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MONDAY, JULY 5, 2021
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$50m record inflow ‘excellent problem’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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N investment banking chief yesterday said record capital inflows of more than $50m received by his institution during 2021’s first four months have created “an excellent problem” it must now solve. Michael Anderson, RF Bank & Trust’s president, told Tribune Business that low deposit rates are “finally forcing” both institutions and retail investors to move money out of the highly-liquid commercial banking system in search of greater returns elsewhere. They are immediately being confronted, though, by a lack of alternative investment opportunities capable of generating the profits they desire. And Mr Anderson explained that this, too, is creating a problem for RF Bank & Trust as the lack of securities
• Low bank rates ‘finally force’ investor action • But lack of new investments needing funds • RF projects $100m asset growth for 2021
MICHAEL ANDERSON issues is causing an aboveaverage build-up of cash in its mutual funds that is depressing their returns. Revealing that the former RoyalFidelity Merchant Bank & Trust is forecasting it will grow assets under management this year by more than ten percent, or around $100m, the RF Bank & Trust chief said
Kanoo eyes Caribbean expansion in six months By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamian digital payments provider at the centre of the health travel visa controversy says it expects to gain permission to launch in two other Caribbean territories within the next six months. Nicholas Rees, Kanoo’s chairman, told Tribune Business that the company presently has two licensing applications underway in other nations, which he declined to name, as part of its drive to “take The Bahamas to the world through technology”.
NICHOLAS Rees, centre, with co-founders of Kanoo. “We’re getting calls daily from major financial institutions about using our technology, investing in our technology and how we can partner in other jurisdictions,” he disclosed. “We have licensing applications ongoing in two other
SEE PAGE 5
Doctors in $7.747m COVID testing boost By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
DOCTORS Hospital enjoyed a $7.747m revenue boost as a result of administering more than 100,000 COVID-19 tests during the ten months to end-January 2021, it has been revealed. The BISX-listed healthcare provider, which has just been awarded a $5m loan from an Inter-American Development Bank (IUDBH) affiliate (see article on Page 2B), revealed to
shareholders in its annual report for the year to endJanuary 2021 that the income from COVID testing was the key factor in delivering an 18.6 percent year-over-year increase in total revenues to $76.398m. The top-line surge also helped Doctors Hospital overcome what it had originally anticipated would be a sharp drop in profitability, after April 2020 resulted in a 44.2 percent year-overyear revenue drop and net
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much of the capital inflow for 2021 to-date has been directed at its $300m Prime Income fund. This fund, which focuses on investments in fixed income securities such as government bonds, corporate bonds and preference shares, attracted between $25m-$28m in new investor monies during the four months to end-April, taking the Prime Income’s total cash holdings to just shy of $60m. Mr Anderson said this represents around 20 percent of the fund’s assets, more than double the traditional five to ten percent range, and RF Bank & Trust is eager to put much of this to use in what he hopes will be a “pent-up demand” for capital that matches the tourism equivalent.
Investments such as the $85m local component of Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) rate reduction bond (RRB), and Nassau Cruise Port’s bid to raise around $100m in bond financing, are projected to create a busy 2021 second half for the capital markets that Mr Anderson believes could fuel the growth injection that The Bahamas requires post-COVID. “It’s been one of the drags on our investment funds. We’re bringing in money in anticipation of transactions, and those transactions have been delayed, so we’re building up cash,” the RF Bank & Trust chief told Tribune Business. “It’s reduced our returns. We were running at more
SEE PAGE 4
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Labour unrest ‘not as serious’ as it appears By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government’s top labour official yesterday reassured that workplace unrest “ain’t as serious as it appears”, and added: “The is the culture of trade unions in The Bahamas.” John Pinder, director of labour, speaking out after union executives argued that industrial relations in The Bahamas are at an alltime low, asserted that it was not unusual for public sector unions in particular “to act up to get matters addressed” when a general election looms large. Noting that unions seek to “burn up the fire” in a bid to pressure the sitting government, using their members’ votes as leverage, Mr Pinder nevertheless chastised management at some government agencies - especially Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) for moving too slowly on his department’s recommendations for solving union grievances. Emphasising that he was speaking for himself, and not the government, Mr Pinder, who is thought likely to be selected as the FNM’s Fox Hill candidate in the upcoming general election,
JOHN PINDER told Tribune Business: “I know this is an election climate, and the season is near for an election, so the unions that have outstanding matters with then government, they certainly burn up the fire. “Any union with outstanding matters with the government, they burn up the fire and turn up the fire. This is nothing new. This is the culture of trade unions in The Bahamas. But this does not negate the fact there are some issues that ought to have been resolved by management where I had to get involved.” Referring specifically to the recent BPL unrest, which saw marches and demonstrations outside the state-owned energy monopoly’s headquarters,
SEE PAGE 5
PAGE 2, Monday, July 5, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
HOME PORTING CRUISE LINE TO BRING 16,500 GUESTS By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE second cruise line to begin home porting in The Bahamas will bring 16,500 total passengers to this nation over the four months to end-November 2021, a Cabinet minister has disclosed. Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, speaking at the launch of Crystal Cruises’ home porting in Nassau, said: “Crystal Cruises’ Luxury Bahamas escapes are expected to bring a minimum... of over 16,500 cruise passengers to the islands of The Bahamas over the four-month period of July 2 to November 9, 2021, and are projected to infuse millions upon millions of dollars in head tax and spend alone.” He added that Crystal Cruises’ seven-night voyages throughout The Bahamas “will directly impact local businesses, shops, restaurants and excursions of tour operators in Nassau, Great Exuma San Salvador, Long Island and Grand Bahama”. “On day visits to these islands, cruise guests will make authentic encounters with the people, heritage, culture and natural beauty of the off-the-beaten
TOURISM officials welcome Crystal Cruises to Nassau Cruise Port. Photos: Kemuel Stubbs/BIS Bahamas. Expansion of tourism beyond the hub of Nassau/Paradise Island to the outer islands figures high among the national priorities of the Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism,” Mr D’Aguilar said. Cat Island had previously been considered as a port of call to replace Harbour Island and/or Spanish Wells, but was ultimately dropped because it was unable to facilitate Crystal’s several hundred passengers. Mr D’Aguilar, meanwhile, said Nassau Cruise
Port will host 13,000 cruise passengers - including those of home porting cruise passengers from Royal Caribbean and Crystal, as well as those on vessels sailing from Florida - between this weekend gone and Independence Day on July 10. He made a “clarion call” to all vendors and excursion operators to be ready for this because “the Ministry of Tourism is bringing tourism back”, voicing hope that 100 percent of these passengers will come off of the cruise ships
and support local businesses. Some 900 guests are on the inaugural home
porting voyage by Crystal Cruises’ Serenity alone. Straw Vendors and water
sports operators have not been allowed to operate since the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions last year, which Mr D’Aguilar addressed by saying: “This obviously falls within the remit of the Straw Market Authority, and the authority recently met with Cabinet and obviously worked out the details on how to open the Straw Market safely. “Now, let’s assume a best case scenario. Everybody’s vaccinated, then everybody can go back to work. But I don’t think that will be the case, and so you’re going to have to open it up socially distanced. You know, it’s fairly tightly packed inside there.” Mr D’Aguilar did not give a definite time for when the Straw Market will be open or jet ski operators allowed to operate again, aside from suggesting that it is “imminent”. He added that every month, as The Bahamas makes progress with vaccinations and there are less COVID-19 infections, we may see a further “loosening” of restrictions. Festival Place vendors have been allowed to operate again adjacent to the Cabinet Office building as their former facility at Prince George Wharf is in the process of being replaced.
DOCTORS HOSPITAL
Doctors gains $5m IDB COVID loan By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
DOCTORS Hospital has received a $5m loan from an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) affiliate to support its working capital needs and meet the “evolving” demands imposed by COVID-19. The credit extended to the BISX-listed healthcare provider by IDB Invest was revealed on the same day that the multilateral lender itself confirmed a $40m loan to strengthen the Bahamian public healthcare system in the pandemic’s wake. As for Doctors Hospital, IDB Invest’s financing will be accompanied by efforts to “work with Doctors Hospital to update its hazardous material plan around wastewater management and provide resources to conduct a pre-feasibility study on the use of solar PV generation at its primary location”. IDB Invest added: “COVID-19 has spread to approximately 15 Bahamian islands, most of which lack the healthcare infrastructure required to process tests or address cases requiring hospitalisation. “IDB Invest’s loan will allow Doctors Hospital to provide an extension of
Some 157,000 benefit from $40m public sector loan COVID-19-related services in response to the country’s emerging needs, ensure adequate testing capacity, and enhance healthcare services through the adoption of business innovations. “The transaction will allow Doctors Hospital to emerge in a stronger position to serve its patients, adding expanded outpatient services, including on other islands. The evolution of the pandemic has underscored that access to health services remains a challenge for many people.” As for the $40m loan to the public healthcare system, which is focused on improving healthcare access in the Family Islands, the IDB said in a statement that this aspect of the project is designed to benefit some 60,000 Bahamians. And the introduction of tele-medicine and digital patient records aims to benefit around 157,000 Bahamians, or 40 percent of the population. “Enhancing the capacity to provide primary healthcare by reinforcing medical facilities
and providing new medical equipment, it will facilitate access and improved services to approximately 60,000 people living in nine Family Islands,” the IDB said of the $40m loan initiative. “Improvements in the delivery of the primary healthcare model and hospital services, and the introduction of digital health information systems, including telemedicine and electronic health records in 54 clinics, will improve access and quality of healthcare. These measures will directly benefit at least 157,000 persons, or about 40 percent of the population of The Bahamas. “The operation aligns with the digitalisation, climate change, and gender and diversity priorities of the IDB’s ‘Vision 2025’, the bank’s blueprint for recovery and inclusive, sustainable growth in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the IDB added. “It does so by offering technological solutions that enable the delivery of more inclusive health services, with special attention to strengthening the resilience of clinics to natural hazards and climate change, while implementing innovations in healthcare for victims of gender-based violence.”
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Monday, July 5, 2021, PAGE 3
MARINAS CHIEF: JULY 4 ‘AS STRONG AS 2019’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIAN marinas enjoyed a US Independence holiday weekend that “was as strong as 2019”, Tribune Business was told yesterday, with the industry’s mid-market returning following a year-long absence. Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business the sector was now hoping current business levels will sustain for “the next couple of months” through to US Labour Day on September 6 provided that The
Bahamas avoids any major hurricanes. And, despite the extended curfew and other restrictions designed to deal with Bimini’s COVID19 spike, Mr Maury said reports he had received from several of the islands marinas indicated they were “full” with the measures seemingly failing to deter persons from making the journey from South Florida. “I would say for all the marinas, and speaking for the ones in Nassau, I don’t think anybody’s lacking. There’s a lot of boats,” he told this newspaper. “It’s as strong as our 2019 season. For some of the marinas in the Out Islands, people
Five tax exemptions added to govt portal By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government has announced the addition of five tax exemption and incentive applications to the menu of services available through its MyGateway. gov.bs online portal. The Minnis administration, in a statement, said the five additions include customs duty exemptions and access to affordable serviced lots, which are described as part of its drive to support small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and individual firsttime homeowners. The list of newlylaunched services includes several customs duty exemptions including the Affordable Homes exemption, which provides for duty-free importation and local purchases of selected items for first-time homeowners approved for a government serviced lot. Others feature the Small and Medium-Sized Business (SME) exemption, which allows SMEs throughout The Bahamas to apply for, and obtain, duty-free exemptions on all items needed to start or expand a business. The Family Island Development Encouragement Act (FIDEA) exemption provides for customs duty and VAT-free importation of selected items for residents of Acklins, Andros, Cat Island, Crooked Island, Inagua, Long Cay, Long Island, Mayaguana, Ragged Island and Rum Cay.
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Then there is the Special Economic Recovery Zone exemption, which enables customs duty-free importation of a full range of materials needed to build or renovate a house, or to start or expand a business. The government is presently seeking to incentivise young Bahamians to become homeowners with the introduction of its Prospect Ridge community for young professionals serviced lots, in a bid to offer accessible and affordable lots for persons in this category. MyGateway.gov.bs is designed to make it easier for Bahamian citizens, 18 years and older and residing in The Bahamas, to access government services. The online platform is part of the five-year, $30m government digital transformation to strengthen competitiveness project, a major component of efforts to provide more efficient and public services, and create a path to sustainable economic development. The addition of the five new services brings the total number available on MyGateway to 21. The government is aiming to offer 200 services online at the end of five years. The portal is designed as the centralised, secure way to request and pay for a range of online government services.
are doubling up and it’s back to where it was. “The boats are all busy. They have people on a lot of charters. Typically this time of year we see a lot of private centre consoles from South Florida coming over, and we’ve seen just as many as normal. In past conversations you and I had, we weren’t really getting that mid-market but they are now able to get accommodations and slips. “Centre consoles like to come over into Nassau, the Exuma Cays and the Family Islands, and get a hotel room. With the vaccine programme and the health travel visa, they’re all qualifying and booking
rooms,” Mr Maury continued. “It’s a very strong July 4. Even hotel rooms in the marinas are rented out. “We’re getting back the mid-level market we’ve been missing for the last year. Some marinas in The Bahamas, especially the Family Islands, don’t have the mega yacht slips so they need that business. I have smaller slips that are all occupied. People are booking hotel rooms in Atlantis and Baha Mar, and coming back to use their boats during the day. “It’s definitely been a strong weekend for everybody. It’s been very busy. As long as [Tropical Storm] Elsa and others stay away,
this may take the season to Labour Day and there will be a strong next couple of months, which helps a lot of us. The first quarter was not fantastic, and everyone’s trying to get back to where they were. This weekend made a big difference.” Bimini, traditionally a destination that has been heavily reliant on boating visitors as the first Bahamian stop from South Florida, was expected to have been hit by the reimposition of COVID-19 curfews and other restrictions. However, Mr Maury said reports received todate indicate the impact has not been as severe as anticipated due to the ability of
boaters to isolate on their vessels. “I’ve talked to a number of people,” he added. “Bimini is full, West End is full. On the boats, people can unwind and get out. You can’t go into restaurants and bars, but in the current situation people are able to go in their boats, anchor out, fish, swim, snorkel and go on a sandy beach. “We have 110,000 square miles, 700 islands and 2,400 cays. What better place is there to to be than The Bahamas? You can find an island with a white sandy beach and nobody on it. There are plenty of sandy beaches to go on and have a good time.”
QC: VISA CONCERN ‘NOT ABOUT KANOO’ By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
A PROMINENT QC has told a Bahamian digital payments provider that “it’s not about you” when it comes to concerns over the need for the COVID health travel visa and it acting as another tax on Bahamians. Wayne Munroe QC, who is also the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) Freetown candidate in the upcoming general election, said the party’s concerns went much wider than just the selection of Kanoo to facilitate health travel visa fee payments into an account controlled by the Ministry of Tourism. Nicholas Rees, Kanoo’s chairman, last week told this newspaper that the attacks on his company after it was awarded several government-related contracts to provide payment facilitation services - were “inaccurate” and “laden with ulterior motives”. He also warned that the episode highlighted why young Bahamian professionals do not return home, but Mr Munroe countered: “I don’t think they quite understand the main thrust of the matter. The main thrust of the matter has nothing to do with them. The main thrust of the matter is why impose a tax and cost on the people - that is free standing regardless of whether procurement is
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WAYNE MUNROE QC proper or not. “These are young professionals, so they should be bright enough to know that they should expect to provide answers. These are young professionals. So when they come to the public, they should come with the information and not with some sort of hard luck story about this is why we don’t return home. “If they were in the US, they know what would be happening now. If they were in Canada, they know what would be happening now, and if they were in Europe, they know what would be happening now. The Bahamian people expect no less.” Referring to the health travel visa, Mr Munroe added: “The reality is this. Since they have come forward, can they tell us who awarded them the contract? Can they produce the contract, and can they produce audited numbers? “Before questions were asked, the government’s
position was that there was zero revenue from this. After questioning came about, then it was said that it was a small processing fee that Kanoo was collecting. Then was it was disclosed that $9.8m was collected [by the government], and with a $2.4m surplus, which means for costs and expenses that was $7.4m or 75 percent of the revenue.” Mr Rees said all contracts awarded to Kanoo are “above board”, and that the company has nothing to hide. Rejecting claims of political favouritism, Mr Rees confirmed that besides Sand Dollar and the health travel visa, Kanoo has also won the contracts to facilitate the electronic processing of child support and other court-ordered payments, plus food assistance payments on behalf of the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development. And the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science
Institute (BAMSI) had engaged Kanoo to facilitate the payment of tuition and registration fees by Family Island-based students. Tribune Business has obtained independent verification that many of the contracts awarded to Kanoo were put out to competitive bidding and tendering processes. Rivals, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that they, too, participated in the Supreme Court RFP as well as the Social Services vetting. The latter saw Kanoo awarded the food assistance payments, while Cash N’ Go and Omni now handle rental and uniform assistance. Not all competitors were convinced, though. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one said: “Something doesn’t look right about the awarding of these contracts.” Another added: “Not all of them were put out to bid, and it appears that Kanoo always had the inside track. “The excuse was used that ‘the government has been working with them’, which is not so because others have been working with government to fix lots of issues but we’re not given anything in return or invited to bid when the ‘meaty’ projects are on the line. The real issue here is that they have good friends in high places.”
PAGE 4, Monday, July 5, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Merchants ready reporting for VAT hurricane holiday By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net BUILDING materials suppliers and the Ministry of Finance met virtually on Friday to organise the sector’s VAT reporting during the three-week hurricane preparedness tax holiday that begins on July 9. Merchants told Tribune Business they only need to make “straightforward” adjustments to their pointof-sale systems to capture the products that will be VAT “zero rated” by the government for the final three weeks of July. Anthony Roberts, City Lumber Yard’s general manager, told this newspaper that the list of “zero rated” items includes what he supplies such as from flash lights, batteries and plywood.
He added that he can “make it work” in time to take advantage of the government’s tax holiday, meaning he can have all the items in his point-of-sale system adjusted as necessary to be zero-rated for his customers. The “zero rating” designation means that, in addition to consumers not being charged 12 percent VAT on the purchase price, suppliers will also be able to reclaim the levy they pay on their input costs. Mr Roberts added: “We can get it done electronically so that our computer system will take care of it and we don’t make any errors. I’m fairly certain that there’s a way around it.” Issues with items already landed, and which building suppliers have paid VAT
$50m record inflow ‘excellent problem’ FROM PAGE ONE or less 4.5 percent over the past few years, and maybe a big higher. It’s in the Prime Income fund where the amount of funds is building up. People are removing funds out of bank accounts, and preferring fixed income securities over equities.” Mr Anderson said the Bahamian capital markets had generally enjoyed a good supply of new fixed income issues over the past 15 years but, the Nassau Cruise Port’s first $150m bond raise excepted, this had been choked off by the COVID-19 pandemic and “a lot of investment opportunities were put on hold”. With the low interest environment now incentivising persons to seek returns outside the commercial banking system, he added that RF Bank & Trust was now “waiting to see these investment opportunities materialise” during what he believes will be “a
more active second half”. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve seen a strong buildup of funds as people look to put their money to work,” Mr Anderson said. These inflows had further accelerated over 2021’s first four months to the point where the Prime Income had received $25-$28m over that period, or an average of $5m to $6m per month. “That’s creating a further cash drag on returns as we go into mid-year,” he told Tribune Business. “It’s an excellent problem. People are deciding to move money into investments. It’s a bit slower getting them returns than expected. We anticipate getting them those returns in the second half of the year, as it’s been a bit slow in the first half. “I think it’s people finally getting to the point where bank deposit rates are forcing them to the banks and they need to find alternative opportunities. The amount of issues expected
on already, is a concern that is “misplaced”, said Mr Roberts. “The items that I bought before, during or after that VAT I’ve paid, I’m able to deduct from my VAT submission. “What this VAT holiday does is that the person who is going to miss out on the revenue here is actually the government’s Department of Inland Revenue (DIR), because instead of collecting 12 percent on their behalf on plywood or tarps, they’ve given a VAT free-holiday. “I’m not sure if people are getting that right. Whether I bring in stuff in the middle of July or last week, whatever I bring in and pay VAT on I’m able to get that back from the VAT I collect on the government’s behalf. That’s how
the thing works, so I’m not seeing that as an issue.” All parties were working to finalise outstanding matters last week. A reporting structure has to be sent to building suppliers on how they should treat zero-rated items when filing VAT returns to the Department of Inland Revenue. Tribune Business understands that a follow-up Zoom meeting was held on Friday between the Ministry of Finance and building supply stores to organise the reporting structure and sort out other matters. Mr Roberts said: “We’ve just been e-mailed on Friday by the Department of Inland Revenue on how it is to be reported; some issues about layaway. We don’t do layaways here, but they need to be able to
have us report, certainly in terms of our VAT returns and what was zero rated, but that should be pretty straight forward.” Gary Burrows, Tops Lumber and Plumbing’s general manager, said he, too, has been notified of the zero-rated list of hurricane supplies for the upcoming VAT holiday. “I’m comfortable with the list,” he added. “It’s just a matter of getting the particular numbers in question in the system and getting that sorted out. That should be straightforward.” The items that will be zero-rated for the threeweek period include flashlights, drop cords, uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems, batteryoperated fans, batteries, tarps, pre-filled sand bags, water containers and cans,
gas and diesel, storage containers, first-aid kits, plastic sheeting, oil lamps, candles and portable radios. Oil lanterns and the bottles used for them, as well as duct and masking tape, empty five-gallon buckets, raincoats and water bots, life jackets, hurricane lanterns, sternos, butane portable stoves, manual can openers, plywood, coolers, insect repellant, storm shutters and residential generators will not carry VAT during the three-week waiver period The VAT holiday for hurricane supplies was announced by the Prime Minister during the justcompleted Budget debate. The measure was designed to encourage, and make more affordable, preparations for a hurricane season that lasts until November 30.
to come to market in the next 12 months is fairly significant. Hopefully it will encourage other issuers to come to market and help the economy grow. “We have a build-up of outstanding issuances over the last 18 months because of the situations companies find themselves in. Those deals were put on hold, but we anticipate them coming to market in the next 12-18 months. It’s this idea of feast or famine, but it will not be too long before we need more. It will be nice to see more issues coming to market. Besides BPL’s bond and the $24.5m in equity, and $100m worth of debt, required by the cruise port respectively, Mr Anderson said other capital raisings will likely involve Shell North America’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and the local component of the capital required by the Grand Bahama Shipyard for its new dry docks. Affirming that $60m of the Prime Income Fund’s $300m in total assets is accounted for by cash, the RF Bank & Trust chief said capital inflows in early 2021 had not just been confined
to mutual funds but also embraced pension funds, education funds and other investment products. “All of those were attracting higher inflows of funds of between $10m-$12m a month,” Mr Anderson told this newspaper, revealing that more than $50m was placed across the investment bank’s product line during the first four months of 2021. “We have $1.1bn in assets under management, and are growing remarkably fast. We anticipate growing over 10 percent this year. That’s in the region of $100m in assets coming in this year.” Mr Anderson, though, said commercial banks were now starting to compete in the capital markets space due to their inability to find qualified borrowers for the more than $2.3bn in surplus liquidity that they currently hold. “What you will have seen more recently is the banks coming into that area where they are starting to pay back some of the preference share issues, as they did with Arawak Port Development Company and RoyalStar Assurance,” Mr Anderson said. “The banks are stuck with money they can’t get to loan, so they are coming into that mezzanine space and exacerbating the problem because both sets of capital are coming into the same market.” Mr Anderson added that securities issuers and their advisers will also have to work to stagger and spread out their capital raises so they do not compete for the same funding sources. He estimated that some $200m worth of transactions may come to market later this year in a country that typically only buildsup $150m to exploit such opportunities.
Doctors in $7.747m COVID testing boost
patients, with bed capacity increasing from eight to 31. “As a result of these strategic changes, Doctors Hospital West generated net income of $5.581m in financial year 2021, compared to a net loss ($504,245) in the prior year. Inpatient admissions at Doctors Hospital West for COVID-19 care were associated with $7.732m in revenues in financial year 2021,” the annual report said. “Net patient services revenues increased in financial year 2021 by $11.985m or 18.6 percent compared to the prior year and were $76.398m. Consolidated net profit totaled $12.439m or $1.25 per share for the year compared to a profit of $6.01m or $0.60 per share the year before. “Net income grew yearover-year by approximately 107 percent and reflects the third consecutive year of record financial performance. Organic revenues (not related to COVID-19) in the final two months of financial year 2021 averaged $6.708m, a noteworthy marker considering pre COVID-19 monthly revenues were $6.373m (March 2020), an uptick versus the comparison period of 5.3 percent,” it added. “Total expenses for the year were $67.377m versus $60.74m in the prior year, an increase of $6.637m or 10.9 percent. The key drivers of higher overall expenses were salaries and benefits, which were $30.67m in financial year 2021 compared to $27.327m in 2020, an increase of $3.343m or 12.2 percent year-over-year.”
FROM PAGE ONE loss as numerous services and procedures were either reduced or cancelled due to the pandemic’s start. The healthcare provider turned around a $351,917, or 16.4 percent, year-over-year decline in net income for its first quarter by transforming it into a 107 percent increase in full-year profits, which more than doubled from the prior year’s $6.009m to $12.439m for the 12 months to end-January 2021. With a $750,000 investment in capital equipment and laboratory renovations, Doctors Hospital said: “In financial year 2021, COVID-19 testing revenues at Doctors Hospital (Bahamas) were $7.747m associated with the completion of 37,778 RT-PCR and 65,954 rapid antigen tests, the overwhelming majority of which were performed on an outpatient basis and in support of large corporate clients as part of their safe return to work strategies. “Despite a COVID19 related decline in outpatient services, emergency room visits and elective procedures in the first quarter of financial year 2021, where revenues and inpatient days declined sharply, the profit structure of Doctors Hospital (Bahamas) recovered robustly toward the end of 2021. “Net income for Doctors Hospital Bahamas was $6.858m for financial year 2021, a year-over-year increase compared to financial year 2020 of $344,144 or 5.3 percent.” However, besides the testing, the real financial boost came from converting the Doctors Hospital West facility on Blake Road to the care centre for critically ill COVID
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E
XCLUDING perhaps the collision of two neutron stars, supernovae are the most dramatic events in the universe’s vast menu of wonders; a cosmic fireworks show that occurs when stars reach the end of their lives by exploding. Such bursts last less than two minutes and can outshine entire galaxies, generating more energy than the sun will do during its entire lifetime. Not all stars die as a supernova. In fact, few do, because only the very large ones have the mass required to trigger the process. However, these explosions play a crucial role in the renewing of the universe, generating vast clouds of matter that end up forming new stars and planets, and producing heavy elements such as gallium, bromine and… gold. Gold is classified as a heavy metal because of its high density, with each atom consisting of 79 protons and 118 neutrons, the result of the very high pressures and heat found in the supernova nucleosynthesis. Because the precious metal can only be created under such unusual
The unlikely journey of gold
dust ending up on Earth. Despite having been mined all over the world for millennia, it is estimated only 200,000 tonnes of the precious metal have so far been unearthed, just about enough to form a cube measuring around 22 metres on each side, with projections pointing to the possibility of 50,000 tonnes of exploitable reserves remaining below ground. Unfortunately for jewellers and bullion traders, geologists estimate most gold on earth would have sunk and is now part of our planet’s core, well beyond reach. Another interesting gold fact is that it is virtually indestructible and, despite
being a heavy metal, it is also a soft metal; so malleable that one gram of the stuff can be beaten into a sheet that will cover nearly a square metre – this is how gold leaf is created. Between April and August 2020, when pandemic related fears peaked, demand for gold boomed and its price reached an all-time high of more than $2000 per ounce. When the going gets tough we find comfort in gold. Our connection to the precious metal is strong and its appeal increases during uncertain times. This attraction underpins the status of the precious metal as the ultimate haven asset, holding value no matter what. So, next time you play with your wedding ring, remember: that gold was forged in the heart of a distant dying star, and will still be around long after we’re all gone.
less than a one percent equity stake in the company, the Kanoo chairman added, which was given as a reward for putting himself and his fellow Bahamian entrepreneurs in touch with their Atlanta-based technology partner some five years ago. Describing the company as “politically agnostic”, with Dr Lewis’ political connections “irrelevant” to Kanoo and its business, Mr Rees said it seemed like he and his fellow investors have “made a lot of enemies since we launched”. Besides Sand Dollar and the health travel visa, Kanoo has also won the contracts to facilitate the electronic processing of child support and other court-ordered payments, plus food assistance payments on behalf of the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development. However, further controversy arose when it was revealed that the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) had engaged Kanoo to facilitate the payment of tuition and registration fees by Family Island-based students. Mr Rees’ father, Olvin, is BAMSI’s deputy chair, and sources subsequently informed this newspaper he is close to the Prime Minister. However, Mr Rees slammed social media claims of favouritism and nepotism as wholly incorrect as he disclosed that Kanoo has hired attorneys “to look into the false assertions and innuendos made” with a view to taking potential legal action against its accusers. “How many other friends does the Prime Minister have?” he asked.
He revealed that BAMSI reached out to Kanoo and other digital payment providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and “there was no contract awarded. They signed up to our merchant services platform in the same manner as all of our merchants. It’s [BAMSI] one of our smallest clients”. Mr Rees, seeking to remove Kanoo from the political fray, told Tribune Business: “I was extremely disappointed to see the sources this information came from. Persons I had a high degree of respect and admiration for, I’m completely at a loss as to how they came to the conclusions they came to and cast the aspersions they have on such a young, unique Bahamian technology company.” He added that there was a constant cry for greater Bahamian ownership in the economy, and for local technology companies to perform more work, and argued that the attacks on Kanoo went completely against this. “It’s obvious to us what is happening,” added Mr Rees. “The amount of people calling me, saying: ‘Nick, keep your head up, we see what they’re doing’. We have 25 staff, 70 percent female, all-Bahamian. It’s disappointing and unsettling to them as well. “Why do we attack the small businesses in this country because we feel they’re a threat? Why can’t we celebrate their success? One would like to put a stop to this. I don’t like politics, I don’t like being involved in this. We want them to leave me and Kanoo alone, so that we can just focus on developing technology.”
ACTIVTRADES WEEKLY | BY RICARDO EVANGELISTA | WWW.ACTIVTRADES.BS
PERSON holding a gold nugget. conditions, unlike the much more common hydrogen and helium, for example, which scientists believe to have formed during the big bang, it is, in cosmic
terms, considered to be an extremely rare element. Also unlikely is the journey, from the heart of an exploding star light years away, to the ring on your
finger: supernovae create enormous clouds of cosmic dust, from one of which our solar system was formed 4.6 billion years ago, with some of the gold present in that
Labour unrest ‘not as Kanoo eyes Caribbean serious’ as it appears expansion in six months FROM PAGE ONE
FROM PAGE ONE Mr Pinder added: “I personally gave my recommendations to management to have those matters resolved, and for others to go to the Industrial Tribunal. “I recommended to management to resolve those matters because the union was not being unreasonable at that time. As long as things are reasonable, both sides are negotiating in good faith and in a timely fashion, it can be worked out.” Mr Pinder, himself a former unionist as head of the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU), continued: “Unions have to show they’re acting in the best interests of their members. They have to show that they’re relevant, and do that by fighting for what’s in the best interests of their members. “I think there’s a good working relationship between the government and trade unions. Any time a Cabinet minister has to step in and negotiate, they’ve been doing it. They’ve not been denying access to the union and, as best they can, they’ve been trying to resolve it. It’s unfortunate some union leaders think only the prime minister can resolve their matters.” Pledging to step in where necessary, and that the Department of Labour would represent all sides equally in negotiations, Mr Pinder said of the latest bout of trade union unrest: “It ain’t as serious as it appears to be, but this is election time. Election is around the corner, and they are acting up to get matters addressed. “The government is wise enough to ensure these matters are addressed as best it can, and keep the relationship a cordial one.” The labour chief’s comments came after National Congress of Trade Unions of the Bahamas (NCTUB) officials last week said there was a growing trend of top-ranking executives at government agencies using “union busting” and bullying tactics to intimidate workers. The umbrella union said the situation has affected staff morale and called upon officials to “cease and desist”. Bernard Evans, its president, said recent demonstrations showed there is disharmony and growing unrest in the workplace, adding that workers have reached their “boiling point”. “We have reached a point in our history that these board appointments by way of the government. . . have no respect for law and order, meaning our constitution under the Industrial Relations Act. They either have no knowledge and act in ignorance, and believe these boards are their personal arrangement and they can do what they want and talk to us how they wish,” said Mr Evans. “But we are not asking for anything special. We are
Monday, July 5, 2021, PAGE 5
PETER GOUDIE asking you to follow the law. We are asking you to respect the tenets of the agreements that you have signed as the employer and we have signed on the behalf of the employees. That’s what we’re asking for. “… Mr prime minister, I know and I hope and I know it’s not you, but your board appointments and chairmen and whatnot have apparently usurped power to disrespect workers in this country. They forgot they work for us and that we put them there, but we have not forgotten that we have the power to remove.” Meanwhile, a conciliatory process has been set up for BPL management and unions to resolve their grievances. Peter Goudie, the National Tripartite Council’s vice-chair, yesterday argued that industrial unrest was the last thing that The Bahamas needs with its devastated economy still recovering from COVID19. “I don’t understand it,” he told Tribune Business. “We’re in tough times and that is not what is needed right now. “We’re trying to fix the country, trying to fix things under COVID-19, and these guys want to go on strike? I don’t get it. I really don’t understand it. It is silly season, but that still doesn’t make it the right thing to do. You can say what you want about the upcoming election, but it’s just not the right thing to do. I don’t get it, and I guess I won’t ever.”
jurisdictions. Our goal is to take The Bahamas to the world through technology, and the first target is the Caribbean. The second is Latin America. “We’ve put a lot into this. We’re a private company, but we’ve invested millions to-date. We’re currently raising more money to finance expansion throughout the region. We expect within the next three to six months to launch into two new territories. “We’ve had two countries reach out to us because of our [food] gift card platform, and their desire to use it to deliver pensions and social assistance in their countries using digital cards. We’re getting attention from other countries, but in The Bahamas they’re tearing us down. I don’t understand that. We are here to make life easier for Bahamians; all Bahamians.” Mr Rees declined to name any of the countries involved, or provide financial details on how much Kanoo is seeking to raise, citing the recent onslaught of attacks from political sources, rivals and others over the government’s award of the health travel visa payment processing and other contracts to the company. The Kanoo chief said he personally felt Bahamians should be able to travel back into the country without having to pay the visa fee, but Kanoo was only doing what was requested by the government. Asserting that the digital payments provider was receiving “less than” the 1.5 percent fee per transaction as cited by the Ministry of Tourism, Mr Rees said: “You have to pay for a travel visa when you come back into the country. I personally feel Bahamians should come back into the country [free], but it’s not
NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS PETER NORONHA., late of No.61 Montague Heights Subdivision in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Deceased. NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claims against the above-named Estate are required, on or before the 5th day of August, A.D. 2021 to send their names and addresses, and particulars of their debts or claims, to the undersigned, and if so required by notice in writing from the undersigned, to come in and prove such debts or claims, or in default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution AND all persons indebted to the said Estate are asked to pay their respective debts to the undersigned at once. AND NOTICE is hereby also given that at the expiration of the mentioned above, the assets of the FRANCIS PETER NORONHA will be distributed among the persons entitled thereto having regard only to the claims of which the Executors shall then have had notice. AND NOTICE is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned. Dated this 3rd day of July, A.D., 2021. c/o PYFROM & CO Attorneys for the Executors, No.259 Shirley Street, P.O. Box N 8958, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas.
for us to say. We provide the technology solution. “We have thousands of users and hundreds of businesses today. We refer to all our business clients as the Kanoo family. We see ourselves as a band of brothers. Everybody we touch, everybody we hire, we tell them ‘welcome to the family’. We want Kanoo to be innovative, to be engaging. We don’t make money until you make money. We want to create solutions for Bahamian businesses to empower them to make money.” Kanoo was embroiled in a political firestorm after it became caught-up in the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) attack on The Bahamas’ health travel visa system. The digital provider facilitates the visa payments on the Ministry of Tourism’s behalf, and questions surrounding the fees it was earning and why the money was not being deposited in the government’s consolidated fund quickly surfaced. The allegations then expanded to political favouritism and nepotism amid claims that Dr Nigel Lewis, the FNM’s national campaign co-ordinator for the upcoming general election, was a Kanoo director and that the company had won multiple other government contracts. Mr Rees, though, last week produced Kanoo’s annual returns filed with the Registrar General’s Department to show that Dr Lewis is not a director. He holds
PAGE 6, Monday, July 5, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Some Chinese shun grueling careers for “lowdesire life” BEIJING Associated Press FED up with work stress, Guo Jianlong quit a newspaper job in Beijing and moved to China’s mountain southwest to “lie flat”. Guo joined a small but
visible handful of Chinese urban professionals who are rattling the ruling Communist Party by rejecting grueling careers for a “lowdesire life”. That is clashing with the party’s message of success and consumerism as its celebrates the 100th
NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF EULA YVONNE NORONHA., late of No.61 Montague Heights Subdivision in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Deceased. NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claims against the above-named Estate are required, on or before the 5th day of August, A.D. 2021 to send their names and addresses, and particulars of their debts or claims, to the undersigned, and if so required by notice in writing from the undersigned, to come in and prove such debts or claims, or in default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution AND all persons indebted to the said Estate are asked to pay their respective debts to the undersigned at once. AND NOTICE is hereby also given that at the expiration of the mentioned above, the assets of the late EULA YVONNE NORONHA SR will be distributed among the persons entitled thereto having regard only to the claims of which the Executors shall then have had notice. AND NOTICE is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned. Dated this 3rd day of July, A.D., 2021. c/o PYFROM & CO Attorneys for the Executors, No.259 Shirley Street, P.O. Box N 8958, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas.
GUO Jianlong reads a book at the balcony of his home in Dali in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. Guo joined a small but visible handful of Chinese urban professionals who are rattling the ruling Communist Party by choosing to “lie flat”, or reject grueling careers for what they call a “low-desire life”. That is clashing with the ruling party’s message of success and consumerism as its celebrates the 100th anniversary of its 1921 founding. Photo: Guo Jianlong/AP)
anniversary of its founding. Guo, 44, became a freelance writer in Dali, a town in Yunnan province known for its traditional architecture and picturesque scenery. He married a woman he met there. “Work was OK, but I didn’t like it much,” Guo said. “What is wrong with doing your own thing, not just looking at the money?” “Lying flat” is a “resistance movement” to a “cycle of horror” from high-pressure Chinese schools to jobs with seemingly endless work hours, novelist Liao Zenghu wrote in Caixin, the country’s most prominent business magazine. “In today’s society, our every move is monitored and every action criticised,” Liao wrote. “Is there any more rebellious act than to simply ‘lie flat?’” It isn’t clear how many people have gone so far as to quit their jobs or move out of major cities. Judging by packed rush hour subways in Beijing and Shanghai, most young Chinese slog away at the best jobs they can get. Still, the ruling party is trying to discourage the trend. Beijing needs skilled professionals to develop technology and other industries. China’s population is getting older and the pool of working-age people
has shrunk by about 5% from its 2011 peak. “Struggle itself is a kind of happiness,” the newspaper Southern Daily, published by the party, said in a commentary. “Choosing to ‘lie flat’ in the face of pressure is not only unjust but also shameful.” The trend echoes similar ones in Japan and other countries where young people have embraced anti-materialist lifestyles in response to bleak job prospects and bruising competition for shrinking economic rewards. Official data show China’s economic output per person doubled over the past decade, but many complain the gains went mostly to a handful of tycoons and state-owned companies. Professionals say their incomes are failing to keep up with soaring housing, child care and other costs. In a sign of the issue’s political sensitivity, four professors who were quoted by the Chinese press talking about “lying flat” declined to discuss it with a foreign reporter. Another possible sign of official displeasure: T-shirts, mobile phone cases and other “Lie Flat”-themed products are disappearing from online sales platforms. Urban employees complain that work hours have swelled to “9 9 6”, or 9am to 9pm, six days a week. “We generally believe slavery has died away. In fact, it has only adapted to the new economic era,” a woman who writes under the name Xia Bingbao, or Summer Hailstones, said on the Douban social media service. Some elite graduates in their 20s who should have the best job prospects say they are worn out from the
“exam hell” of high school and university. They see no point in making more sacrifices. “Chasing fame and fortune does not attract me. I am so tired,” said Zhai Xiangyu, a 25-year-old graduate student. Some professionals are cutting short their careers, which removes their experience from the job pool. Xu Zhunjiong, a human resources manager in Shanghai, said she is quitting at 45, a decade before the legal minimum retirement age for women, to move with her Croatian-born husband to his homeland. “I want to retire early. I don’t want to fight any more,” Xu said. “I’m going to other places.” Thousands vented frustration online after the Communist Party’s announcement in May that official birth limits would be eased to allow all couples to have three children instead of two. The party has enforced birth restrictions since 1980 to restrain population growth but worries China, with economic output per person still below the global average, needs more young workers. Minutes after the announcement, websites were flooded with complaints that the move did nothing to help parents cope with child care costs, long work hours, cramped housing, job discrimination against mothers and a need to look after elderly parents. Xia writes that she moved to a valley in Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai, for a “low-desire life” after working in Hong Kong. She said despite a high-status job as an English-language reporter, her rent devoured 60% of her income and she
had no money at the end of each month. She rejects the argument that young people who “lie flat” are giving up economic success when that’s already is out of reach for many in an economy with a growing gulf between a wealthy elite and the majority. “When resources are focused more and more on the few people at the head and their relatives, the workforce is cheap and replaceable,” she wrote on Douban. “Is it sensible to entrust your destiny to small handouts from others?” Xia declined an interview request. Guo, the writer in Dali, said he puts in more hours as a freelancer than he did at a newspaper. But he is happier, and life is more comfortable: He and his wife eat breakfast on their breezy sixth-floor apartment balcony with a view of trees. “As long as I can keep writing, I’m very satisfied,” Guo said. “I don’t feel stifled.” A handful who can afford it withdraw from work almost entirely. A 27-year-old architect in Beijing said she started saving as a teenager to achieve financial freedom. “From last September, when I saw all my savings had reached 2 million (yuan) ($300,000), I lay down,” said the woman, who would give only the name Nana, in an interview over her social media account. Nana said she turned down a job that paid 20,000 yuan ($3,000) per month due to the long hours and what she saw as limited opportunities for creativity. “I want to be free from inflexible rules,” said Nana. “I want to travel and make myself happy.”
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, July 5, 2021, PAGE 7
Las Vegas is bouncing back, but the virus is on the rise too LAS VEGAS Associated Press FIFTEEN months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flamboyant spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back. Tourists are streaming in again, gambling revenue has hit an all-time high, the Las Vegas Strip has its first new casino in a decade, and big concerts are starting at a gleaming new stadium. Plexiglass panels installed to separate gamblers at the poker and blackjack tables have largely been removed, the world-famous buffets are reopening, and nightclub dance floors are packed. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to visit Saturday for what the White House is calling the “America’s Back Together” tour celebrating progress against the virus. But that progress is threatened: Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country, hospitalisations are on the rise again, and the highly contagious delta variant has become the most prevalent form of the virus in the state, adding urgency to the campaign to get more people vaccinated. Still, in a place where the economy runs on crowds and uninhibited behavior, a return to pandemic-related restrictions and mask requirements seems to be off the table. Inside the casinos, guests are not required to wear
CROWDS walk through the casino during the opening night of Resorts World Las Vegas in Las Vegas. Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100% capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row. But this progress is threatened as Nevada this week saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases in the country. Photo: John Locher/AP masks if they are fully vaccinated, but employees do not appear to be asking anyone for proof. “It seems like everything is opening back up, getting back to normal,” Teresa Lee, a 47-year-old tourist from Nashville, Tennessee, said Thursday as she stood on the Strip, looking out over the fountains in front of the Bellagio casino. Lee said she is vaccinated and felt safe in Las Vegas because she read about the casinos’ efforts to get their workers and their families vaccinated. Tyler Williams, a 22-yearold from Eugene, Oregon, said it didn’t feel as if there was a pandemic anymore because “people are everywhere”. He said he had seen hardly anyone with a mask
apart from a few foreign tourists and felt no need to wear one himself, because he is vaccinated. Las Vegas fully reopened and lifted restrictions on most businesses June 1, though many casino-resorts had already returned to 100% capacity before that with approval from state regulators. Visitor numbers, while not at their pre-pandemic highs, have grown by double digits four months in a row. Shows and fireworks are scheduled for the July 4 weekend, and the new 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium where the NFL’s relocated Raiders will kick off their season this fall was set to host its first major concert on Saturday, by electronic dance music star
Illenium. It will be followed by a full-capacity show from Garth Brooks next weekend. Over the past two weeks, Nevada’s diagnosis rate of 190 new cases per 100,000 people was higher than that of Missouri, Arkansas and Wyoming -- all states with lower vaccination levels — and the state public health lab found the delta variant in almost half the COVID19 cases it analysed. Also, the number of patients hospitalised with the virus has grown 33% over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though the levels are far below what they were in December, when hospitals were near capacity. State biostatistician Kyra Morgan said Friday that the spike in cases might be attributable to the full reopening of the state and city in June and that the return of crowds and big events on the Strip could cause the increase to continue. “If we know anything about COVID, we know that when people are gathering in close proximity to one another in large volumes, that is the recipe for COVID transmission to increase,” Morgan said. State and local officials said that almost all the new cases and hospitalisations involve unvaccinated people and that the best way to attack the problem is by getting more shots in arms. Nevada has fully vaccinated
PUBLIC NOTICE
PUBLIC NOTICE
INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL
INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL
The Public is hereby advised that I, SAMANTHA ANN CHARLES of Florence Gardens, P.O. Box GT-2735 Nassau, Bahamas intend to change my name to SAMANTHA ANN MILLS CHARLES. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.
The Public is hereby advised that I, STEPHANIE MARIE CAMPBELL of Dundas Town, Abaco, The Bahamas intend to change my name to STEPHANIE MARIE MILLS. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.
MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com
FRIDAY, 2 JULY 2021
BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:
CLOSE
CHANGE
1939.90
-30.58
%CHANGE
YTD
YTD%
-1.55 -152.56
-7.26
(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320
BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 6.50 33.95 1.62 2.90 1.78 6.00 6.96 3.60 5.32 3.90 6.16 12.00 2.75 7.76 10.71 9.55 14.44 4.10 8.97 16.00
52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 1.46 1.62 1.43 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.25 2.74 5.00 9.75 2.10 4.90 9.50 8.35 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 6.00 39.95 1.60 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.50 2.74 5.95 10.20 2.37 7.76 11.06 9.55 13.99 3.70 8.30 15.50
CLOSE 6.00 39.95 1.60 2.61 1.44 6.00 6.96 3.53 4.75 2.48 5.95 10.20 2.37 7.76 11.18 9.55 13.99 3.70 8.30 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 BSBGR1292394 BSBGRS650219 BSBGRS900283 BSBGR1322498 BSBGR1341506
107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.87 100.14 100.98 100.00
107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.67 100.14 100.98 100.00
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.20) 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
115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.00 100.67 100.74 100.98 100.00
104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.67 100.14 100.00 100.00
52WK HI 2.43 4.47 2.17 202.18 190.86 1.69 1.81 1.78 1.12 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 FX BGR129239 BGRS FL BGRS65021 BGRS FL BGRS90028 BGRS FX BGR132249 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 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.25 (0.26) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.12 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
VOLUME 1,000
1,220 10,500
456
600
100
77,000
VOLUME
843 1,600
NAV 2.43 4.47 2.17 202.18 190.86 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
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
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 33.9 13.5 13.3 14.1 23.2 16.6 17.3 13.1 17.1 18.2 8.8 24.6
YIELD 2.83% 3.15% 1.25% 1.15% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.84% 3.70% 7.06% 18.31% 0.77% 2.93% 2.51% 3.86% 3.24% 2.41% 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% 5.04% 4.63% 4.39% 5.65% 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 15-Apr-2039 6-Sep-2021 10-Dec-2028 15-Oct-2049 17-Jan-1950
YTD% 12 MTH% 1.85% 4.26% 0.77% 1.44% 1.14% 2.84% 0.14% 5.02% 3.25% 31.13% 1.04% 0.20% -2.27% -3.15% -0.08% -0.57% -1.94% -3.33% 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
31-May-2021 31-May-2021 28-May-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-May-2021 31-May-2021 31-May-2021 31-May-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 28-Mar-2021 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
45% of those 12 and older, well below the nationwide level of 55%, according to the CDC. “We are a state of skeptics when it comes to vaccines,” Morgan said. “We have a lot of anti-vaxxers, frankly, in the state of Nevada. State and local officials, who in May went so far as to hold a vaccine clinic at a strip club, said they are trying to find more ways to
persuade people, including the launch of a cash raffle. Democratic Gov Steve Sisolak, who took the unprecedented step of shuttering casinos for 11 weeks last year when the pandemic started, said Thursday he will ask for help from the COVID-19 response teams that the Biden administration is dispatching to boost testing and vaccinations in communities with outbreaks.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that PEKITO BASTIEN, of Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas 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 25th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, July 5, 2021, PAGE 9
WHEN CAN MASKS BE DITCHED? UK LEADER TO REVAMP VIRUS RULES
LONDON Associated Press
PRIME Minister Boris Johnson, pictured, will provide an update today on plans to ease COVID-19 restrictions in England, amid speculation that he will scrap rules that require people to wear masks in many public settings. Johnson is scheduled to hold a press conference on the government’s current outlook for “freedom day’’ — the plan to end the remaining coronavirus restrictions on business and social interactions on July 19. A final decision will be announced on July 12 based
on a series of tests, including vaccination rates and the risks posed by new virus variants. The British government, which put into place one of the longest lockdowns in the world, has lifted restrictions in a series of steps that began with reopening schools in March. The fourth and final stage was
stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks.’’ Some doctors have expressed concerns about easing restrictions further as infection rates continue to rise. But there hasn’t been an equivalent increase in COVID-19 hospitalisations or deaths, emboldening ministers who believe that Britain must learn to live with the virus and that the time is right to end the remaining restrictions. The number of confirmed new infections in the UK over the past seven days rose 67% from the previous
delayed last month to provide time for more people to be vaccinated amid concerns about the rapid spread of the delta variant, which was first discovered in India. “Today we will set out how we can restore people’s freedoms when we reach step four,’’ Johnson said in a statement ahead of his news conference. “But I must
week but the 122 coronavirus-related deaths reported were two fewer than the previous week. Public health officials attribute the divergence of the figures to the success of Britain’s vaccination program. Almost 86% of UK adults have received at least one vaccine dose and 63.4% are fully vaccinated. The British government is preparing to offer a third dose of vaccine to everyone over 50, as well as vulnerable younger people, to boost their immunity over the winter months, following interim advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization.
THE WEATHER REPORT
5-Day Forecast
TODAY
ORLANDO
High: 90° F/32° C Low: 74° F/23° C
TAMPA
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Winds gradually subsiding
Mostly cloudy with a stray shower
Partly sunny, a shower; breezy
A t‑storm around in the afternoon
Mostly sunny, breezy and pleasant
Breezy in the a.m.; some sun, nice
High: 88°
Low: 79°
High: 89° Low: 80°
High: 88° Low: 79°
High: 88° Low: 80°
High: 89° Low: 79°
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
97° F
86° F
98°-86° F
98°-84° F
98°-85° F
98°-84° 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.
N
almanac
E
ABACO
S
N
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C
10‑20 knots
S
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 78° F/26° C
8‑16 knots
FT. LAUDERDALE
FREEPORT
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C
E S
E
W
WEST PALM BEACH
W
uV inDex toDay
TUESDAY
W
N
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TONIGHT
High: 91° F/33° C Low: 77° F/25° C
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C
MIAMI
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C
10‑20 knots
KEY WEST
High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C
High: 88° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C
N
The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
tiDes For nassau High
Ht.(ft.)
Low
Ht.(ft.)
Today
5:09 a.m. 5:47 p.m.
2.2 2.7
11:18 a.m. 0.4 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑
Tuesday
5:56 a.m. 6:31 p.m.
2.2 2.8
12:15 a.m. 0.7 12:02 p.m. 0.3
Wednesday 6:42 a.m. 7:13 p.m.
2.2 2.9
1:01 a.m. 0.6 12:45 p.m. 0.3
Thursday
7:25 a.m. 7:54 p.m.
2.2 3.0
1:43 a.m. 1:26 p.m.
0.5 0.2
Friday
8:07 a.m. 8:34 p.m.
2.3 3.1
2:25 a.m. 2:07 p.m.
0.4 0.2
Saturday
8:48 a.m. 9:13 p.m.
2.3 3.2
3:04 a.m. 2:48 p.m.
0.3 0.2
Sunday
9:29 a.m. 9:52 p.m.
2.4 3.2
3:44 a.m. 3:29 p.m.
0.3 0.2
sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset
6:25 a.m. 8:04 p.m.
Moonrise Moonset
3:01 a.m. 4:32 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Jul. 9
Jul. 17
Jul. 23
Jul. 31
CAT ISLAND
E
W
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C
N
S
E
W
15‑25 knots
S
8‑16 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 ................................................... 88° F/31° C Low .................................................... 75° F/24° C Normal high ....................................... 88° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 75° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 95° F/35° C Last year’s low ................................... 80° F/27° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 9.35” Normal year to date ................................... 14.41”
ELEUTHERA
NASSAU
Final advice is expected in the coming months. In addition to the rules on wearing face masks, Johnson will lay out plans for easing rules on social distancing and working from home, his office said. He will also discuss the government’s plans for certifying people’s vaccination status or their recent COVID-19 test results with what are commonly known as vaccine passports. “As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from COVID and exercise judgement when going about our lives,” Johnson said.
ANDROS
SAN SALVADOR
GREAT EXUMA
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C
N
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C
E
W S
LONG ISLAND
tracking map
High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C
10‑20 knots
MAYAGUANA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures
CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS
are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
RAGGED ISLAND High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C
High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C
GREAT INAGUA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C
N
E
W
E
W
N
S
S
8‑16 knots
12‑25 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 8‑16 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 15‑25 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots ESE at 10‑20 Knots ESE at 12‑25 Knots ESE at 12‑25 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SSE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 12‑25 Knots ESE at 12‑25 Knots ESE at 10‑20 Knots ESE at 12‑25 Knots ESE at 10‑20 Knots ESE at 12‑25 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 12‑25 Knots SE at 10‑20 Knots ESE at 10‑20 Knots
WAVES 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 4‑7 Feet 4‑7 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet
VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 7 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. 84° F 83° F 86° F 84° F 82° F 83° F 82° F 82° F 83° F 83° F 86° F 86° F 84° F 85° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 81° F 82° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 82° F 83° F
PAGE 10, Monday, July 5, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
PEOPLE ALONG THE US-CANADIAN BORDER AWAIT WORD OF REOPENING BURLINGTON Associated Press
IN A normal, preCOVID-19 summer, scores of pleasure boats are anchored in Lake Champlain off the Burlington waterfront by July 4, with most of them from Canada.
But the anchorage is nearly empty this year because of the ongoing border closure. People who rely on those boaters directly and indirectly hope Canadians are back soon enough to avoid losing a second summer to the pandemic. “We can’t wait to welcome our visitors from
Canada so that they can really embrace our new location in Burlington because I know that they are going to like it as much as we do,” said Elizabeth White, the director of development for Dream Yacht Charter. The company, which rents liveaboard sailing vessels to
tourists across the world, moved its Lake Champlain operations to Burlington from upstate New York in 2020. But it’s unclear when the border — an easy sail about 40 miles north to where Quebec’s Richelieu River drains the lake north into Canada — will fully reopen. In the early days of the pandemic, the US and Canadian governments closed the more than 5,500mile border to nonessential traffic. Now with increasing vaccination rates and dropping infection rates, many are annoyed the two governments haven’t laid out detailed plans to fully reopen the border. Canada is easing its restrictions. Starting today, fully vaccinated Canadians or permanent legal residents may return to Canada without quarantining. But among the requirements are a negative test for the virus before returning, and another once they get back. The Canadian and US governments aren’t expected to reevaluate the border closure until July 21. Commercial traffic has gone back and forth normally between the two countries since the start of the pandemic. Canadians are able to fly into the United States with a negative COVID-19 test and Americans can visit Canada to see relatives or close friends as outlined by a strict set of guidelines. But to do that, people entering Canada must quarantine for two weeks on arrival and the quarantine is enforced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The US Travel Association estimates that each month the border is closed costs $1.5bn. Canadian officials say Canada had about 22 million foreign visitors in 2019 — about 15 million of them from the United States. But there is a human angle to the closing that’s missed in the economic figures. Since shortly after the
CANADIANS STEPHANIE FRIZZELL, far right, and her daughter, Shelby Dubois, second from right, move in for a big air hug with their American relatives, Christian Gervais, far left, Sherie Frizzell, second from left, and Caitlin Davis, third from left, after a visit at the US-Canadian border of Stanstead, Quebec and Derby Line, Vt, last year. Since shortly after the border closed in March 2020, people from both countries travelled to Derby Line, and Stanstead, to hold impromptu family reunions from their own side of the border on a residential street. It’s high summer along the border between the United States and Canada and people on both sides are wondering when the two governments will ease bordercrossing restrictions imposed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Elise Amendola/AP border closed in March 2020, people from both countries travelled to Derby Line, Vermont, and Stanstead, Quebec, to hold impromptu family reunions from their own side of the border on a residential street. While they can talk across the border, they can’t touch and they can’t pass things back and forth. In the state of Washington, a grocery store in Point Roberts was in danger of closing until the state gave it a $100,000 grant to keep it open until the border reopens and its Canadian customers can return. It sits in an approximately 5-square-mile slice of the United States on the tip of a peninsula south of Vancouver, British Columbia, that juts into US territory. In far northern Michigan, a bridge connects Sault Ste. Marie to a larger city with the same name in Ontario, Canada. Denise Boston Talentino, a citizen of both countries, has lived on the US side of the “Soo” for 26 years. She commuted to Canada to work as an addiction counselor before retiring in November but couldn’t visit family there. “The United States and
Canada were like one world to me. I never imagined it would ever last this long,” Talentino said of the border rules. Canadian officials would like 75% of eligible Canadian residents to be fully vaccinated before loosening border restrictions for tourists and business travelers. The Canadian government expects to have enough vaccine delivered for 80% of eligible Canadians to be fully vaccinated by the end of July. Canadian government statistics show that as of July 1, just over 35% of the eligible Canadian population was fully vaccinated. “We are optimistic that the decrease in cases and increase in vaccine coverage will in due course allow a progressive easing of measures at the border,” said Madeleine Gomery, a spokesperson for Canada Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. “In the meantime, we are proceeding with appropriate caution on both sides, taking advice of public health experts, and encouraging Canadians to continue receiving their vaccinations.’’