbourne; Sally Hutcheson; Hartman Longley; Helen Dupuch; Elbert Thompson; Jolika Buckner’; James Bernard; Kirk Ingraham; and Kim Kikivarakis-Dillet.

workers, has been marketing South Ocean for sale in recent weeks in the local newspapers under the “I F Propco” name, which is the CCWIPP investment vehicle that holds the Bahamian resort and channels money into it as necessary.

CCWIPP is exercising its “power of sale” as the mortgage holder, having advanced monies secured on South Ocean’s 383 acres to Roger Stein’s New South Ocean Development Company, a previous developer whose deal to buy the property fell through some years ago.

“The deal is not finalised but they’re going to move quickly,” one source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Albany and its potential partners. “The vistas are much better than Albany.

South Ocean runs right to the beach.

“I daresay those properties will be more valuable than Albany’s originally was as the properties are sitting right on the beach.

It would be a better extension of Albany. And if it’s one thing the pension fund owes to their members it’s to get rid of a property that’s not been functioning for 15 years. What are you going to do? Keep holding it, keep holding it? It’s time to sell.”

CCWIPP took over South Ocean’s ownership around two decades ago after developer Ron Kelly defaulted on loans he had borrowed from it to acquire the property, and which were secured on its real estate.

The pension fund ultimately closed the resort in 2004 in a bid to stem the financial bleeding caused by multi-million dollar

losses, and has been desperate ever since to secure an exit route. However, no buyer has come close to matching its asking price, and several sales processes and potential deals fell through in subsequent years as it failed to monetise the land’s value.

Albany has always taken a keen interest in its 383acre neighbour and what happens to it, given that it wants any redevelopment to match the high-end, ultra luxury status it has established with its southwestern New Providence community.

Its developers have been involved in bids or joint ventures to acquire South Ocean, the last available parcel of land for mega resort development on New Providence, at least twice before.

However, their last attempt was defeated when CCWIPP elected to go with an offer from controversial Lyford Cay resident and Austrian financier, Dr Mirko Kovats, rather than its joint venture with OchZiff, the hedge fund and asset manager with over $40bn in worldwide assets.

But another contact, speaking recently on

condition of anonymity, said: “They’re on the verge of doing this deal that was put together

by Albany, Greg Norman’s former people and CCWIPP. I think what they will do with the South Ocean property is what benefits Albany.

“The most logical thing for them to do is build canals and houses around the golf course. It’ll be according to Albany’s timelines.”

However, another source questioned whether South Ocean’s golf course would be open to the public or become part of a private, gated community.

Given that it has been closed for 15 years, South Ocean’s remaining value largely rests with its latent casino licence, which kicks in once the property reaches a certain number of rooms. Its golf course, too, was rated as the best in New Providence by many golfers.

Its unclear, though, whether the casino licence would be part of Albany’s plans given that casinos are not among the industries that Tavistock Groups lists itself as having investments or experience in.

ATTENTION HOME OWNERS! If your a Home Owner located in the eastern, western and southern district and your house has been approved for $250,000- $350,000 and you want to sell it to a willing ready and able buyer.

GIVE ME A CALL TODAY. NO AGENTS PLEASE.

427-2523

PAGE 6, Monday, May 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Water Corp cuts debts by $7.4m FROM PAGE ONE flow position become critical.

And, while emphasising that it had always been able to collect the Water & Sewerage Corporation debts owed to it, Consolidated Water revealed that 75 percent of the $16.9m owed to it an end-March 2019 had been “delinquent” - meaning that some $12.6m was 90 days or more past due.

This pressure has been eased by the $7.4m payment following the 2019 first quarter’s end but, in the section “risk factors”, the BISX-listed water supplier said: “Periodically, our Bahamas subsidiary experiences substantial delays in the collection of its accounts receivable. As a result, our Bahamas subsidiary could have insufficient liquidity to continue operations, and our consolidated results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

“Consolidated Water Bahamas’s accounts receivable balances due from the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas amounted to $16.9m as of March 31, 2019, and $17.6m

as of December 31, 2018.

Approximately 75 percent of the March 31, 2019 accounts receivable balance was delinquent as of that date. The delay in collecting these accounts receivable has adversely impacted the liquidity of this subsidiary.”

Still, expressing confidence that it would not have to take a provision because of the Water and Sewerage Corporation debts, Consolidated Water added: “Historically, Consolidated Water Bahamas has experienced delays in collecting its accounts receivable from the Water and Sewerage Corporation .

“When these delays occur, we hold discussions and meetings with representatives of the Water and Sewerage Corporation and The Bahamas government and, as a result, payment schedules are developed for Water and Sewerage Corporation ‘s delinquent accounts receivable.

All previous delinquent accounts receivable from the Water and Sewerage Corporation were eventually paid in full.

“Based upon this payment history, Consolidated Water Bahamas has never

ADRIAN GIBSON been required to provide an allowance for doubtful accounts for any of its accounts receivable, despite the periodic accumulation of significant delinquent balances. As of March 31, 2019, we have not provided an allowance for Consolidated Water Bahamas’ accounts receivable from the Water and Sewerage Corporation.”

Confirming the payment received post-March end, the BISX-listed supplier said: “Consolidated

Water Bahamas received approximately $7.4m in payments on its accounts receivable in April 2019 and, as of April 30, 2019, its accounts receivable balance from the Water and Sewerage Corporation was approximately $11.6m.

“If Consolidated Water Bahamas continues to be unable to collect a significant portion of its delinquent accounts receivable, one or more of the following events may occur: Consolidated

Water Bahamas may not have sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations without new funding from its shareholders.

“We may be required to cease the recognition of revenues on Consolidated Water Bahamas’ water supply agreements with the Water and Sewerage Corporation; and we may be required to provide an allowance for Consolidated Water Bahamas’ accounts receivable. Any of these events could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.”

Adrian Gibson, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s executive chairman, did not return Tribune Business’s phone calls and messages seeking comment yesterday. It is unclear where the $7.4m to reduce the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s debt came from, but there is every likelihood it came from the Public Treasury and Bahamian taxpayer.

The reason for the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s inability to make timely, in-full payments to its main water supplier is

set out in a recent InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) report that confirms the state-owned utility is selling water massively below cost to its customers - resulting in the Treasury/taxpayers having to subsidise it.

“The country’s national agency, Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC), supplies less than 50 percent of overall potable water demand in The Bahamas.

Currently, only 14 percent of the population has access to improved sewerage and sanitation facilities,” the IDB report said.

“No tariff adjustments have been granted for several years, and current tariffs presently represent about 60 percent of the cost of service in New Providence, and only 30 percent in the Family Islands (where the cost of service provision is higher and the tariff lower than in New Providence).”

As a result, the IDB warns that the benefits from reducing water leaks and losses from the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s system by 60 percent could be lost if there is no tariff rebalancing.

THE TRIBUNE

Realtors: Use us more over tax crackdown

FROM PAGE ONE

As a result, they are questioning why the Ministry of Finance and Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) intend to spend several million dollars on hiring 40 Bahamians to conduct a New Providence-wide “door-todoor” visitation of more than 100,000 properties to seek-out information that is largely already available.

However, Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, told this newspaper that the data needed to be collected and compiled through one “consistent” method that met international standards and best practices.

Emphasising that the government is not undervaluing realtors and their potential contribution to the real property tax crackdown, Mr Johnson said different firms and individuals employed different appraisal and valuation methodologies - something the DIR wanted to avoid.

Instead, he added that the government was placing its faith in its foreign consultant, Tyler Technologies, pointing out that it had conducted similar exercises in large US cities.

And, responding to social media criticisms about the need for the island-wide assessment, Mr Johnson said developing an accurate, complete tax roll that properly captures property valuations will help eliminate the need for new and/or increased taxes by enabling the government to maximise existing revenue streams.

His comments came after the government last week warned all New Providence home and business owners to brace for a visit from “data collectors” some time during the 18 months between June 2019 and year-end 2020 as it bids to expand the real property tax roll by some 30 percent.

Believing that this initiative will more than pay for itself by yielding a minimum $21m in extra annual real property tax revenues, the DIR said its data “collectors” will be taking photographs of all properties and measuring their

MARLON JOHNSON exterior dimensions.

They will also determine the current property owner’s identity, and seek information including the year the building was built; occupancy type and size of building; number of rooms and type of construction in a bid to update a real property tax register and land registry that was described as “woefully inadequate”.

The project plans to draw on Bahamian realtor knowledge and expertise on the back end, with the DIR and Tyler Technologies intending to validate the data they obtain by comparing it against BREA members’ own sales and valuation figures.

However, BREA’s president said she “absolutely agrees” that the Association and its members already possess much of the information that the DIR/Tyler Technologies are seeking, which could help reduce the time and cost associated with the project.

“We have the Bahamian Multiple Listing System (MLS), which is a great resource for information,” Mrs Wallace-Whitfield told Tribune Business. “That’s where we do a lot of stuff; comparisons on properties, where appraisals ho in, and everybody reaches out to us because of the MLS. “That way we can see what properties are sold, how long they have been listed. We have very good resources for properties that are listed, bought, sold and rented, both residential and commercial.

“I agree that it’s [the information] right there, readily available and that

Monday, May 13, 2019, PAGE 7 would also save them money. Wow, they’re going to do that by knocking on everyone’s door? Interesting,” she added.

“There are a lot of people out there that can assist with this. They can reach out to BREA and the appraisal committee on this. That will potentially get the information they’re looking for much faster and more accurately. But it seems as if they have it all set in motion.”

Mike Lightbourn, Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty’s president, told Tribune Business he felt that the DIR and revenue collection authorities were failing to make sufficient use of private sector expertise when it came to maximising real property tax and other revenue sources.

Revealing that himself and his firm were frequently contacted about Family Island property valuations, he said: “It’s certainly easier to do that for the Out Islands because there are not so many properties that need to be assessed, as real property tax is only levied on non-Bahamians.

“If someone asks about a lot in Stella Maris or Great Harbour Cay I have agents on the those islands and it’s no trouble for them to say it’s worth “x” thousand dollars. They [the government] don’t make enough use of us, particularly in the Out Islands, where they don’t have anyone on the ground.

“What I’m trying to say is that there’s a lot of help out there, and as far as I’m concerned they just have to ask for it,” Mr Lightbourn added. “If they have a more efficient and quicker way, that’s fine.”

Mr Johnson, in response to concerns that the 40 hires would lack the necessary skills, said they would be engaged and trained

by Tyler Technologies. He added that the consultants would also “train the DIR team up on the entire methodology” used to derive property tax values and assessments.

Pledging that the real estate industry would not be excluded, he said the government needed “a singular approach to doing this, and recognised Tyler Technologies as an expert in the field that has a methodology down pat”.

“It made sense to go that way,” Mr Johnson added, “knowing they have a

methodology and database that will stand up to scrutiny, and is scalable and adjustable as the landscape changes.

“The way they [realtors] compile information, present data is different, but they will be engaged and consulted in the process because the way we confirm market value is based on the prices realtors sell for. We don’t discount their contribution to this exercise at all.”

Mr Johnson admitted the project is “a significant undertaking”, with 18 months “a relatively short time” in which to value just over 100,000 properties on New Providence. “Tyler has done this in large cities in the US,” he added, “and we have confidence that they know what they’re doing and will meet the target timeline.

“We looked at a number of options as to how to approach this. What we wanted is something that meets international standards, global best practices.

What we wanted was a robust process that, in due course, compares with all the information the realtors have but the database needs to be sound and have a precise picture of properties - whether they’re occupied or not, up for sale or not.

“This is the optimal way we can have a single database that’s consistent, the information is consistent, the methodology is consistent, and it’s checked against the information the real estate industry has.”

Mr Johnson said that, once the New Providence assessment was completed, the government plans a Family Islands “roll-out” of the initiative with the Department of Inland Revenue potentially taking the lead and Tyler Technologies playing a supporting role.

He added that the objective was to “make sure we have an unassailable tax roll” by capturing all residential and commercial properties not on it, while ensuring that all valuations were up-to-date - an exercise that has not been

conducted for years.

“This exercise had to be done at some point to make sure we were maximising the yield from existing taxes and, equally important, to ensure we have fair assessments of property values,” Mr Johnson told Tribune Business.

“The success of this kind of project in shoring up the existing tax base puts less pressure on the government to increase taxes or find new taxes. For years we’ve heard the cry that real property tax is not being paid, and a project like this puts the government in a better position to collect existing taxes and means there’s less pressure to find new revenue streams through increased taxes or new taxes.”

Some estimates place real property tax compliance rates as low as 30-40

percent, with owners taking advantage of numerous system loopholes, poor administration and record-keeping and a culture of poor to nonexistent enforcement to evade tax liabilities due to the government.

The latter’s recent ninemonth fiscal “snapshot” showed that real property tax revenues for the period June 2018 to end-March 2019 stood at $93.7m, a slight $4.7m improvement on the sum collected in the prior year, and amounting to 70.9 percent of the fullyear $132.2m projection.

The auditor general’s audits of the government’s annual accounts frequently estimate that unpaid real property tax arrears have piled up to the extent of $500m-$600m, and call for efforts to be made to either collect this or write it off.

SECONDARY TEACHING JOB OPPORTUNITIES Maths, Physics and Physical Education teachers needed.

A pre-eminent, well-established, independent, international school in Nassau is seeking fulltime qualified SECONDARY TEACHERS for September 2019.

Candidates should have sound classroom experience; a passion for innovative education; a professional attitude towards work; a friendly and co-operative 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 Please forward your resume and introduction letter by email to teachingbahamas@gmail.com.

Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas

PREQUALIFICATION FOR PROCUREMENT General Contracting Services The EXUMA International Airport Terminal Building and associated Civil Works (Landside only) Moss Town, Great Exuma, BAHAMAS Invitation for Prequalification No.: 01/2019 ICB No.: CW 001 Project: Airport Infrastructure Program Contracting Agency: Ministry of Public Works Deadline to collect Prequalification Documents May 30th, 2019 at 4:00pm Bahamas Local Time and can be collected from Ministry of Public Works.

Director’s Office John F. Kennedy. Drive P. O. Box N-8156 Nassau, Bahamas Tel: 1 242 302-9527 or 302-9530 Deadline to submit Prequalification Documents June 13th, 2019 by 4:00pm Bahamas Local Time.

Further information can be obtained by email: PIUAIP@bahamas.gov.bs

PAGE 8, Monday, May 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Trade expert challenges FDI policies FROM PAGE ONE

We are excited to welcome

Bryan Taylor to the team

Bryan is new to insurance but has a strong professional background as an experienced manager from the electrical and electronic manufacturing industry.

As a businessman and a family man, Bryan has a fresh perspective on insurance because he understands what commercial and personal clients need from their insurance agent.

Contact

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and let him know your plans so he can checkup on your

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www.stephaniecleare.com

COMMONWEALTHOF OFTHE THEBAHAMAS BAHAMAS COMMONWEALTH COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS INTHE THESUPREME SUPREMECOURT COURT IN IN THELaw SUPREME COURT Common Lawand andEquity Equity Division Common Division Common Law and Equity Division

2019/CLE/qui/ 2019/CLE/qui/ 2019/CLE/qui/

THEMATTER MATTEROF OFALL ALLTHAT THAT ININTHE IN THE MATTER OF ALL THAT piece parcel landcontaining containing areaofof33.30 33.30 piece parcel ororlotlotofofland ananananarea piece parcel orinclusive lot of land containing an an area of 33.30 acres(32 (32acres acres inclusive adjourning swamp land) and acres ofof adjourning swamp land) and acres (32 acres inclusive of adjourning swamp land) and being a portion of the Daniel Evans tract approximately being a portion of the Daniel Evans tract approximately portion of the Daniel Evans tract approximately ½mile mileaNortheast Northeast the Settlement Tarpum Bayininthe the ½being ofof the Settlement ofof Tarpum Bay ½ mile Northeast of the Settlement of Tarpum Bay in the Island of Eleuthera one of the Islands of the Commonwealth Island of Eleuthera one of the Islands of the Commonwealth ofBahamas.

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AND AND AND THEMATTER MATTERofofThe TheQuieting QuietingofofTitles Titles ININTHE IN MATTER of The The Quieting of Titles Act,THE 1959, Chapter357, 357, TheStatute StatuteLaws Laws TheBahamas Bahamas Act, 1959, Chapter ofofThe Act, 1959, Chapter 357, The Statute Laws of The Bahamas AND AND AND THEMATTER MATTERofofThe ThePetition PetitionofofRUBY RUBYJOHNSON JOHNSON ININTHE IN THE MATTER of The Petition of RUBY JOHNSON

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THEPETITION PETITIONOF OFRUBY RUBYJOHNSON JOHNSONininrespect respectof:of:THE THE PETITION OF RUBY JOHNSON in respect of:ALLTHAT THATpiece pieceparcel parcelororlotlotofofland landcontaining containingananarea areaofof 1.1.

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ALL THAT piece parcel or lot of land containing an area ofand 33.30 acres (32 acres inclusive of adjourning swamp land)and 33.30 acres (32 acres inclusive of adjourning swamp land) 33.30 (32ofacres inclusive of adjourning swamp land) and beinga acres a portion ofthe theDaniel DanielEvans Evans tractapproximately approximately mile being portion tract ½½mile being a portion of the Daniel Evans tract approximately ½ mile Northeast of the Settlement of Tarpum Bay in the Island of Northeast of the Settlement of Tarpum Bay in the Island of Northeast ofone theofSettlement of Tarpum Bay in the Island ofofofThe Eleutheraone ofthe theIslands Islands the Commonwealth The Eleuthera ofofthe Commonwealth Eleuthera Bahamas one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Bahamas claimstotobebethe theowner ownerofofthe theunincumbered unincumberedfee feesimple simpleestate estateininpossession possessionofofthe thesaid saidland landand and claims claims to application beapplication the ownertoof the unincumbered fee estate in possession of Bahamas the said land and hasmade made tothe theSupreme SupremeCourt Court theCommonwealth Commonwealth The Bahamas under has ofofsimple the ofofThe under has made application to the Supreme Court of to the Commonwealth ofsaid Theland Bahamas under Section Three the Quieting TitlesAct, Act,1959 1959 tohave have titleofofthe the said land investigated Section Three (3)(3)ofofthe Quieting Titles itsitstitle investigated Section Three (3) of the Quieting Titles Act, 1959 to have its title of the said land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted the nature and extent with thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted bythe the Court accordance withthe the provisionsof ofthe the saidAct. Act. byand Court ininaccordance provisions said by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the said Act. Copiesofofthe thePetition Petitionand andthe theplans plansofofthe thesaid saidland landmay maybebeinspected inspectedduring duringnormal normal Copies Copies of the Petition and the plans of the said land may be inspected during normal officehours hours thefollowing following places:office ininthe places:office hours in the following places:TheRegistry Registryofofthe theSupreme SupremeCourt, Court,Bank BankLane Laneininthe theCity CityofofNassau, Nassau,Bahamas; Bahamas; 1.1.

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The Chambers of Bootle-Williams &Nassau, Company, c/o of Minnis & Company, Alkebulan House, PoincianaDrive, Drive,Nassau, Bahamas; Alkebulan House, 1919 Poinciana Bahamas; Alkebulan House, 19 Poinciana Drive, Nassau, Bahamas; 3.

The office of the Attorney General, Paul L. Adderley Building, John F. Kennedy Drive,, Nassau, Bahamas.

3.

The office of the Attorney General, Paul L. Adderley Building, John F. Kennedy Nassau, Notice Drive,, is hereby givenBahamas. that any person having dower or right to dower or an Adverse Claim or a claim not recognized in the Petition shall on or before the 14th day of Notice is hereby that anyCourt person having right to dower an Adversea June A.D., 2019 file in given the Supreme and serve dower on theorPetitioner or the or undersigned Claim or ofa her claim recognized the verified Petitionbyshall on or tobefore 14th day of Statement claimnot in the prescribedinform an Affidavit be filedthe therewith.

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Bootle-Williams & Company

BOOTLE-WILLIAMS & COMPANY Bootle-Williams & Company c/o Minnis & Company BOOTLE-WILLIAMS & COMPANY Chambers c/o Minnis House & Company Alkebulan Chambers 19 Poinciana Drive Alkebulan House Nassau, Bahamas 19 Poinciana Drive Nassau, Bahamas Attorneys for the Petitioner Attorneys for the Petitioner

explained, “but most growth and jobs are driven by small businesses.

“There seems to be no thrust, no recognition here, of that fact if you look at the kind of investments and numbers they propose. I don’t understand why. They give away so many concessions you wonder what they get from it in the long run.”

Mr Chaitoo’s observation about The Bahamas’ almost total belief that big is better when it comes to its FDI strategy is likely to strike a chord with many economists and environmentalists, who have seen hundreds of acres of pristine and leading real estate tied-up in failed mega resort projects - especially in the Family Islands.

The importance of medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) to the Bahamian economy was also highlighted by a recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report, which found: “Across the Caribbean region, micro and small and medium sized enterprises (MSME) are estimated to account for 70 percent to 85 percent of firms, contribute to 60 percent to 70 percent of GDP and about 50 percent of employment.

“In The Bahamas there are close to 17,000 business licenses and it is estimated that MSMEs conform 98 percent of them and hire 47 percent of all employees.”

The Minnis administration has sought to diversify away from large-scale resort and real estate developments through its Grand Bahama technology hub ambitions and the related

Commercial Enterprises Act, which are focused on attracting entrepreneurs, start-ups and MSMEs. It has also created the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) to provide Bahamian entrepreneurs with access to capital and business planning advice, while has pledged to ensure 20 percent of all public sector contracts put out to tender go to MSMEs under new procurement rules.

Mr Chaitoo, meanwhile, described the Government’s June 2020 target for completing the WTO accession process as “achievable”. He added: “It’s doable within the timelines they have identified. It’s doable. It’s just a question of decisions to be made, and different things to be done here and there.”

He added that work on so-called “technical barriers to trade” and other issues, such as Customs processes, would not stop with the WTO accession but continue for some time afterwards as “you don’t introduce these things overnight”.

“The one thing that is positive here,” Mr Chaitoo said of The Bahamas, “is that in many countries that have acceded, the government has done it in a top-down way with little consultation with the private sector.

“It’s very refreshing here to see the minister [Brent Symonette] and the negotiating team are very open and having consultation with the private sector.

There’s a kind of dialogue here which you don’t see in many other countries joining the WTO. “It’s a good thing. They

need to figure out the best approach to deal with this stuff, and I was very surprised to see they released the offers and that the different sectors had the right to comment on them. That is unheard of elsewhere,” he told Tribune Business.

“That is a good thing. So far, to my mind, it’s a very good, collaborative process.

At some point, though, the government will have to take hard decisions.”

The Oxford Economics report, released last week, nudged this nation towards proceeding with the WTO accession by finding that the “net impact” will “be moderately positive”.

Should The Bahamas combine joining the WTO with comprehensive, broadbased domestic reform, Oxford Economics estimated it could lift the economy’s long-run average annual GDP growth rate to around two percent - higher than the 1.5 percent currently forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

It also projected that this would help slash The Bahamas’ national unemployment rate from its current ten percent to 6.5 percent over the next decade, driving it to its lowest level this century.

“The positive effects would quickly build in subsequent years, lifting the average growth rate of the economy to two percent per annum across the forecast, compared with 1.5 percent per annum in the baseline.

By the end of the forecast period in 2029, this leaves the economy 5.7 percent larger than baseline levels,” the Oxford Economics study said.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 13, 2019, PAGE 9

TRUMP HAS LONG SEEN PREVIOUS US TRADE AGREEMENTS AS LOSERS WASHINGTON Associated Press PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s combative approach to trade has been one of the main constants among his often-shifting political views.

And he’s showing no signs of backing off now, even as the stakes intensify with the threat of a full-blown trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

The president went after China on Day 1 of his presidential bid, promising to “bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places”.

Trump’s views on trade helped forge his path to victory in states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, where he linked the loss of manufacturing jobs to the North America Free Trade Agreement and other trade deals.

He warned the worst was yet to come with President Barack Obama’s proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.

His trashing of existing and proposed trade agreements grabbed the headlines, but he also made clear his view that globalization had been bad for America and that he would use tariffs to protect national security and domestic producers. He cited the nation’s Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan as leaders whose footsteps he was following when it came to trade and tariffs.

“Our original Constitution did not even have an income tax,” Trump told voters in Monessen, Pennsylvania, some four months

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s combative approach to trade has been one of the main constants among his often-shifting political views. He’s showing no signs of backing off now even as the stakes intensify with the threat of a full-blown trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. before the 2016 presidential election. “Instead, it had tariffs, emphasising taxation of foreign, not domestic production.”

Number seven on his list of trade promises in that speech: taking on China for “its theft of American trade secrets”.

“This is so easy. I love saying this. I will use every lawful presidential power to remedy trade disputes, including the application of tariffs consistent” with existing trade laws, Trump said.

Those laws include Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which Trump cited to enact tariffs on steel and

aluminum imports from China, Canada, Mexico and elsewhere.

They also include Section 301 of the Trade Act, which Trump used last year to apply 25 percent tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese goods and ten percent tariffs on $200bn of goods. That ten percent was increased to 25 percent on Friday. Trump is laying the groundwork to extend the 25 percent tariff to all of China’s exports to the US. “Such an easy way to avoid Tariffs? Make or produce your goods and products in the good old USA. It’s very simple!” Trump

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, CEDRAL BOWLEG KEMP also known as CEDRAL BOWLEG-KEMP of #73 Montgomery Avenue, Flamingo Gardens in the Western District of New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to CEDRAL ALEXANDER BOWLEG. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

tweeted on Saturday.

Of course, America’s trading partners haven’t let Trump’s tariffs stand without taking similar action themselves. Farmers, boat makers and whiskey and wine producers are just some of the US industries caught in the middle.

“Farming is a very small margin, small profit business.

We rely on lots of volume and lots of sales to generate a profit,” said Brent Bible, a soybean and corn farmer in Lafayette, Indiana, who has seen prices for both commodities drop in the past year. “We are operating at a loss now.”

Trump’s philosophy on some issues has evolved

over the years.

He once described himself regarding the abortion issue as “very pro-choice”. Now, his administration promotes him as the most “pro-life president in American history”.

On trade, not so much.

In “Trump: The Art of the Deal”, Trump complained of the Japanese that “what’s unfortunate is that for decades now they have become wealthier in large measure by screwing the United States with a self-serving trade policy that our political leaders have never been able to fully understand or counteract.”

Fast-forward nearly three decades, and Trump

declared in his 2015 announcement for the presidency that other nations were prospering at America’s expense. “When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China, in a trade deal? They kill us.

I beat China all the time,” Trump said.

Trump’s approach on trade is a dramatic departure for the Republican Party, but GOP lawmakers have declined to take action that would block his tariffs.

They credit his tactics for getting improvements to a trade deal with Canada and Mexico to replace NAFTA, and for getting China to the negotiating table.

PAGE 10, Monday, May 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Uber, Lyft losses keep competitors at bay SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press A FARE war between Uber and Lyft has led to billions of dollars in losses for both ride-hailing companies as they fight for passengers and drivers.

But in one way it has been good for investors who

snatched up the newly public companies’ stock: The losses have scared off the competition, giving the leaders a duopoly in almost every American city.

The two San Francisco companies have already lost a combined $13bn. And with no clear road to profits ahead, no one else has much of an incentive to mount a

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, ANTANIQUE ADDERLEY, of Exuma, Bahamas, parent of ALRICK CHARLIE CAMPBELL III, a minor, intends to change his name to ALRICK ANTON ADDERLEY. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas, no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

challenge using the same model relying on people driving their own cars to pick up passengers that summon them on a smartphone app, said Susan Shaheen, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

Even if another rival dared enter the market, it would likely be difficult to raise enough money to pose a viable threat after Uber and Lyft spent the past decade pulling in billions of dollars from venture capitalists. And in the past six weeks, they raised an additional $10.4bn in their recently completed initial public offerings of stock.

“There’s only a duopoly because both companies have enough capital to compete with each other and no

one else does,” said Gartner analyst Michael Ramsey.

It’s likely to remain that way until any of dozens of companies trying to create self-driving cars refines their technology so they can launch a network of robotic taxis that removes human drivers from the equation.

That breakthrough could enable them to slash their fares below the prices currently being charged by Uber and Lyft.

Google spin-off Waymo has made no secret of its intention to muscle its way into the ride-hailing market with a fleet of self-driving cars built on technology that it has been working on for the past decade. Waymo launched a ride-hailing service with robotic vans in the Phoenix area five months ago, but only 1,000 people

NOTICE

PRIMARY TEACHING JOB OPPORTUNITIES CLASSROOM teachers needed.

A pre-eminent, well-established, independent, international school in Nassau is seeking fulltime qualified PRIMARY TEACHERS for September 2019.

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

NOTICE is hereby given that HAROLD DORVILUS of Sea Breeze Estate, 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 13th day of May, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

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 Please forward your resume and introduction letter by email to teachingbahamas@gmail.com.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that OCTAMA VIXAMAR of Lumumba Lane, 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 6thday of May, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

MARKET REPORT (242) 323-2330

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,174.83 | CHG: 4.22 | %CHG: 0.19 | YTD: 65.38 | YTD%: 3.10

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

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CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

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 ##########

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

LAST CLOSE 4.22 17.43 6.00 5.39 2.47 1.98 2.01 10.94 6.16 4.47 10.00 2.58 1.85 9.17 7.00 15.57 7.25 3.50 14.00

CLOSE 4.22 17.43 6.00 5.39 2.47 1.98 2.10 10.94 6.16 4.49 10.00 2.59 1.85 9.16 7.00 15.57 7.25 3.50 14.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.00 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

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

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 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

LAST SALE 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

VOLUME 25 366 6,500 13,222

4,000

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.167 0.932 -0.306 0.323 0.098 0.000 -0.431 0.708 0.480 0.154 0.627 0.102 0.209 0.000 0.636 0.834 0.950 0.205 0.631

DIV$ 0.130 1.260 0.000 0.240 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.710 0.220 0.120 0.620 0.068 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.500 0.200 0.090 0.600

P/E 25.3 18.7 N/M 16.7 N/M N/M -4.9 15.5 12.8 29.2 15.9 25.4 8.9 N/M 11.0 18.7 7.6 17.1 22.2

YIELD 3.08% 7.23% 0.00% 4.45% 0.00% 1.01% 0.00% 6.49% 3.57% 2.67% 6.20% 2.63% 3.24% 3.58% 3.43% 3.21% 2.76% 2.57% 4.29%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

############### 30-Jul-2018 ############### 30-Jul-2020 ############### 30-Jul-2022 ############### 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% 0.32% 3.95% 0.62% 3.20% 0.69% 2.56% 2.06% 4.97% 4.52% 0.96% 1.15% 4.41% 0.59% 4.31% 0.92% 4.16% 2.79% 4.80% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69% -0.71% 0.16% 7.40% 2.70% 10.20% 1.30%

NAV Date 31-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 29-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 28-Feb-2019 28-Feb-2019 28-Feb-2019 28-Feb-2019 28-Feb-2019 28-Feb-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.22 4.27 2.05 188.32 158.55 1.61 1.75 1.70 1.14 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.55 1.68 1.64 1.08 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund 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 Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.22 4.27 2.05 188.32 154.49 1.61 1.75 1.70 1.14 7.54 8.73 6.65 10.66 11.79 10.48 9.92 8.68 11.38

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

Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Technician At least 2 years experience Flexible hours

Contact Ms. Carey 242-502-9676 E-mail: Info@tmp_bahamas.com

2007/CLE/qui/01041

Common Law and Equity Side

(242) 323-2320

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

POSITION AVAILABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT

THURSDAY, 9 MAY 2019

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 4.90 3.50 1.00 0.19 2.00 8.85 6.11 3.54 10.00 2.30 1.60 7.25 6.10 10.10 6.20 3.01 12.51

fares in the US are likely to remain below the actual cost of providing the service, a boon for consumers.

“These subsidies will continue as long as each company believes they will be gaining new customers by having a lower price,” says Alejandro Ortiz, principal analyst at SharesPost. “The story now is growth, but growth is expensive.”

Eventually, though, investor pressure will mount on the companies to make money, and doing that almost certainly will require higher prices for their rides.

On the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi hinted that it will be three to five years before the company pivots to a focus on profit. That timetable hasn’t been well received on Wall Street so far. Lyft’s stock has fallen 29% below its IPO price of six weeks ago, and Uber flopped in its stock market debut on Friday as its shares slipped by almost 8% percent.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS

www.bisxbahamas.com

52WK HI 4.50 20.91 7.00 5.50 2.50 2.00 3.35 11.00 6.16 4.64 12.50 2.74 1.96 9.02 7.00 15.60 7.25 4.05 14.00

are currently allowed to use it.

Besides being on the leading edge of bringing robotic vehicles to market, Waymo also is backed by more money than Uber and Lyft have combined. Waymo is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc, which is sitting on $113bn in cash.

In its IPO document, Uber listed Waymo as a potential threat along with Tesla, General Motors’ Cruise Automation and Apple. Lyft also cited Waymo and Apple among the companies that could undercut its position as the second largest ride-hailing service.

But most experts believe it will still be many more years before self-driving car technology reaches the point that it can support a large fleet of robotaxis.

Until then, the US duopoly is likely to continue, giving Uber and Lyft the luxury of focusing on growth rather than turning a profit, analysts said. That means ride-hailing

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 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

NOTICE The Petition of Samuel Basden in respect of: -

ALL THOSE Two (2) tracts of land totaling 1.09 acres situate on Basden Alley East of Jim Carey Road on the Northern side of Step Street in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence.

SAMUEL BASDEN claims to be the owner of the fee simple estate in possession of the said land and has applied to the Supreme Court of The Bahamas under S.3 of the Quieting Title Act, 19591 ‘in the above action to have its title to the said land investigated the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted by the Court in accordance with provisions of the said Act. Copies of the said plan may be inspected during normal office hours at the Registry of the Supreme Court, Anasbacher Building Bank Lane, in the City of Nassau, and at the Chambers of Turnquest & Co., No. 94 Nassau Street, Nassau, The Bahamas.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any person having dower or a right to dower or any adverse claim not recognized in the Petition shall before the 30th day of May, A.D., 2019 file in the said Registry of The Supreme Court and serve the Petitioner or the above Turnquest & Co a statement of such claim in the prescribed form verified by an Affidavit to be filed herewith. Failure of any such person to file and serve a statement of such claim by the above time will operate as a bar to such claim.

TURNQUEST & CO. Chambers Turnquest House Nassau Street Nassau, New Providence The Bahamas

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 13, 2019, PAGE 11

WHITE HOUSE EXPECTS CHINA TO RETALIATE OVER TRADE TARIFFS WASHINGTON Associated Press THE US is awaiting retaliation from China over increased tariffs, after talks in Washington ended without a deal on trade, the president’s chief economic adviser said yesterday.

“The expected countermeasures have not yet materialised. We may know more today or even this evening or tomorrow,” Larry Kudlow told “Fox News Sunday”. Kudlow also said that President Donald Trump’s plan to raise US tariffs on Chinese goods across the board could take months to take effect.

“Call it a couple of months. Call it three months.

I don’t know. That will take some time and then of course the president’s going to have to make the final decision on that,” Kudlow said.

The United States raised tariffs on $200bn in Chinese imports from 10% to 25% on Friday after American officials accused Beijing of backtracking on commitments made in earlier rounds of negotiations.

Kudlow also acknowledged that China doesn’t pay the tariffs, in contrast to Trump, who has repeatedly tweeted that China pays the tariffs and in doing so transfers wealth to the United States.

“Both sides will pay,” Kudlow said when pressed on the issue. “The Chinese will suffer (economic) losses and so forth with respect to a diminishing export market.”

US importers pay tariff charges, though large retailers might be able to force

TREASURY Secretary Steve Mnuchin, second from left, and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, right, speak with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, left, as he departs the Office of the United States Trade Representative in Washington on Friday.

Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP some Chinese suppliers to cut their prices to offset the duties. But academic studies have found that so far US consumers and businesses are bearing the cost of Trump’s tariff hikes.

Talks in Washington broke off on Friday without a deal, but both sides have indicated that future talks are likely. Kudlow said nothing has been scheduled, but Chinese officials have invited US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to visit Beijing.

Kudlow also said that Trump and China’s President, Xi Jingping, may meet in late June at the G20 international conference in Japan.

“We are right where we want to be with China,” Trump tweeted yesterday.

“Remember, they broke the deal with us and tried to renegotiate.”

On Saturday, Trump tweeted that he thought that “China felt they were being beaten so badly in the recent negotiation that they may

as well wait around for the next election, 2020, to see if they could get lucky & have a Democrat win”.

Beijing retaliated for previous tariff hikes by raising duties on $110bn of American imports. And officials have targeted American companies operating in China by slowing customs clearance and stepping up regulatory scrutiny.

Sen Rand Paul, R-Ky, told ABC’s “This Week” yesterday that he advised the president to finalise a trade deal with China soon, “because the longer we’re involved in a tariff battle or a trade war, the better chance there is that we could actually enter into a recession because of it”.

The two countries are sparring over US allegations that China steals technology and pressures American companies into handing over trade secrets, part of an aggressive campaign to turn Chinese companies into world leaders in robotics, electric cars and other advanced industries.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 18, Monday, May 13, 2019

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

US government records $160.3bn April surplus WASHINGTON Associated Press THE federal government recorded a $160.3bn surplus in April as revenues for the month jumped to an all-time high. But even with a flood of tax receipts, the deficit so far this year is running 37.7% higher than a year ago.

The Treasury Department reported on Friday that the deficit for the first seven months of the budget year that began Oct 1 totals $530.9bn, compared to a deficit of $385.5bn for the same period a year ago.

The Trump administration projected in March that this year’s deficit will hit $1.1tn, up from last year’s deficit of $779bn. The administration is projecting the deficit will stay above $1tn for four straight years before starting to decline for the rest of the decade.

The deficits have increased following congressional passage in December 2017 of a $1.5tn tax cut promoted by President Donald Trump as well as a boost last year in spending on domestic and military programmes.

The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that the deficit this year will climb to $896bn, smaller than the administration’s $1.1tn forecast but still 15% higher than last year.

The CBO shows slightly smaller deficits in the shortterm, projecting that they will remain below $1tn through 2021 but after that will top $1tn and will remain above the $1tn mark for the rest of the decade.

While the government runs deficits in most months, April has been a surplus month for 60 of the past 65 years, reflecting the flood of revenue that comes in with the annual deadline for individuals to pay tax bills.

This year’s surplus was down from a $214.3bn surplus in April 2018. That primarily reflected calendar quirks which had shifted $45bn in benefit payments into March last year because April 1 fell on a weekend.

The new report showed that customs duties total $41bn so far this year, up 82% from a year ago, a big increase that reflects the higher tariffs the Trump administration has imposed on China and other countries. The duties on China increased again on Friday with both sides unable to reach a deal to resolve a number of contentious trade issues.

So far this year, receipts are up 1.8 percent to $2tn while spending is up 7.6% to $2.57tn.

One of the fastest growing categories is interest on the debt which totals $226.3bn so far this year, up 13.6 percent from a year ago.