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MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2021
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Compass Point in May ‘22 close By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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OMPASS Point’s owner has confirmed the iconic western New Providence resort will close on May 3, 2022, and that the travel industry has been informed amid his ongoing regulatory impasse with the government. Leigh Rodney told Tribune Business that while The Bahamas “has a great future coming back from COVID-19, Compass Point won’t be in that” due to his inability to resolve grievances relating to the Hotel Licensing Authority and its inspection process. “I just thought you’d be interested to know we’ve set a date. We picked May 3 as the closing date,” he said, announcing a decision that will leave 50-60 Bahamians unemployed if it takes
• Owner informs travel industry of move • No resolution to hotel licence impasse • Nation has ‘great future, hotel not in it’
COMPASS POINT effect some 11 months from now. Mr Rodney, in Friday e-mails copied to this newspaper, told Majestic Tours: “We have chosen May 3, 2022, as the closure date
Royal Caribbean’s PI lease threatens dispute resolution By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN entrepreneur says fragile negotiations to resolve the dispute over his Paradise Island project have been undermined by the government executing a crown land lease in Royal Caribbean’s favour. Toby Smith, principal of Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club Company, told Tribune Business it was “mind boggling” that the government would proceed to lease a seven-acre parcel to the cruise giant when at least some of that crown land is already the subject of
Supreme Court litigation he launched over his own lease. Accusing the government of “double dealing” the same crown land tract, Mr Smith said the move had disrupted talks between himself and Royal Caribbean that were exploring whether their separate projects in the Colonial Beach area can co-exist and if there is a possible compromise over their competing crown land desires. “I think it’s comical and highly amusing that the Government of The Bahamas is double dealing crown land, and negotiating crown land with a third
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Port’s $31m refinance eliminates tariff rises By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU’S major cargo port says it has eliminated the possibility of any tariff rate increase by agreeing a refinancing of its near-$31m preference share debt that will slash interest costs by some $4.5m. Dion Bethell, Arawak Port Development Company’s (APD) president and chief financial officer, told Tribune Business that the preference shareholders will be repaid their principal within 90 days after agreeing to replace their capital with bank debt carrying an interest rate that is some 2.4 percentage points lower. “When we came to market with those preference shares they were at 5.5 percent, and we’ve been able to negotiate a more favourable rate at prime minus 1.15 percent with a cap not to exceed 4.75 percent,” the Nassau Container Port chief explained. Given that the Bahamian prime rate is presently at 4.25 percent, this will slash APD’s long-term interest (debt servicing) costs from 5.5 percent to 3.1 percent once the $30.856m
preference share capital outstanding at end-June 2022 is repaid to its investors. “The difference on that $30m is substantial in terms of the interest savings to the company and, in effect, it’s common shareholders,” Mr Bethell. “We’re estimating, for the option we considered, to save approximately $4.5m over the life of the facility. “Given the times we are in, we have to find ways to reduce costs as opposed to increasing rates. This is one option that we felt was best for the company and its shareholders at this time. “It gives APD an opportunity to obtain lower financing costs on its debt. If you hold preference shares, you’d like to hold that for longer at the higher rate of 5.5 percent, but we have always been prudent in managing our expenses and sought to keep our tariffs down. One way we’ve been able to do that is through refinancing of the preference shares at lower rates.” The interest savings from the preference shares’ replacement will be spread out over 12 years, which
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HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE. ARE YOU COVERED?
SEE PAGE 7
US pre-clearance woe to hit travel By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
TRAVELLERS have been told to arrive early at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) because there is insufficient manpower at US preclearance to process them “seamlessly”, it was revealed yesterday. Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business the situation was
for Compass Point. Do not accept reservations for stays starting on that date or later.” Philip Lightbourn, an executive at Majestic Holidays, an arm of Majestic
Tours, replied: “Such a shame that this has come so far without resolution. So sorry to hear this, it will be a sorely missed product both from a tourism perspective and a local hangout perspective. We will notify our partners of the new closure dates so they can adjust their stop sell records. Your heads-up is most appreciated.” Speaking subsequently to this newspaper, Mr Rodney explained: “Majestic Tours is the booking agent for all our foreign and European travellers, and many book way into the future, so we had to let them know something is going on. We had a
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DIONISIO D’AGUILAR “frustrating” because it threatened to impact the visitor experience and
SEE PAGE 8
Nobody Does it Better!
INSURANCE MANAGEMENT
(BAHAMAS) LIMITED. INSURANCE BROKERS & AGENTS
PAGE 2, Monday, June 14, 2021
Governance and culture key to business success BY DEREK SMITH
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EADERSHIP dynamics have recently been investigated in several different ways, including financial management, human capital management and strategic management. And business academics and practitioners have debated the topic of leadership at length in connection with business success or failure. Whether management is considered poor or good, what must be considered is the connection between leaders and their direct reports. To appreciate this dynamic and its impact on the overall results of a company,
executive leadership must take a deep dive into its culture, governance, risk framework and corporate strategies. Dr Suze Wilson, a leading academic, in her Sage Journals’ article, Pandemic
THE TRIBUNE leadership: Lesson from New Zealand’s approach to COVID-19, wrote that the possibly life-altering ramifications of positive or poor management had never been so apparent for many of us than at present. Meanwhile, the results from the 10th Allianz survey (a study of insurance and fund products) revealed that the top five business risks were: 1. Business interruption – chosen by 41 percent of respondents, placing it top for the seventh time in ten years. 2. Pandemic outbreak – 40 percent (previously ranked 17th, and also the main cause of business interruption). 3. Cyber incidents – 40 percent (last year’s top risk). 4. Market developments – 19 percent It is against this background that I wish to discuss, briefly, four areas that executive leaders in any industry should keep on their radars. I believe companies run the risk of failing if these are dismissed.
Tone at the top - Poor governance Risks associated with a company’s reputation are now considered as important as risks connected to strategy, operations and finances. To effectively manage reputational risk, a company must cultivate an ethical, transparent and open environment at the top. This is critical. Without clear and consistent leadership from the top, which exudes a strong risk awareness and compliance culture, companies almost always deplete the effectiveness of risk management and assurance. Keith Darcy, an independent senior advisor to Deloitte & Touche LLP, explained: “Creating and maintaining the right tone at the top is the bedrock of a robust ethics and compliance programme. By clarifying, and then carefully harmonising, the relevant roles of the chief executive, Board and chief compliance officer, companies can establish a tone at
the top that truly binds the organisation together.” Toxic organisational structure Organisational cultures that are unhealthy enable a relatively minor issue to turn into a major catastrophe. Some executives would prefer to stick with operational issues that are more easily quantifiable, but risks related to organisational culture should never be ignored. A toxic organisational culture can lead to human capital flight, such as the departure of quality stakeholders that are not easily replaced, and employee fraud. BDO Canada rates employee fraud as the second most important potential fraud to be aware of this year. To address this risk, the enterprise risks pillars need to be aligned with a strong partnership between the chief risk officer and the chief human resources officer to recognise and address the reemerging risk of human capital volatility. Conclusion In short, culture,
governance, risk framework and strategies, once robustly deployed, strategically implemented and consistently monitored within a well-structured regime, will greatly increase the probability of a company’s success versus its failures. It is the responsibility of executive leadership to work efficiently and effectively to convert risks into rewards. NB: Derek Smith Jr is a compliance officer at a leading law firm in The Bahamas, and a former assistant vice-president, compliance and money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), at a local private bank. His professional career started at a ‘Big Four’ accounting firm and has spanned more than 15 years, including business risk management, compliance, internal audit, external audit and other accounting services. He is also a CAMS member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS).
LPIA to process extra 8,000 over weekends LYNDEN Pindling International Airport (LPIA) yesterday predicted it will be processing an extra 8,000 passengers every weekend this summer due to the start of cruise home porting and the post-COVID tourism revival. The airport’s operator, Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), in a statement unveiling its summer 2021 operational plan, said it had devised a mechanism to process air travellers safely and efficiently amid growing passenger traffic and COVID-19 protocols. It added that 900 cruise ship passengers will be departing Nassau for the US on Saturday, June 19, following the end of their week-long cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas. Those numbers will expand when Crystal
THE COURTYARD at LPIA. LPIA has unveiled a new summer 2021 operations plan. During peak hours, airport ambassadors may direct US-bound travellers to wait briefly in the LPIA’s summer garden lounge prior to proceeding to airport security screening and US Customs. Cruises begins home porting on July 3, and NAD said it anticipates heavy cruise passenger arrivals and departures every Saturday and Sunday for several months. It is forecasting that the numbers will grow to 3,500 passengers each
weekend by July. Meanwhile, LPIA’s summer projections for land-based passenger arrivals and departures indicates a steady recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a potential additional 4,500 passengers processed
between Saturday and Sunday every weekend. “We are fortunate that our largest source market, the United States, has been very successful with their vaccine distribution, and there is significant pent-up demand for travel given the challenges and restrictions of the past year living with COVID-19. People are ready to travel and, month by month, we are seeing improvements in our passenger numbers.” said Vernice Walkine, NAD’s president and chief executive. “During this busy summer travel period we wish to assure the travelling public that their safety is our paramount concern. Our overall objective is to make certain that a high level of efficiency prevails in the terminals coupled with excellent customer service, resulting in a positive experience for our passengers.” NAD is encouraging Bahamians and residents to avoid weekend air travel if possible, and choose another day to fly, so as to avoid the build-up of cruise
and stopover tourist passengers on Saturday and Sunday. If you do have to travel at the weekend, it is encouraging persons to seek flights either before 9am or after 2pm to escape peak travel time. Travellers heading to the US on weekends are being urged to arrive some three to three-anda-half hours ahead of their flight’s scheduled departure to allow for increased volumes and COVID19 protocols. A negative COVID-19 test result (PCR or rapid antigen) and completed attestation form are needed for all persons travelling to the US. This will be required for check-in with the airline, and tests should be completed prior to reaching LPIA. NAD added that returning travellers will need an approved Bahamas health visa and a negative COVID-19 PCR test for reentry if not fully vaccinated. Those who are fully vaccinated will need the Bahamas health visa and proof of vaccination. Returning residents will also have two additional
options to complete their Bahamas Customs declaration forms and pay duties or claim exemptions. This is in addition to the current process of presenting a completed C17 Customs declaration form to a Bahamas Customs officer for assessment. Returning residents can download and use the new Bahamas Customs Exempt App to fill out their declaration electronically, upload their receipts and pay Customs duties and/or claim exemption online prior to arrival in Nassau. Once luggage is collected, returning residents then only need to proceed to a Customs officer for baggage inspection. Bahamas Customs also has kiosks available at the airport that perform the same services as the app and allows for credit/debit card payments online or cash payments at the airport. NAD said LPIA was one of the first airports in Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve a COVID-19 health accreditation from the Airports Council International.
POLICY AIMS TO ERADICATE CHILD LABOUR’S WORST FORMS’ BY 2025 By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE National Tripartite Council is hoping the adoption of a policy it has recommended will ensure The Bahamas eradicate the “worst forms” of child labour by 2025. Robert Farquharson, chairman of the body that deals with all labour-related matters in The Bahamas, confirmed that a proposed National Child Labour Policy it has developed will be adopted by the government. In a message to coincide with the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) celebration of June 12 as World Day Against Child Labour, Mr Farquharson said: “The National Tripartite Council, on behalf of the Bahamian people, has been in the forefront in creating awareness and designing policies and programmes to eradicate child labour in The Bahamas. “In June 2016, the Government of The Bahamas joined Focal Points, which is a regional initiative
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of ministers of labour in partnership with the International Labour Organisation - designed to make Latin America and the Caribbean free of child labour and eradicate the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) in the region by 2025. “The Bahamas is one of the original signatories to the regional initiative that is focused on eliminating child labour, which is contained in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) eight on decent work for sustainable development,” he added. “During the fourth global conference on the Eradication of Child Labour held in November 2017 in Argentina, Senator Dion Foulkes, minister of labour, made a national pledge on behalf of the government to adopt a National Policy on Child Labour on or before December 31, 2021.” With that date rapidly approaching, Mr Farquharson said the National Tripartite Council had teamed with the ILO to submit a recommendation for the adoption of a National Child Labour Policy to Mr Foulkes. He added that the policy, once approved by the Cabinet, will require support from a cross-section of government ministries including the Ministry of Labour; the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration; the Ministry of National Security; the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction; as well
as civil society and private sector businesses. “The policy will also take into consideration the recent concerns raised by the 2019 Hurricane Dorian impact on children and young people, and the lessons emerging in the aftermath of mass devastation in the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama,” Mr Farquharson said. “The National Child Labour Policy is designed to achieve the following goals to prevent, prohibit and eradicate child labour in The Bahamas: Prevent and prohibit children from entering the labour market before the minimum age of employment and develop methods to report incidents and establish penalties for violators. “Protect children through withdrawal from situations of child labour. and worst forms of child labour (WFCL), by increasing opportunities for youth employment and monitoring children impacted by natural disasters, and increase public awareness emphasising the difference between child labour and acceptable work for children while creating public awareness campaigns.” Should the policy and its goals be realised, Mr Farquharson said: “We are of the view that The Bahamas has an opportunity to achieve success in preventing, prohibiting and ending child labour and worst forms of child labour by 2025.” The National Tripartite Council statement said that while child labour has decreased by 38 percent worldwide over the past decade, the ILO has confirmed that more than 152m children are still caught up in it.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, June 14, 2021, PAGE 3
ARTISANS ‘FRUSTRATED’ OVER ORANGE ECONOMY HOLD-UP By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
administrations” who failed to realise the sector’s value both locally and for the tourism industry. Referring to “the glory days of The Bahamas”, he described these as occurring when “the Government of The Bahamas understood the importance of entertainment and used entertainment to promote the country, and ensured that when tourists arrived entertainment was available”. “Entertainers were treated as royalty,” Mr Ferguson recalled. “The focus shifted when hotels were allowed to keep entertainment on property; that killed nightclubs Over-the-Hill, and cruise ships were able to open in port.” Suggesting that “the bottom fell out” for local entertainers in the 1990s, when nightclubs and entertainment venues were permitted to “replace us
with a bunch of DJs”, Mr Ferguson added: “We have failed to establish any clear standards for the entertainment industry, including training initiatives, and properly defined the entertainment industry. “We have not been able to reap the benefits of a tourism industry of which entertainment provides a foundational basis.... We need to determine if entertainment is important to the health of the country and, if so, how do we fix this decline.” Mr Ferguson added that “no administration has seen fit to implement” the multiple national development plans for entertainment and culture that have been presented to the government, pointing in particular to the “Creative Nassau” project that was launched in 20132014 as a means to stimulate an “orange economy” which
he said has a $4tn global value. This called for the creation of a digital or central depository for all cultural and entertainment participants; the conversion of unoccupied and abandoned spaces in downtown Nassau into “arrtisans’ quarters”; and mandatory contributions to the arts in investor Heads of Agreement. “Sadly, and true to form, subsequent to submitting our report nothing has materialised to-date, leaving the cultural professionals frustrated once again,” Mr Ferguson added. “To-date, the government’s plans for entertainment remain unknown.” With administrations changing every five years, he suggested that there either be a separate ministry for culture or that it be attached to tourism. “Sadly The Bahamas has not realised the
value of this sector despite a rich pool of artisans and artists,” Mr Ferguson said. “We don’t suffer from a lack of talent; we suffer from a lack of training.” He was backed by Patricia Glinton-Meicholas, the author and historian, who also called for a ministry of culture and the creative industries at the same conference. She also urged The Bahamas to strengthen its intellectual property laws and their enforcement if it wants to develop a true “orange economy”. Authors and creators, Ms Glinton-Meicholas said, were presently unable to safeguard and profit from their work without these protections, while The Bahamas presently “cannot import certain digital services because they don’t respect what we have here; we don’t have sufficient protection”.
She also backed foreign direct investment where there was mutual benefits and respect for all parties involved - the investor, government and Bahamian people. “Despite the unreflected and unresearched nonsense that persons for advocacy and activism in this country [say], we need foreign direct investment,” Ms Glinton-Meicholas said. “Let there be no undue impediments, but a marriage of true minds.” Warning that the ‘orange economy’ cannot be viewed in purely monetary terms, she added: “Now, something we must beware of, in a small developing country, we would create tragedy if we thought of value only in terms of what’s bankable; folding money, coins. We have to think first of all in terms of appreciation of what we have.”
CAT ISLAND IS URGED TO SEEK YOUNGER TOURISTS
prompting Mr Thompson to appeal: “We need to appeal to a younger generation there as well.” He added that four to seven night vacations represented Cat Island’s “sweet spot”, followed by longer stays of between eight to 14 days, with the island attracting its share of visitors from Europe - especially France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Mr Thompson acknowledged that the recent three-week COVID-19 lockdown imposed on Cat Island and North and Central Andros, which ends today (albeit with nightly curfews remaining in place), as well as the similar restriction on the Berry Islands “has had a profound effect” on Family Island tourism projections for the summer and remainder of the year. He forecast, though, that Bahamian tourism will return to pre-pandemic numbers within 12-18 months if no further COVID-19 restrictions are implemented, placing the timeline to full recovery firmly in the 2022 second half.
“I do think that one of the things we have seen is that the Family Islands, in particular, have rebounded very quickly,” Mr Thompson said. “Harbour Island is doing gangbusters, and Bimini is doing the same on weekends with the boating market coming over. The niche markets have rebounded really well, and have been a lifeline to many of the Family Islands..... “I’m sure projections are going to be challenged, but we are seeing moving forward into the third and fourth quarter, business picking up and 2022 - barring any further issues with COVID-19 - we should see business bounce back in all segments. “It will take a while - 12-18 months - to get back to 2019 levels. That was recordbreaking numbers, and it was so frustrating for the Ministry. Sales were in sync with promotions, The Bahamas was hot, hot, hot, and then the pandemic. We’re now starting all over again..... “Our bread and butter markets were doing so well, we were looking at expanding
to China, India, Mexico to develop new markets. All of that has to take a back seat as we try to rebuild. The strategy we have is sound, resilient and we’re pretty sure we’re going to get back on track.”
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EFFORTS to develop The Bahamas’ so-called “orange economy” have been “frustrated” by the failure of successive governments to understand its importance for tourism and national identity, multiple artisans are arguing. Addressing the Cat Island Business Outlook conference, the called for culture and the arts to have their own dedicated ministry rather than being attached as “an after-thought” to others, urging: “Stop thinking Junkanoo is our culture alone.” Fred Ferguson, the producer and musician who has worked with the likes of Ronnie Butler, Sweet Emily and Baha Men, said local entertainers, performers and artists “have been burnt so many times by former
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CAT Island must explore how it can appeal to a younger tourist market as the visitors it is presently attracting are “getting a bit old”, a senior Ministry of Tourism official has warned. Ellison Thompson, the ministry’s deputy directorgeneral, told the Cat Island Business Outlook that the island’s several thousand visitors per annum are largely drawn from the “Baby Boomer” and “Generation X” age groups as opposed those aged below 45 years-old and younger. With so-called “baby boomers” born between 1981 and 1996, and “generation X” referring to the demographic born between 1965 and 1980, he “cautioned” that Cat Island needs to expand its appeal
to a younger age group as the travel industry emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastation. “One thing we have to be mindful of is that the Cat Island audience is a bit older. That is going to be an issue in years to come,” Mr Thompson asserted. While the island was hitting a highend visitor income bracket, typically attracting a tourist earning $90,000 or more annually, he added that age concerns applied regardless of the source market (US or Canada) or what market segment was involved. “The caution is that the audience is getting a bit old, so we have to look at how we are able to appeal to a younger demographic,” the Ministry of Tourism official said. Cat Island’s boating visitors were typically aged between 45-64 years old, as were those who came by private plane, again
SMALL BUSINESS CENTRE IN CROWD FUNDING MOVE By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) its planning to launch its own crowd funding platform by year-end 2021, its deputy director has revealed. Nicholas Higgs, also its chief operations officer, told the Cat Island Business Outlook conference that the SBDC is taking advantage of the “huge wave” surrounding crowd funding with another sector player, Arawak X, set to launch
its platform within the next two to three months. Mr Higgs said: “Crowd funding is a new huge thing in The Bahamas right now. A partner of ours, Arawak X is launching in the next two to three months. We’re very excited that they’re launching that platform. “We’re launching our own platform, which will be coming out in the third or fourth quarter of this year. The SBDC is developing a crowd funding platform, and I expect by the end of the year that should be ready. The crowd funding
allows Bahamians, no matter how much money you have, to invest in these businesses and yield positive results, yield ownership. That crowd funding platform is occurring.” The move to develop crowd funding platforms comes ahead of the soonto-be released Securities Industry Business Capital Rules, which will allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and entrepreneurs to raise capital via crowd funding.
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THE TRIBUNE
SMALL BUSINESS CENTRE IN CROWD FUNDING MOVE
FROM PAGE THREE
Issuers will be able to raise up to $5m through selling shares in their ventures without having to file a prospectus with the Securities Commission. The intent is that investors will eventually be able to sell their interest on a secondary market such as the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX). The rules are set for completion by April’s end. They will also include protections against hostile takeovers of SMEs by limiting the amount of shares any one investor will be allowed to buy in a particular company. Crowd funding, which involves financing a project or business venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the internet, could step into the “financing gap” that Bahamian start-ups and entrepreneurs typically encounter. It pools money from friends, family and investors. Access to capital, both equity and debt, has frequently been the biggest obstacle complained about by Bahamian businesses, especially smaller ones. With commercial banks increasingly risk averse, and constrained by laws and regulations from taking a chance, traditional capital sources have shrunk since the 20082009 recession. Apart from the government-sponsored venture capital fund, the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, this nation does not possess a developed private equity or venture capital market, which have acted as alternative financing sources for small business in
developed countries. As a result, Bahamian entrepreneurs have frequently been forced to rely on their own resources, plus family, friends and so-called “angel investors” for their financing, together with whatever they are able to access from more conventional sources. Mr Higgs, meanwhile, said the SBDC has partnered with Fidelity Bank (Bahamas), with the bank promising to make $5m - and possibly up to $10m - available for small business financing. He added: “We also have the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, who has pledged $1.5m as well. So right there, that’s $6.5m ready to go in this fiscal year to assist small, medium-sized businesses in The Bahamas in the loan category. We have the Bahamas Development Bank looking into signing on as well, so we’re just waiting on that. There are other commercial banks and other smaller financial solutions.” Mr Higgs said the SBDC has helped arrange financing for some 1,883 entrepreneurs and businesses to-date, worth a collective $60.5m, with some 6,156 employees impacted across 40-plus industries and 15 islands. He added that the SBDC’s support, together with a package of guarantees, had enabled its clients to obtain financing more rapidly and on better terms, with loan sums often equivalent to 75-90 percent of the value of pledged collateral. Mr Higgs said the lending cycle had been cut from six months to around two to three pre-COVID and, with the pandemic easing, interest from financiers was coming back.
PM: ‘MUCH MORE’ NEEDED TO EXPLOIT CRUISE POTENTIAL
By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
THE prime minister says “much more” is needed to exploit the cruise industry’s economic potential as he hailed the projected $26m increase in annual visitor spending from Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island project. Dr Hubert Minnis, speaking at the official launch of the Royal Caribbean’s Nassau home porting, said: “A highlight of the Bahamas/Royal Caribbean dialogue has been the proposition of making Nassau the home port and potential gateway to the Caribbean, and this proposition has the potential to make a significant
economic impact on our nation, though there is still much more to be done to realise this potential each year.” Highlighting Royal Caribbean’s planned goal of bringing over 2m cruise ship passengers to The Bahamas annually, Dr Minnis added: “Perfect Day at Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean’s flagship vacation paradise established in the Berry islands. “The cruise line is also the main principal of acquisition and future development of the Grand Lucayan and affiliated investments. Royal Caribbean plans for a beach break destination on Paradise Island, namely, the Royal Beach Club, which includes a $50m investment that will generate an extra $26m per year in visitor spending.” Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general, said: “It is hard to believe that it’s been nearly 15 months since cruise ships last plied the crystal clear waters of The Bahamas. So, it is with tremendous joy and pride that we welcome back our long-time partner, Royal Caribbean, as the Adventure of the Seas today becomes the company’s first ship to sail from North America.” She added: “The vessel, which is registered in The Bahamas, has a capacity of 3,835 passengers and 1,185 crew. However, this
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis along with the Ministry of Tourism welcomes Royal Caribbean International cruise lines back to The Bahamas. Photos: Kemuel Stubbs/BIS has been reduced by some 30 percent out of an abundance of caution to keep the safety of residents and visitors top of mind. We are optimistic that this will soon change as more persons become vaccinated.” Russell Benford, Royal Caribbean’s vice-president of government relations for the Americas, said: “This seven-day itinerary from our new home port in Nassau offers new opportunities for our guests, and new economic opportunities for local businesses. “These have certainly been challenging times for those of us who are reliant
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on the travel and hospitality industry, but with the availability of game-changing vaccines we are finally feeling tremendous hope and optimism.” Michael Maura, the Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive, said: “In my time as the chief executive of the Nassau Cruise Port I have not run into another cruise line that has been such a strong partner as Royal Caribbeab has, who has worked day-by-day with the cruise port with our various national agencies for a winwin, for balanced equity in this relationship that we have as partners. “We are well on our way to completing our almost $300m cruise port project. By this November, we would have finished our marine works, which will add an Oasis-class berth and extend what we’ve historically called berth 16 to an Oasis as well.” He said the Nassau Cruise Port will have the capacity to handle 33,000 passengers daily by that date.
THE TRIBUNE ACTIVTRADES WEEKLY By CHRIS ILLING www.activtrades.bs
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ILLIONS of new brokerage accounts were opened worldwide last year. Young people between 20-30 are going public. They invest their money according to different standards. And the rules for long-term shareholders are also changing. Since last spring, the number of internet searches for the word “share” has increased significantly more than for the word “sex”. The new priorities are not owed to the fact citizens have lost all interest in the lust for love, rather it heralds a new desire for the stock market: savings accounts are being transformed into shareholder accounts. The awakened interest in shares among private investors is changing the face of the stock market, but also the social structure of the nation. The public perception of the capital market is currently changing, private provision is being redefined: while shares were considered exotic a few years ago, among younger people you are almost an outsider if you don’t hold any securities. This is also since other forms of investment no longer yield anything and there is little prospect that it will change in the foreseeable future. The world stock market
Agriculture minister: SOE inefficiency ‘bloats’ gov’t By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister says “structural impediments” to Bahamian agriculture’s development have resulted from inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that have only served to “bloat” the size of government. Michael Pintard, pictured, minister of agriculture and marine resources, told the Cat Island Business Outlook that the government was looking to outsource the animal feed mill, packing
Monday, June 14, 2021, PAGE 5
The new lust of the next generation - wealth through the stock market
barometer MSCI improved by five percent. The established online brokers also saw dynamic growth. The dynamism of the younger generation is striking. The proportion of under 35-year-olds who opened a securities account in 2020 was almost two thirds (62 percent); in 2018 it was only 48 percent. It’s the younger ones who set the pace. It is often the first time you buy stocks or other securities; you discover the stock market for yourself and you enjoy trading. So, it is not surprising there is a gold rush atmosphere in the broker and securities trading
house industry. The popular movement was partly born out of necessity. Other forms of investment have never been as unattractive as they are today. Anyone who puts their funds into a savings account no longer receives any interest. For higher amounts, customers even must shell out penalty interest. According to an analysis by the Internet portal Verivox, at the turn of the year alone, 200 financial institutions introduced so-called custody fees or tightened existing negative interest regulations. Another factor may play a role in young people.
houses and the abattoir to the private sector via public-private partnerships (PPPs) in a bid to improve their operational effectiveness. He added: “We have some structural impediments in our government, where we continue to carry state-owned enterprises that we do not have the capacity to run effectively, efficiently, and they become employment agencies further bloating government ministries.” In particular, Mr Pintard said of the feed mill: “We need to get out of government’s hands.” He also added: “Cabinet has agreed that we invite residents of Cat Island to look at the packing house in Cat Island, and consider whether or not you may be interested in a joint venture with each other to run this
more effectively; to also convert it into a processing facility that is ISO certified, where you can create your value added goods, as well as package and distribute all that you are producing there and not just in fresh fruits and vegetables, but also in terms of value added products. Chief among them would be flour cake.” “There is tremendous interest in public-private partnerships. We believe this will pay dividends nationally,” Mr Pintard added.”The third policy decision that has been taken is to create an ecosystem for the value added market in The Bahamas. “For the products that we’re producing we have a marvellous opportunity in Cat Island in this budget cycle. We have allocated the required resources to help set up with the cooperative in Cat Island, to help set up a processing facility.”
Since real estate prices have risen massively in attractive locations in recent years, many have given up hope of being able to afford their own four walls at some point. Instead, they seek their salvation in the stock market. Instead of provision with savings accounts and concrete gold, provision with securities. In the past 20 years, private investors had held back from investing in stocks. Now a new generation is coming to the markets that have not seen the crash of 2000 or 2008 and today the conditions for a real investment culture are much better. Of course, there could be exaggerations in the future. The newcomers would have to be prepared for the fact that they will experience price slumps at some point. The rise of young savers is also changing what happens
on the stock market. Today, private investors orient themselves more towards narratives than towards numbers, for example business and key figures. As a result, trends can last longer and high valuations also play a lesser role, if the success story of the investment is correct. Interest is often concentrated in a dozen of the most popular companies, above all Tesla, Apple, Amazon, Alibaba, Nvidia, Zoom Video and Nio and popular Meme stocks. Anyone who wants to join the People’s Share Movement can do so using a simple rule of thumb. The less knowledge of the stock market and the
less time a saver wants to invest, the more diversified and therefore less risky the investment product should be. Beginners should stick to index funds (ETFs) that cover large stock market groups. With one product, savers are involved in the entire industrialised world, in the emerging economies or another specialized industry. The fact that index funds are the product of the hour is also reflected in the Google Trends. Most recently, the number of searches for the three letters “ETF” rose significantly more than that for the word “funds”. It’s a new time for a new generation, with new priorities.
PAGE 6, Monday, June 14, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Digital solutions to replenish Out Island ‘banking desert’ By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister has voiced optimism that technology-based solutions will replenish “the banking desert” that now exists on many Family Islands due to the closure of physical branch locations. Elsworth Johnson, pictured, minister for financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, told the Cat Island Business Outlook that the Central Bank’s Sand Dollar digital currency is “leading the way” in helping to restore financial access and inclusion on multiple Family Islands. Pointing out that other financial technology (Fintech) solutions are increasingly becoming available, Mr Johnson said: “The need to evolve with the latest technology has only become more urgent in light of the pandemic. This technology and digital explosion
has led to more and more of the Family Islands becoming banking deserts or unbanked. “The Central Bank of the Bahamas has led the way in looking to facilitate financial inclusion and financial access, not only through education, but with the introduction and rollout of the Sand Dollar digital currency. Sand Dollar will allow persons across the archipelago, including Cat Islanders, to access the digital currency for deposits and withdrawals from their digital wallet. “Critically, this will be integrated with government services, mobile payment systems and other forms of e-commerce, and help with improving affordable access to financial services at a sustainable cost.” The Sand Dollar was launched in Exuma in December 2019, and the Central Bank and both digital and traditional payment
FIRST LEGAL NOTICE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000 ALPHATEX CORPORATION Voluntary Liquidation NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 as follows:a)
ALPHATEX CORPORATION is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act, 2000.
b)
The dissolution of the said Company commenced on 8th June 2021 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.
c)
The Liquidator of the said Company is Amicorp Bahamas Management Limited whose address is Bahamas Financial Centre, 3rd Floor, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, New Providence, Nassau, Bahamas.
Amicorp Bahamas Management Limited Liquidator
providers are now gearing up for its nationwide launch and roll-out later this year. This has been viewed as part of the answer to commercial banks exiting a physical branch presence in multiple Family Islands. Mr Johnson added: “Blockchain-based technologies are now allowing for unlimited possibilities in terms of financial access, inclusive and sustainable financing. As we all know, access to financing or credit is becoming increasingly more difficult, particularly on the Family Islands. “There are fintech-based solutions that can replace the traditional banking and financial services to make access to payments and cash withdrawals easier, and facilitate adoption of new financing facilities and - for Cat Islanders - to access smaller and larger amounts of credit and financing options” The Sand Dollar will allow wallet holders to possess digital currency of varying amounts in their e-wallets depending on the amount of business they will transact. The first tier has a $500 limit on their e-wallet holdings, with a $1,500 monthly transaction ceiling that cannot be linked to a bank account. The second tier allows an $8,000 e-wallet limit, with a $10,000 monthly transaction limit that can be linked to a bank account. Mr Johnson addewd: “There are many opportunities for Cat Islanders to participate in the existing fintech space. Digitisation of the public sector to make it more inclusive, accessible and efficient is a key priority of the government, especially for Cat Islanders. The Ministry of Finance has launched its digital payment system or Digipay to make payment for these services easier on the government gateway platform.”
Compass Point in May ‘22 close FROM PAGE ONE person that was set for late May [2022]. “There’s going to be an influx of travellers here this Christmas, it will be at 130 percent (sic) occupancy. You have a great future coming back from the virus, but Compass Point won’t be in that.” Mr Rodney is thus making good on multiple prior warnings that he will close West Bay Street-based Compass Point by the time of the next general election unless he can meet with Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, to discuss his concerns over the Hotel Licensing Authority and its associated inspections regime. The Compass Point owner said “I just do not get why” the minister was reluctant “to sit down and discuss making some changes” to the hotel industry’s regulatory framework, adding: “Almost any reasonable person who sits there and listens, on the record, to what the Licensing Authority requires you to do, they’d say: ‘That makes no sense; we should get rid of it’.” Mr Rodney said “for reasons not explained” Mr D’Aguilar had refused to engage with him and have the meeting he was requesting, although he did not divulge the precise nature of his concerns to this newspaper. Mr D’Aguilar declined to comment when contacted by Tribune Business yesterday. However, it is likely that his position has altered little from that stated on April 9, where he said he was “not moved” by Mr Rodney’s warnings of Compass Point’s closure unless he acts. “I can’t get what specifically is his gripe with the government. What is it about the hotel licensing he does not like? What
MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com
FRIDAY, 11 JUNE 2021
BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:
CLOSE
CHANGE
1971.50
0.99
%CHANGE
YTD
YTD%
0.05 -120.96
-5.78
(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320
BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 6.00 33.95 1.50 2.90 1.78 6.00 6.96 3.60 6.00 4.01 6.16 12.00 2.75 7.50 10.71 9.01 14.60 4.25 8.97 16.00
52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 1.46 1.62 1.44 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.25 2.75 5.00 9.75 2.10 4.90 9.50 8.00 13.00 3.42 8.00 15.20
PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00
1.00
1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00
1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00
1.00 10.00 1.00
1.00 10.00 0.90
SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Benchmark Bahamas First Holdings Limited Bank of Bahamas Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Cable Bahamas Commonwealth Brewery Commonwealth Bank Colina Holdings CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Bahamas Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson
SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ
LAST CLOSE 5.79 39.95 1.50 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.25 2.89 5.95 9.75 2.53 7.50 11.57 9.01 14.00 3.99 8.19 15.50
CLOSE 6.00 39.95 1.50 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.25 2.89 5.95 9.75 2.62 7.50 11.52 9.01 14.00 3.99 8.19 15.50
1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00
1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00
SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB
LAST SALE 100.00 100.00
CLOSE 100.00 100.00
CHANGE 0.00 0.00
BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS900283 BSBGRS980244 BSBGR1292394 BSBGRS840299 BSBGR1341506
107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.14 100.46 100.00 100.68 100.00
107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.14 100.46 100.00 100.68 100.00
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
Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B
BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB
CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00
52WK LOW 100.00 100.00
115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.14 100.46 100.00 90.62 100.00
104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.14 100.46 100.00 90.62 100.00
52WK HI 2.43 4.44 2.16 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.81 1.78 1.16 8.58 10.26 7.35 14.59 12.84 10.31 10.00 10.43 14.89
52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.67 1.73 1.75 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20
SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited
BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)
MUTUAL FUNDS
MARKET TERMS
Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FL BGRS90028 BGRS FL BGRS98024 BGRS FX BGR129239 BGRS FL BGRS84029 BGRS FX BGR134150
FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Financial Conservative Fund Leno Financial Aggressive Fund Leno Financial Balanced Fund Leno Financial Global 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
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
CHANGE 0.21 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.00 (0.05) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
VOLUME 3,000
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
VOLUME
100
NAV 2.43 4.44 2.16 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.75 1.76 1.03 8.58 10.14 7.35 14.59 12.64 9.99 N/A 10.43 14.89
DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
P/E 25.1 42.9 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -8.1 30.4 15.7 13.3 13.5 25.7 16.1 17.8 12.4 17.2 19.7 8.7 24.6
YIELD 2.83% 3.15% 1.33% 1.15% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.15% 3.70% 7.38% 16.56% 0.80% 2.85% 2.66% 3.86% 3.01% 2.44% 3.94%
0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%
INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%
19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025
6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.39% 4.28% 5.04% 4.56% 5.69%
20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 10-Dec-2028 26-Jul-2024 15-Apr-2039 22-Sep-2029 17-Jan-1950
YTD% 12 MTH% 1.47% 4.26% 0.20% 0.87% 0.95% 2.82% 0.14% 5.02% 3.25% 31.13% 0.91% 0.68% -2.55% -3.02% -0.27% -0.27% -2.20% -7.62% 1.14% 4.22% 1.09% 3.04% 1.01% 4.65% 4.93% 42.27% -1.56% 0.80% -0.60% -4.90% N/A N/A 3.00% 25.60% 7.90% 48.70%
MATURITY
NAV Date
30-Apr-2021 30-Apr-2021 30-Apr-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 30-Apr-2021 30-Apr-2021 30-Apr-2021 30-Apr-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021
about the legislation that he is unhappy with? He wants to have a meeting with me and have the press present, and he wants to record the meeting. Obviously he wants to come to the meeting to embarrass the government,” Mr D’Aguilar said two months’ ago. “What he’s trying to do is bully and blackmail the government into meeting him under his terms, under the threat that he is going to close the hotel and lay off all of the staff. I’m not moved. What does he want to meet with me to discuss? “He has not told me what he finds so reprehensible about the government that is causing him to want to shut down his operation and leave. I arranged a meeting between him and the chairman of the Hotel Licensing Board and he showed up with the press, so the chairman refused to meet with him under those conditions.” Tribune Business understands that Mr Rodney was told to review the Hotels Act and accompanying regulations, detail his concerns and recommended changes in writing, and then discuss them with the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) and its members to obtain wider agreement and consensus on any reforms before bringing them to the government. This has yet to happen, which is being interpreted by the government as a sign that only Mr Rodney is dissatisfied with the Hotel Licensing Authority regime and that he does not have wider support to create sufficient momentum for change. It also resents what it views as the Compass Point owner using his employees’ livelihoods as pawns or bargaining chips to get a response from the government. Tribune Business previously reported that Mr Rodney has a longheld belief that the Hotel Licensing Board’s annual
inspections are “pointless”, and a “waste of Compass Point’s time” and Bahamian tax dollars. In effect, he sees the Board as an unnecessary layer of cost and bureaucracy that he and other resorts have to navigate each year. This newspaper was also given more information about Mr Rodney’s concerns from a well-placed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, who said: “They [the Hotel Licensing Board] tried to shut him down because a single tile was missing in the bathroom when Compass Point was doing renovations. They also forced him to place a ‘no lifeguard on duty’ sign on the beach.” Mr Rodney on Friday said that he had investigated three US states, including California and Nevada, at Mr D’Aguilar’s behest and found that none required that resorts possess the equivalent of a Bahamian hotel licence or undergo an associated inspection. He added that alternative plans have already been drawn up for the Compass Point site, which involve converting it into three private residences for himself and his family. “That’s what Mr D’Aguilar’s decision not to call me will bring about,” Mr Rodney added. “This decision that he’s backing me into benefits me financially. He’s forcing me to do something that benefits me financially.” Mr Rodney acquired Compass Point in 2006. The property’s purchase from Island Outpost ended its two-year post-Hurricane Frances closure, although the iconic Compass Point Recording Studios were not included in the deal. Mr Rodney is president of Detroit Forming Inc, a Detroit-based designer and manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, a familyowned business that was started by his father in 1962.
To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that CORRINE ANDREA ROBOTHAM, of #17 Sea Breeze Lane CB-12806, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
JOB OPENING Needed immediately
Experience Nurse to work in Operation Theatre
31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021
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 | CORALISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333
• Must have a good employment background • Must possess a Bachelors Degree in Nursing • Must have Operating Theatre experience • Must be licensed in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. For immediate consideration, please send your resume to: Physicians Alliance Limited P.O. Box EE-17022 Nassau, Bahamas Fax: (242)326-8874 Email:jobs@physiciansalliancelimited.com
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, June 14, 2021, PAGE 7
Port’s $31m refinance eliminates tariff rises
FROM PAGE ONE
works out to a $375,000 annual reduction in APD’s debt servicing costs. Asked whether APD’s tariffs would have had to increase in the absence of the refinancing, Mr Bethell admitted this was a possibility, which means an increase in shipping costs that would have had to be passed on to Bahamian consumers has been avoided. “That is not in the plan for the coming year’s budget; there is no increase in rates,” he told Tribune Business. “Given the [container import] volumes as they stand, an increase was something we would have had to look at, or we may have been able to utilise other
means to manage our costs, but the intent has never been to increase our tariffs. “We have a mechanism in place that guides us to do these increases, and given the volumes we may have had to had we not been able to explore this option.” Mr Bethell confirmed that the bank debt, which will refinance the preference shares and pay out the investors, is coming from either Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) or CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas), although he did not specify which one. Financial industry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Canadian-owned banks have been approaching companies and offering loans to
Royal Caribbean’s PI lease threatens dispute resolution FROM PAGE ONE party, namely Royal Caribbean, that is involved in litigation from Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club Company,” he blasted. “Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean’s president and chief executive, personally requested for me to have dialogue with Royal Caribbean, and I have obliged. It’s an attempt to kindle a relationship of good neighbours. In the middle of those negotiations, Royal Caribbean announces they’ve received a signed crown land lease from the prime minister. “They said in the spirit of good negotiations, we’ve been advised by our lawyers that we’ve received a signed crown land lease from the Prime Minister’s Office. I find it laughable. The Supreme Court is not going to look favourably on the government negotiating crown land that is in litigation, and they have negotiated with an international investor on such a large scale.” The development was confirmed by Russell Benford, Royal Caribbean’s vicepresident of government relations for the Americas, who in response to Tribune Business inquiries said:
“Pursuant to the January 2, 2020, letter of agreement received from the Government of the Bahamas, Royal Caribbean has received the executed crown land lease and seabed lease associated with the Royal Beach Club project on Paradise Island. “As steps in the project approval process continue, we will engage and work with local interests on business opportunities as the project moves forward.” Mr Smith, though, suggested that the government’s actions had effectively overturned efforts by himself and Royal Caribbean to achieve common ground. “Why is it that the Prime Minister, as minister of crown lands, is double dealing crown land, apparently in favour of a foreigner, when there’s a Bahamian sitting right there?” he asked. “I’ve reached out to Michael Bayley for a chat in an already-difficult situation where the government is creating conflict, straining an already-strained relationship.... “What Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club Company are both trying feverishly to obtain is to be able to co-exist if Royal Caribbean’s development goes through. I appreciate that Royal Caribbean is now making an
NASSAU CONTAINER PORT replace existing preference share debt in a bid to reduce the surplus liquidity clogging their balance sheets. These surplus assets currently stand at over $2bn industry-wide, and effort to understand my project. Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club Company wants what’s best for The Bahamas and to get unemployed Bahamians working again. “Our objective has been to see if we can go to the government holding hands, and say to the government: ‘We have resolved it’. That would take the embarrassment away from the government, as we’ve come up with a plan that works, and they could take the credit for it. Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club Company is highly surprised that in the midst of sensitive, delicate negotiations that Royal Caribbean and the government would take such provocative actions.” Questions have already been asked as to whether the Town Planning Committee, and Department of Physical Planning, could hold a public consultation on Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island plans when the cruise line had yet at that stage to obtain an executed crown land lease for a parcel that includes several acres which are presently the subject of Supreme Court legal action involving a rival developer. Royal Caribbean has steadily amassed around 13.5 acres on Paradise Island’s western end by buying out private landowners in the area, but it is also seeking to lease some ten acres of crown land in the Colonial Beach area to complete its
in the absence of solid lending opportunities postCOVID-19 some banks are becoming increasingly eager to put them to work and are getting creative to find borrowers and generate returns.
Tribune Business was informed that RoyalStar Assurance, the property and casualty underwriter, is also seeking to refinance its own $10m preference share debt with cheaper
PARADISE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE Royal Beach Club development as part of a total $110m
investment billed as creating $26m in local spend and 200
bank loans. Anton Saunders, RoyalStar[’s managing director, confirmed that the insurer is “looking at all options” for its financial and capital structure, but declined to comment further. “We are looking at all of our financing of our debt and our preference share debt,” he said. “We’re in negotiations on all sides.” Mr Bethell, meanwhile, said Bahamian Prime would have to rise to 5.85 percent for the 4.75 percent “cap” on its bank interest to come into play - something he described as “very unlikely any time soon”. He added of the refinancing: “It improves or cash flow.” APD has to give the preference shareholders 90 days’ notice that their investments will be redeemed. These were sent out last week, and the bank debt will be unsecured just like the preference shares. full-time jobs. This has brought it into potential conflict with Mr Smith, who is seeking himself to lease two crown land parcels at Paradise Island’s western end, one of which involves two acres around the lighthouse and another three acres for the “beach break” element of his own $2m project. Mr Smith’s court action is alleging that he was granted a valid crown land lease over both parcels, including the lighthouse and the area at Colonial Beach for his “beach break” destination, which is now legally binding. The case is based on a January 7, 2020, letter from Richard Hardy, acting director of Lands and Surveys, that was headlined “approval for crown land lease” over the two tracts he wanted. Two of the acres sought by Mr Smith are included in Royal Caribbean’s crown land lease. He yesterday said he has now written to the Department of Lands and Surveys seeking to lease a five-acre parcel that the cruise line also wants at Paradise Island’s western end.
PAGE 8, Monday, June 14, 2021
US pre-clearance woe to hit travel FROM PAGE ONE
final impressions of The Bahamas before they boarded the flight home. Arguing that it was The Bahamas’ reputation that will suffer, and not that of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), he added that the Government had made the US Embassy “aware of the situation but it doesn’t seem as if they can respond that readily to it”. Speaking after LPIA’s operator, the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), yesterday urged air travellers to arrive between three to three-and-a-half hours ahead of their flight at
weekends, Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper: “LPIA does not have sufficient officers to make it a seamless process. “There are insufficient officers to process on a regular basis the number of people going through the US pre-clearance. That is why we’ve had to issue these travel advisories for persons to get to the airport in sufficient time. We’ve been assured that in a timely manner, within the next 60 plus days, they’ll be bringing more officers on stream but it takes time for them to ramp back up. “It is frustrating. It doesn’t create for the ideal visitor environment. We really need for them to ramp that up,”
THE TRIBUNE Mr D’Aguilar continued. “We’ve spoken to the US embassy and made them aware of this problem. It doesn’t seem as if they can respond that readily to it. It’s a problem. That’s why LPIA issued the travel advisory. “It’s the last experience you have of the destination, so it’s very important we fix this problem as quickly as possible.” He added that any reputational damage or fall-out would be felt by the destination, meaning The Bahamas and Nassau, rather than US Customs and Border Protection if passengers were waiting hours to pre-clear. Mr D’Aguilar said NAD had taken measures to ensure passenger traffic will “flow” through US pre-clearance, and was “creating somewhere where people will be exposed to arts, souveniurs and other Bahamian products”. “They’re trying to create a venue where passengers
are comfortable waiting and have something to do,” he added. NAD is encouraging Bahamians and residents to avoid weekend air travel if possible, and choose another day to fly, so as to avoid the build-up of cruise and stopover tourist passengers on Saturday and Sunday. If you do have to travel at the weekend, it is encouraging persons to seek flights either before 9am or after 2pm to escape peak travel time. Travellers heading to the US on weekends are being urged to arrive some three to three-and-a-half hours ahead of their flight’s scheduled departure to allow for increased volumes and COVID-19 protocols. LPIA is forecast to be processing an extra 8,000 passengers every weekend this summer due to the start of cruise home porting and the post-COVID tourism revival. NAD, in a statement unveiling its summer 2021
operational plan, said it had devised a mechanism to process air travellers safely and efficiently amid growing passenger traffic and COVID-19 protocols. It added that 900 cruise ship passengers will be departing Nassau for the US on Saturday, June 19, following the end of their week-long cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas. Those numbers will expand when Crystal Cruises begins home porting on July 3, and NAD said it anticipates heavy cruise passenger arrivals and departures every Saturday and Sunday for several months. It is forecasting that the numbers will grow to 3,500 passengers each weekend by July. Meanwhile, LPIA’s summer projections for land-based passenger arrivals and departures indicates a steady recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a potential additional
4,500 passengers processed between Saturday and Sunday every weekend. “We are fortunate that our largest source market, the United States, has been very successful with their vaccine distribution, and there is significant pent-up demand for travel given the challenges and restrictions of the past year living with COVID-19. People are ready to travel and, month by month, we are seeing improvements in our passenger numbers.” said Vernice Walkine, NAD’s president and chief executive. “During this busy summer travel period we wish to assure the travelling public that their safety is our paramount concern. Our overall objective is to make certain that a high level of efficiency prevails in the terminals coupled with excellent customer service, resulting in a positive experience for our passengers.”
GORILLA TACTICS: BERLIN DELIVERY RIDERS TAKE ON $1BN STARTUP BERLIN Associated Press DOZENS of workers gathered outside of one of Berlin’s most-celebrated startups, the grocery delivery company Gorillas, to protest the firing hours earlier of a colleague. “We want Santiago back!” the young riders chanted last week, threatening to blockade one of the company’s inner-city warehouses with their bikes unless he was reinstated. The wildcat strike on a balmy June evening was unusual even by Germany’s strong tradition of labour rights, highlighting growing tensions in the capital’s freewheeling startup scene. “We came here to show our solidarity, to support our friend,” said Zeynep, a Gorillas rider who declined to give her last name for fear of facing repercussions from the company. “We want this decision to be reversed as soon as possible.”
The riders said their colleague had been fired without warning after turning up late for his shift. In a statement, the company said he his contract was terminated for “serious misconduct” but declined to provide details, citing confidentiality. Founded just last year, Gorillas has benefited from surging demand for quick grocery deliveries during the pandemic. In March, the company raised about $290m from investors, becoming Germany’s fastest “unicorn” — a startup with a total valuation of $1bn or more. Gorillas now operates in dozens of cities across Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Britain, and has already set its sights on New York, where it faces US incumbents such as Gopuff. But strikes like those in Berlin show trouble is brewing in its home market. The rowdy but peaceful
protest late on Wednesday drew support from employees of rival delivery services, some of whom downed their colorful courier bags to join the picket. Eventually Gorillas agreed to close the depot for the night, drawing cheers from the protesters. The next day, riders blockaded another warehouse, making clear their gripes go beyond the firing of a single colleague. “In the last six months, that I’ve been here I’ve noticed so many ways that the company is doing things in an unjustified way,” said rider Huseyin Camalan. “We’re here to stand against that. It’s part of a larger thing.” Camalan said many riders suffer from back pain and other health problems due to the heavy bags they have to carry. Faulty bikes, a limited say in their shifts and lack of administrative support are also a problem, he said. When riders send emails
ZEYNEP, left, a Gorillas rider from Turkey who declined to give her last name for fear of facing repercussions from the company, blocks with other workers the entrance of a depot for German startup Gorillas, a grocery delivery company, to protest the firing of a colleague in Berlin, Germany on Thursday. The company Gorillas operates in dozens of cities across Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Britain, and has already set its sights on New York. Photo: Markus Schreiber/AP asking for help, they rarely get a reply, Camalan said, adding “They ignore us.” Last week four rivals — Delivery Hero, Bolt, Glovo and Wolt — announced a joint effort to develop a code of conduct in what appeared to be an effort to head off a regulatory crackdown by the European Union. “We want to establish better governance of working conditions, labor practices and social rights for all workers, regardless of their employment status,” Sacha Michaud, co-founder of Spain-based delivery company Glovo said. According to experts, many delivery firms in Germany operate on the edge of legality in their rush to expand before they run out of cash. Gorillas says it doesn’t consider itself part of the “gig economy”, having chosen to employ its riders and warehouse staff. But hourly wages are low at 11.50 euros (less than $14) after tips and the
probationary period is six months — the longest allowed by law. Riders at the protest complained that the company doesn’t issue them with phones they need for work, that salaries are often short and weight limits on bags aren’t respected. “The working conditions are at the minimum end of what’s normal in Germany,” said Sebastian Riesner, who heads the Berlin chapter of the hospitality workers union NGG. “Some of the contracts are pretty outlandish. “There seems to be a strategy of relying on people who don’t know the rules in this country.” Angry Gorillas riders recently banded together and, with the help of NGG, began the process of electing a works council. Under German law, members of the council get a say on working conditions and firings. Falling in line with Germany’s established labor
practices could make it harder for businesses like Gorillas to turn a profit. “I don’t think these companies are earning any money at the moment,” said Werner Reinartz, a retail expert at the University of Cologne. German business monthly Manager Magazin cited internal documents suggesting that Gorillas loses 1.50 euros ($1.82) on every order. At the same time, foreign rivals such as Getir from Turkey and Britainbased Weezy are eyeing a launch in Europe’s biggest economy, where they will compete for the same limited pool of riders — already dwindling as other parts of the economy wake up from the pandemic lockdown. “The strikes show that the current model is difficult to carry forward,” said Reinartz. “You need people who want to do this job.” The company’s chief executive, Kagan Sumer, said in a message to staff that he was “deeply troubled” by the events of the past days, but insisting that the firing of the rider had been a “difficult but necessary decision”. Sumer didn’t address the protesters’ broader complaints, but instead announced plans to cycle to every city where the company operates, to meet staff and ride through the cities with them. The Left party’s candidate in September’s mayoral election, Klaus Lederer, expressed his support for the striking Gorillas workers. “If these companies want to have a future in Berlin, then they need to immediately respect the minimum standards of treating their employees fairly,” he said. Riders such as Camalan insist they can force a change from below. “We live in Germany.” he said. “We don’t live in some random country that doesn’t have any labor laws.”
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, June 14, 2021, PAGE 9
Pandemic relapse spells trouble for India’s middle class NEW DELHI Associated Press RAM Babu moved from his village to the Indian capital New Delhi in 1980, to clean cars. Soon, he learned to drive and got a job as a tour bus driver. Decades later, he set up his own company, Madhubani Tours and Travels. In March 2020, a stringent nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic froze economic activity overnight. Babu’s business collapsed, and he drove his family back to their village. “Since March last year, we haven’t earned a single rupee,” he said. “All of my three buses are standing still for more than a year. We are completely broken.” India’s economy was on the cusp of recovery from the first pandemic shock when a new wave of infections swept the country, infecting millions, killing hundreds of thousands and forcing many people to stay home. Cases are now tapering off, but prospects for many Indians are drastically worse as salaried jobs vanish, incomes shrink and inequality is rising. Decades of progress in alleviating poverty are imperiled, experts say, and getting growth back on track hinges on the fate of the country’s sprawling middle class. It’s a powerful and diverse group ranging from salaried employees to small business owners like Babu: many millions of people struggling to hold onto their hard-earned gains. The outbreak of the pandemic triggered the worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s and as it gradually ebbs, many economies are bouncing back. The World Bank
BIJENDER and Kanika Gautam, owners of the Ultra Bodies Fitness Studio, take online class from their closed Gyms on the outskirts of New Delhi, India on Thursday. Gyms were among the last types of venues allowed to reopen from the 2020 lockdown and they were closed again during the latest outbreaks. The Gautams had been thriving on income from their 100 gym members, making enough to rent their two-story space and pay five trainers. Now, they’re relying on whatever they can scrape together from offering online fitness training, and struggling to afford rent and school fees for their two children. Photo: Rishabh R Jain/AP foresees 5.6% global growth for 2021, the best since 1973. India’s economy contracted 7.3% in the fiscal year that ended in March, worsening from a slump that slashed growth to 4% from 8% in the two years before the pandemic hit. Economists fear there will be no rebound similar to the ones seen in the US and other major economies. “Coronavirus was the latest in a series of blows to hit India’s economy in recent years,” said Mahesh Vyas, chief executive at the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE). “But the shocks brought on by the virus have had a very debilitating effect on the economy and I fear it is going to be long lasting.” The economy was one of the fastest growing when Prime Minister Narendra Modi suddenly yanked most of India’s currency out of circulation in 2016, targeting corruption. A major tax reform whose kinks are still being ironed out followed.
Modi’s flagship Make in India program to energise manufacturing has floundered and unemployment has surged. The poor are suffering the most from the pandemic. But this is the first time in several decades that India’s middle class has taken such a big hit, said Vyas. After 40 years of hard work, tour company owner Babu was taking home about $2,000 a month. Business was going so well he took out a loan to buy his third tour bus. In May 2020, he used one of those buses to drive his wife and three children back to Bhugol village in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states. He could no longer afford the rent on their modest one-bedroom apartment in New Delhi. Estimates of the size of India’s middle class vary from 200 million to 600 million, but all experts agree that its prosperity is crucial for reviving the economy.
“They are the primary consumers — if their consumption doesn’t revive, growth will continue to be slow and the economy will not recover,” said economist Arun Kumar. An analysis from the Pew Research Center, published in March, estimates 32 million Indians had been pushed out of the middle class by the pandemic. The report defined the middle class as people earning $10 to $20 a day. It estimated the number of India’s poor -- those with incomes of $2 or less a day -has increased by 75 million because of the crisis. To cushion the impact, the government provided $266bn in extra spending in May 2020, with over $40bn meant to help small and medium-sized businesses through measures like collateral-free loans from banks. Another $36bn was promised in November to help create jobs, boost consumer spending and support manufacturing, agriculture and exports. But for many, the measures haven’t been enough. No relief has yet been announced for the tourism sector, so Babu is still paying business taxes on his buses. Last year’s lockdown destroyed more than 120 million jobs, according to the CMIE. Many returned soon after the lockdown ended in June, but the rebound was mostly of low-paying jobs in sectors like agriculture and construction.
Economists worry about a longer term decline in salaried jobs, of which 12.5 million remain lost, according to CMIE data, and about the fate of small and medium-sized businesses that are the backbone of India’s vast informal economy. Many people have had to settle for far more precarious employment than before, according to the State of Working India 2021 report by researchers at Azim Premji University. “What this signals is that people in distress are having to resort to any kind of employment, even if it pays substantially less than what they were making and comes with fewer protections,” said Rosa Abraham, one of the report’s lead authors. “It’s clear that the employment recovery we’re seeing now is characterised to a significant extent by far more informality.” That’s true for Bijender and Kanika Gautam, owners of the Ultra Bodies Fitness Studio on the outskirts of New Delhi. Gyms were among the last types of venues allowed to reopen from the 2020 lockdown and they were closed again during the latest outbreaks. The Gautams had been thriving on income from their 100 gym members, making enough to rent their two-story space and pay five trainers. Now, they’re relying on whatever they can scrape together from offering online fitness
training, and struggling to afford rent and school fees for their two children. “Earlier, we didn’t have to think twice about spending money when we went to the market with our children or went out to eat,” said Bijender. “But now, the situation is so bad that we are somehow just trying to survive. We don’t know if we will be able to keep our business,” he said. On a wider scale, such setbacks on a wide scale may undermine confidence and future growth, said CMIE’s Vyas. “You need that aspiration or drive to go to college, get a good job, save money to buy a home -- you need that ambition to make your life better than what your parents had. This is what makes the economy thrive, and this is a crucial thing that has taken a big hit,” he said. Babu says he fears his life is now moving in reverse. He had hoped his youngest daughter, aged 13, might become a pilot. Now that he’s had to pull her out of her school in New Delhi, that seems impossible. His dreams of buying a home in the city have been crushed by the loans he can no longer repay, he said in a phone call from his village. “I’m not used to living in the village now. Everything we own, everything we are, it’s all in Delhi,” he said. “I should have just continued working as a driver, maybe then I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
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THE TRIBUNE
To curb drug prices, Democrats still seeking a balance WASHINGTON Associated Press DEMOCRATS are committed to passing legislation this year to curb prescription drug prices, but they’re still disagreeing on how to cut costs for patients and taxpayers while preserving profits that lure investors to back potentially
promising treatments. It boils down to finding a balance: How big a stick should Medicare have to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies? With hundreds of billions of dollars in potential savings, the stakes are enormous. Medicare spends upward of $200bn a year on prescription drugs, a
NANCY PELOSI
category that keeps growing as costly new drugs enter the market. An Alzheimer’s medication approved this past week comes with a price
Career Opportunity Scotia Wealth Management is seeking the services of a
Senior Manager, Corporate and Business Support Position Summary: Leads and oversees the Corporate and Business Support department of The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company (Bahamas) Limited ensuring business strategies, plans, and initiatives are executed / delivered in compliance with governing regulations and internal policies and procedures.
Key Accountabilities for this role: w Leads and drives a customer focused culture throughout the team to deepen client relationships and leverage broader Bank relationships, systems and knowledge. w Acquires knowledge and understanding of business operations and objectives by partnering with appropriate cross-functional teams. w Identifies opportunities for service and workflow improvements; reviews, designs and optimizes processes; seeks buy-in from stakeholders on proposals; works in partnership to continually improve service levels and efficiency. w Works with cross-functional teams to influence the support and delivery of initiatives. w Oversees the delivery of centralized core corporate and administrative services to support The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company (Bahamas) Limited, including the provision of corporate secretary functions for all structures. w Oversees the provision of Regulatory Information Exchange (AEOI), including the documentation and reporting requirements for QI, FATCA, CRS, Beneficial Ownership, and any future regulatory regimes, in accordance with the requirements of the Bahamas and any other applicable jurisdiction. w Provides support for new account openings, account remediation reviews and audit requests. w Understands how the Bank’s risk appetite and risk culture should be considered in day-to-day activities and decisions. w Creates an environment in which his/her team pursues effective and efficient operations of his/her respective areas, while ensuring the adequacy, adherence to and effectiveness of day-to-day business controls to meet obligations with respect to operational risk, regulatory compliance risk, AML/ATF risk and conduct risk, including but not limited to responsibilities under the Operational Risk Management Framework, Regulatory Compliance Risk Management Framework, AML/ATF Global Handbook and the Guidelines for Business Conduct. w Builds a high performance environment and implements a people strategy that attracts, retains, develops and motivates their team by fostering an inclusive work environment; communicating vison/ values/business strategy and managing succession and development planning for the team.
Educational/Competency Requirements: w TEP and Compliance Designation, Licensing/ College Degree in Business Related Studies w Proficient written and verbal communication skills w Proficient in documenting and designing processes with appropriate controls w Proficient knowledge of change management methodologies w Thorough knowledge of Offshore Trust System (OTS) functionality w Thorough knowledge of computer based productivity tools w Working knowledge of Bank technology & tools w Working knowledge of Bank Accounting w Thorough knowledge of Bank controls, including AML/ATF and sanctions w Thorough knowledge of key responsibilities/processes in each Scotiatrust Bahamas/Cayman functional area; Fiduciary Services / Operations Qualified candidates should submit C.V. via email to: hrbahamas@scotiawealth.com on or before June 14th, 2021. Please note that only those individuals short-listed for an interview will be contacted.
™Trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence (where applicable).
of $56,000 a year, for example, and co-payments could skyrocket for patients who use it. A successful bill would advance a key plank of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda even as Democrats struggle to make progress on other fronts. Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices consistently wins strong public support in opinion polls. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, is steering legislation that imposes a steep tax on drugmakers that refuse to deal with Medicare, while using an average of prices in other economically advanced countries as a reference point for fair rates here. Her bill would limit price increases and allow private health plans to receive Medicare’s negotiated rates. In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore, is also working to craft legislation. His starting point is a less ambitious bipartisan bill from a previous Congress. It would have limited price increases for drugs already on the market, but not initial prices. It would have capped Medicare recipients’ out-ofpocket costs for pharmacy drugs, which is in the Pelosi bill. Wyden said he personally is convinced that “it’s long past time to give Medicare the authority to negotiate better prices for prescription drugs.” But cajoling enough votes in the Senate is another matter. It’s unclear whether Wyden can even count on all the Democrats in the divided chamber or whether any Republicans would sign on. Progressives such as Sen Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, want to use Medicare’s savings to create new benefits for dental, vision and hearing coverage. That would represent an historic expansion of a programme that’s under a lengthening financial shadow, its giant inpatient
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trust fund projected to be in the red in 2026. Democrats are talking privately among themselves and organising coalitions around different approaches. In public, they still sound like they can overcome their differences. “Democrats are going to pass Medicare prescription drug reform and I’m going to be part of it,” Rep Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass, told The Associated Press. The first-term lawmaker has raised concerns that Pelosi’s approach is not a negotiation but a price control system. His voice matters because Auchincloss is helping lead a group of like-minded Democrats, and Pelosi can’t afford to lose many votes. The powerful and deeppocketed drug industry lobby is closely engaged. Already, ads are stirring fears that government price controls will squelch development of breakthrough treatments. Stephen Ubl, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the industry wants to see lower out-of-pocket costs for patients, and believes that insurers and companies that manage prescription benefits must be scrutinised as well. “We would like to see a balanced drug pricing bill emerge from the Congress this year,” Ubl told AP in a recent interview. He later added that “our industry understands that there is going to be some pain involved in the process.” But so far the industry has given no indication that it’s willing to accept Medicare negotiations or significant curbs to its pricing power. Health economist Len Nichols, who has advised Democrats in health care policy debates, said there is a logic behind the basic elements of Pelosi’s approach. “You’ve got to have that reference price that is somewhat objective as a basis for negotiation, and then you have to have a way to compel the drug companies to come to the table,” he said. “It’s directionally correct.” That said, getting the balance right would be critical. “We’ve just experienced
an amazing example of incredibly effective innovation,” Nichols said, referring to COVID-19 vaccines that have pushed back a deadly pandemic in this country. “Innovation is important, and the structure of any bargaining arrangement has to balance the need for affordability with the need to incentivise innovation.” The industry’s success with COVID-19 vaccines comes with a big asterisk: Taxpayers have invested about $20bn in research and development, manufacturing, and supply of vaccine candidates. That’s according to estimates by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which advocates for reducing federal deficits. Still, the money went to companies that knew what they were doing and they delivered. Joshua Gordon, director of health policy for the budget group, said there is a clear trade-off between restraining drug prices and reducing incentives for innovation. But that doesn’t mean a better balance can’t be found. “Obviously the government creates a market for drugs through patents and (Food and Drug Administration) exclusivity, and there are clearly areas where the companies are taking advantage,” he said. Lawmakers aren’t necessarily tied to the approaches now on the table, Gordon added. They could follow of the example of Germany, where drugmakers set the initial price of a medication, but then a review process determines if it’s worth to keep paying that. One of Pelosi’s top lieutenants said recently that he is open to discussing different approaches, but they have to include negotiating authority for Medicare. “We can’t veer away from the basic idea that the government ... should have the right to negotiate prices,” Rep. Frank Pallone, D-NJ, said on a call sponsored by the advocacy group Protect Our Care. “I believe that the Democrats as a whole and some of the Republicans in the Senate will vote for that.”
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, June 14, 2021, PAGE 11
UK-EU Brexit spat over N Ireland clouds G7 leaders summit FALMOUTH Associated Press
TURBULENCE from the divorce between the UK and the European Union provided an unwanted distraction at the Group of Seven summit taking place in southwest England, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying Saturday that post-Brexit agreements will fail if the EU continues to take a “theologically draconian” approach to the rules. Johnson held meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and the bloc’s top officials on the sidelines of the summit he is hosting. Afterwards, the prime minister claimed the EU was not taking a “sensible or pragmatic” approach to post-Brexit arrangements, and he threatened to use an emergency clause to suspend agreed upon rules if the bloc did not compromise. Britain and the EU are locked in an escalating diplomatic feud over Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK that borders the 27-nation bloc. The EU is angry over the British government’s delay in implementing new checks on some goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, while Britain says the checks are imposing a big burden on businesses and destabilising Northern Ireland’s hard-won peace. US President Joe Biden has gotten drawn into the spat, raising concerns about the potential threat to Northern Ireland’s peace accord. The new arrangements, designed to keep an open border between Ireland and its northern neighbour, have angered Northern Ireland’s British unionists, who say they weaken ties with the
every part of the country. Merkel said she made clear to Johnson at their meeting that nothing could change on the fundamentals of the agreement. But she hinted at compromise, saying that “when it comes to practical questions... one should consider where things can be done better so it helps the citizens of Northern Ireland.” Johnson said some European leaders seemed not to understand “that the UK is a single country, a single territory. I just need to get that into their heads.” “If the protocol continues to be applied in this way, then we will obviously not hesitate to invoke Article 16,” the British leader said, referring to an emergency brake allowing either side to BRITAIN’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, right, greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit in Cornwall, England on Saturday. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/AP rest of the UK. Tensions over the new trade rules were a contributing factor to a week of street violence in April, largely in unionist areas of Northern Ireland, that saw youths pelt police with bricks, fireworks and firebombs. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen tweeted after meeting Johnson that Northern Ireland peace was “paramount”, and the binding Brexit agreement protected it. “We want the best possible relations with the UK. Both sides must implement what we agreed on. There is complete EU unity on this,” she said. Johnson told Sky News at the summit site in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, that “the treaty we signed, I signed,
suspend parts of their agreement. It is intended for use only in extreme situations, but the EU briefly threatened to invoke it in January amid a coronavirus vaccine spat, to stop doses from Ireland crossing the border. Speaking to Channel 5, Johnson said, “I certainly think that the protocol is capable of being used and interpreted…in a pragmatic way or a theologically draconian way. “At the moment we are seeing...a lot of unnecessary difficulties,” he said. Despite the tough talk, Johnson said he was optimistic of reaching a compromise, though British officials say it’s unlikely the issue will be solved during the G-7 summit, which ends Sunday.
is perfectly reasonable,” but he added: “I don’t think that the interpretation or application of the protocol (by the EU) is sensible or pragmatic.” The EU says Britain must fully implement the agreement, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, that the two sides agreed and ratified. It is threatening legal action if the UK does not fully bring in the checks, which include a ban on chilled meats such as sausages from England, Scotland and Wales going to Northern Ireland from next month. Britain accuses the bloc of taking a rigid approach to the rules and urged it to be more flexible in order to avoid what has been dubbed a “sausage war”. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Saturday that if the EU took a “bloody-minded and purist” approach, Britain would have to act to protect the UK’s internal market and ensure that British-produced goods can be sold in
Career Opportunity Scotia Wealth Management is seeking the services of an
Associate Manager, Relationship Management Position Summary: Provide quality service to assigned trust, foundation, insurance, fund, company and agency structures/ relationships in a manner that deepens connectivity and enhances profitability, and contributes to the effective operation of Relationship Management through the maintenance of management controls.
Key Accountabilities for this role: w Champions a customer focused culture to deepen client relationships and leverage broader Bank relationships, systems and knowledge. w Ensure a high standard of relationship management, including by team, is being maintained. w Ensuring that regular and routine aspects are diarized and achieved promptly, e.g., preparation of annual financial statements, regular payments to relationships, renewal of insurance policies, and that all statements and reports are supplied in a timely manner. w Conducting interviews with Designated Persons and/or their advisors in respect of assigned relationships w Contribute to the efficient day-to-day operation of the team. Following procedures governing approval of payments, disbursements, overdrafts, loans and bookkeeping entries. Reviewing, revising if necessary, and executing documents. w Contribute to the growth of business and profitability of Scotiatrust. w Contribute to the development of team by: • Providing on-the-job training, guidance and counsel to assist team in enlarging their knowledge, skills and experience. • Participating in in-house training programs. w Professionally service structures/relationships. w Meet Regulatory Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering/Anti-Terrorist Financing and Bank Policies and procedures for Customer transactions. w Assist with such other duties as may be designated or delegated by the Associate Director, or Director. w Actively pursues effective and efficient operations of his/her respective areas, while ensuring the adequacy, adherence to and effectiveness of day-to-day business controls to meet obligations with respect to operational risk, regulatory compliance risk, AML/ATF risk and conduct risk, including but not limited to responsibilities under the Operational Risk Management Framework, Regulatory Compliance Risk Management Framework, AML/ATF Global Handbook and the Gidelines for Business Conduct. w Champions a high performance environment and implements a people strategy that attracts, retains, develops and motivates their team by fostering an inclusive work environment; communicating vison/ values/business strategy and managing succession and development planning for the team.
Educational/Competency Requirements: w Membership in the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners is a requirement of this role. w Formal training such as the London Institute of Bankers Trustees Diploma or other comparable qualifications together with 10-12 years growth experience in the fiduciary and financial services industry, including 3 -5 years in supervisory leadership roles is required. w It is beneficial for the incumbent to maintain a good working knowledge of the major investment markets and be able to demonstrate that knowledge to relationships or prospective relationships. w A legal background and foreign language capabilities are desirable for this position, especially Spanish and European languages. Qualified candidates should submit C.V. via email to: hrbahamas@scotiawealth.com on or before June 14th, 2021. Please note that only those individuals short-listed for an interview will be contacted.
™Trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence (where applicable).
PAGE 12, Monday, June 14, 2021
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Monday, June 14, 2021, PAGE 13
www.ub.edu.bs
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES University of The Bahamas invites suitably qualified candidates to submit applications for the following positions: Associate Vice President of Development and Grants responsible for establishing, cultivating and sustaining relationships with individual, corporate and foundation prospects, managing a portfolio of prospects and working in close partnership with university leadership, academic units and programmes to develop and implement strategies to secure funding in alignment with the university’s strategic plan. The Associate Vice President participates as an active member of the Institutional Advancement team, serves on and leads the Major Gifts Team and Grants Team, and reports directly to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs. Further details are outlined in the position announcement available at https://www. ub.edu.bs/about-us/career-opportunities/ . Executive Director, Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Research Centre responsible for providing strategic direction for the centre and leading research, policy engagement, education and outreach in addition to managing a team of researchers. The successful candidate will be expected to build a strong, externally funded research programme and develop collaborations and synergistic activities at UB and with regional and international partners. The Executive Director will lead, contribute to and ensure fulfillment of awarded research grants and consultancies; effectively represent and promote the CCARR Centre nationally, regionally and internationally; and lead research teams over multiple projects. Further details are outlined in the position announcement available at https://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/career-opportunities/. Director of University Police/Security responsible for developing and recommending systems, policies and procedures expected to control access to and from the grounds and buildings of The University and its satellite properties. The Director will also develop and implement systems and procedures pertaining to safety measures for students, faculty and staff; supervise all security and university police personnel; and enforce strict safety practices in accordance with the university’s safety standards. Further details area outlined in the position announcement available at https://www.ub.edu.bs/ about-us/career-opportunities/. Assistant Director, Office of Information Technology with supervisory responsibility for computer technicians at the UB-North Campus in Grand Bahama as well as oversight for team planning. The Assistant Director is also responsible for support and maintenance of mobile devices, desktop and laptop computers, printers, scanners and multifunction devices, software, network components (LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi), audiovisual and lighting equipment, tools and accessories; establishing policies and procedures necessary for the department to provide stable enterprise mission-critical services; and serving as project manager for multiple projects which require collaboration. Further details are available at https://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/ career-opportunities/ . Interested applicants should submit the following information electronically to hrapply@ub.edu.bs by the deadline of Wednesday 23rd June 2021: • A letter of interest (highlighting work experience and accomplishments relevant to the position); • Current Curriculum Vitae/Resume; • Copies of all academic qualifications with transcripts (original transcripts will be required upon employment), certificates; and • At least three (3) written professional references.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, June 14, 2021, PAGE 15
TRAVEL REBOUND: TWO MILLION PEOPLE GO THROUGH US AIRPORTS DALLAS Associated Press
THE airline industry’s recovery from the pandemic passed a milestone as more than two million people streamed through US airport security checkpoints on Friday for the first time since early March 2020. The Transportation Security Administration announced on Saturday that 2.03 million travelers were screened at airport checkpoints on Friday. It was the first time in 15 months that the number of security screenings has surpassed two million in a single day. Airline bookings have
been picking up since around February, as more Americans were vaccinated against COVID-19 and – at least within the United States – travel restrictions such as mandatory quarantines began to ease. The recovery is not complete. Friday’s crowds were only 74% of the volume compared to the same day in 2019. However, the 2.03 million figure was 1.5 million more travelers than the same day last year, according to the TSA. The two-million mark represents quite a turnaround for the travel industry, which was hammered by the pandemic. There were days in April
2020 when fewer than 100,000 people boarded planes in the US, and the CEO of Boeing predicted that at least one major US airline would go bankrupt. Most of the airlines are still losing money. Southwest eked out a narrow first-quarter profit thanks to its share of $64bn in federal pandemic relief to the industry, and others are expected to follow suit later this year. The fear of large-scale furloughs has lifted. United Airlines, which lost $7bn and threatened to furlough 13,000 workers last fall, told employees this week that their jobs are secure even when the federal money
runs out in October. That’s because airlines like United are upbeat about salvaging the peak summer vacation season. International travel and business trips are still deeply depressed, but domestic leisure travel is roughly back to pre-pandemic levels, airline officials say. The airlines are recalling employees from voluntary leave and planning to hire small numbers of pilots and other workers later this year. Hotel operators say they too have seen bookings improve as vaccination rates rise. Mike Gathright, a senior vice president at Hilton,
said the company’s hotels were 93% full over the Memorial Day weekend. He said the company is “very optimistic” about leisure travel over the summer and a pickup in business travel this fall. “The vaccine distribution, the relaxed travel restrictions, consumer confidence — all of that is driving occupancy and improvement in our business,” Gathright said. Prior to the pandemic, TSA screened on average two million to 2.5 million travelers per day. The lowest screening volume during the pandemic was on April 13, 2020, when just 87,534 individuals were screened at airport
THE WEATHER REPORT
5-Day Forecast
TODAY
ORLANDO
High: 88° F/31° C Low: 74° F/23° C
TAMPA
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Variable clouds, a stray t‑storm
Thickening clouds
Mostly cloudy with a stray t‑storm
A t‑storm around in the morning
Partly sunny with a thunderstorm
Sun through high clouds
High: 87°
Low: 78°
High: 87° Low: 79°
High: 88° Low: 78°
High: 88° Low: 79°
High: 89° Low: 78°
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
96° F
86° F
99°-87° F
99°-86° F
100°-86° F
100°-85° F
The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.
almanac
E
W
ABACO
S
N
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C
10‑20 knots
S
High: 89° F/32° C Low: 77° F/25° C
8‑16 knots
FT. LAUDERDALE
FREEPORT
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C
E
W S
E
W
WEST PALM BEACH
N
uV inDex toDay
TUESDAY
N
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 78° F/26° C
MIAMI
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C
8‑16 knots
KEY WEST
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C
ELEUTHERA
NASSAU
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 78° F/26° C
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
N
The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
tiDes For nassau Low
Ht.(ft.)
Today
11:15 a.m. 11:36 p.m.
High
Ht.(ft.) 2.2 2.9
5:28 a.m. 5:12 p.m.
0.3 0.3
Tuesday
12:02 p.m. ‑‑‑‑‑
2.2 ‑‑‑‑‑
6:11 a.m. 6:00 p.m.
0.3 0.4
Wednesday 12:21 a.m. 12:54 p.m.
2.8 2.3
6:56 a.m. 6:55 p.m.
0.3 0.5
Thursday
1:11 a.m. 1:50 p.m.
2.8 2.4
7:43 a.m. 7:56 p.m.
0.3 0.5
Friday
2:05 a.m. 2:48 p.m.
2.7 2.6
8:34 a.m. 9:01 p.m.
0.2 0.5
Saturday
3:02 a.m. 3:48 p.m.
2.6 2.8
9:27 a.m. 0.0 10:07 p.m. 0.4
Sunday
4:02 a.m. 4:47 p.m.
2.6 3.1
10:22 a.m. ‑0.2 11:11 p.m. 0.2
sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset
6:20 a.m. 8:01 p.m.
Moonrise Moonset
9:50 a.m. 11:40 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
Jun. 17
Jun. 24
Jul. 1
Jul. 9
CAT ISLAND
E
W
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C
N
S
E
W
7‑14 knots
S
4‑8 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 86° F/30° C Low .................................................... 74° F/23° C Normal high ....................................... 87° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 74° F/23° C Last year’s high ................................. 86° F/30° C Last year’s low ................................... 72° F/22° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 5.53” Normal year to date ................................... 10.65”
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C
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TONIGHT
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C
security checkpoints. By the middle of last month, TSA’s average daily volume for screenings was approximately 65% of pre-pandemic levels. As the summer travel season approaches, TSA is advising passengers to arrive at the airport with sufficient time to accommodate increased screening time as traveler volumes are expected to approach and in some cases exceed pre-pandemic levels at certain airports.
ANDROS
SAN SALVADOR
GREAT EXUMA
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C
N
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C
E
W S
LONG ISLAND
tracking map
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C
6‑12 knots
MAYAGUANA High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures
CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS
are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
RAGGED ISLAND High: 84° F/29° C Low: 81° F/27° C
H
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C
GREAT INAGUA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C
N
E
W
E
W
N
S
S
6‑12 knots
8‑16 knots
marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR
Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday:
WINDS SW at 8‑16 Knots SW at 10‑20 Knots SW at 7‑14 Knots SSE at 4‑8 Knots S at 6‑12 Knots SSE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 10‑20 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots SW at 8‑16 Knots WSW at 10‑20 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SSW at 7‑14 Knots S at 6‑12 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots S at 6‑12 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots
WAVES 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑2 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 0‑1 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet
VISIBILITY 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles
WATER TEMPS. 83° F 83° F 85° F 85° F 83° F 83° F 85° F 83° F 83° F 82° F 83° F 85° F 84° F 85° F 85° F 83° F 84° F 84° F 80° F 82° F 83° F 82° F 85° F 84° F 83° F 82° F
PAGE 16, Monday, June 14, 2021
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