05142019 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019

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ROBERT MYERS

‘Work like hell’ after six-year GDP stall

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas must “work like hell” to achieve higher GDP growth rates after data released yesterday revealed the economy has finally exited a six-year stall.

Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, told Tribune Business that his businesses had taken a decade to recover “to pre-2018 levels last year” as the Department of Statistics disclosed that real economic output had now returned to 2012 levels.

Its report exposed that The Bahamas has undershot growth projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and others, with real GDP expanding last year by 1.6 percent compared to forecasts of 2.3 percent.

That was the figure for nominal GDP growth, which includes the impact of inflation whereas the real GDP measure strips this out. Still, the latter’s 1.6 percent expansion ensured The Bahamas just about exceeded 2012’s economic output last year, finally offsetting the economy’s three percent contraction in 2013 and five consecutive years when growth remained stubbornly below one percent.

The Department of Statistics data, taking The Bahamas’ $10.721bn economy in 2012 as a baseline, showed that economic output slumped by more than $300m the following year to $10.404bn as a result of the three-year contraction.

The Bahamas spent the next five years regaining this lost output, with real GDP growth rates ranging from a high of 0.7 percent in

SEE PAGE 4

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday admitted credit costs and access must be eased for Bahamians as he defended the government’s work permit reforms against opposition criticisms.

Brent Symonette, minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, said the BH-1B work visa was designed to support the government’s ambitions to create a technology hub in Grand Bahama - and the Commercial Enterprises Act - by reducing bureaucracy and red tape associated with the immigration approvals process.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Society of Trust

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CCA slams Sarkis with $150m claim

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

B

AHA Mar’s main contractor last night demanded a minimum $150m in damages from Sarkis Izmirlian over alleged “shareholder oppression” that wiped out its entire investment in the project.

China Construction America (CCA) and its affiliates, in their longawaited defence and counter-claim to Mr Izmirlian’s lawsuit, alleged that his decision to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the $4.2bn project was a key factor that cost them their $150m preference share investment in the mega resort development.

As a result, the Chinese state-owned construction company claimed in papers filed with the New York State Supreme Court that it should be “compensated for the loss of benefits” associated with its investment in accordance with

• Claims Baha Mar developer ‘oppressed’ it • Resulting in Chinese investment wipe out • Bases claim on Bahamian Companies Act

SARKIS IZMIRLIAN The Bahamas’ Companies Act. Mr Izmirlian and his BML Properties vehicle held 100 percent of Baha Mar’s equity, and controlled four of five Baha Mar Board seats compared to CCA’s one, leading the the Chinese contractor and its affiliates to allege that the resort’s original developer exploited this to his advantage and its detriment.

“As the majority

controlling shareholder of Baha Mar, and as the day-to-day manager of Baha Mar, BML Properties took actions - or caused Baha Mar to take actions - that were oppressive to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) Bahamas or unfairly disregarded the interests of CSCEC Bahamas as a minority shareholder in Baha Mar,” CCA alleged.

Among these actions, it

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government was yesterday warned that the short-term work permit exemptions may conflict with “professional standards and regulations” for certain job categories.

Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) president, told Tribune Business that some of the job titles and descriptions in the Immigration (Amendment) Bill were overly broad and had fuelled “some of the paranoia and concerns” raised over the legislation.

As an example, he pointed to the inclusion of “auditor” as one category where a foreign professional could enter The Bahamas without requiring a short-term work visa for up to 14 days if they are here to “attend a business meeting with a local company”.

Mr Bowe said this potentially conflicted with

and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Caribbean 2019 conference, Mr Symonette said: “The BH-1B visa is intended to get tech business here in The Bahamas when the United States is restricting the number of visas they issue from some 65,000 down to 45,000.

“Those are gobbled up in four days after coming online, and so there is a great interest in that industry. The prime minister and the minister of state for Grand Bahama have been to the United States, and there a number of persons interested in that.

Dell is having a convention there, and I think they are bringing some 1,400 delegates in short order. We see an industry for tech work in Grand Bahama.”

SEE PAGE 5

GOWON BOWE the laws and regulations governing the Bahamian accounting profession, as those involved in audit, attestation and assurance work have to be both licensed by BICA and either a Bahamian citizen or permanent resident with the right to work.

“Our profession is unique,” he told Tribune Business. “Some of

BRENT SYMONETTE

Govt approves tax certificate reply to OECD Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

cited Mr Izmirlian’s decision to “covertly prepare for and file the Chapter 11 reorganisation petition in the Delaware bankruptcy court for the purposes of ensuring BML Properties and/or Mr Izmirlian retain control and domination over the project, rather than for the benefit of Baha Mar and its minority shareholder [CCA]”.

The Chinese contractor also claimed that the $80m in financing that Mr Izmirlian provided through his separate vehicle, Granite Ventures, to cover Baha Mar’s staffing and other operating costs during the Chapter 11 period, was designed “for the enrichment of Mr Izmirlian, and for the purposes of retaining control and domination” over the development.

CCA and its affiliates,

SEE PAGE 5

• BIC chief warns on profession’s laws • Over-board job titles fuelling ‘paranoia’ • Better consultation may have tackled fear the [job] titles in the Bill they have to be careful using... While the intent may have been to be as broad as possible with some of the job titles used, they have to be careful crossing over professional standards as well as regulations that require certain professions to be registered with institutions and regulators.

“From that perspective, when you throw in all these titles that’s one of the concerns with the general public. It has to be honed in more specifically to key management personnel that are critical to a business in terms of strategy and direction.

“I believe the titles thrown in are very broad, and that is giving rise to some of the paranoia and concerns being raised.”

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By NATARIO MCKENZIE

‘Conflict’ concern on work permit reforms

Minister admits credit costs and access obstacle

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

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The Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2019, which was debated and voted on in the Senate yesterday, aims to further eliminate immigration bureaucracy and red tape and occasionally unpleasant experiences at the airport by ending the requirement for executives to obtain a “short term” or any type of work visa/permit if they are in The Bahamas to conduct specific types of business for 14 days or less.

The exemption applies to persons attending Bahamas-based conferences and seminars as participants; trade shows and summits; or working as a non-executive director of a business “being carried on in The Bahamas” where they are

SEE PAGE 4

THE government has approved the creation of tax residency certificates for permanent residents so they can prove compliance with other countries’ laws, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday.

Brent Symonette, minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, told the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Caribbean Conference that the government has approved the development of tax residency certificates that will each have their own Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

Besides confirming that The Bahamas is the holder’s main domicile, these certificates will help certify their compliance with home country tax laws and address Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) claims that this nation’s permanent residency product is in danger of being abused by tax evaders.

Mr Symonette, elaborating on the issue following his STEP presentation, said: “When the DPM (deputy prime minister), attorney general and myself were in Paris months ago, the OECD stated that they had an issue with persons using permanent residency as a way of avoiding tax requirements in their own country.

“What is up at the Attorney General’s Office at the moment, and has been approved in principle, is that we will have a permanent residency certificate.

This means you would have to spend a minimum of 90 days in this country - not consecutively - but over the year, and no more than 183 days in one other country.

“Let’s say you were born in France; you would get a tax information number on your permanent residency [certificate], and you would use that in any country in the world and say: ‘Look, this is my tax information number in The Bahamas.

SEE PAGE 4

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PAGE 2, Tuesday, May 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

GBPA DEFENDS ITS UTILITIES REGULATION THE Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) yesterday mounted a vigorous defence of its utilities oversight in response to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) legal challenge.

Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority, emphasising that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA) has vested it with the power to regulate all utilities in the Port area since 1956, touted its role in improving Grand Bahama Power Company’s supply reliability and reducing energy costs for consumers.

The GBPA’s statement, pointing to a 70 percent reliability improvement at GB Power over the past five years, said the energy monopoly’s fuel costs had also reduced by 50 percent as a result of the hedging strategy implemented as part of the 2012 regulatory regime overhaul.

It pointed to

the Regulatory Framework and Operating Protocol agreed with GB Power that same year, which the GBPA argued had brought the utility’s operating practices and oversight into line with international best practices.

“This framework not only provides an objective and transparent process for rate setting, but also establishes a regime of efficiency and customer service standards designed to secure greater levels of customer protection,” the GBPA said.

“The Framework was, and remains, the first of its kind and the most advanced set of regulations within The Bahamas, which clearly outlines the expectations of GBPA as the regulator.”

The GBPA said the 2012 framework was designed to hold GB Power and its owner, Emera, to benchmark standards that will be

measured against the rest of the Caribbean. The goal, it added, was for GB Power to become the lowest cost energy provider in the region and improve reliability, stabilise power costs and invest in clean energy solutions.

“Since the implementation of the Framework, along with consistent oversight by our regulatory committee, we can state that GB Power is currently ranked as one of the lowest energy providers in comparable utilities for low-energy residential customers, and among the lowest in the Caribbean in residential customers across all classes,” the GBPA said.

“The all-in electricity rate for all classes of customers has remained unchanged since 2016, and this period of rate stability comes despite the $27.5m costs associated with restoration following the devastation of Hurricane Matthew in late 2016.

“We have also seen an increase in reliability by approximately 70 percent over the past five years, which has proven beneficial to residents who have experienced less than 10 outages in 2018 as compared to 23 outages in 2010.

GB Power has proven to have the best reliability within the country.”

The GBPA added that it had also approved GB Power’s fuel hedging programme, which is a strategy designed to counter volatile global oil prices. “This has resulted in fuel costs

decreasing by 50 percent since 2012, allowing customer fuel charges to remain fixed at ten cents until 2021, despite increases in global oil prices,” the GBPA added.

Although it did not say so, the GBPA’s statement was likely issued in response to URCA’s legal bid to take over energy sector regulation in Freeport and wider Grand Bahama.

The Nassaubased national regulator, in response to GB Power’s challenge to its regulatory authority in Freeport, is alleging that the Electricity Act “implicitly repealed” key parts of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

The GBPA, meanwhile, said the regulatory framework agreed with GB Power had also “paved the way for the development of the first utility-scale solar plant in the country.

“The plant will have a total installed capacity of 3.3 megawatts (MW), capable of supplying enough electricity to support over 850 homes on Grand Bahama.

This visionary undertaking will help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions annually by over 4,200 tons,” it added.

“GBPA, through its keen regulatory oversight, has demonstrated its commitment to improving utility services in Freeport by not only ensuring a very efficient and reliable service but also encouraging a more competitive cost.”

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FROM left: Anita Bain, Central Bank of The Bahamas and STEP Caribbean conference chair; John Lawrence, recipient of The STEP Founder’s Award; Brent Symonette, minister of financial services, trade and Immigration.

BAHAMIAN EXECUTIVE STEPS UP FOR AWARD

A BAHAMIAN financial services professional was yesterday presented with an award for outstanding achievement during the STEP Caribbean Conference’s opening at Baha Mar. John Lawrence received the STEP (Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners) Founder’s Award after serving as the body’s global deputy chair from 2012 to 2015.

He was also the STEP regional chair for the Caribbean and Latin America Region from 2003 to 2010, and is an emeritus member of the STEP Caribbean Conference.

A director of the Nassaubased Windermere group of companies, which provides estate and family officer services, Mr Lawrence is a director of Sterling Bank & Trust.

The STEP Founder’s Awards for outstanding achievement are presented annually. They are given

to members who have made an exceptional and outstanding long-term contribution to the Society above and beyond that normally expected of a member through office held with their branch or elsewhere. It is one of the highest and most prestigious awards granted

by STEP. The Bahamas is currently hosting the 20th anniversary of the STEP Caribbean Conference.

The first was held in Nassau in 1999, and since then it has been held in 12 different jurisdictions, attracting a combined total of more 7,000 delegates from 55 different countries.

STEP was formed 28 years ago and has over 20,000 worldwide members in about 100 countries. The Trust & Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation is largely regarded as the global gold standard for wealth management and estate practitioners.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 14, 2019, PAGE 3

EX-MINISTER: CARIBBEAN IFCS IN ‘SERIOUS TROUBLE’

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

financial centres. I have difficulty identifying our competitive advantage and value proposition that clients will desire. Why do clients need regional IFCs when their information is no longer private and they have to invest significantly in physical presence - in certain cases from an operational point of view, and in most cases from a governance point of view.

“In an era of transparency, economic substance and over-compliance, what sets us as IFCs apart from onshore financial centres?

Unless we adapt and can identify and convince the market of our value proposition in the new world order, we will struggle to continue. In the short-term we will all try to survive, in the medium-term we will struggle with innovation and differentiation, in the long-term I fear many of us will not exist as IFCs any longer without fundamental

and visionary policy direction and reform.”

Mr Pinder questioned whether efforts to adapt and adjust to the past decade’s regulatory onslaught have placed Caribbean IFCs in a position to remain competitive. “I struggle to see how we are better off from a business point of view,” he said.

“We have gone from holding ourselves out as true differentiating financial centre to proclaiming that we are compliant with all the rules imposed on us.

That alone does not attract clients and develop an industry. That message, as a sole message, is an admission that we are regulating ourselves out of business.

“Global regulatory standards have expanded now beyond tax, beyond antimoney laundering and have now put the focus on economic substance.... The imposition of economic substance requirements

will be difficult for many of our IFCs, difficult in understanding exactly what the clients are doing, difficulty in having the capacity to provide the economic substance domestically in our countries, and difficulty for our private sector - especially those that are in international groups - to comply with the archaic outsourcing requirement that prohibits the outsourcing of core income generating activities outside of the country.”

Mr Pinder said that while The Bahamas has undertaken several legislative reforms, many are “lacking in regulations and guidance that will assist the private sector in understanding their obligations and how to conduct their business, adding to the uncertainty in our marketplace”.

“We still have work to do on the legislative front,” he warned. “Some of the legislation likely will require

amendments, and most of the legislation we have seen requires more precise guidance. The downfall of this process, however, is that we have not passed enough legislation for new products, new innovation and new opportunities for a value proposition.”

He continued: “If we can define ourselves, be attractive to business, then we have a fighting chance. If we can reshape our market, invest in our own knowledge and understanding, work collectively as private sector, government and regulators, then the chance of survival, and hopefully success, remains.

“It is a hard journey; we all have a lot to invest, but it’s our industry not theirs. It’s our future, not theirs. It’s our viability as small island nations that is most important. We live here, they don’t.”

FOUR sectors were yesterday identified as key drivers of The Bahamas’ 1.6 percent real GDP growth in 2018 that was hailed as the first decent expansion for five years.

Private sector performance drove the growth, according to national accounts data published by

the Department of Statistics (DOS), which included annual and quarterly figures for real gross domestic product (GDP).

“In 2018, nine of the 17 industry groups contributed to the overall increase in real GDP. However, increases in real estate, the wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food services, and financial and insurance services were the leading contributors,”

the Department of Statistics report said.

It added that real estate industry output increased by $16m or 0.9 percent to $1.764bn; the wholesale and retail trade (including vehicle repairs) expanded by $43m or three percent to $1.449bn when compared to 2017; and the accommodation and food services industry showed a combined output increase of $253m, influenced by the 7.9 percent rebound in 2018 tourist arrivals, to hit $1.054bn.

The financial and insurance sector’s output contribution grew by $42m or 4.2 percent to $1.038bn

when compared to 2017.

This is supported by more favourable developments in domestic credit extended by the financial institutions compared to the previous year.

The Ministry of Finance, in a statement, said the decline in general public expenditure was “unsurprising” given the government’s cost containment and fiscal responsibility policies.

“This had no dampening economic impact given the strong private sector performance,” it said.

“Household consumption increased by $140m, and exports of goods and

services increased by $244m. The rebound in tourism, which continues to benefit from a combination of healthy gains in air visitor arrivals, increased room availability and expanded airlift, was further observed by the real growth in the accommodation and food services industry.

“There is no doubt this performance is also having positive impacts on wholesale and retail trade, and general improvements in consumer and business confidence have translated into the observed increase in consumption by households and in business spending.”

According to the report, The Bahamas GDP was $12.424bn in nominal or current dollars, and $10.763bn in real or constant dollars in 2018.

“When compared to the same period of 2017, this represents an increase of 2.3 per cent in nominal growth and real growth of 1.6 per cent,” the report said.

The Department of Statistics’ added that household expenditure increased by $140m or 1.9 percent; exports of goods and services increased by $244m or 6.3 percent; and imports of goods and services decreased by $23m or 0.4 percent.

FORMER BORCO TERMINAL AWAITS LATEST PURCHASER

OWNERSHIP of the former Bahamas Oil Refining Company (BORCO) has changed hands for the third time in the past decade with Friday’s announcement of its parent’s acquisition.

The now-Buckeye Bahamas oil storage facility and marine terminal will pass into

the hands of IFM Investors and its IFM Global Infrastructure Fund as a result of their purchase of Buckeye Partners, which is due to close by the 2019 fourth quarter.

BORCO, which was first acquired from PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, by a combination

of the First Reserve private equity fund and Vopak, was subsequently sold to Buckeye Partners some years later.

“Buckeye’s Board of Directors recently reviewed strategic options for the business and determined that IFM’s proposal to acquire Buckeye is in the

best interest of Buckeye,” said Clark C Smith, chairman, president and chief executive of Buckeye.

“The proposed transaction will provide immediate and enhanced value for our unitholders with an attractive premium that accelerates long-term returns

and represents the underlying value of our business.

“In addition, the proposed transaction will provide Buckeye with superior access to capital to execute on its long-term business strategy. We look forward to this next chapter in Buckeye’s 133-year story.”

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net CARIBBEAN international financial centres (IFCs) are “all in very serious trouble”, a former financial services minister warned yesterday, expressing fears that many may not survive.

Ryan Pinder, pictured, who held the post under the last Christie administration, outlined the grim reality facing nations such as The Bahamas amid the changing regulatory landscape.

He said that in the absence of in visionary policy direction and reform, “I fear many of us will not exist as IFCs any longer”.

Mr Pinder, who was addressing the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Caribbean 2019 conference, told attendees he did not share the optimism that regional IFCs are strong and “will all be ok”.

“I think we are all in very serious trouble, and I don’t say this because I believe we cannot survive with compliant business. Region wide we struggle with a lack of identity and an opaque value proposition as international financial centres given today’s regulatory reforms and scope of business that we must adapt to,” said Mr Pinder.

“My view of the world, and us IFCs in the world today, is not very bullish. I think we have significant challenges to be viable as

FOUR INDUSTRIES DRIVE RENEWED GDP GROWTH

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

BISX UNVEILS FEE AND RULE CHANGE PROPOSALS THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) yesterday unveiled proposed rule and fee changes for market comment and feedback via a 30-day consultation.

Keith Davies, pictured, BISX’s chief executive, said: “We wanted to post these items for review and consideration by all stakeholders in our market, and give them an opportunity to comment on the proposed rule and fee amendments.

“This type of interaction is invaluable to BISX as it allows us to receive direct communications from interested persons. The aim going forward is to be more aggressive with amending our rules to ensure that we adhere and respond to changing market conditions and keep pace with regulatory best practices.

“It is our intention to use our website to ensure that issuers, brokers, investors and the general public are completely involved in this process. I look forward to the feedback that we will receive from the Bahamian capital markets.”

The proposed rule changes are focused on trading rules, listing rules, issuers continuing obligations, and the BISX Fee Schedule. They can be found on the exchange’s website under the Market Regulation menu item.

The new rules, including any changes based on the market’s feedback, will be provided to the Securities Commission of The Bahamas for review and final approval.

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PAGE 4, Tuesday, May 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

‘Conflict’ concern on work permit reforms FROM PAGE ONE not involved in daily operations.

Also exempt are senior executives and management professionals who fly in to “attend a business meeting with a local company”, with the liberalised Immigration regime intended to be part of a wider government strategy to deregulate the economy, improve its competitiveness and send the signal that The Bahamas is open for business.

The “business meeting” exemption, though, is relatively broad and goes beyond chairmen, directors, shareholders, and all executives from the rank of chief financial officer up, to include the likes of managers, consultants, attorneys, compliance officers and accountants.

Others included under this initiative, and exempt from the short-term work visa requirement, are

auditors, actuaries, medical professionals, analysts and controllers.

The private sector, and especially the financial services industry, has been pushing for such reforms for years on the grounds that they will enhance The Bahamas’ ease of doing business and reputation while avoiding embarrassing incidents that have seen senior corporate executives refused entry and/or detained and given a grilling by immigration officers at the airport.

Brent Symonette, minister of financial services, investments and Immigration, has repeatedly said the Bill is designed to provide greater clarity on who requires/does not require short-term work permits to enter The Bahamas.

He has argued that it does not dilute the powers of immigration officers to deny entry but, ever since the legislation made it to the House of Assembly, it

‘Work like hell’ after six-year GDP stall FROM PAGE ONE

2014 to a low of 0.1 percent in 2017. The “major” growth surge came in 2018 as a result of the 1.6 percent expansion, which finally moved real GDP above 2012 levels to $10.763bn.

KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, and the Ministry of Finance yesterday hailed the Department of Statistics report for confirming that The Bahamas had enjoyed decent real GDP growth for the first time in five years under the Minnis administration in 2018.

The ministry, in a statement, compared last year’s

has come under fire from the government’s political opponents who are alleging it is unenforceable, undermines the concept of “bahamianisation”, and dilutes the protections afforded to local professionals in their own country.

Mr Bowe yesterday joined Bahamas Bar Association president, Khalil Parker, in confirming that BICA, too, had not been formally consulted on the short-term work permit reforms and was unaware of the proposal.

While taking the government’s objectives at “face value”, he said it needed to “satisfy” Bahamian stakeholders that the changes would not provide a backdoor route for foreign workers to enter The Bahamas and conduct work they would normally need a long-term work permit for.

The BICA president reiterated that The Bahamas needed a balanced approach, warning

KP TURNQUEST 1.6 percent real growth to the mild 0.4 percent average GDP increase realised over the previous three years.

It added: “The economy was valued at $12.42bn in nominal dollars, with four of the 17 industry groups contributing the most to the overall size: Real estate, wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food services, and financial and insurance services.”

Mr Turnquest, meanwhile, said: “This is the first time the country has had decent economic growth in over five years. When we look at where we are now compared to where we

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were, these results are confirmation there has been a significant turnaround and our policy mix is effectively placing us on a path of sustained growth.

“The key takeaways are that economic growth is positive, our momentum has firmed and it is being driven by the private sector. Just five years ago, the country was experiencing negative growth at -3 percent and, for several years, the country struggled to arrest the decline.

“Now, we have turned things around, and we are set up for future expansion and sustained growth. This will allow for expanded job

that while it must not be perceived as “overly restrictive” on immigration it had to ensure opportunities were provided for qualified local professionals.

“Taking it at face value, this is not opening up opportunities for someone - coming to provide services that normally they would need a long-term work permit for - trying to do it on a short-term permit,” Mr Bowe said.

“This is speaking about business specific and people to operate in their own business. We have to be very careful about being seen to be overly protectionist in the sense that if we’re looking for investors to set up shop in The Bahamas we have to be flexible.

“We can’t have our cake and eat it by saying: ‘Bring your money but not your resources’.

While The Bahamas has to protect the rights of its citizens, it cannot be closed. If we do not allow persons in growth

will be limited as the population size is not large,” he added.

“There is a need to have a broader national discussion over international exposure without passing up the rights of domestic persons to have opportunities. We need to focus on making sure our people are able to compete on the international stage.”

Mr Bowe said immigration needed to ensure it had a system in place to track the entry/exit of persons exempted from short-term work permits to ensure there was no abuse, adding that the government needed to accept criticism over how the reforms have been handled.

“The government has to be mature and take the criticism over the way it was rolled out and consultation, whether it be with worker representatives like the unions or the professions covered by some of the titles in the legislation,” he

told Tribune Business.

“I believe the appropriate criticism is that the manner in which it has been presented was not done in a way that appropriately addressed stakeholder groups, and set out the actual mechanisms and legal [rationale] behind it.”

Brent Symonette, minister of financial services, trade and industry, and Immigration, last February told Tribune Business that the government was considering such reforms, and seeking business community feedback on what worker categories should be exempted from the “short-term work visa” requirement.

He revealed that the Immigration Department received around 200 applications per week for short-term visas and permits, creating “a large amount of paperwork” that could be reduced once these reforms were enacted.

opportunities for Bahamians and improve our ability to withstand shocks.”

Mr Myers, though, argued that the Department of Statistics data illustrated the scale of the task still confronting The Bahamas to reverse decades of economic underperformance and convert this into sustainable, job-creating growth that brings unemployment down into the single digits.

“The fact is GDP matters, and we have got to do better on improving GDP growth,” he told Tribune Business. “If the government is going to cut back on expenditure and capital investment there’s no other choice: GDP growth is the only way.

“GDP growth is the rising tide that lifts all boats. We have to work like hell to get GDP growth up as close to 5.5 percent as possible, but a lot of that is not possible in my view as workforce development and education are lagging behind and capping GDP growth.”

A 5.5 percent annual

GDP growth rate was cited by the IMF as the level that The Bahamas needed to attain between 2013 and 2018 if it was to successfully absorb all new workforce entrants over that period while cutting existing unemployment rates by 50 percent.

The Department of Statistics data indicates The Bahamas remains well short of such growth, and Mr Myers added: “The workforce isn’t ready, and is not there, to get more growth.

That’s why we’re so heavily dependent on foreign direct investment (FDI).

“Yes, there’s capacity to improve entrepreneurship. but with 73 percent of school leavers failing it’s very hard to get internal growth with these kind of statistics. It just indicates we still have a tremendous amount of work to do.”

Mr Myers said most Bahamian companies, including his own, had endured a protracted decade-long recession that had begun in 2008. “From our business’s standpoint it took

us at least ten years to get back to pre-2008,” he told Tribune Business. “Last year was the first time we got back to 2008 levels in the private sector.

“I can tell you that it was a very protracted, elongated recession. We’ve had a hell of a time, and just got back up in 2018. Hopefully, we will hold this growth through 2019 and 2020. We took a heavy hammering for five of those years - from 2008 to 2013. It’s not been a party for anybody, including the government.”

He added that while the US had begun to “bounce back in 2011 and 2012”, The Bahamas had taken much longer. “In my view it’s been a ten-year recession,” Mr Myers said. “It’s just started to correct.

“2017 was getting better, but it was a long haul coming off the bottom.

Most private sector companies probably mimic that, and some probably still don’t. If they only recovered in 2018, it takes a while for that money to get through the system.”

Govt approves tax certificate reply to OECD FROM PAGE ONE I am a permanent resident in The Bahamas and that would offset any taxes that are required in that country or any other country in the world.”

Mr Symonette had

alluded to the introduction of a tax residency certificate more than a year ago, which is a product the former Christie administration had also considered introducing in response to requests from the financial services industry and its clients.

The minister, meanwhile, also spoke to the recently-released Oxford Economics report that was commissioned by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) to assess the likely impact of full World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership on this nation’s economy.

“The Oxford report is saying we cannot continue

to keep the business model as it is,” said Mr Symonette, noting that Ryan Pinder, a former Cabinet minister under the Christie administration, had delivered much the same message during his presentation at the STEP conference.

“If we are going to continue to follow what the PLP is suggesting, and keep a very restricted environment on business, the country will not continue to grow,” he said.

Mr Symonette added that the Minnis administration has already overseen exchange control relaxation. “It’s easier for Bahamians to get money to continue to do business in the US. We are making it

easier to do business generally, and this is a way we can help to grow the economy so that more Bahamians will not only get ownership but have well paying jobs,” he said.

Ramesh Chaitoo, who co-authored the Oxford Economics report, told Tribune Business last week that this nation faces significant internal pressures to maintain its economic status quo.

Yet he argued that there was abundant evidence to show The Bahamas is not generating sufficient GDP growth and new jobs through a narrow economic model that has largely remained unchanged for 60 years.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 14, 2019, PAGE 5

CCA slams Sarkis with $150m claim FROM PAGE ONE

claiming they had been excluded from design and financial information on Baha Mar’s progress, added: “As a result of these actions, CSCEC Bahamas has been deprived of the full benefits of its ownership of preference shares in Baha Mar and is entitled to an order compensating it for the loss of such benefits pursuant to section 280 of The Bahamas’ Companies Act. “Those losses include but are not limited to deprivation of the annual dividend payments to which CSCEC Bahamas was entitled under the Investors Agreement and the loss of its entire $150m investment in Baha Mar.” As a result, CCA is counter-claiming against Mr Izmirlian for “no less than $150m” - and seeking “punitive damages” on top of that - in its response to the $2.25bn fraud and breach of contract lawsuit brought against it by Baha Mar’s original developer.

Many observers are likely to wonder, though, how CCA and its affiliates can bring a “shareholder oppression” claim that is based on Bahamian law namely section 280 of the Companies Act - before a New York court.

And CCA is likely to have been more than adequately compensated for the “wipe out” of its $150m Baha Mar investment in any event. Besides being reimbursed for the sums said to be owed to it

by Baha Mar at the time of the Chapter 11 filing, it was also the recipient of a $600m-$700m contract to complete the mega resort once Mr Izmirlian had been removed from the project.

CCA, meanwhile, returned to its previous tactics of blaming Mr Izmirlian and his management team for the project’s eventual failure and collapse into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

It repeated previous allegations that construction was thrown off-course by the thousands of changes demanded by Baha Mar’s original developer.

Mr Izmirlian has alleged that these alterations were necessary to rectify shoddy workmanship by CCA and its sub-contractors, but the Chinese company last night countered that if drawings were changed or it had to complete extra, more expensive work then its pricing and schedules had to be adjusted by Baha Mar. Construction change directives (CCDs) could also be issued by Baha Mar to get CCA to perform extra work but, in both instances, the contractor alleged that the developer had to pay it more.

“On a project in which the developer is doing its

BAHA MAR RESORT, CABLE BEACH

job correctly, change orders and CCDs should be in narrow in scope because the design drawings and other design documents will not require significant variation,” CCA alleged.

“On this project, however, BML Properties caused Baha Mar to issue over 1,000 CCDs because Baha Mar’s design drawings were constantly changing.

As a result, CCA Bahamas was forced to send 5,614 ‘requests for information’ to Baha Mar between May 11, 2011, and April 20, 2015, requesting that Baha Mar provide additional detail on its design drawings or correct inaccurate or incomplete information contained in its drawings.

“The responses to these requests for information were frequently untimely, insufficient or incomplete (or ignored in some cases)”.

As a result of these and other factors, CCA alleged in its legal filings that Baha Mar’s construction fell significantly behind schedule.

It alleged that it issued repeated warnings to Mr Izmirlian and his managers about the impact the CCDs were having, citing a July 2014 report in which it warned: “It is most likely that the substantial completion of this project will be delayed by a total of around four to five months, and will be further delayed if Baha Mar will not immediately release all the outstanding designs and if Baha Mar will not freeze yet all the designs of this project.

“The repeated warnings, however, were not heeded.

BML Properties continued to cause Baha Mar to make design changes and issue CCDs, even as the deadline

Minister admits credit costs and access obstacle FROM PAGE ONE He added: “That dovetails into the Commercial Enterprises Bill.

That allows for a number of industries that are not in The Bahamas currently. The Commercial Enterprises Bill gives an applicant a work permit [within 14 days of the application being submitted].

“The Department of Immigration has the right to revoke that if they find you have some antecedents that are terrible. After that you go straight in to get your approval and you go in to start your business with a minimum investment of $250,000.”

As for concerns that the $250,000 investment threshold is too low, Mr Symonette said: “Some people ask why $250,000 and why not $1m. A lot of businesses come in and rent office space, and you don’t need massive overhead. That figure was set at $250,000 to make it easy to get into business.

“Does it stop Bahamians? No, because

Bahamians are entitled to do that. You can argue that we have to find ways to make it easier for Bahamians to get credit. There are too may documents needed to get a loan. In Switzerland I’m told there is like two percent interest, and we’re paying seven to eight percent here. We have to find a way to get around that.”

The government tabled the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2019 in March, making it clear that the BH-1B work visa is intended to underpin, and complement, the Commercial Enterprises Act and its promise to liberalise the Immigration regime for companies in sectors targeted by that law.

The Commercial Enterprises Act attempts to introduce certainty and predictability to the work permit regime by requiring the director of immigration to make a decision on their approval within 14 days of the application’s receipt.

Applications from businesses covered by the Act must be submitted within 30 days of the worker’s arrival in The Bahamas.

for completion neared. As a result, on or around August

1, 2014, Baha Mar publicly announced that the ‘grand

opening’ of the resort would be delayed from December

2014 to ‘late Spring 2015’ or possibly later.”

PAGE 6, Tuesday, May 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

DEMONSTRATORS hold images of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos near their faces during a Halloween-themed protest at Amazon headquarters over the company’s facial recognition system, “Rekognition”, in Seattle. San Francisco is on track to become the first US city to ban the use of facial recognition by police and other city agencies as the technology creeps increasingly into daily life. Studies have shown error rates in facial-analysis systems built by Amazon, IBM and Microsoft were far higher for darker-skinned women than lighter-skinned men.

PUBLIC SAFETY, CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS BATTLE OVER FACE ID TECH SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press SAN Francisco is on track to become the first US city to ban the use of facial recognition by police and other city agencies, reflecting a growing backlash against a technology that’s creeping into airports, motor vehicle departments, stores, stadiums and home security cameras.

Government agencies around the US have used the technology for more than a decade to scan databases for suspects and prevent identity fraud.

But recent advances in artificial intelligence have created more sophisticated computer vision tools, making it easier for police to pinpoint a missing child or protester in a moving crowd

or for retailers to analyse shoppers’ facial expressions as they peruse store shelves.

Efforts to restrict its use are getting pushback from law enforcement groups and the tech industry, though it’s far from a united front.

Microsoft, while opposed to an outright ban, has urged lawmakers to set limits on the technology, warning that leaving it unchecked could enable an oppressive dystopia reminiscent of George Orwell’s novel “1984”.

“Face recognition is one of those technologies that people get how creepy it is,” said Alvaro Bedoya, who directs Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology. “It’s not like cookies on a browser.

There’s something about this technology that really sets the hairs on the back of

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT (No. 46 of 2000) NOVALIS CORPORATION IBC No. 54050 B (In Voluntary Liquidation) NOTICE is hereby given that as follows: (a)

That NOVALIS CORPORATION is in Dissolution under the provisions of The International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The Dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 8th day of May 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the Company is Sterling (Bahamas) Ltd of 2nd Floor, Saffrey Square, Bank Lane and Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas.

(d)

Any person having a Claim against the above name Company are required on or before the 8th day of June 2019 to send their name, address and particulars of the debt or claim to the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they may be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such claim is approved.

Sterling (Bahamas) Limited Liquidator

POSITION AVAILABLE

people’s heads up.”

Without regulations barring law enforcement from accessing driver’s license databases, people who have never been arrested could be part of virtual police line-ups without their knowledge, skeptics of the technology say.

They worry people will one day not be able to go to a park, store or school without being identified and tracked.

Already, a handful of big box stores across the US are trying out cameras with facial recognition that can guess their customers’ age, gender or mood as they walk by, with the goal of showing them targeted, real-time ads on in-store video screens.

If San Francisco adopts a ban, other cities, states or even Congress could follow, with lawmakers from both parties looking to curtail government surveillance and others hoping to restrict how businesses analyse the faces, emotions and gaits of an unsuspecting public.

The California Legislature is considering a proposal prohibiting the use of facial ID technology on body cameras. A bipartisan bill in the US Senate would

exempt police applications but set limits on businesses analysing people’s faces without their consent.

Legislation similar to San Francisco’s is pending in Oakland, California, and on Thursday another proposed ban was introduced in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Bedoya said a ban in San Francisco, the “most technologically advanced city in our country”, would send a warning to other police departments thinking of trying out the imperfect technology. But Daniel Castro, vice president of the industry-backed Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said the ordinance is too extreme to serve as a model.

“It might find success in San Francisco, but I will be surprised if it finds success in a lot of other cities,” he said.

San Francisco is home to tech innovators such as Uber, Airbnb and Twitter, but the city’s relationship with the industry is testy.

Some supervisors in City Hall are calling for a tax on stock-based compensation in response to a wave of San Francisco companies going public, including Lyft and Pinterest.

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Lawjob2019@outlook.com LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE

International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

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

In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, (No. 45 of 2000), PARKCOURT INVESTMENTS LTD. (the “Company”) is in dissolution. The date of commencement of the dissolution is May 8, 2019.

Milena Zak Starostik Da Costa is the Liquidator and can be contacted at Rua Prof. Pedro Viriato Parigot de Souza, 3305, ap 111, in the city of Curitiba, State of Paraná, Brazil, Zip Code: 81200. All persons having claims against the above-named Company are required to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator before June 7, 2019.

At the same time, San Francisco is big on protecting immigrants, civil liberties and privacy. In November, nearly 60% of voters approved a proposition to strengthen data privacy guidelines.

The city’s proposed facerecognition ban is part of broader legislation aimed at regulating the use of surveillance by city departments.

The legislation applies only to San Francisco government and would not affect companies or people who want to use the technology.

It also would not affect the use of facial recognition at San Francisco International Airport, where security is mostly overseen by federal agencies.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the bill today.

San Francisco police say they stopped testing face recognition in 2017. Spokesman David Stevenson said in a statement the department looks forward to “developing legislation that addresses the privacy concerns of technology while balancing the public safety concerns of our growing, international city”.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin acknowledges his legislation, called the “Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance”, isn’t very tech-friendly. But public oversight is critical given the potential for abuse, he said.

The technology often misfires. Studies have shown error rates in facial-analysis systems built by Amazon, IBM and Microsoft were far higher for darker-skinned women than lighter-skinned men.

Even if facial recognition were perfectly accurate, its use would pose a severe threat to civil rights, especially in a city with a rich history of protest and expression, said Matt Cagle, attorney at the ACLU of Northern California.

“If facial recognition were added to body cameras or public-facing surveillance feeds, it would threaten the ability of people to go to a protest or hang out in Dolores Park without having their identity tracked by the city,” he said, referring to a popular park in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Local critics of San Francisco’s legislation, however, worry about hampering police investigations in a city with a high number of vehicle break-ins and several high-profile annual parades. They want to make sure police can keep using merchants and residents’ video surveillance in investigations without bureaucratic hassles.

Joel Engardio, vice president of grassroots group Stop Crime SF, wants the city to be flexible.

“Our point of view is, rather than a blanket ban forever, why not a moratorium so we’re not using problematic technology, but we open the door for when technology improves?” he said.

Such a moratorium is under consideration in the Massachusetts Legislature, where it has the backing of Republican and Democratic senators.

Often, a government’s facial recognition efforts happen in secret or go unnoticed. In Massachusetts, the motor vehicle registry has used the technology since 2006 to prevent driver’s license fraud, and some police agencies have used it as a tool for detectives.

“It is technology we use,” said Massachusetts State Police Lt Tom Ryan, adding that “we tend not to get too involved in publicising” that fact. Ryan and the agency declined to answer further questions about how it’s used.

NOTICE SEA DRAGON CAPITAL LTD. (In Voluntary Liquidation) Registration No. 200765B

Notice is hereby given, in accordance with Section 138(4)(a),(b) and (c) of The International Business Companies Act, that the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 9th day of May, 2019. The Liquidator is Ian Black c/o Callenders & Co., One Millars Court, Nassau, Bahamas.

Ian Black (Liquidator)

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, May 14, 2019, PAGE 11

APPS COST TOO MUCH? COURT ALLOWS SUIT ADDING TO APPLE’S WOES WASHINGTON Associated Press CONSUMERS can pursue a lawsuit complaining that iPhone apps cost too much, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday, adding to Apple’s woes that already include falling iPhone sales and a European investigation.

The lawsuit could have major implications for the tech giant’s handling of the more than two million apps in Apple’s App Store, where users get much of the software for their smartphones. While most of those apps are free to download, some impose fees for people to use the software and subscribe to the services.

In those cases, Apple charges a commission of 30%, a practice that the lawsuit contends unfairly drives up the price for the apps.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion that agreed the antitrust lawsuit can move forward in a lower court.

The court’s four liberal justices joined Kavanaugh, one of President Donald Trump’s two high court appointees, to reject a plea from Apple to end the lawsuit at this early stage. The decision did not involve the merits of the suit.

Apple argues it’s merely a pipeline between app developers and consumers, and that iPhone users have no claims against Apple under antitrust law and a 1977 Supreme Court decision. Tens of thousands of developers create the software and set the price, Apple says.

“We’re confident we will prevail when the facts are presented and that the App Store is not a monopoly by any metric,” Apple said in statement issued in response to yesterday’s ruling. The lawsuit could take years to wind to its conclusion.

But Kavanaugh stressed in his opinion that Apple’s commissions also may affect consumers, as well as app developers.

“The iPhone owners purchase apps directly from the retailer Apple,” he said, describing a relationship sufficient to allow the

lawsuit to go forward.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s other high court pick, wrote a dissent for four conservative justices, saying that the consumers’ complaint against Apple is the kind of case that a 42-year-old decision, in Illinois Brick Co v Illinois, was intended to prevent. The court in that case “held that an antitrust plaintiff can’t sue a defendant for overcharging someone else who might (or might not) have passed on all (or some) of the overcharge to him”, Gorsuch wrote. “Yet today the court lets a pass-on case proceed.”

The ruling threatens to throw another monkey wrench in Apple’s efforts to increase the revenue generated from its app store at a time that its iPhone sales have plunged into their deepest slump since that revolutionary product hit the market 12 years ago.

To counter the iPhone sales drop, Apple is trying to make more money from selling services such as its music subscription service, as well as a forthcoming Netflix-like video service while also taking a cut from the subscriptions and other transactions done on apps downloaded on iPhones and iPads.

The effort has been largely successful, helping to transform the Apple services division that includes the app store into the fastest growing part of the company. Apple’s most recent quarter highlight the ongoing transformation as its services division revenue surged 16% percent from the previous year to $11.5bn while iPhone sales plunged 17% to $31bn.

Meanwhile, Apple is under scrutiny in Europe because of claims of unfair business practices. The Dutch anti-trust agency opened an investigation in April into allegations by companies including the Sweden-based online music service Spotify over commissions and other issues.

The Financial Times reported this month that the European Commission planned to begin a formal probe based on a separate complaint from Spotify.

Even before Spotify filed

its complaint in Europe, Netflix magnified the attention on the issue late last year when it decided to stop accepting new subscribers through Apple’s app store.

Now the Supreme Court decision raises the specter of the legal dominoes falling in a way that could require Apple to slash its commissions or even abandon them.

The commissions are unlikely to disappear completely because it’s reasonable for apps to pay a fee for distributing their software just as manufacturers pay brick-and-mortar retailers to get the products on store shelves, said Danielle Levitas, executive vice president of market insights for App Annie, a firm that tracks the app market.

But even a reduction in the commission rate could deliver a financial blow that would even damage a company as profitable as Apple.

If Apple can maintain the current commissions in its app store at its recent rate of growth, it will produce revenue of about $17bn in 2020, estimates Macquarie Securities analyst Ben Schachter. But if the average commission rate were to fall to 12 percent, the projected revenue from the app store would shrivel to $7.6bn next year, Schachter predicts.

That possibility rattled investors already jittery about how the escalating trade war with China might make it even more difficult for Apple to sell more iPhones. Apple’s stock dropped nearly six percent yesterday to close at $185.72. With the China tariffs causing even more pressing concerns, Apple’s stock has fallen by about 11% percent in the past week alone to erase $100bn in shareholder wealth.

There has been exponential growth in the availability of apps since Apple created the App Store in 2008 with 500 choices. “‘There’s an app for that’ has become part of the 21stcentury American lexicon,” Kavanaugh said.

The case is Apple Inc v Pepper, 17-204.

Amazon offers to help employees start delivery business

AMAZON Prime boxes are loaded on a cart for delivery in New York. Amazon, which is racing to deliver packages faster, is turning to its employees with a proposition: Quit your job and we’ll help you start a business delivering Amazon package. The offer, announced yesterday comes as Amazon seeks to speed up its shipping time from two days to one for its Prime members.

NEW YORK Associated Press AMAZON, which is racing to deliver packages faster, is turning to its own employees with a proposition: Quit your job and we’ll help you start a business delivering Amazon packages.

The offer, announced yesterday, comes as Amazon seeks to speed up its shipping time from two days to one for its Prime members. The company sees the new incentive as a way to get more packages delivered to shoppers’ doorsteps more quickly.

Amazon says it will cover up to $10,000 in startup costs for employees who are accepted into the program and leave their jobs. Those who participate will be able to lease blue vans with the Amazon smile logo stamped on the side. The company says it will also pay them three months’ worth of their salary.

The offer is open to most part-time and full-time Amazon employees, including warehouse workers who pack and ship orders. Whole

Foods employees are not eligible to receive the new incentives.

Seattle-based Amazon. com Inc declined to say how many employees it expects to take them up on the offer.

The new employee incentive is part of a program Amazon started a year ago that let anyone apply to launch an independent Amazon delivery business and provided $10,000 in reimbursements to military veterans.

The expansion is part of the company’s plan to gain more control over its deliveries rather than rely on UPS, the post office and other carriers. It also gives Amazon a way to grow its delivery network without spending the money needed to buy vehicles or hire workers, says Barb Ivanov, director of University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab, a research lab that focuses on logistics and supply chain transportation.

“The wage problem won’t be Amazon’s problem,” says Ivanov.

Overall, more than 200 Amazon delivery businesses

have been created since it launched the programme last June, says John Felton, Amazon’s vice president of global delivery services.

One of them is run by Milton Collier, a freight broker who started his business in Atlanta about eight months ago. Since then, it has grown to 120 employees with a fleet of 50 vans that can handle up to 200 delivery stops in a day. It has already been preparing for the oneday shipping switch by hiring more people.

“We’re ready,” says Collier.

But Amazon is still far posing a threat to UPS and FedEx, says Beth DavisSramek, a supply chain management professor at Auburn University. Those carriers have thousands of trucks and hundreds of planes to get packages where they need to go. And they’re doing more than just delivering boxes to doorsteps, she says; they’re also transporting packages between warehouses and businesses.

“UPS and FedEx will be just fine,” says Davis-Sramek.

PAGE 12, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 BEIJING Associated Press SENDING Wall Street into a slide, China announced higher tariffs yesterday on $60bn worth of American goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s latest penalties on Chinese products.

Chinese duties of 5% to 25% will take effect on June 1 on about 5,200 American products, including batteries, spinach and coffee, the Finance Ministry said.

With investors worried about the potential economic damage on all sides from the escalating trade war, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 617 points, or 2.4%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq plunged 270 points, or 3.4%, in its biggest drop of the year.

Earlier, stocks fell in Europe and Asia.

“Right now, we appear to be in a slow-motion train wreck, with both sides sticking to their positions,” said William Reinsch, a trade analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former US trade official. “As is often the case, however, the losers will not be the negotiators or presidents, but the people.”

Beijing’s move came after the US raised duties Friday on $200bn of Chinese imports to 25%, up from 10%. In doing so, American officials accused China of backtracking on commitments it made in earlier negotiations. The same day, trade talks between the two countries broke up without an agreement.

On Twitter, Trump warned Xi that China “will

THE TRIBUNE

China retaliates on tariffs, stock markets go into a slide

A CONTAINER ship is unloaded at the Virginia International Gateway terminal in Norfolk, Va. China has announced tariff hikes on $60bn of US goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s escalation of a fight over technology and other trade disputes. The Finance Ministry said yesteray, May 13, the penalty duties of 5% to 25% on hundreds of US products including batteries, spinach and coffee take effect June 1. be hurt very badly” if it doesn’t agree to a trade deal.

Trump tweeted that Beijing “had a great deal, almost completed, & you backed out!”

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that CHONKEN JEAN-PIERRE of McKinney Drive off Carmichael Road, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 7th day of May, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

The rising trade hostilities could damage the economies of both countries. The tariff increases already in place have disrupted trade in such American products as soybeans and medical equipment and sent shockwaves through other Asian economies that supply Chinese factories.

Still, the two countries have given themselves something of an escape hatch: The higher Chinese tariffs don’t kick in for 2½ weeks.

The US increases apply to Chinese goods shipped since Friday, and those shipments will take about three weeks to arrive at US seaports and become subject to the higher charges.

Also, both countries have indicated more talks are likely. Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Sunday that

China has invited US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to Beijing. But nothing has been scheduled. And Trump said yesterday that he expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in late June at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

The president has repeatedly insisted that increased tariffs on Chinese goods don’t hurt American consumers.

But Kudlow, head of the president’s National Economic Council, acknowledged over the weekend that US consumers and businesses will bear some of the costs.

“Both sides will pay,” he told Fox News.

In the US, prices of soybeans, targeted by Chinese tariffs last year, fell yesterday to a ten-year low on

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

MONDAY, 13 MAY 2019

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ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,174.49 | CHG: -3.09 | %CHG: -0.14 | YTD: 65.04 | YTD%: 3.08 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 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

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 4.90 3.50 1.00 0.19 2.00 8.85 6.12 3.54 10.00 2.30 1.60 7.25 6.10 10.60 6.20 3.01 12.51

PREFERENCE SHARES 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

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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 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 2.10 10.94 6.16 4.50 10.29 2.63 1.85 9.17 7.00 15.25 7.25 3.50 14.00

CLOSE 4.22 17.43 6.00 5.39 2.50 1.98 2.22 10.94 6.16 4.50 10.00 2.63 1.85 9.17 7.00 15.25 7.25 3.50 14.00

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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

1,180 7,521

1,000

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 -5.2 15.5 12.8 29.2 15.9 25.8 8.9 N/M 11.0 18.3 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% 2.59% 3.24% 3.58% 3.43% 3.28% 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

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

fears of a protracted trade war.

In a statement, American Soybean Association President Davie Stevens, a soybean farmer from Clinton, Kentucky, expressed frustration that “the US has been at the table with China 11 times now and still has not closed the deal.

What that means for soybean growers is that we’re losing. Losing a valuable market, losing stable pricing, losing an opportunity to support our families and our communities”.

Trump told reporters yesterday that a new programme to relieve US farmers’ pain is “being devised right now” and predicted that they will be “very happy”.

The administration last year handed farmers aid worth $11bn to offset losses from trade conflicts.

The highest tariffs announced by China will apply to industrial chemicals, electronic equipment, precision machinery and

hundreds of food products.

Beijing is running out of US imports to penalise because of the lopsided trade balance between the world’s two largest economies. Chinese regulators have instead targeted American companies in China by slowing down the clearing of shipments through customs and the processing of business licenses.

Oxford Economics calculated that the higher tariffs will reduce the US economy by 0.3% in 2020, a loss of $490 per American household.

Similarly, forecasters have warned that the US tariff increases could set back a Chinese recovery that had appeared to be gaining traction. Growth in the world’s second-largest economy during the January-throughMarch period held steady at 6.4% compared with a year earlier, supported by higher government spending and bank lending.

The tensions “raise fresh doubts about this recovery path”, Morgan Stanley economists said.

The latest US duties could knock 0.5 percentage points off annual Chinese economic growth, and that could widen to one percentage point if both sides extend penalties to all of each other’s exports, economists say. That would pull annual growth below 6%, raising the risk of politically dangerous job losses.

China’s state media tried to reassure businesses and consumers that the ruling Communist Party has the means to respond.

“There is nothing to be afraid of,” said the party newspaper People’s Daily.

“The US-instigated trade war against China is just a hurdle in China’s development process. It is no big deal.”

Trump has threatened to extend tariffs to the remaining $300bn or so in Chinese tariffs that haven’t been targeted yet, but told reporters yesterday: “I have not made that decision yet.”

The president started raising tariffs last July over complaints China steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology and unfairly subsidises Chinese businesses that are striving to become global leaders in robotics and other technology.

A stumbling block has been US insistence on an enforcement mechanism with penalties to ensure Beijing carries out its commitments.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RICHARD JAMES WILLIAM HORTON of Charlotteville Subdivision, Starfish Road off Windsor Field Road, P.O. Box N-10428, 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 twentyeight days from the 14th day of May, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that SHENIKA SYLVESTRE of P.O. Box N-9704, East Street, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 7th day of May, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that KUERIESHA LERONIE STUBBS of Lot #2, East Street. South #760, P.O. Box N-10428, 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 14th day of May, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.