07052022 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022

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Cable beats target by $50m on ‘largest ever refinancing’ • Raises $219m on $169m preference share rollover • Move ‘beds us down’ financially for immediate term • Just $7.3m redeemed, allowing operational focus

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CABLE Bahamas yesterday revealed it beat its preference share rollover target by $50m as it hailed completion of “the biggest refinancing the market has ever seen”.

Franklyn Butler, the BISX-listed communications provider’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business the outcome will “bed us down for the foreseeable future” after the extra debt capital transformed the $169m refinancing into a total $219m raise.

EDISON SUMNER

Collateral Registry hailed as a ‘tremendous move’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank’s plan to boost small business access to financing by creating a movable Collateral Registry was yesterday hailed as “a tremendous step in the right direction” provided it is accompanied by the necessary training.

Edison Sumner, principal of Sumner Strategic Partners, told Tribune Business that while he “fully endorses” the regulator’s plan to transform the laws underpinning secured lending in The Bahamas it needs to educate micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) on how they can properly monetise intangible assets such as intellectual property so that they can be employed for loan collateral.

A former Chamber of Commerce chief executive, who sits on the Government-sponsored venture capital fund’s Board, he added that even entities such as the latter - established to give small business better access to capital - require some level of security for any debt financing provided as do guarantors of these advances.

“I think it’s a very good step in advancing the ability of SMEs to access capital, especially for those that might not have had the security that financial

SEE PAGE B4

TOTAL air arrivals to The Bahamas rebounded to 85 percent of pre-COVID numbers during April, more than doubling prior year numbers for a period that included the peak Easter holiday weekend.

The Central Bank’s monthly economic report for May, released yesterday, affirmed that The Bahamas continues to make measured, steady progress in tourism’s recovery to prepandemic levels as March numbers were around 81 percent of 2019 figures. The April data suggests that the country’s number one industry is thus continuing to narrow the gap.

Aided by the easing of COVID restrictions in both The Bahamas and abroad, including lockdowns and border restrictions, total air arrivals for April 2022 surged by 142.2 percent compared to the prior year. Rising vaccination rates will also have contributed to improved traveller confidence.

“Official data provided by the Ministry of Tourism showed that total visitor arrivals by first port of entry advanced to 586,574 in April, compared to 68,791 visitors in the comparative period of 2021. Leading this outturn, air traffic increased to 145,471, from just 60,305 in the prior year, restoring 85 percent of the volumes recorded in 2019. In addition, sea passengers grew to 441,103, from 8,486 visitors in the previous year, when voyages were suspended,” the Central Bank said.

“A breakdown by major port of entry revealed that arrivals to New Providence recovered to 293,182 in April from a modest 41,358 in the corresponding period of 2021. Contributing to this development, air traffic reached 109,880, while sea passengers totalled 183,302. Likewise, foreign arrivals to Grand Bahama amounted to 29,782 visà-vis 2,690 a year earlier, with the air and sea components comprising 4,459 and 25,323, respectively.

SEE PAGE B2

TOURISTS ON BEACH

Foreign reserves stay over $3bn despite May decline

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas’ foreign currency reserves closed May 2022 above $3bn despite a $65m drop-off during the month, with the Central Bank reiterating its belief that they remain “more than adequate” to sustain the US dollar peg.

The regulator, yesterday unveiling its economic report for May, said: “External reserves contracted by $64.6m to $3,002bn, a switch from a growth of $126.6m a year earlier. Reflective of this outturn, the Central Bank’s transactions with the public sector reversed to a net

SEE PAGE B4 FRANKLYN BUTLER

Air arrivals hit 85% of pre-COVID levels

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

While Cable Bahamas’ Board still has to determine whether it will retain the extra $50m, he said the extended preference share maturities produced by the rollover “give us some breathing room” to focus on operations and

sale of $154.8m from a net purchase of $102.7m in the previous year.

“By contrast, the Central Bank’s net purchase from the commercial banks broadened to $88.2m from $15.3m in the preceding year. Further, commercial banks’ net intake from their clients widened to $102.3m from $16.2m in the prior year.” This indicates further recovery in the Bahamian economy and private sector’s foreign exchange earning capacity, with the external reserves drawdown in May driven by the Government side.

The Central Bank’s 2022 outlook was little changed from previous, as it said: “Monetary sector developments should

SEE PAGE B4

Super Value transport budget up 47% as gas prices strike • Shoppers ‘cut back drastically’ as cost of living bites • ‘No increase’ in sales expected for remainder of 2022 • Supermarket chain hoping BPL has secured fuel cost

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SUPER Value’s principal yesterday said shoppers have “cut back drastically” on luxury items to make every dollar count, while revealing the supermarket chain’s own transportation budget has soared 47 percent.

Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business he does not expect any sales increase over the remainder of 2022 as Bahamian consumers have become “very, very

RUPERT ROBERTS conservative” with their food budget in a bid to combat surging inflation.

And, while shoppers are not willing to forego

SEE PAGE B3

PAGE 2, Tuesday, July 5, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

MINISTER MEETS PORT, CHAMBER TO FOSTER BETTER GB PARTNERSHIP A CABINET minister has met with both the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce in a bid to cement a partnership with the Government to move the island forward.

Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, affirming that the Davis administration was focused on collaboration with the private sector and Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority, emphasised that without it “nothing much will happen” to advance the island’s growth and development.

She held meetings with the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president, James Carey; Grand Bahama Port Authority president, Ian Rolle; and Grand Bahama Port Authority chief investment officer, Derek Newbold.

Among the topics discussed was improving the ease of doing business on Grand Bahama so that the island can attract, and benefit from, greater investment. “That’s one of the things required in order for investments to continue

to happen, and for Grand Bahama to be positioned in a way where the island continues to grow and develop,” Mrs Moxey said.

“There were a myriad of issues presented, and we addressed them and looked at solutions to move forward.”

Various potential projects were discussed. It was felt that the Bahamas Investment Authority’s (BIA) transformation into Bahamas Invest come September 2022, making it a proactive agency that will actively promote this nation to targeted nations and industries, will help address investment-related issues.

“It was on working together, partnerships for development, how are we going to partner,” Mrs Moxey said of her meetings with the GBPA. “That is the key. If we are going to expect things to happen, we can not work in silos with everyone doing their own thing. But it’s better to work together to get things done.” Her ministry’s initiative Collab: Partnerships for Development, will also play a role.

SHOWN from L to R are: Philcher Grant, chief operating officer, Grand Bahama Utility Company; Nakira Wilchcombe, vice-president of building and development services, GBPA; Derek Newbold, chief investment officer, GBPA; Karla McIntosh, vice-president of legal, GBPA; Deann Seymour, chief financial officer, GBPA; Ian Rolle, president, GBPA; Mrs Moxey; Harcourt Brown, permanent secretary, Ministry for Grand Bahama; Jewel Edwards, consultant, co-ordinator of Collab: Partnerships for Development; Tamar Moss-Ferguson, legal counsel, Ministry for Grand Bahama; Chivonia McBride, senior projects manager, Ministry for Grand Bahama; and Conrad Jones, chief executive.

Photos:Andrew Miller/BIS

UN’S BAHAMAS FOOD CHIEF MEETS MINISTER THE Bahamas representative for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr Crispi Moreira, recently met with Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama.

Shown from L to R are: DeKea Campbell, project officer, Ministry for Grand Bahama; Jeri Kelly-Russell, agricultural

Minister briefed on tourism management change in GB MINISTRY of Tourism officials yesterday met with the minister for Grand Bahama to brief her on upcoming management changes on the island.

Steven Johnson, the ministry’s present Grand Bahama manager, will be transferring to Canada shortly to take up his appointment as director of Global Sales

for Canada and China. Mr Johnson introduced his replacement, Sanique Culmer, to Ginger Moxey, minister of Grand Bahama.

Also present during the courtesy call was permanent secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama, Harcourt Brown.

Photo:Andrew Miller/ BIS

programme officer and FAO national correspondent; Dr Crispi Moreira, FAO country representative; Mrs Moxey; Jewel Edwards, consultant, COLLAB: Partnerships for Change; and Daniel Lamm, assistant agricultural officer.

Photo:Andrew Miller/BIS

AIR ARRIVALS HIT 85% OF PRE-COVID LEVELS FROM PAGE ONE

“Further, visitors to the Family Islands recovered to 263,610 from 24,743 in the prior year, as the air and sea segments rose to 31,132 and 232,478, respectively.”

Cruise passenger numbers, in particular, were up against exceptionally weak prior year comparatives as the industry did not resume sailing until summer 2021.

Turning to vacation rentals, the Central Bank said: “Data provided by AirDNA mirrored these positive trends. In particular, during the month of May, total room nights sold advanced to 136,311 from 98,387 in the comparative 2021 period.

“Underlying this outturn, occupancy rates for both entire place and hotel comparable listings firmed to 54.7 percent and 51.7 percent, respectively, from 51.9 percent and 48.6 percent a year earlier. Further, price indicators showed that year-over-year, the average daily room rate (ADR) for entire place appreciated by 5.6 percent to $518.75, and hotel comparable listings by 8.6 percent to $192.69.”

As for the tourism arrivals performance for the first four months of 2022, the Central Bank report added: “On a year-to-date basis, total arrivals rebounded to 1.933m compared to 184,685 in the corresponding 2021 period, when a decline of 89.1 percent was registered.

“Underlying this outturn, the air segment rose to 466,896 passengers, a reversal from a 53.1 percent contraction in the preceding year, reflecting a rise in traffic to all major markets. Similarly, sea arrivals increased to 1.466m visitors, following a decrease of 98.4 percent in 2021.

“The most recent data provided by the Nassau

Airport Development Company (NAD) indicated that for the month of May, total departures - net of domestic passengers - rose to 112,493 from 55,662 in the same month of 2021. In particular, US departures expanded to 94,467 from 54,362 in the prior year, while non-US departures amounted to 18,026, visà-vis 1,300 in the previous year,” the report continued.

“On a year-to-date basis, total outbound traffic nearly tripled to 512,640, from 174,680 passengers in the preceding year, when a 53 percent contraction occurred. Supporting this outturn, US departures recovered to 436,672 visitors, a reversal from the 46.3 percent fall-off in 2021.

Correspondingly, non-US departures grew to 75,968, a shift from the 87 percent reduction in the corresponding period last year.”

With inflation set to remain elevated, the Central Bank added: “Expectations are that the domestic economy will maintain its recovery trajectory in 2022, with further strengthening supported by ongoing improvements in tourism sector output.

Nonetheless, risks to the industry persist, as emerging strains of the COVID-19 virus could potentially undermine the progress made on the international health front and disrupt travel sector activity.

“In addition, the rise in global fuel prices could weaken the travel industry’s competitiveness, while the major central banks’ counter-inflation policies could diminish the travel spending capacity of key source market consumers.

However, new and ongoing foreign investment-led projects, combined with post-hurricane rebuilding works, are anticipated to provide impetus via the construction sector, and by extension economic growth.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, July 5, 2022, PAGE 3

‘Demystify’ Bahamas treasure recoveries

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A US attorney who represents Spain in its claims to underwater treasure and artifacts yesterday urged The Bahamas to demystify what has been recovered from its waters and how much it has earned from such activities.

James Goold, an attorney with Washington D.C based law firm, Covington & Burling, told Tribune Business it is always a “suspicious circumstance” when none of the recovered assets are displayed publicly after explorers and salvors claim they have been discovered.

Allen Exploration, whose principal is US multi-millionaire, Carl Allen, also, the Walker’s Cay owner, has been seeking to retrieve valuable artifacts from the the sunken Spanish treasure galleon, the Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas.

Some have described this vessel as “the most valuable shipwreck in the Western Hemisphere”. And a March 8, 2021, video clip records Mr Allen saying his company is already recovering “gems” and “pendants” from the ocean floor, although he does not give the precise location.

He said: “I have been looking most of my life for a ship called Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas, otherwise known as Our Lady of Wonder, and I do believe we’re on the debris field floor that’s the stern castle because of these gems that we’re finding and

these pendants that we’re finding.”

However, the Bahamian public presently knows nothing about what has been recovered to-date or its value - both from a monetary and historical/cultural perspective. Mr Allen, though, as stipulated by his agreement with the Bahamian government, has been working to set up a Grand Bahama-based museum where the artifacts recovered from his underwater exploration will eventually be put on public display.

The Government’s Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC) is understood to be working with Allen Exploration to document, assess and value what has been recovered from the latter’s exploration efforts, although no details have yet been disclosed.

Dr Michael Pateman, former AMMC archaeologist, who is curator for the AEX (Allen Exploration) Bahamas Maritime Museum, said yesterday: “I don’t want to preempt the announcement of the opening of the museum, but the museum is going to be opening soon. I work for Allen Exploration, so yes, I have seen the artifacts they have found.”

David Concannon, Allen Exploration’s spokesperson, said the explorer is currently drafting a press release on the issue but did not specify when this will be issued. Allen Exploration was initially granted an underwater exploration licence by the former Minnis administration, and this was subsequently

AN IMAGE from video showing the Allen Exploration treasure hunters at work. extended by the Davis administration. The gross proceeds from any discovery, in terms of their value, are to be split 75/25 in favour of the explorer.

But, leaving Allen Exploration’s activities aside, it is unclear just what financial benefits The Bahamas has derived from decades of permitting underwater exploration within its territorial boundaries. While many wreck sites have been plundered and looted by rogue, unauthorised salvors, there have been several efforts that were permitted.

The Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas was transporting gold, silver and other riches plundered from Spain’s Latin American colonies back to the homeland when it sank on January 4, 1656, near Little Bahama Bank off Grand Bahama after being rammed by one of the other vessels in its

nine-strong fleet as they sought to avoid shallow water.

The site, said to have been lying under 30 to 50 feet of shifting sand, was eventually located in 1972 by treasure hunter Richard Marx but his exploration efforts were cut short following a falling-out with the then-Bahamian government.

Subsequently, the Washington Post reported in 1986 that a Memphis businessman with an interest in wreck salvaging, Herbert Humphreys, had located the wreck and begun to recover artifacts. The value of its cargo was pegged at $1.6bn by the article, which said several million dollars’ worth of gems - including a 49.5 carat emerald worth $1m - had already been recovered.

Humphreys’ work was said to have had the blessing of the then-Bahamian government, which received

25 percent of the value of whatever was recovered - a sum consistent with current law. It is unclear when his salvaging stopped, though, or if the Bahamian people received any of the promised 25 percent.

Reece Chipman, former AMMC chairman, told Tribune Business he has “never laid eyes on any sunken treasure” and is just as curious about its potential whereabouts as any other Bahamian.

Richenda King, who succeeded Mr Chipman as AMMC chair, said: “I am not at liberty to discuss anything relative to that because my tenure has now been completed.”

And Rosel Moxey, current AMMC chairman, said she has “no comment” on the matter and that “when the AMMC is ready to comment, we will advise”.

Raymond King, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force commodore, said that

while it “provides divers for the search” by Allen Exploration, all items recovered are handed directly to the AMMC. But Mr Goold, Spain’s legal representative, said: “If this work is being done for public benefit or to bring to light and share historical heritage of The Bahamas and Spain, then why hasn’t anything been revealed about this and why is there so much mystery? We have seen this kind of activity in the past all too often, and what’s particularly common is that it turns out that it’s about attracting money and bait for investors.

“I participated in discussions with a representative of The Bahamas’ government several years ago, and one thing that I learned was that virtually nothing has been received by the Government over the history of the 75/25 split. There has been virtually nothing that can be displayed. It’s not surprising because with treasure hunters it’s always been about getting rich quick.”

Mr Goold also insisted that the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention on underwater cultural heritage would have primacy over Bahamian law. Several Caribbean countries have signed this convention, but not The Bahamas.

Ryan Pinder, the attorney general, yesterday said a potential legal battle over the sunken treasure with Spain is “not on his radar” and he has not received any claims.

Small firms sceptical on mobile collateral registry

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net SMALL business owners yesterday voiced scepticism over the Central Bank’s plans to transform secured lending in The Bahamas by creating a movable collateral registry, arguing that efforts to aid the sector should be focused elsewhere.

Krishan Bowe, owner/ operator of Barn None Bey, told Tribune Business she is

not interested in becoming more indebted as a small business owner through borrowing, adding that this is “not the climate for new loans and more debt”.

She was responding to the Central Bank’s plans to implement an “Internetbased collateral registry” that will overhaul secured lending from both the micro, small and mediumsized (MSME) business perspective and that of the lender. The proposed registry would enable MSMEs to pledge mobile assets, such as vehicles and equipment,

to lenders as security for credit advances, while the latter’s interests would be protected at all times.

Ms Bowe said: “Personally, I am not looking to incur debt at this time. So I wouldn’t say that it would be an incentive to take out a loan. I don’t think that we’re in a good time to do that. I think we’re in a mini-recession, so taking on additional debt does not look promising in my perspective right now.

“This doesn’t help the market. I think a lot of what we need is concessions

on purchasing goods like food, even if it was only some ease on being able to import ourselves. Finding things in this market is a major problem. Wholesalers and retailers are unable to keep product in consistently, which makes our product inconsistent.”

Philip Darville, SolveIT Bahamas’ managing director, said “anything” that would help the MSME sector is a bonus. But he added that the challenge with the proposed movable collateral registry is that the “value is

all interpretation” when it comes to intangible assets such as accounts receivables and intellectual property rights, as well as vehicles.

Mr Darville explained: “You can’t put a concrete value on a lot of the items, especially talking about a vehicle that depreciates daily.” Most banks, he said, try to limit their exposure and minimise lending risk. As a result, they will not “over-extend” themselves on risky assets.

“So this may just be for bridge gaps or bridge points, but I don’t see it as

a substantial facility,” Mr Darville said. “The loans come in handy, especially for companies that require access to cash or companies that need credit facilities in place to complete transactions, and are waiting on payouts from the bank. It’s just that this level of asset class is subject to arbitration. This may be a good public relations move, but logistics wise, I would take this with a grain of salt.”

Super Value transport budget up 47% as gas prices strike FROM PAGE ONE he added that they are increasingly focused on meeting needs as opposed to wants amid rising food prices, with “little luxuries having stopped selling”.

Revealing that the 13-store supermarket chain is itself feeling the squeeze from high gasoline prices, which are close to $7 per gallon, Mr Roberts said the weekly fuel allowance for Super Value’s own vehicles has now increased to $6,000 to cover this rising cost.

However, he added that he is more concerned about again facing $1m monthly electricity bills amid concerns over whether Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) anti-inflationary fuel hedging strategy remains in place to counter high global oil prices that last night stood at $110.8 and$114 per barrel on the West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude indices respectively.

“Consumers have cut back drastically.

Little luxuries have practically stopped selling,” Mr Roberts said of shopper response to rising inflation impacting food prices and other key commodities.

“They haven’t cut back on quality; they still want quality, but they have gone very, very conservative.

“For the rest of this year, we don’t expect any increase in sales. They are so conservative. This country has not really felt the full effect of inflation because we’re selling the merchandise, the hard goods, which were bought six months ago at that price.

Last year we were selling corn beef for $1.99, and this year $2.39, but if we were to

use today’s price it would be $3 or over.

“There is a shortage of cooking oil, but we have the greater part of a year’s supply so we won’t have to ask for the current market price. We will sell it at the price from six to eight months ago, when it was reasonable.”

However, Mr Roberts said the reimposition of 10 percent VAT on so-called “breadbasket” foods such as cooking oil, corn beef, evaporated milk, flour and margarine, had not dampened their sales volumes.

“I know that we’ve had a fantastic increase in the sale of breadbasket food items,” he added. “That’s 20 percent of the merchandise that represents 80 percent of your sales.”

The Super Value chief also asserted that Bahamians will not enjoy food cost savings should they elect to shop in Florida and import.

Returning to corn beef, he added that Florida prices were more than double The Bahamas’ at $5.32. He added that it was the same with sugar, which in the US state costs around $5.

“There are many items we buy on the world market that are cheaper than Florida,” Mr Roberts told Tribune Business. “There’s a lot of items like sugar.

Consumers are trying to shop in Miami not knowing they are probably paying more and not saving anything.

“If the cost of living goes up too much they will try to shop in Miami. An item with 42 percent [duty], yes, it will be cheaper, but there’s a lot of duty-free items or those carrying 5 percent and 10 percent

rates. There’s a lot of items less than 42 percent duty. If you add freight or shipping charges on, you can’t beat the local price. The airline ticket is going up with the cost of fuel, the car rental is going up, and gas in Florida is $5 a gallon.”

Mr Roberts said Super Value’s ability to import goods via 45-foot containers created economies of scale and savings it is passing on to consumers.

“Shopping in Miami creates unemployment,” he added.

“Shopping at home keeps the economy going. It recirculates, the money spent at home, but once you send it out the country it’s gone.”

However, Mr Roberts reiterated that Bahamians will likely face high food prices for some time, and said the country must focus on meeting more of its own consumption needs through large-scale production at the consistent quality, price and volume required to achieve this. That, he added, is not happening yet.

“This is going to be the new normal,” he added.

“I don’t see it going back to three years ago [before COVID-19]. It’s going to get worse with the war in Ukraine, it’s just going to get worse. It’s not going to go back. We’re just going to have to produce more and grow more, keeping the money at home, although it will still be expensive.”

With Super Value not immune from rising costs itself, Mr Roberts revealed: “For our vehicles, we had to give them a 47 percent increase in gasoline allowance. The accountant told me it was a 47 percent increase. That’s probably up to $6,000 a

week. It amounts to a big figure annually, but it’s not going to be as bad as the electricity.

“I hope the electricity doesn’t get too bad. We’re one of the country’s biggest consumers. We’re doing solar, but until we get it all installed we’ll just have to pay whatever rate it is.

That’s going to be very hard

on the public, just like gasoline has been very hard on them. But the electricity is going to be a much bigger hit than that.

“Leslie Miller (ex-Cabinet minister and BPL chairman) used to say that if Super Value and Atlantis didn’t pay their bill that they couldn’t buy fuel.

Years ago, when fuel prices

were at their highest, we were paying almost $1m a month for electricity. If that happens again, it’s going to hurt the consumer or hurt the bottom line. I’m hoping they’ve done something to secure the forward contracts so that we don’t get hit as hard.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, July 5, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Cable beats target by $50m on ‘largest ever refinancing’ FROM PAGE ONE improve the subscriber experience with the company’s balance sheet restructuring now largely finished.

Mr Butler told this newspaper that, having locked-in long-term capital, Cable Bahamas can now “plan our cash flow moving forward” and concentrate on investments such as the $80m-$85m roll-out of its New Providence fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network that is due to begin imminently.

And, with the new lowerrate preference shares set to generate $500,000 in annual interest savings, he added that the company is also concentrating on generating “a decent return” for equity shareholders who he conceded have been “on a long ride” waiting for Cable Bahamas to return to profitability, which occurred in the quarter that finished end-March 2022.

“We’re very pleased with the progress of the preference share offering,” Mr Butler said. “I think we got all of it to roll over, save and except around $7m, so it was a pretty impressive refinancing. I think it is the biggest refinancing the market has ever seen, and we got an another $50m which we’re considering whether to keep. We got about $219m in total.

“Just based on what we’ve done to clean up the balance sheet with the Summit transaction, and the other things we’re doing to create investor confidence that we are on track, we’re very proud of our

efforts to get where we are.

We expect that this will bed us down for the foreseeable future.

“We’re still unclear what will happen with 5G and key advances in future technology, 5G, 6G, but from what we can see at this stage of the game this gives us a path over the short and medium-term.”

Michael Anderson, president of RF Bank & Trust, which acted as Cable Bahamas’ financial adviser and placement agent for the refinancing, yesterday told Tribune Business that investors elected to redeem just $7.3m of the existing preference shares.

Those investors will see that sum returned to them in August. Mr Anderson explained that RF Bank & Trust, as the refinancing’s underwriter or guarantor, will replace the $7.3m itself so that the full $169m is rolled over - a better outcome than expected, given predictions that investors would likely redeem between $16.9m and $25.35m.

“RF Bank & Trust basically underwrote the whole offering on behalf of Cable Bahamas,” he added. “It was the first offering we have underwritten for some time, and definitely the biggest one that we’ve underwritten. We’d anticipated that between 10-15 percent of the offering would choose to redeem, and we were happy that, at the end of the day, only $7.3m chose to redeem.

“We felt it was a credible performance on Cable Bahamas’ part that, despite the quarter percentage

point drop in the rate on both series, only $7.3m was redeemed. It’s by far the biggest financing that has taken place in The Bahamas for a non-government entity; a private company.”

Mr Anderson identified the previous largest financing as Nassau Airport Development Company’s (NAD) $139.1m debt rollover in 2018.

The refinance involved Cable Bahamas’ Series 6 and Series 9 preference share tranches, which will be replaced by the Series 15 and Series 16 - both of which will carry interest rates some 0.25 percentage points below current coupons.

The Series 6 preference shares, with a $103.5m principal value, carried a 5.75 percent interest coupon and were due to mature in May 2024. Meanwhile, the Series 9 preference shares, worth a collective $65.5m, had a 6.25 percent interest coupon and were due to mature in April 2025. Both these maturity deadlines have now been pushed further out.

Together, the two series represented 64 percent or almost two-thirds of the total $264.149m preference share debt on Cable Bahamas’ books at end-March 2022. The Series 6 interest coupon will drop to 5.5 percent from 5.75 percent due to the refinancing, while that for the Series 9 will fall by the same margin to 6 percent.

Mr Butler, meanwhile, said Cable Bahamas can focus on its operations and extracting greater shareholder returns with the

preference share refinancing now complete. “That’s our big focus, fibre-to-thehome and continuing to increase market share, and really looking at synergies between Cable and Aliv and unlocking as much value as we can for shareholders,” he told Tribune Business. “That’s our big focus for the next couple of years.

“We don’t anticipate any other significant financing activity unless there’s a change in strategy that we’ve not considered at this stage of the game. We think this is a significant part in cleaning up the balance sheet from Cable Bahamas’ growth phase over the last ten years. It gives us some breathing room and helps us to plan our cash flow moving forward.”

Mr Butler said a decision on whether Cable Bahamas will retain the extra $50m raised will be taken within the next 30 days.

The BISX-listed communications provider has used the $301m proceeds from the sale of its US business, Summit Broadband, to pay down both bank debt and some preference share debt, and the $169m refinancing is the latest and final element in the strategy to reshape and restructure its balance sheet.

There are now signs that the strategy is bearing fruit, with Cable Bahamas posting $1.462m in net and comprehensive income for the three months to end-March 2022 - the first quarterly profit it has generated for several years.

“We’ve had our common shareholders on a long

ride, and we need to focus on making sure they get a decent return,” Mr Butler told this newspaper.

“It’s always very pleasing when our shareholders support us by rolling over a significant amount of debt.

It reminds me that we need to continue to execute.

We’ve demonstrated partial execution. We look forward to improving our service and network to make Cable Bahamas a real best-in-class communications provider.”

Mr Butler said Cable Bahamas expected to begin testing its fibre-tothe-home network with the “first few customers” in the next 90 days as it readies for the roll-out to begin in earnest. “A lot of the equipment is here and we are finalising contracts with team members to really get that executed,” he added, suggesting that New Providence will likely take two years to complete in terms of the new network passing homes.

And the Cable Bahamas chief confirmed that the recent Budget tariff cuts and eliminations for communications equipment have “been very helpful to us” in reducing the fibre-tothe-home costs and that of further network upgrades.

“To have no duty on telecommunications equipment is a significant savings for us as we invest in fibre-tothe-home and other Family Islands as well,” Mr Butler said.

“As well there are the concessions with regard to Communications Act fees, which we get to use as a capital offset, so that’s kind of important.”

Collateral Registry hailed as a ‘tremendous move’ FROM PAGE ONE institutions are looking for to collateralise loans,” Mr Sumner told this newspaper. “The fact the Central Bank is moving into this new system will be tremendous for SMEs. “The direction, the Central Bank is moving in, I fully endorse it. It’s a tremendous advance in funding and embracing ways to capitalise on the SME space.” He added the ambition to create an Internet-based registry of movable collateral, such as vehicles and equipment owned by SMEs, which could be pledged as loan security, could also link well with The Bahamas’ ambitions to become a digital assets hub.

In unveiling its plans, the Central Bank said the Movable Property Security Interest Bill 2022 will also provide the legal and regulatory framework for using so-called “intangible assets” - accounts receivables (factoring) and intellectual property rights - as loan collateral, securing the rights of both lenders and borrowers.

However, Mr Sumner said there “has to be some level of training” provided to SMEs and entrepreneurs over how they could value, monetise and employ such “intangible assets” as a means to secure credit for their start-ups and companies.

“There has to be some very significant training for the SME community, small businesses and entrepreneurs on the value of intellectual property so that they become more comfortable in their approach to it and setting up businesses to access funding from various institutions,” he added.

“Apart from the training of SMEs, they will have to bring along in this process the capital markets, the financial firms, those involved in investing in entrepreneurs in this country, so they can appreciate the value of intellectual property and movable assets as a means to secure their loans or investments in these companies.”

Noting that the practice of innovators selling the rights to their intellectual property, which is then subsequently developed by

others for commercial use, is an established concept in many countries, Mr Sumner recalled his experience with the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund.

“We’ve had brilliant ideas presented for funding, but some of the principals lack the fundamentals that investors are looking for, which is skin in the game,” he added. “Maybe they can now use that business plan, the concept in the plan, to secure funding for their business.”

Mark Turnquest, of Mark A. Turnquest Consulting, a small business advisor, said that while any effort to improve the sector’s access to financing is welcome the Central Bank’s movable Collateral Registry will not be a one-shot solution by itself.

Recalling his time on the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation’s (BAIC) Board, he said it had never solved the obstacles its farming tenants faced in obtaining credit due to the fact they did not own the land worked.

The Central Bank, kickstarting public consultation on long-awaited efforts to transform secured lending

in The Bahamas, said the proposed registry combined with legal reforms will enable MSMEs to pledge mobile assets - such as vehicles and equipment - to lenders as security for credit they extend.

Pointing out that small businesses already face significant obstacles to obtaining credit from traditional lenders, with a World Bank study in 2010 having found collateral equivalent to 231 percent of the loan value was typically demanded, the Central Bank said the post-COVID fall-out was likely to make risk averse banks even more skittish when it came to financing SMEs with minimal track record.

And the regulator, in its consultation paper, said advisors it had hired to study The Bahamas’ existing secured lending framework had found multiple gaps, weaknesses and deficiencies that were inconsistent with international best practice. Besides the absence of any legal basis for accounts receivables factoring, electronic transactions involving lending security cannot be perfected or recorded

because the Companies Registry accepts only paper-based documents.

“In The Bahamas, private sector credit has been on the decline during the past decade, and collateral requirements remain high, hampering access to credit and collateral. According to the 2010 World Bank Enterprise Survey, collateral requirements were estimated at 231 percent of the loan value, which was higher compared to its Latin American and Caribbean and high-income (non-OECD) peers,” the Central Bank said, as it moved to justify the reforms.

“In addition, there is a serious mismatch between the assets that lending institutions will accept as collateral and the assets held by SMEs. In The Bahamas, the preferred form of collateral is immovable property (real estate and land), and the movable property accepted by most commercial banks and credit unions is extremely limited, but SMEs typically do not own immovables.

“In developing countries, most assets held by SMEs are movable property,

Foreign reserves stay over $3bn despite May decline FROM PAGE ONE continue to feature high levels of banking sector liquidity, as commercial banks maintain their conservative lending posture.

“Further, external reserves are forecasted to

remain robust over the year, undergirded by anticipated foreign currency inflows from tourism and other net private sector receipts, thus ending 2022 above international benchmarks.

Consequently, external balances should remain more

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than adequate to sustain the Bahamian dollar currency peg.”

Meanwhile, the Central Bank said the commercial banking industry’s credit quality improved in May with total private sector loan arrears dropping by

almost 4 percent to below the $700m mark. “Total private sector arrears decreased by $28.3m (3.9 percent) to $697.3m, with the attendant ratio narrowing by 55 basis points to 12.8 percent,” it added.

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“An analysis by average age of delinquency showed that short- term arrears (31-90 days) reduced by $29.5m (12.5 percent) to $205.8m, lowering the associated ratio by 55 basis points to 3.8 percent. In contrast, non-performing loans (NPLs) increased marginally by $1.2m (0.3 percent) to $491.4m, with the corresponding ratio remaining unchanged at 9 percent.”

Breaking this down, the Central Bank added: “Disaggregated by loan category, mortgage arrears contracted by $16.6m (4 percent) to $400.8m owing to declines in short-term arrears by $14.2m (9.5 percent) and NPLs by $2.4m (0.9 percent). Likewise, consumer delinquencies fell by $9.4m (3.9 percent) to $230.8m as the shortterm segment decreased by $5.6m (8.9 percent) and the non-accruals component by $3.8m (2.1 percent).

“Similarly, commercial arrears reduced by $2.4m (3.5 percent) to $65.7m, attributed to a $9.8m (42.2 percent) fall-off in short-term arrears, which outstripped the $7.4m (16.5

Cable Bahamas is currently “number crunching” to determine what the exact savings will be, and Mr Butler acknowledged that the communications equipment tariff cuts and eliminations were likely designed to incentivise Cable Bahamas and its rivals to invest in 5G (fifth generation) mobile technology and networks.

“Nobody has told me that, but I suspect that’s the Government’s thinking,” he added of 5G. “We’re waiting on the Government to address that and give us some guidance on their plans. There’s some decisions on getting the process started, so we want to see how that moves along.

We’re awaiting further direction from the regulator (URCA) as to how they intend to issue spectrum etc.”

The present 45 percent duty rate on telecommunications towers has been eliminated, while the 20 percent levies on electrical cables and fibre optic cables are went to zero. Optical line terminals became free as of July 1.

Import tariffs on base stations have been slashed from 45 percent to 20 percent, while head phones, wi-fi-devices and voice handsets have dropped to zero from 45 percent (on the first product) and 10 percent on the latter two.

And Communications Act fees paid by the likes of BTC and Cable Bahamas, previously set at 3 percent of turnover, will be cut by more than 50 percent in rate terms to just 1.25 percent of turnover. which include vehicles, machinery, equipment and accounts receivables, with an average holding of a mere 22 percent in land.

This means that SMEs are often either denied credit outright or cannot afford to borrow due to the high lending rates. Often, the legal framework fails to facilitate the use of movable property as collateral.”

Warning that the inability of Bahamian SMEs, which are thought to account for 90 percent or more of all companies in this nation, to access credit will likely only worsen, the Central Bank said: “The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to increase market risk, liquidity risk and credit risk, resulting in a lending decrease, particularly to SMEs, a sector likely to be more harshly hit by the pandemic.”

It added, though, that the introduction of secured lending systems such as it is now proposing for The Bahamas had been shown to increase access to loans by 7 percent. Countries who had made the change also saw a reduction of 3 percent on interest rates paid on loans, and an increase in the maturity of bank loans by six months. percent) growth in the longterm segment.”

As for loan losses, the Central Bank said: “Banks reduced their total provisions for loan losses by $4.7m (1 percent) to $473.4m in May. Consequently, the ratio of total provisions to non-performing loans moved lower by 1.2 percentage points to 96.3 percent.

“However, the ratio of total provisions to arrears rose by two percentage points to 67.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the coverage ratio of specific provisions to non-accruals fell by 1.2 percentage points to 76.6 percent. During the review month, banks wrote-off an estimated $8m in bad loans and recovered approximately $4.4m.

“In comparison to May 2021, the total private sector arrears rate reduced by 1.9 percentage points. In particular, the short-term component decreased by 1.5 percentage points and the long-term category by 0.4 percentage points. By loan type, the arrears rate on mortgages declined by 2.6 percentage points; commercial credit, by 2.4 percentage points; and consumer loans by 0.7 percentage points.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, July 5, 2022, PAGE 5

World shares mostly higher ahead of July 4 holiday in US

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer

A PERSON wearing a protective mask walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, July 4, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday while U.S. futures fell ahead of the July 4 holiday in the U.S. Photo:Eugene Hoshiko/AP

Germany, Ireland slam UK move toward overriding Brexit deal

By MIKE FULLER Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Germany and Ireland have condemned the U.K government’s move towards unilaterally rewriting parts of the post-Brexit deal with the European Union.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Irish counterpart Simon Coveney said there was “no legal or political justification” for overriding the agreed trade rules in Northern Ireland.

Writing in British newspaper The Observer on Sunday, the ministers say Britain will be breaking an international agreement just two years old which it hadn’t engaged in with “good faith.”

The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol within the deal maintains an open border with EU member Ireland and free of customs posts.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration wants to remove the checks on goods such as meat and eggs arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K., which

GERMAN Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, briefs the media after a meeting with her counterpart from Slovenia Tanja Fajon at the foreign ministry in Berlin, Germany, Friday, July 1, 2022.

Photo:Markus Schreiber/AP protect the European Union’s single market.

Lawmakers in London passed legislation which permits the move last week.

Johnson’s critics, opponents and some members of his own party, along with European observers, have said the plan breaks international law. The government argues it is justified because of the “genuinely exceptional situation.”

Baerbock and Coveney said the bill wouldn’t fix the “challenges” around the protocol.

“Instead, it will create a new set of uncertainties and make it more challenging to find durable solutions,” they wrote.

The foreign ministers also argued the move jeopardizes peace in Northern Ireland under the Good Friday Agreement, which helped end decades of

sectarian violence and has stood since 1998.

Johnson’s government has hoped to pass the legislation, which will be debated again in Parliament on July 13 by the time its summer break begins later in the month. This could see it become law by the end of 2022.

The EU has threatened to retaliate against the U.K. if it goes ahead, raising the prospect of a trade war between the two major economic partners.

Separately, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told the BBC on Sunday it wasn’t “appropriate or right” time for a poll on Irish reunification.

Varadkar said such a referendum, permitted under the Good Friday Agreement when a majority in Northern Ireland in favor of a united Ireland is considered “likely,” would be “divisive and defeated” at the moment.

The Northern Ireland Assembly, its devolved legislature, has been paralyzed for months over the implementation of the protocol, leaving it without a regional government.

NOTICE

OUTAGES DISRUPT SERVICES AT JAPAN’S NO. 2 TELECOMS CARRIER

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Many users of Japan's No. 2 mobile carrier KDDI Corp. were still having trouble making calls Monday after a massive outage throughout the weekend that affected nearly 40 million people, disrupting deliveries, weather reports and other services across the country.

The company said data transmission had largely been restored by Monday morning, but service restrictions were still causing many users to have trouble with making phone calls and sending short messages.

The outage started in the early hours of Saturday during a scheduled

maintenance work at a facility in western Tokyo.

It disabled text messaging, phone calls and other services for more than 39 million users of KDDI's mobile services.

Parcel deliveries also were disrupted.

Over the weekend, the Meteorological Agency was unable to send weather data at hundreds of stations, dozens of cash machines were disabled in central Japan, and Tokyo and other municipalities had trouble reaching COVID-19 patients subject to health monitoring at home.

The major outage came just ahead of a July 10 parliamentary election and was seen as embarrassment for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government, which has been promoting

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ERIC TREVOR MOORE of #19 Mall Road, Soldier Road West, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of July, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares are mostly higher while U.S. futures fell ahead of the July 4 holiday in the U.S. Benchmarks rose in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo but fell in Hong Kong and Seoul.

Last week was the fourth losing week in the last five for Wall Street as investors fret over high inflation and the possibility that higher interest rates could bring on a recession.

The most optimistic scenario, a "Goldilocks outcome," would bring a slowdown significant enough to cool inflation running at its highest level in four decades but not so strong as to result in a "hard landing," Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

"This is a tall order that is far from guaranteed at this point," it said, noting that markets will be looking to comments in minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting, expected Wednesday.

Economic data over the last few weeks has shown that inflation remains hot and the economy is slowing. The latter has raised hopes on Wall Street that the Fed will eventually ease off its push to raise rates, which have been weighing on stocks, especially pricier sectors like technology.

Analysts don't expect much of a rally for stocks until there are solid signs that inflation is cooling, and the latest data has yet to show that. Friday brought a report that Inflation in countries using the euro had set another eye-watering record, pushed higher by a huge increase in energy costs fueled partly by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Annual inflation in the eurozone's 19 countries hit 8.6% in June, surging past the 8.1% recorded in May, according to the latest numbers published Friday by the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat. Inflation is at its highest level since recordkeeping for the euro began in 1997.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to 26,153.81 on Monday.

Shares in Japanese telecoms carrier KDDI Corp. lost 1.7%. They fell as much as 4% earlier Monday as the company grappled with outages that began early Saturday, affecting services to nearly 40 million people.

The company said Monday that most datatransmission services had been restored, but phone calls were still affected by the problems which KDDI said were technical issues with switching systems.

The Shanghai Composite index added 0.5% to 3,405.43. Australia's S&P/ ASX 200 climbed 1.1% to 6,612.60.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.1% to 21,830.35 and the Kospi in Seoul declined 0.2% to 2,300.34.

India's Sensex advanced 0.3%, while shares fell in Bangkok and Taiwan.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1%, recovering from early losses to close at 3,825.33. The gain snapped a four-day losing streak for the benchmark index, which still posted its fourth losing week in the last five.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% to 31,097.26, while the techheavy Nasdaq gained 0.9% to 11,127.85.

The S&P 500 closed out its worst quarter since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. Its performance in the first half of 2022 was the worst since the first six months of 1970. It has been in a bear market since last month, meaning an extended decline of 20% or more from its most recent peak.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set mortgage rates, was steady at 2.89% after falling Friday from Thursday's 2.97%.

Financial markets in the U.S. will be closed on Monday for Independence Day. Wall Street remains concerned about the risk of a recession as economic growth slows and the Federal Reserve aggressively hikes interest rates. The Fed is raising rates to purposefully slow economic growth to help cool inflation, but could potentially go too far and bring on a recession.

A PERSON walks past an “au” mobile brand operator shop, of KDDI Corp., Monday, July 4, 2022, in Tokyo. Many users of Japan’s No. 2 mobile carrier KDDI Corp. were still having trouble making calls Monday after a massive outage throughout the weekend that affected nearly 40 million people, disrupting deliveries, weather reports and other services across the country.

Photo:Eugene Hoshiko/AP digitization of the world's No. 3 economy.

The government was quick to address public concern over the problem.

"It is extremely regrettable that mobile phone service, which is a crucial infrastructure for social and economic activity, has been unusable for such a long time," Deputy Chief

Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara told reporters on Monday. He said the government was taking the situation "seriously" and urged KDDI to provide a thorough explanation.

Kihara said he expected KDDI to "sincerely" consider compensation for possible damage claims from users.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that GUILLERMO GUZMAN POLANCO of Nassau Village, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of June, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that YASMINE DALEAN of Lou Adderley Estate, Bacardi Road, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of June, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF CHARLES ELLIOT SANDS, late of Leo Pinder Main Street of the Settlement of Spanish Wells, St. Georges Cay in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Deceased IT IS HEREBY NOTIFIED, for the information of those it may concern, that all persons having claim or demand against the said Estate are required to send the same to the undersigned on or before the 4th day of August, A.D. 2022 and if so required by notice in writing from the undersigned to come in and prove such demand or claim or in default thereof be excluded from the benefit or any distribution made before such debts are proved; AND NOTICE is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to settle their respective debts at the Chambers of the undersigned on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

Dated the 5th day of July, A.D. 2022 CALLENDERS & CO. CHAMBERS, One Millars Court, P.O. Box N-7117, Nassau, The Bahamas Attorneys for the Personal Representative

PAGE 6, Tuesday, July 5, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Ukraine lays out $750B ‘recovery plan’ for postwar future

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press LUGANO, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday the reconstruction of his war-battered country is the “common task of the entire democratic world,” as his prime minister laid out a $750 billion recovery plan once the guns of Russia’s invaders fall silent one day.

As Russian forces continued their crushing advance in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Zelenskyy spoke by video message to the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Switzerland about the needs of the country that has been on an up-and-down march toward democracy since the end of the Cold War and now faces widespread devastation.

“The reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project, is not a project of one nation, but a common task of the entire democratic world — all countries, all countries who can say they are civilized,” Zelenskyy told hundreds of attendees in Lugano.

“Restoring Ukraine means restoring the principles of life, restoring the space of life, restoring everything that makes humans humans.”

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said such a recovery would require a sort of “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine to help it rebuild.

Such ambitions, Zelenskyy said, will require wide-scale construction, funding and security “in all of our country which will be forced to continue living beside Russia.”

The task, which is already under way in some areas that were liberated from Russian forces, aims

SWISS President Ignazio Cassis, Minister of Foreign Affairs, left, introduces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivering a speech by video conference during the Ukraine Recovery Conference URC, Monday, July 4, 2022 in Lugano, Switzerland. The URC is organised to initiate the political process for the recovery of Ukraine after the attack of Russia to its territory.

Photo:Michael Buholzer/AP to leverage outside expertise, government funds and work of Ukrainians to rebuild hospitals, schools, government buildings, homes and apartments — but also water pipes, gas lines and other battered infrastructure.

“Today, we’re all united in our defense. Tomorrow in our reconstruction,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who attended in person. He presented a recovery plan that meets immediate needs — even as the war continues — followed by a “fast recovery” when it’s over, and then longer-term requirements.

Shmyhal said the cost of the recovery plan is estimated at $750 billion, and insisted a key source of funding “should be the confiscated assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs.” He cited unspecified estimates that such sums total $300 billion to $500 billion now.

“The Russian authorities unleash this bloody war. They caused this massive destruction and they should be held accountable for it,” Shmyhal said.

Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Union’s executive branch, said using such confiscated Russian assets would involve criminal law, so the “legal obstacles” weren’t resolved, “but we think it’s important that according to the principle of ‘aggressor pays’ it’s also Russia’s assets which are directed to the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

Earlier Monday, a leading Swiss nongovernmental group called out Switzerland as a “safe haven” for Russian oligarchs and as a trading hub for Russian oil, grain and coal.

Public Eye urged the Swiss executive branch to “use all levers at its disposal to stop the financing

of this inhuman aggression,” a reference to Russia’s war that has killed thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, and rippled through world economy by driving up food and fuel prices.

It said Switzerland has been over the years a “popular refuge” for Russian business magnates to park their assets. The group said firms use Switzerland as an “unregulated commodity trading hub” and exploit a lack of transparency about financial dealings in the country.

There was no immediate response from the Swiss government.

The group welcomed Switzerland’s “humanitarian engagement” for Ukraine through the conference but called on the government to strictly implement international sanctions on Russian elites and their government,

and better regulate its trading hub.

Switzerland is a major international financial center and its government has traditionally touted Swiss “neutrality” — which is enshrined into law — and Switzerland’s role as an intermediary between hostile countries and as a host of many international and U.N. institutions.

The Swiss Bankers Association has estimated that the assets of Russian clients deposited in Switzerland’s banks total 150200 billion Swiss francs (about $155-$210 billion), making the country a key repository of Russian money abroad.

Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, has largely joined the bloc’s sanctions against Russia. The website of the Swiss federal economics department says that as of May 12, a total of 6.3 billion francs have been frozen in Switzerland in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In its call for transparency and better regulation in Switzerland, Public Eye said that “as a safe haven for oligarchs close to the Kremlin and as a trading hub for Russian oil, grain and coal, Switzerland bears a big political responsibility.”

The conference in lakeside Lugano brings together hundreds of representatives from government, advocacy groups, the private sector, academia and U.N. organizations — and scores of Ukrainian ministers, lawmakers, diplomats and others. It builds upon a multi-year, multi-country discussion about reform in Ukraine — even before the war began — but this time the focus is “recovery” from the war.

DUTCH FARMERS BLOCK ENTRANCES TO SUPERMARKET WAREHOUSES

By PETER DEJONG Associated Press ZAANDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch farmers angry at government plans to slash emissions used tractors and

trucks Monday to block roads and supermarket distribution centers, sparking fears of store food shortages in the latest actions through a summer of discontent in the country's lucrative agricultural sector.

The Netherlands' busiest aviation hub, Schiphol Airport, urged travelers to use public transport to get to its terminals amid fears that the blockades also would target airports. Fishermen acting out of solidarity

with farmers also blocked a number of harbors.

The unrest among Dutch farmers was triggered by a government proposal to slash emissions of pollutants like nitrogen oxide and ammonia by 50% by 2030.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

MONDAY, 04 JULY 2022

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 6.70 53.00 2.47 2.61 2.60 6.10 10.05 4.15 9.90 3.63 8.00 17.50 2.65 10.75 11.25 10.85 17.40 4.00 11.00 16.50

52WK LOW 5.30 33.80 1.60 2.20 1.30 5.75 6.96 2.82 5.00 2.27 5.95 9.80 1.99 7.05 10.02 10.00 13.10 3.50 8.20 15.50

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

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

CLOSE

CHANGE

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

2588.64

0.07

0.00

360.40

16.17

SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ BFHP CAB6 CAB9 CHLA FBBA FCLB SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.33 100.00 100.67 100.43 100.34 100.23 100.00 100.00 100.98 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 96.71 94.12 100.67 100.43 100.04 100.00 89.62 89.00 90.24 90.73

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.52 4.69 2.22 207.86 212.41 1.74 1.84 1.83 1.03 9.37 11.83 7.54 16.64 12.84 10.77 10.00 10.43 14.89

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.69 1.75 1.76 0.97 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

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 BGR109036 BGRS FX BGR118037 BGRS FL BGRS71024 BGRS FL BGRS75022 BGRS FL BGRS81037 BGRS FL BGRS88028 BGRS FX BGR129249 BGRS FX BGR131249 BGRS FX BGR132249 BGRS FX BGR136150

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGR1090368 BSBGR1180375 BSBGRS710245 BSBGRS750225 BSBGRS810375 BSBGRS880287 BSBGR1292493 BSBGR1312499 BSBGR1322498 BSBGR1361504

LAST CLOSE 5.90 39.95 2.44 2.35 2.51 6.10 9.75 3.95 9.33 3.60 8.00 16.00 2.98 10.26 11.42 10.85 17.26 3.98 10.00 15.50 1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.15 100.00 100.91 100.54 100.34 100.00 89.62 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 5.90 39.95 2.44 2.35 2.51 6.10 9.75 3.95 9.33 3.60 8.00 16.00 2.98 10.26 11.50 10.85 17.26 3.98 10.10 15.50 1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

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

VOLUME

1,200

100 300

100 300

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.15 100.00 100.91 100.54 100.34 100.00 89.62 100.00 100.00 100.00

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 0.00 0.00 0.00

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 RF Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund RF Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund RF Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund RF Bahamas International Investment Fund Limited - Equities Sub Fund RF Bahamas International Investment Fund Limited - High Yield Income Fund RF Bahamas International Investment Fund Limited - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

MARKET TERMS

CHANGE 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 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00

(242) 323‐2330 (242) 323‐2320 EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.140 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

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.080 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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25% 6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 5.40% 5.22% 4.56% 4.43% 4.87% 4.33% 5.55% 5.60% 5.65% 5.69%

NAV 2.52 4.69 2.21 197.44 202.39 1.74 1.84 1.83 0.97 9.37 11.79 7.54 15.94 12.47 10.74 N/A 10.43 14.89

YTD% 12 MTH% 0.99% 4.22% 0.36% 5.78% 0.67% 2.74% -2.97% -2.35% -4.72% 6.04% 1.37% 3.03% 1.19% 5.23% 1.62% 4.13% -5.25% -6.07% -0.02% 10.36% -0.33% 18.23% 0.22% 3.05% -3.89% 14.76% -1.04% -2.57% 0.81% 4.20% N/A N/A 3.00% 25.60% 7.90% 48.70%

P/E 24.7 42.9 N/M 16.8 N/M N/M 26.4 -9.0 66.6 19.6 17.8 22.2 29.2 22.0 17.8 14.9 21.2 19.6 10.8 24.6 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

YIELD 2.88% 3.15% 0.82% 3.40% 0.00% 0.00% 2.67% 0.00% 0.00% 3.33% 2.75% 4.50% 14.56% 0.58% 2.85% 2.21% 3.13% 3.02% 1.98% 3.94% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025 20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 3-Oct-2036 13-Oct-2037 22-Oct-2024 7-Sep-2022 26-Jul-2037 26-Jul-2028 15-Apr-2049 15-Jul-2049 15-Oct-2049 21-Apr-2050

Provincial governments have been given a year to formulate plans to achieve the goal.

A group of farmers in the province of North Holland held talks with two senior officials in the city of Haarlem.

"Their concerns are understood and have our absolute attention. Good to be and stay in conversation with each other," tweeted one of the officials, Arthur van Dijk.

Dozens more parked their tractors on a bridge over a canal, forcing freight barges to moor up on either side because the bridge could not open to let them pass.

The reforms are expected to include reducing livestock and buying up some farms whose animals produce large amounts of ammonia. Farmers argue they are being unfairly targeted and are being given no perspective for their future.

Police looked on but did not immediately take action Monday as some 25 tractors parked outside a distribution center for supermarket chain Albert Heijn in the town of Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam. Placards and banners affixed to the tractors read messages including, "Our farmers, our future."

A tractor at another protest, in the northern town of Drachten, urged people to "think for a moment about what you want to eat without farmers."

The umbrella organization for supermarkets called on police to take action and warned of possible shortages on supermarket shelves.

"Blockades of distribution centers hurt the citizens of the Netherlands. Supermarkets do everything they can to keep the stores stocked, but if blockades continue, it could lead to people not being able to do their daily shopping," the Central Bureau for Food Trade said in a statement.

Traffic authorities warned motorists to prepare for delays and possible slowmoving tractors on the nation's highways, but said that there were few problems early Monday for commuters, possibly because many people opted to work from home rather than get stuck in traffic.

Over the weekend, the government appointed an intermediary to lead talks between farmers' organizations and officials drawing up pollution reduction measures. However, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has ruled out negotiating with farmers responsible for radical protests.

Mainstream farming lobby group LTO described the mediator, Johan Remkes, as "an administrative heavyweight with deep knowledge" of the issues and said it was open to talks with him.

According to LTO, there are nearly 54,000 agricultural businesses in the Netherlands with exports totaling 94.5 billion euros in 2019.

NAV Date 31-Mar-2022 31-Mar-2022 25-Mar-2022 31-Mar-2022 31-Mar-2022 31-May-2022 31-May-2022 31-May-2022 31-May-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 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

POLICE looked on but did not immediately take action Monday as some 25 tractors set up a blockade outside a distribution center for supermarket chain Albert Heijn in the town of Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam, Monday, July 4, 2022. Dutch farmers angry at government plans to slash emissions used tractors and trucks Monday to blockade supermarket distribution centers, the latest actions in a summer of discontent in the country’s lucrative agricultural sector.

Photo:Peter Dejong/AP