06152020 BUSINESS

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MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2020

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New auto sales plunge 90% at COVID’s peak

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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EW car sales plunged more than 90 percent during the COVID-19 lockdown’s peak, data seen by Tribune Business has revealed, with many dealerships “not selling a single vehicle” for April.

Bahamas Motor Dealers Association (BMDA) statistics disclosed that new vehicle sales for that month declined by 90.6 percent compared to February 2020, the last full month of activity before the government’s emergency powers took effect in mid-March and forced the sector into a near-total shutdown.

BMDA members collectively sold just 12 autos in April, compared to 123 and 127 sales for January and February, respectively, highlighting the unprecedented economic blow suffered by the auto industry which was likely mirrored in other sectors also forced to close their doors.

New vehicle sales

• Industry sells just 12 vehicles in April • Down 200, or 32%, for year to May • Dealer urges buyers: Shop at home dropped to 96 in March, down almost one-third month-on-month, as the COVID-19 lockdown took hold in the month’s final two weeks. May numbers, according to BMDA data, recovered slightly to 67 - down 47.3 percent on February 2020 - as dealers began to emerge with curbside and delivery services.

Figures for 2020’s first five months show total new vehicle sales down by more than 200 year-over-year, or 32.32 percent, illustrating the extent of the hit suffered by a sector where such transactions are its main revenue driver and profit earner.

“If you’re down 30 percent on sales on the most important part of your business it’s a pretty significant impact,” Rick Lowe, the BMDA’s secretary, told Tribune Business. “We’ve

‘Transformative’ COVID leaves retailer targeting overseas expansions

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN retail entrepreneur says COVID-19’s “transformative” impact has spurred him to look at regional expansion with sales “30 percent off” as his businesses emerge from lockdown.

Andrew Wilson, the Quality Business Centre (QBC) proprietor, told Tribune Business the “accelerated development” of his store’s online platform had inspired him to look at the possibility of selling product beyond New Providence and the confines of traditional “bricks and mortar” retail.

Suggesting that the pandemic has likely altered Bahamian retail for ever, Mr Wilson said he was looking at not just the Family Islands but the opportunity to use an online platform - combined with a supply chain sourcing product direct from Asia - to sell into larger markets in the Caribbean and South America.

Acknowledging that the government’s dependence on VAT and import tariffs at the border created an “obstacle” to such an operation, he added that supply chains and distribution centres would likely have to be based outside The Bahamas presently even though such

SEE PAGE 4

Unemployment back to ‘single digits’ by 2022

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government’s top labour official is projecting that various “anchor projects” will return The Bahamas’ jobless rate to “single digit” levels by the end of 2022.

John Pinder, the director of labour, told Tribune Business that multiple developments planned by the cruise lines, as well as The Pointe’s completion in downtown Nassau and the

rebuilding of Baker’s Bay Golf & Ocean Club will lead the inroads into an unemployment rate that has been driven to at least 30 percent by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“By 2022 we ought to be back into single digit unemployment; the end of 2022,” he argued. “There are a number of anchor projects on stream. There’s a huge project in Grand Bahama with Carnival’s cruise port, and Royal Caribbean and ITM at the Grand Lucayan.”

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got similar corresponding drops in service and parts for those months. Many of us didn’t sell anything in April.

“Basically we’ve lost a quarter pretty much. We lost half of March, April and May. Those of us that didn’t lay-off people, it impacted cash flow significantly so we have to get this economy going. It’s the whole gamut of the business. Parts was OK, but not anywhere near normal because of social distancing and curb side.”

Mr Lowe added that much now depended on the timing and strength of the tourism rebound when The Bahamas re-opens its borders to commercial flights and international travel on July 1.The sector, the country’s largest employer and foreign exchange earner, is the critical driver of economic activity that supports

new auto sales and other domestic activity.

“So far it’s fairly slow,” he added of the industry’s full re-opening. “We have to get through June, and if we re-open this country to international travel on July 1 still, we will see what kind of flows we have and go from there.

“Our economy is dependent on foreign direct investment and tourism.

There’s not enough local investment to sustain everything that needs to be sustained. Right now there’s just so much up in the air.

We’re grateful to be halfway back to normal, but it’s disconcerting.”

Ben Albury, Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business that the next fortnight will largely determine

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Baha Mar eyeing 15-20% job cuts

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday conceded it is “deeply concerning” that Baha Mar has delayed its re-opening amid plans to make “additional staffing reductions” that could result in hundreds losing their jobs.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, pictured, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that a number of Bahamian resorts and tourism industry operators had chosen to “sit on the sidelines” due to a combination of COVID-19 uncertainties and insufficient visitor booking volumes to justify re-opening when the border restrictions are lifted on July 1.

Speaking after the Cable Beach mega resort informed staff it does not now plan to re-open until October 2020, Mr D’Aguilar said it was “sadly the reality” that the Bahamian tourism industry’s rebound from the pandemic will take time with businesses not requiring the same staffing volumes needed pre-COVID-19

Tribune Business understands that Baha Mar’s proposed cuts could impact between 15-20 percent of its workforce, meaning one out of every five to six workers could be in danger of losing their job. Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, yesterday declined to comment when reached by this newspaper and referred it to the letter issued to staff on Friday.

“Once again, it’s deeply concerning,” Mr D’Aguilar said of Baha Mar’s announcement. “I guess it’s sadly the reality that it’s going to take a while to ramp back up and, in the meantime, businesses are

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PAGE 2, Monday, June 15, 2020

Hurbert Edwards, in the first of a five-part series to be published this week, warns that knee-jerk responses to the continuing onslaught on a key industry will merely prolong its demise.

THE TRIBUNE

TIME TO GET THE ‘BOOT’ OFF FINANCIAL SERVICES’ NECK

BY HUBERT EDWARDS

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NTIL The Bahamas adjusts its business model or approach to delivering financial services it will be vulnerable to the vagaries of international (supra-national) agencies and developed countries seeking to destroy it as an international financial centre (IFC). Until it becomes more responsive to the fact that competitive strategy must be influenced by local stakeholders, the industry’s potential economic value will consistently underperform.

In 2018, there was a great flurry of activity as the European Union (EU) targeted The Bahamas and other IFCs over so-called “co-operation on tax matters”. This nation was even temporarily “blacklisted” by the EU for allegedly failing to give a strong enough commitment to redressing the 27-nation’s blocs concerns over “ring fencing”, and corporate entities having a substantive presence in this jurisdiction through which to conduct real business. Following a two-year effort, The Bahamas was deemed compliant by the EU and avoided yet another close call that could have had detrimental consequences for both financial services and the wider economy.

Two years later and we are back at “blacklisting” again, this time on money laundering, terror financing and combating financial crime.

The EU has made it clear that The Bahamas will not

be removed from its latest listing until it receives the all-clear from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global standard-setter on anti-money laundering matters. Very colourful language was used to describe the latest threat to The Bahamas. According to Carl Bethel QC, the attorney general, senior EU officials and politicians have warned The Bahamas: “We won’t take our foot off your neck until you implement a corporate income tax”.

It was noted that there was “nothing The Bahamas can say or do” to alter the “blacklisting” decision.

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, there is no way of stopping the EU and others. They will keep coming after The Bahamas. We are all wise enough to understand the end game. For all the groups and countries that level attacks on The Bahamas and other jurisdictions, this is about repatriation of capital or the opportunity to eliminate IFCs as avenues for tax planning, thereby securing more taxes from their citizens. In the final analysis, the financial services industry and the economy will take a hit if

the response to this initiative is not effective.

In 2003, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) unveiled its Offshore Voluntary Compliance Initiative. Back then I wrote, in a paper carried by The Tribune: “This programme, lauded by IRS personnel as sound tax administration, designed to root out tax evasion, carries with it some very serious implications for offshore jurisdictions.

So much like the cleverlycrafted PATRIOT Act, the initiative comes armed with the ability to catch the proverbial horse that has escaped while attempting to effectively lock the gate.”

The underlying principle of that initiative continues to be seen and felt today. However, since then the game has changed. The subtleties are gone and we have now evolved to “in your face” discussions with the admission of having foreign body parts fully planted on delicate parts of our anatomy, a symbolism that has certainly taken on great prominence in recent days.

This is certainly not a positive situation for The Bahamas.

The upside, though, is that, such attacks cause decisions which should have been taken long ago to finally get the appropriate attention. The country seems to always be able to extricate itself, albeit temporarily, from the onslaught of these attacks. That, though, is only true when viewed from the discontinuation of whatever listing or action is being taken against The Bahamas.

When viewed through the prism of the impact on the financial services industry, every single one has

resulted in a loss of business and the sector’s slow-butsteady contraction.

The EU’s latest move may now have the same effect but with deeper implications. Its timing must be viewed against the backdrop of the current circumstances facing the country. The Bahamas is grappling with a global financial crisis.

The largest contributor to the economy, the tourism industry, has seen significant curtailment as a result of COVD-19. While tourism contributes more as a collective, the financial services industry provides higher-paying employment, contributing approximately 27 percent of annual GDP (gross domestic product).

COVID-19 has shown how vulnerable the economy is.

With tourism’s near-term production uncertain, the protection of other industries becomes paramount.

The EU threat also takes on greater significance in light of a projected $1.3bn fiscal deficit for the upcoming 2020-2021 budget cycle, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian’s $3.4bn worth of losses and devastation. Recovery from that one storm is still in the rudimentary stages. One thing that should not be lost on anyone is that the tax revenue space for The Bahamas has always been narrow and insufficient; the country runs significant deficits each year. There are questions, therefore, as to whether the current tax regime is effective. Is it serving the country well, and has the different treatment afforded to the economy’s domestic and offshore segments affected the country’s growth?

The questions are: Should The Bahamas pursue a corporate income tax regime that will address the EU concerns? And how will such a regime change impact the viability of the offshore industry?

There is a clear dilemma here, and no one should pretend this is easy for policymakers. There could not be a worse time for the country to be dealing with this issue. However, in my opinion, if the situation or circumstance is properly assessed, analysed and solutions effectively executed, positive benefits could accrue, chief of which is a broadening of the country’s tax base. What is clear, though, is that failing to take serious and strategic action will place The Bahamas in

an imperiled position. One thing which continues to become clearer is that The Bahamas has to take a deep and well-considered, broadbased look at the financial services industry - and certainly a very clinical look at its tax regime. The way forward demands this. Left undone, the attacks will keep coming with the eventual potential loss of critical mass.

In 2010, I wrote a paper entitled Assessing the strategic approach to growth and development of The Bahamas financial services industry. Part of the opening statement taken from that paper reads as follows: “A careful assessment of various policy making and interest groups within the Bahamian financial services industry will reveal a real and overt aspiration to become, or be seen as, a leading IFC. However, that same careful assessment will quickly reveal there is no clearly articulated, comprehensive and cohesive vision, plan or strategy to achieve this noble objective”. Since that time the National Development Plan (NDP) was drafted, but to-date has not been “ratified”. While it makes for an uncomfortable discussion in certain quarters, the truth is there is a need to rethink comprehensively the underlying construct and arrangements of the industry.

The Bahamas’ recent listing by the EU raises a number of questions.

While in many instances the matter has been discussed, abstractly, as another occurrence to be addressed or survived, in my mind there are more fundamental issues at play which go to the heart of the well-being of the country and its economy. What is the strategic outlook for the financial services industry? How will it look after the fundamental shifts that may be needed to address this initiative? Is there a need for a definitive reengineering, reorganising and restructuring of the financial services industry, and what will that look like? Is the Bahamas serious about extending its growth as an IFC in its strictest sense? Is The Bahamas value proposition at risk of diminishing? Can the Bahamas remain competitive? How can it be better structured to balance the need for diversification? If the Bahamas were to see

significant loss, what would that mean for the country?

How serious is the issue of corporate taxation to the resolution? Is there a national will to move in this direction?

The play book seems to be the same each time The Bahamas happens to find itself on another adverse listing. We do what is necessary to be removed.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the same scenario is likely to play out forever and a day in the future unless there is a fundamental shift in the management of matters impacting the financial services sector, and a serious rethink of the approach to managing the industry that is led from the policy level of the country. I admit that the delicate balancing act required, and the dilemmas faced, are real and therefore there is always the temptation to address the short-term issues only.

However, it is only when looked at through a longterm lens that the proper perspective emerges. Again, I am reminded that the current matter is not typical but its occurrence, together with other past events, suggests and underlines the need for a more defined and structured look at the industry and, by extension, the economy.

Remedial responses to these blacklisting initiatives demand a comprehensive and collaborative strategic outlook. We must protect the quality of the economic arrangements within the country on a sustainable basis for its citizens. The continued tactic of ad hoc responses is not sustainable as it plays to the aggressors’ objective. Each response erodes aspects of the industry and weakens the economy. The time has long passed for us to become proactive in charting the future of the financial services industry for the next ten, 15, 20 years. The time has come for the adoption of a real strategic approach to growing The Bahamas’ financial services industry.

There is a clear argument to be made for a nationally appreciated, strategic approach in the management of The Bahamas’ financial services sector.

We will explore this further tomorrow.

To be continued..................

HOW HOTELS, BANKS CAN FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

trafficking, globally, a predicate crime for money laundering. Simply put, the motive of traffickers is money, and where money is involved there must be a financial instrument or institution that willingly or unknowingly facilitates the “laundering” or cleaning of these dirty proceeds to make them seem legitimate.

Therefore, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response by governments around the world to “lockdown” their economies, several risks will arise. Financial crimes professionals and others must remain vigilant. Polaris, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that works to combat and prevent modern-day slavery and human trafficking, notes that traffickers use banks to launder money, period. Persons or institutions involved in trafficking must convert their proceeds from crime into legitimate funds through money laundering.

Financial institutions should review and evaluate their “risk-based approach” and “due diligence” regimes to minimise risks associated with modern-day slavery and human trafficking, as financial flows from such crimes are extremely diverse, presenting a problem in detection. They are in prime positions to fight this menacing crime.

According to Nancy D Lake, of CAMS-Audit: “It is imperative that they must ACT (Be aware, communicate and take action).”

I submit that there are hundreds of red flags across various industries. Here are a few to consider as economies restart and human trafficking potentially increases.

Red flags in hotels As major hotels prepare to reopen in The Bahamas, please dispel the myth that traffickers only use cheap hotels, as suggested by many movies. Research

by Polaris has revealed

that they consider other variables when choosing locations such as convenience, buyer comfort, hotel policies and procedures.

Therefore, a hotel’s strong collaboration with law enforcement is often very unattractive to traffickers.

Hotel staff should pay special attention to extended stays by customers with little luggage. Also, rooms that are booked with business cards but, on arrival, the customer prefers paying in cash. Moreover, sex paraphernalia, condoms and large amounts of cash may be left during and after a stay in the room. Sadly, hotels with no human trafficking awareness training are even more susceptible to unwillingly facilitating modern-day slavery.

Red flags in financial institutions Traffickers sometimes use payments to employment or student recruitment agencies that are not licensed/ registered, or have labour violations, because they are not regulated or governed by any oversight body.

Institutions should also pay careful attention to customers with an excessive number of accounts, and ensure proper transition monitoring controls are active. Moreover, a red flag would be third parties accompanying customers when they open accounts or conduct transactions.

The third party escorting the customer might be withholding the customerr’s passport and other documents.

Red flags in health care Because of the nature of certain types of modernday slavery, victims are experiencing issues that make the need for a hospital visit an unwanted trip by the trafficker. Against this backdrop, the health care industry can play a major role in identifying, treating

By DEREK SMITH

AS THE world’s greatest economy approaches June 19, a date that marks news of the abolition of slavery reaching Texas, financial crime professionals across the US and the world are grappling with a different but uncomfortably similar problem. It is modern slavery and human trafficking, and how it is connected to the financial sector through feeder industries. The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (CAMS), through its virtual training platform, defines modern slavery and human trafficking as “an umbrella term that covers a set of specific legal concepts including forced labour, debt bondage, chattel slavery and other slavery-like practices, as well as human trafficking into one of those conditions of exploitation”.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in its financial flows from human trafficking report, noted that aggregated criminal proceeds from this trade reached $150bn in 2018. This makes human

SEE PAGE 3

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 3

ATLANTIS ‘DOMINO EFFECT’ FAILING TO MATERIALISE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE hotel union’s president says the hoped-for “domino effect” from Atlantis announcing its July 7 re-opening has failed to materialise after Baha Mar delayed its own comeback and warned of “staff reductions” to come.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) president, told Tribune Business that the prospects for a rapid postCOVID tourism rebound are “starting to look kind of grim” after the Cable Beach mega resort postponed its return to the market until October 2020.

Voicing fears for the welfare of union members at the Melia Nassau Beach resort, which is also owned

by Baha Mar’s proprietor, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), Mr Woods said he had hoped Atlantis’ early re-opening would have convinced other major Bahamian resort properties to follow suit.

That possibility has suffered a major dent, though, with Sandals having also announced that its Cable Beach resort - located just down the road from Baha Mar on West Bay Street will also not re-open until guests until November 1.

LONG ISLAND RESORT IN 50% ROOM NIGHT DROP

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A LONG Island resort is predicting that its room nights will be down almost 50 percent year-over-year for July after generating business via its social media platform.

Matthew Brear, general manger of Cape Santa Maria, told Tribune Business: “We’re kind of in a holding pattern at the moment. I was surprised to hear when the Prime Minister announced that we would be opening on July 1.

“I was happy and encouraged that that was the case, and we had reservations on the books already for the month of July, so I figured we could build on those. Since I have announced on all of my social media platforms that we will be opening July 1, I picked up 150 to 200 room nights for the month of July.”

Mr Brear added: “Last July we had over 700 room nights,

DARRIN WOODS This means that two major drivers of the Bahamian tourism industry, the country’s largest sector upon which it depends heavily for jobs and foreign exchange earnings, will not come online for some months. Not only does this illustrate the difficulties associated with restarting the tourism industry to coincide with the July 1 borders re-opening, it also exposes how economic activity and employment will remain depressed for much of 2020.

“We are very concerned,” Mr Woods told this newspaper of Baha Mar’s delayed re-opening.

“Everything broke late on Friday evening, so we’re trying to get a handle on what’s going on.

We’re trying to get a handle on what’s going on. We’re bracing for the worst. Right now I’m almost lost for words to be honest..... Now I know how boxers feel in the ring.

“It’s starting to look kind of grim. Atlantis is the only one saying so far that they will open on July 7. and this July we might have about 375 room nights. It’s going to hurt, but it’s better than nothing, and it is better than staying closed and losing tens of thousands of dollars. We have fixed costs and things like that, but if we can at least break-even in the month of July that would be better than getting kicked while you are down.

“We do cater to a lot of private pilots that wouldn’t be relying on commercial airlines anyhow. I would say that 25 percent to 30 percent of our guests are private pilots, but we do have other guests who travel with some of the smaller charters that charter from Nassau into Long Island, like Stella Maris air service and Island Wings and Southern Air. “We were encouraged and we are excited, and it looks like we are going to have a very good month. We picked up a little flying group and a wedding at the very end of July into August.”

Mr Brear, though, said he will close earlier than anticipated for the slower part of the tourism season because European travel is unlikely to rebound in time from COVID-19. He added that August is typically a busy month for Italian, French and German guests,

My hope was that Atlantis saying July 7 would cause a domino effect in a positive direction, but it seems other properties are going to hold off for whatever reason until October-November.

You can appreciate it’s still a fluid situation.”

Mr Woods spoke out after Graeme Davis, Baha Mar’s president, in a Friday letter to the mega resort’s more than 5,000 staff warned that the continuing uncertainties around the still-evolving COVID-19 pandemic had forced the push back of its planned reopening to an unspecified date in October.

Blaming this move on “many variables”, which were not detailed, Mr Davis’s letter hinted that guest bookings/business levels for the three-month July to September period, which traditionally coincides with the slowest part of the tourism calendar, were simply not sufficient to justify re-opening Baha Mar given that financial losses would likely result.

The rise in COVID-19 infections in key tourism source markets, such as Florida, appears to be another concern.

“We will continue to monitor the impact COVID-19 and the economic downturn is having on the United States, as well as the willingness of our guests to travel, as

we set the stage for a successful re-opening,” Mr Davis wrote. “I understand that this is disappointing news after weeks of uncertainty. I personally feel a tremendous sense of disappointment as well.”

Promising that Baha Mar would seek to recall as many staff as possible when it re-opens, Mr Davis warned employees that the mega resort will cut its workforce at June-end to ensure staffing numbers are better aligned with expected business volumes upon the eventual re-opening.

Noting that Baha Mar had committed to supporting all staff for 90 days following the resort’s COVID-19 enforced shutdown, the Baha Mar chief warned that this period will soon expire. “As we near the end of this 90-day period, we will be making additional staffing reductions to align staffing levels with projected business volume upon re-opening,” Mr Davis added.

Mr Woods, meanwhile, said the hotel union had been unsuccessful todate in trying to arrange a meeting with Melia’s management to discover its re-opening plans. With no date given by the resort, Mr Woods said he had hoped the government’s move to increase the 13-week deadline after which furloughed

employees have to be terminated would give the hotel industry sufficient breathing room to be able to hold off on such action.

“Melia never really gave a date for their reopening,” the union chief added.

“We said we need to know what’s going on, but they said they would ride it out.

I guess this is what riding it out means.

“All of this is going to have a negative domino effect on everything. If resorts don’t open, people stay at home. This is going to translate directly into consumption and the stores they patronise. Hotel workers will not have money to go into those stores and patronise those businesses.”

Reiterating that it was “vital” and “paramount” to the wider Bahamian economy’s well-being to restart the tourism industry, Mr Woods conceded that the rising level of COVID-19 infections in key US source markets such as Florida represents a growing threat to these plans.

“Everything is still tied to the travelling public having confidence to travel,” he added. “A couple of US states are now moving to go back to stay-at-home orders because of the spike in cases. That’s a concern, too.

You don’t want people travelling from places where there is a spike on cases and coming here.”

and he said: “We were going to open July 1 and close on August 19. Typically we close at the end of August. We were looking forward to six busy weeks.

“But I don’t know any more from what I heard from the deputy prime minister [K Peter Turnquest] about the hesitation to open on July 1. I hope that isn’t true, because we have already cancelled March, April and May, the three busiest months of the year, and a lot of guests we just kept pushing ahead a month as the closure was extended and we didn’t know exactly what was going on.

“So our plan is at the Cape to open July 1 and close on August 19, and then we will close for the storm season as we normally do, then reopen on November 1 again. That’s the plan,” continued Mr Brear. “I have managed to keep a handful of staff employed through the closure, just doing maintenance and maintain the garden and things like that.

“Because we are not running at our normal capacity, I would be probably bringing back most of the senior staff and we would be able to employ half of them. With the extension of National

Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefit (UEB), it’s kind of a toss up as far as my more junior crew - whether it is more worthwhile for them to just stay on the unemployment benefit for the month of July or come back on a very, very part time basis.”

While Cape Santa Maria is projected to run a 25 percent occupancy rate for July, Mr Brear said this “really isn’t that bad”. He added: “But that means we would only be able to bring back 25 percent to 30 percent of my staff back on a significant basis anyway.”

HOW HOTELS, BANKS CAN FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING FROM PAGE TWO and responding appropriately to at-risk individuals.

Health care professionals must be vigilant for patients where their clinical presentation and oral history do not align. Also, patients with a fear or concern with being arrested or jailed, is another warning sign.

Again, as with financial institutions, there is a third party that exerts an unusual amount of control over the visit.

In conclusion, the fight against modern-day slavery and human trafficking, and their connections to money, are not only a financial institution’s problem but a business issue that requires all parties to play their part in combating these dangerous crimes. Companies must assess their current policies and training programmes, and adapt to changes where necessary and act.

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 local private bank. His professional career started at a ‘Big Four’ accounting firm and has spanned over 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).

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 4, Monday, June 15, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

AIRLINES PLOT DIFFERENT BAHAMAS RETURN TIME

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net MAJOR US airlines are taking different positions on when to resume services to The Bahamas, with some opting to wait one month as rivals relaunch with the border opening on July 1.

Delta Airlines, telling Tribune Business it will be

back from day one, said: “For July, the Atlanta to Nassau route will restart on July 1 with one flight, and then increase to two daily flights on July 2 through the month. As for August, we’re still evaluating our schedule and adjusting based on demand, government travel restrictions and CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines.”

American Airlines will resume one week later, confirming: “We’re looking forward to resuming our service to The Bahamas on July 7, with service to Eleuthera, Georgetown, Exuma, and Nassau.

“In July we will operate daily service from Miami to Eleuthera and Georgetown, as well as twice daily service to Nassau. We will

also operate a daily flight between Charlotte and Nassau. Service resumption to Marsh Harbour, Abaco, and Freeport, Grand Bahama has been delayed until August 5.”

Jet Blue, though, will not resume services to The Bahamas from its core New York market until the first week in August.

It told Tribune Business:

“We continue to adjust our international schedule as we monitor rapidly evolving government restrictions on international travel.

Many of our international destinations have certain entry restrictions and requirements.”

This newspaper was referred to Jet Blue’s online fare finder. No flights were scheduled for the month

of July from New York, while there are sporadic flights scattered through the first two weeks of July for the Boston to Nassau route.

Jet Blue, however, does have a full booking for the month of July from the Los Angeles route to Nassau, as well as a full booking from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamian capital.

RESTAURANT PROPRIETOR ‘BLESSED TO BE OPEN’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A SANDY Port restaurant’s proprietor says he is “blessed to be open” after enduring a three-month COVID-19 lockdown even though the prohibition on indoor dining will cost him 40 percent of normal revenues.

Jacques Carlino, owner/ operator of the Blue Sail Bar & Grill, told Tribune Business that Friday represented the “first day back for three months”. Revealing that he opted against offering take-out or delivery services, he said: “I didn’t want to put my staff at risk for anything.

“I ended up looking after my staff for the last few months and we decided to close, but instead of doing nothing we decided to renovate the whole place. So everything is freshly repainted. We’ve redone our bathrooms and we tiled the kitchen. We did a lot of work and prepared ourselves for the reopening.”

Blue Sail had to reassess its entire seating area to comply with COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and has moved tables away from the main dining room.

It has created a new, outdoor dining area closer to the beachside and realigned all tables to meet the government’s guidelines for social distancing. Guests are also not allowed to walk around the restaurant or entire property without a mask on, and are only

BLUE Sail staff in their protective gear ready to serve customers.

allowed to take their masks off when seated at a table.

“We have signage around the property and have made all of our customers aware of the social distancing requirements and the importance of wearing a mask,” Mr Carlino added.

“We did a lot of signage for the front of the house and for the back of the house.

“We redesigned the menu. The placemat we normally use is not authorised for use by the prime minister’s order. He called for no porous table settings, and our table settings were made of straw, so we printed table settings now that are single-use and can be disposed of. We are also using the QR code, and it will lead you to our website’s menu for people who want to go completely touch-less.”

Mr Carlino said he spent a “long time” training his staff on the new protocols, and sought to comply by purchasing Bahamian. “All of our staff wear masks and face shields,” he added. “We kept everything Bahamian.

We got hand sanitiser from John Watlings, and we are using the disinfectant from Blanco Bleach. All our

signage is from Signarama, and our masks are form Androsia masks. We really tried to work locally.”

The entrepreneur retained all his staff during the COVID19 lockdown, and has currently recalled 26 employees. During peak season Blue Sail can go up to 35 to 40 staff, but he added: “For now I have to see because right now I can’t bring back the full 40. It’s a low season and then there is hurricane season, so I have to see how it comes.”

While he will lose 40 percent of his daily revenue by not having the inside dining room available, Mr Carlino said he is just “blessed to be open. We are really going to miss tourism. Tourism accounts for us for a big chunk of our business. We get most of our business from Baha Mar, and also a bit from Sandy Port. We are affiliated with Sandy Port Beach Resort”.

Mr Carlino said he understood the Sandy Port Beach resort is reopening for local guests during next week, which will enable him to stay open longer.

“We’re going to do well and I just hope the local

‘Transformative’ COVID leaves retailer targeting overseas expansions FROM PAGE ONE an operation could be run from here.

“We’re not back to normal as yet, but it’s self-sustaining,” Mr Wilson told Tribune Business. “I’m doing better in the electronics business than the fashion lines. There seems to be pent-up demand from the period of closure, but a lot of people don’t have the financial wherewithal.

Compared to pre-COVID-19 I would say we’re about 30 percent off.”

Disclosing that he had recalled “over 80 percent, if not 90 percent of our staff”, Mr Wilson said his retail formats - which opened in-store last Monday - had not been

idle during the lockdown and restrictions imposed by the government’s COVID-19 emergency powers orders.

“One of the great things for us has been that during the lockdown we accelerated development of our online store, QBCElectronics.com, which bodes well for the future. We’re getting good traffic and some sales.

It’s already open, and we seem to get transactions at midnight or on Sunday that otherwise we would not get.

It does promise great things for the future without a doubt..

“We’re going to continue with bricks and mortar with online. Those that have established brand names,

market supports my business, but I’m really proud of what we’re done here to ensure that the place is safe for everybody,” he added.

“We had written a letter to the Prime Minister for ourselves, and wrote a protocol, about two weeks ago and I would like to think that this influenced his decision to allow for restaurants to reopen. There is no reason to not be open if you take the recommended precautions, because we have the luxury of space and - even on the inside - when we are allowed to open we can open up all of the windows.

“Right now I feel very confident that we require that all customers must have the mask on, and every time they move around the restaurant they have the mask on. We recommend social distancing but, when it is a party of the same family, then that is fine.”

Mr Carlino continued: “I feel good about The Bahamas. The prime minister did a fantastic job as far as I’m concerned. But I’m worried about opening up to the outside world at this time with over 2m people sick in America.

As I tell my staff, I’m not afraid of you contaminating anybody, but I’m afraid somebody from the outside may come and contaminate you.

“So I want them to be fully protected and fully safe, and my customers, I want them to be fully safe.

It’s important. I hope my colleague restaurateurs are behaving like I’m behaving, otherwise I’m going to look like the big bad wolf and everybody does no social distancing and makes no effort like I have done.

“We need to take it seriously. We are all back in business, we all want to make money and we all suffered, but we all want to be healthy and that’s number one as far as I’m concerned.” where the customer has a level of trust in the transaction, a lot of those businesses have moved online and created online stores. Many that I spoke to who have not done so are in the process.”

Describing COVID-19’s impact on Bahamian retail as “transformative”, Mr Wilson added that he was already setting his eyes further afield.

“As we fine tune our supply chain, we expect that our market will no longer be restricted just to Nassau,” he told Tribune Business.

“With digital products and the right supply chain, to the extent we’d be able to bypass the middle man in the US and source directly from Asia, we’d be in a position barring the duty element - to compete in larger markets throughout the Caribbean and South America.”

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 5

A GREEN REVOLUTION COULD EMERGE FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVASTATION CAUSED BY THE CORONAVIRUS ACTIVTRADES WEEKLY

By RICARDO EVANGELISTA www.activtrades.bs IN the face of adversity, it’s normal and healthy to find reasons to be cheerful, so spirits can be kept high and the fightback initiated; every cloud has a silver lining, as the saying goes.

One of the silver linings found during the coronavirus crisis has been the reduction in the levels of air pollution across some of the world’s most populous cities and regions. With diminished industrial activity and a sharp decline in the number of commuter journeys, the inhabitants of many cities, where smog had for years been an almost permanent feature, were once again able to breath clean air and see far into the horizon.

Since the first industrial revolution, which began in 1765 with the introduction of the steam engine, the burning of coal, oil and natural gas has remained by far the greatest source

A WORLD running on “green” energy. the atmosphere is causing global warming which may trigger a dramatic change in climate that, according to some, could ultimately represent an existential threat to humanity.

The technology to produce clean energy has been available for decades, however, lobbying from the oil and coal industries has

been intense and the costs haven’t always been competitive. These have been the main reasons behind the global lack of political will to replace polluting sources with greener and cleaner alternatives. But there are some signs that we may be about to turn a corner, as the cost and efficiency of renewables is reaching a

New auto sales plunge 90% at COVID’s peak

percentages across the industry. Bahamas Bus and Truck sold 30 units prior to the March closure, and he added: “When you have zero business, that is a major impact coming off a year that was showing strong recovery.

“I’m just hoping the banks are able to lend money and people have jobs. It seems to me that the banks are being aggressive in trying to get loans out, and getting people in vehicles. It’s going to take a group effort to push this.”

FROM PAGE ONE whether pent-up demand and interest in new vehicles actually translates into completed sales. He conceded that the BMDA figures were “drastically down because we lost a few months of business”.

“Right now there’s a lot of prospects, and we’ve had a lot of activity,” he added. “It hasn’t necessarily translated into the actual sales I would have liked to have seen at this point, but I understand what I’m up against as far as credit is concerned and joblessness being so high.

“The amount of inquiries I’ve had in such a short period of time is encouraging, but it takes time from the point of contact to provide an invoice, and then they have to get the documents from the bank and the credit union. The sales I’m getting today are the sales I’ve been working on for a couple of weeks, and the clients have been working on for a couple of weeks. You gave to plant the seeds and watch them grow.

“In the next week or two I’ll be better able to gauge where we are. It’s too soon to tell exactly where the

of energy production, with a snowballing environmental impact as population growth and improved standards of living drove an ever-greater demand for energy. Over the last few decades most scientists have been warning of the risks posed by burning fossil fuels. The release of green-house gases to

chips are going to fall. What will make the difference is how quickly things will rebound, and people get back to normality. I’ve got a lot of people e-mailing me and contacting us for quotes,” Mr Albury added.

“I’m very optimistic that in a short period of time we will feel that recovery, but how quickly that happens it’s hard to say, and to what extent. I’ve also seen a big uptick in interest in commercial vehicles with

businesses going to delivery, and in construction vehicles.”

Mr Albury added that the lockdown had impacted dealers differently depending on the vehicle brands and makes they carried, with sales down by varying

tipping point. Electric cars are increasingly popular, and many countries are investing heavily in electricity generation driven by solar, wind, hydro and biomass, as advances in technology make them a cost-effective alternative.

On Wednesday, June 10 the UK reached a record 61 consecutive coal-free days; the longest such period since 1880, when the country introduced coal-powered electricity to the rest of the world. Such an achievement was possible thanks to greater levels of energy generated from wind and solar sources, but also lower demand resulting from the coronavirus lockdown.

Climate change and the coronavirus are epoch making forces, and we are

at a point of interception between the two. Even before the pandemic, environmental awareness was already on the rise and COVID-19 seems to be a catalyst to a change in paradigm, as illustrated by the fall in demand for oil due to a reduction in commuting and traveling for business, and how it is making its extraction less profitable.

Above all, the economic devastation left behind by the coronavirus will require that governments and central banks continue to provide stimulus. Heavy investment in a greener economy will open space for the growth of many new businesses, create jobs and better environments for the population, while also reducing the costs of climate change for future generations.

Mr Albury also urged Bahamian auto buyers to focus on purchases at home, rather than heading to Florida or using the internet to source used vehicles from Japan, on the basis that the country needs to keep every dollar possible circulating in the local economy.

“I think Bahamians need to start to realise that for the greater good of everybody that more of this money needs to stay in the country rather than rushing off to be spent in other places. In most cases there’s no advantage to buying abroad,” he argued.

In the Estate of

Janet Margaret Hollis

late of Spanish Wells, St. George’s Cay N O T I C E

SUNLEY FASHIONS S.A. (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 18th day of March, 2020. The Liquidator is Windermere Corporate Management Limited, East Bay Street, P.O. Box N-7797, Suite A-084, Nassau, Bahamas.

WINDERMERE CORPORATE MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Notice is hereby given that all persons having any claims or demands against the above-named Estate are requested to send the same duly certified to the undersigned on or before the 6th day of July, A.D. 2020.

Notice is hereby also given that at the expiration of the time above mentioned the assets of the deceased will be distributed among the persons entitled thereto having regard only to the claims of which the Executor shall then have had notice.

Holowesko Pyfrom Fletcher Attorneys for the Executor Chambers Templeton Building, Lyford Cay Nassau, Bahamas

THE TRIBUNE

Baha Mar eyeing 15-20% job cuts FROM PAGE ONE not going to require the same staffing levels they did pre-COVID-19.

“Some are saying it will take one to two years to see pre-COVID levels again.

That’s the new reality, and people have to adjust their business models accordingly. I don’t think there’s the expectation that when we go back to business we open everything up at the same level.

“As minister of tourism of The Bahamas I’d like everybody to re-open right away and get back to some semblance of preCOVID-19 numbers. But we’re going into uncharted territory, so a certain level of uncertainty exists, and until that uncertainty is mitigated a certain number of players are electing to sit on the sidelines and you cannot fault them for that.”

John Pinder, pictured, the government’s director of labour, told Tribune Business that Baha Mar had still to provide his department with the exact number of employees that will be impacted by the proposed staff reductions.

Suggesting that the mega resort planned to operate with a “skeleton” workforce, he added: “I believe for the most part that the majority of persons there are going to find themselves without a job for a while.

“They [Baha Mar] say they have no bookings

before October, and are going to have to start doing significant advertising to get people here and speak about what we’ve got to offer. I think we have a great opportunity with the protests in the US. People are looking to get away from that and the stress. We don’t have that in The Bahamas.”

Tribune Business was subsequently told that while the “majority” of workers will not be impacted by Baha Mar’s plans, the Cable Beach mega resort that features three properties the SLS, Grand Hyatt and Rosewood - together with a casino and associated amenities, plus the Melia Nassau Beach resort, was looking at trimming a similar percentage to the British Colonial Hilton which also recently axed 15 percent of its staff.

Based on the 15-20 percent range, and between 5,000 to 5,500 associates, this would imply that Baha Mar may terminate from 750-825 and 1,0001,100 employees when it

Unemployment back to ‘single digits’ by 2022

FROM PAGE ONE

“There’s the Disney project in Eleuthera, there’s the opening of The Pointe, the hotel down on West Bay Street, and with Baker’s Bay being rebuilt there’s jobs there. We should be able to put a dent in the unemployment rate. In addition, the digital jobs that have proven successful during this pandemic ought to encourage more more Bahamians to get into the digital economy.”

Mr Pinder also identified fisheries, farming and the country’s natural resources as areas that The Bahamas had failed to exploit economically and were potentially ripe for investments by residents. “We have miles and miles of ocean that have not been fished,” he argued.

Calling on Bahamians to target niche markets and particular crops in agriculture, the labour chief also called on local entrepreneurs to invest in value-added food chain services such as canning,

processing and packaging.

Some of these initiatives have been tried before, and it is unclear whether all the projects listed by Mr Pinder will eventually materialise at least on the timescale he has identified - given that a number rely on the cruise ship industry that has been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19.

The Bahamas’ nationwide unemployment rate finally dropped below ten percent, but just barely, in the November 2018 Labour Force Survey. However, it jumped back into “double digits” subsequently and likely increased further as a result of the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Dorian on Abaco and Grand Bahama prior to COVID-19.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis previously said the unemployment rate due to the pandemic was estimated at 30 percent, while Dion Foulkes, minister of labour, said it could have gone as high as 40 percent.

Financial Controller A Bahamian owned company is seeking a

Financial Controller

Applicants should possess the following qualifications: Knowledge and Education: • An accounting Degree • A minimum of ten years industry experience as a financial controller in managerial capacity.

Skills: • Excellent interpersonal skills • Excellent managerial skills • Strong computer skills • Strong analytical skills • Strong oral and written skills • Able to work in a very dynamic environment Job responsibilities include the following: • Supervising the complete accounting cycle • Preparing monthly financial statements • Co-ordinating all other areas of the business to ensure optimal efficiency • Dealing with all government reporting requirements Interested persons should apply no later than June 23, 2020.

Apply to: DA #119234 c/o The Tribune P.O. Box N-3207 Nassau, The Bahamas

Monday, June 15, 2020, PAGE 7 announces those cuts within the next two weeks.

Baha Mar’s president, Graeme Davis, warned staff in a Friday, June 12, letter that the continuing uncertainties around the still-evolving COVID-19 pandemic had forced the push back of its planned reopening to an unspecified date in October.

Blaming this move on “many variables”, which were not detailed, Mr Davis hinted that guest bookings/ business levels for the threemonth July to September period, which traditionally coincides with the slowest part of the tourism calendar, were simply not sufficient to justify re-opening Baha Mar given that financial losses would likely result. The rise in COVID-19 infections in key tourism source markets, such as Florida, appears to be another concern.

“Due to the many variables resulting from the evolving nature of COVID19, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our re-opening date beyond the July 1 re-opening of The Bahamas,” Mr Davis wrote. “Instead, it is our goal to re-open in October. It is our hope that in extending our closing we are setting the stage for a more successful re-opening, one that will provide the much-needed economic relief and stability that all of us depend on.

“We will continue to monitor the impact COVID-19 and the economic downturn is having on the United States, as well as the willingness of our guests to travel, as we set the stage for a successful re-opening. I understand that this is disappointing news after weeks of uncertainty. I personally

feel a tremendous sense of disappointment as well. It remains our goal to have as many of you return to work as possible when we re-open.”

Promising that Baha Mar would seek to recall as many staff as possible when it reopens, Mr Davis warned employees the mega resort will cut its workforce at June-end to ensure staffing numbers are better aligned with expected business volumes upon the eventual re-opening.

Noting that Baha Mar had committed to supporting all staff for 90 days following the resort’s COVID-19 enforced shutdown, the Baha Mar chief warned that this period will soon expire.

“As we near the end of this 90-day period, we will be making additional staffing reductions to align staffing levels with projected business volume upon reopening,” Mr Davis added.

“At the end of June we will communicate to the individuals being impacted by the staffing reduction to discuss what we will do to support and assist you in making your transition as smooth as possible. We look forward to bringing back as many of you back as possible once our business returns to pre-COVID-19 levels.”

Baha Mar’s announcement, together with Sandals Royal Bahamian’s decision not to re-open until November 1, signals that kickstarting the country’s largest industry - its biggest jobs creator and source of foreign exchange earnings - is not as simple as flicking a switch, as the government has attempted to do with the July 1 border re-opening.

It also indicates a

significant chunk of economic output (gross domestic product) will be offline for more than six months of 2020, and only returning with muchreduced business volumes.

While K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister, and the Ministry of Finance appear to have been validated in projecting no major revenues from the tourism industry for at least five-six months, Baha Mar’s move raises questions over projections of a “V-shaped” economic recovery.

A 15-20 percent cut to Baha Mar’s workforce would also further depress consumer demand and spending, impacting other Bahamian businesses as the ripple effects spread throughout the economy.

Confidence and investment will also take a hit.

Suggesting that reduced near-term bookings were influencing tourism industry decisions, Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business: “I think some operators in the market feel the need to reach a certain threshold to make the business economically viable for them.

“Based on their projections, based on their belief about the market, they probably think there’s a certain level of uncertainty in the minds of the travelling public that will not make their business sufficiently economically viable.

That’s probably what’s driving it. It’s disappointing, but this is free enterprise and everyone in business has a right to make a decision based on their interests.”

Mr D’Aguilar said all businesses, not just those in tourism, will suffer reduced top-line sales as they emerge from the

COVID-19 lockdown and associated restrictions.

“Everyone is finding, as they attempt to re-open, that sales are not returning to anything similar to what existed pre-COVID-19,” he added.

“Social distancing and the requirement for persons to keep a certain distance away. You cannot eat indoors, and have to eat outdoors. You cannot have too many people in a certain space. All this is resulting in certain economic realities. You cannot plan for maximum revenues. Not at this stage.

These realities are affecting your business model, and you have to assess what is economically viable.”

Baha Mar’s planned staffing cuts also reinforce that not all workers will be recalled throughout the economy post-COVID. Mr Davis said it was critical that the mega resort implement a “safe environment” to give staff and guests “peace of mind”, as well as open “in a way that is prudent from both a health and business perspective”.

Staff who will be retained are to receive 30 percent of their base pay for the next 90 days, in addition to benefits from the National Insurance Board (NIB), while health insurance coverage will also be maintained.

Besides working on safety protocols, Baha Mar will also work to refresh its product ahead of re-opening. Its Baha Bay aquatic experience is scheduled to be completed by 2021, while retail and golf offerings are also being expanded.

PELICAN BAY STAFF IN COVID-19 TRAINING

safety is a priority to us,” said Pelican Bay’s operations manager, Della Bridgewater.

The day-long session provided focused training on managing guest interactions, improved cleaning measures and other protocols. “The information and support provided during the sessions were very timely as we’re all working to navigate this ‘new normal’,” Ms Bridgewater explained.

“While we’ve always prided ourselves on providing a happy and safe

environment for all our visitors, this additional training has made us confident that we can welcome our guests to a cleaner and more pristine environment.”

Pelican Bay has in recent months undertaken a series of major renovations to repair damage caused by the passage of Hurricane Dorian. As those works have neared completion, the property has moved on to deep cleaning its rooms and other shared hotel spaces to ensure a COVID-free environment.

Besides improving health and safety protocols that align with standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pelican Bay has also invested in new technology such as electrostatic disinfection designed to promote a more complete clean. Ms Bridgewater has become its “clean and pristine manager”.

The resort has also unveiled a new “staycation” rate introduced to mark and celebrate the official reopening of the hotel.

SOME 40 staff members at a Grand Bahama hotel have participated in the government-mandated tourism business compliance training sessions.

“We are elated and excited to welcome both our Bahamian and international guests back to our happy hotel, and we want them to know that their health and

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

FRIDAY, 12 JUNE 2020

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,138.63 | CHG: 2.25 | %CHG: 0.11 | YTD: -92.97 | YTD%: -4.17 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 6.75 2.58 2.00 5.47 12.77 6.16 4.50 10.30 3.64 5.10 10.88 8.44 16.99 9.40 4.25 15.21

52WK LOW 3.35 20.91 5.50 5.39 1.78 0.67 2.00 10.21 5.60 3.62 5.41 2.53 1.85 8.00 7.10 13.04 6.98 3.20 13.90

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

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FIN FCL JSJ

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

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

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

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

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

LAST CLOSE 3.55 17.43 6.00 6.68 1.78 1.62 3.00 11.26 6.10 4.00 6.01 2.95 5.10 9.42 8.00 14.50 8.97 4.00 15.20

CLOSE 3.55 17.43 6.00 6.75 1.78 1.62 3.00 11.26 6.10 4.00 6.01 2.95 5.10 9.59 8.44 14.50 8.97 4.00 15.20

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.17 0.44 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.90

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.90

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

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

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

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

VOLUME

2,500

7,500

2,000

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 1.760 0.369 0.070 0.000 -0.438 0.722 0.449 0.184 0.140 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.939 0.203 0.631

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.610

P/E 14.9 18.7 N/M 18.3 N/M N/M -6.8 15.6 13.6 21.7 42.9 28.9 10.9 14.8 11.6 17.8 9.6 19.7 24.1

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 4.79% 7.23% 0.00% 3.85% 0.00% 1.23% 0.00% 6.39% 3.61% 3.00% 0.00% 14.71% 1.18% 3.42% 2.84% 3.72% 2.23% 3.00% 4.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

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

20-Nov-2029 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.04% 3.87% 0.61% 2.93% 0.50% 2.50% -1.34% 2.23% -12.71% -5.79% 0.94% 3.72% -3.46% 2.09% -0.11% 3.43% -3.33% 1.53% -0.32% 10.20% -1.58% 15.37% 0.88% 5.22% -4.91% 10.77% 1.89% 6.75% -1.95% 0.38% N/A N/A -10.90% -4.30% -18.80% -12.00%

NAV Date 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 27-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.31 4.40 2.10 198.39 168.29 1.67 1.85 1.76 1.24 8.34 10.26 7.00 12.15 12.58 10.81 10.00 8.98 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.61 1.75 1.70 1.14 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.31 4.39 2.10 192.52 145.55 1.67 1.79 1.75 1.16 8.31 10.07 7.00 11.42 12.58 10.52 N/A 8.31 10.01

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020

PAGE 8, Monday, June 15, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 71° F/22° C

TAMPA

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

A couple of showers and a t‑storm

Clouds, a thunder‑ storm

A couple of showers and a t‑storm

Cloudy with a shower or t‑storm

Mostly cloudy with a thunderstorm

A couple of showers in the morning

High: 84°

Low: 76°

High: 85° Low: 77°

High: 86° Low: 76°

High: 86° Low: 76°

High: 87° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

91° F

84° F

97°-86° F

94°-85° F

96°-85° F

98°-85° F

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 71° F/22° C

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.

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 78° F/26° C

6‑12 knots

S

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 75° F/24° C

6‑12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 75° F/24° C

N E S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

W

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

MIAMI

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 75° F/24° C

4‑8 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 84° F/29° C Low .................................................... 73° F/23° C Normal high ....................................... 87° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 74° F/23° C Last year’s high ................................. 89° F/32° C Last year’s low ................................... 75° F/24° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 1.90” Year to date ............................................... 22.51” Normal year to date ................................... 10.98”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 76° F/24° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 78° F/26° C

N

KEY WEST

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N

S

E

W

4‑8 knots

S

4‑8 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

4:03 a.m.

4:45 p.m.

2.3 2.5

10:24 a.m. 0.4 11:02 p.m. 0.7

Tuesday

4:52 a.m.

5:31 p.m.

2.2 2.6

11:07 a.m. 0.3 11:53 p.m. 0.6

Wednesday 5:39 a.m.

6:14 p.m.

2.2 2.7

11:50 a.m. 0.2 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑

Thursday

6:24 a.m.

6:56 p.m.

2.2 2.9

12:40 a.m. 0.4 12:31 p.m. 0.1

Friday

7:08 a.m.

7:38 p.m.

2.2 3.0

1:24 a.m.

1:12 p.m.

0.3 0.0

Saturday

7:51 a.m.

8:19 p.m.

2.3 3.1

2:07 a.m.

1:53 p.m.

0.2 0.0

Sunday

8:34 a.m.

9:00 p.m.

2.3 3.2

2:49 a.m. 0.1 2:34 p.m. ‑0.1

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:20 a.m.

8:01 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

2:40 a.m.

3:12 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

Jun. 21

Jun. 28

Jul. 5

Jul. 12

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 81° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and

L

tiDes For nassau

CAT ISLAND

E

W

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 84° F/29° C Low: 82° F/28° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 81° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 88° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N W

N E

W

E S

S

6‑12 knots

6‑12 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 SE at 6‑12 Knots SSE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots SSE at 3‑6 Knots E at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 4‑8 Knots SSE at 4‑8 Knots SSE at 6‑12 Knots N at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 3‑6 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots ENE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots

WAVES 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 0‑1 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 0‑1 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet

To advertise ALL your LEGAL NOTICES, call The Tribune’s Sales Department

502-2394

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 81° F 81° F 85° F 86° F 82° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 81° F 82° F 82° F 82° F 84° F 85° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 82° F 83° F 84° F 84° F 82° F 82° F