07082019 BUSINESS

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MONDAY, JULY 8, 2019

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Bank chief: ‘We ‘Deepen the spend’ can do better’ on 17.5% tourist rise over card fees

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE Bahamas must “deepen the spend” if it is to maximise the “fabulous” 17.5 percent increase in stopover visitors for the year to end-May 2019, a Cabinet minister conceded yesterday.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that increasing per capita visitor spending, strengthening the links between tourism and the domestic economy, and retaining more tourism

• Double-digit growth slowing to single • Hotels ‘complain’ tours not keeping pace • Bahamians ‘lagging in part they own’ dollars locally will “always be the challenge” for The Bahamas despite its “robust” arrivals figures.

Revealing that some Bahamas-based hotels are complaining that other parts of the tourism industry have failed to match their improvements in quality, Mr D’Aguilar argued that this nation needed to encourage DIONISIO D’AGUILAR

‘Slow climb out’ on govt reform goals

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government has been urged to “speed up” its short-term transformation targets, a governance reformer suggesting current goals indicate “a slow climb out” for the economy.

Robert Myers, pictured, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, told Tribune Business that the Minnis administration needed to aim higher than

the targets set out in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit’s annual report to maintain economic competitiveness and living standards.

Arguing that GDP per capita and other key indicators were still “labouring”, Mr Myers said the longer it took to achieve these goals “the longer it will take to get GDP growth” to where it needs to be and reduce the stubborn doubledigit unemployment rate.

SEE PAGE 7

Ex-minister holds off on $6m BOB ‘default’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER Cabinet minister yesterday said he had given an undertaking to hold off on enforcing a $6m default judgment against Bank of The Bahamas until July 16.

Damian Gomez, former minister of state for legal affairs under the former Christie government, told Tribune Business that the delay was “no big deal” given the likelihood he would be unable to secure

court dates for hearings of related applications before month’s end.

“I have an undertaking not to do anything until the 16th,” Mr Gomez confirmed. “If they don’t get to court by the 16th I won’t be under any obligation to hold off. It’s very curious. All they’re [Bank of The Bahamas] doing is stalling for time. It’s rather strange.”

Pointing out that interest on any judgment would be

SEE PAGE 9

SEE PAGE 4

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Clearing Banks Association’s (CBA) chairman has admitted that the industry “can do better” in pushing for lower debit card fees, thus aiding the drive for a cashless society.

Gowon Bowe, pictured, told Tribune Business that the industry needed to work with both the Central Bank, and Visa and MasterCard, to lower interchange fees - the main driver of transaction/processing fees paid

by Bahamian merchants “to an absolute minimum”

with the savings passed on to businesses.

Agreeing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Bahamian commercial banks need to better distinguish between

SEE PAGE 6

PAGE 2, Monday, July 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

seeks Israeli Realtor teams with RBC Bahamas help on transportation for Hot Summer Homes A BAHAMIAN realtor has partnered with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to launch a two-month promotion that pledges to deliver a 48-hour turnaround on buyer financing approvals.

Monica Knowles, property specialist with Bahamas Realty, explained that the tie-up with RBC’s BISXlisted mortgage arm, FINCO, was designed to stimulate market activity during the traditionally slower summer months by cutting down the time associated with real estate purchases.

“Summer is traditionally a slower time for both the local housing market and second home buyers,” Ms Knowles. “While summer is slower, the reality is that the offerings of new residential properties, especially condominiums, has never been greater so I wanted to find a way to incentivise those who were thinking of looking to start their search now rather than waiting.

The campaign, which is being launched under the tag-line, Hot Summer Homes, twice the power, half the time, will last for two months until August 31. By providing an online link to

BAHAMAS Realty property specialist, Monica Knowles, is partnering with RBC Royal Bank to create a summer promotion for home buyers with quick turnaround pre-approval, up to 95 percent financing and competitive interest rates. gain pre-approval, it reduces the time for processing applications through a pledged 48-hour or two business day turnaround on mortgage approval requests.

The initiative also offers up to 95 percent financing, competitive interest rates for local and foreign buyers, and financing for work permit holders. It is being marketed via an aggressive

social media campaign, database mining and personal calls on developers.

“We have an unprecedented abundance of new residential offerings – condominiums, single family residences, vacation homes, investment properties,” said Ms Knowles. “New developments include Sterling Hurricane Hole’s exciting project, the super-luxury

beachfront high-rise condos of the Residences of Goldwynn, One Cable Beach next to Baha Mar, and ONE Ocean and THIRTY SIX, both on Paradise Island.

“And that is just New Providence. Add in Family Islands and private islands, and I don’t think there has ever been a time when there was a greater supply of new and diverse offerings.

We want to ensure interest remains high and that buyers are empowered with an experienced partnership that adds value, convenience and strengthens ownership potential.”

“As a trusted partner in the Bahamian community, RBC Royal Bank and our mortgage bank, FINCO, is committed to increasing the opportunity for home ownership,” said Ericka Rolle, RBC FINCO’s managing director.

“When we hear a solid idea that has merit and increases the opportunity for more people to enjoy ownership or to move up the property ladder, we are happy to partner. Monica put a lot of thought into this project and we are very pleased to lend our support.”

THE Bahamas is seeking Israel’s support and assistance over maritime and transportation-related matters.

Renward Wells, minister of transport and local government, last week discussed with his Israeli counterpart, Bezalel Smotrich, the Middle Eastern nation’s support for this country’s bid to become a member of the United Nations International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

Group C Council.

The two also spoke on Israel’s technical assistance with SMART traffic management technology, and the growth of airports, shipping and container ports in both countries.

Mr Wells was also scheduled to meet with Israel’s minister of foreign affairs and intelligence in Jerusalem.

Mr Wells (left) and Mr Smotrich are pictured.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, July 8, 2019, PAGE 3

Courier blames Customs demands for its closure

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A GRAND Bahamabased courier service is blaming Customs’ “virtually impossible demands” for its decision to close on July 31 after 22 years in business.

GB Express, in a letter to its customers last week, said it was “impractical” to continue operating its air courier service into the island because the implementation of new Customs laws related to air freight had resulted in the company losing “gross amounts of money”.

The document, signed by co-owner, Bob Clutter, and

other senior executives, said GB Express could not continue absorbing costs to keep the price of its service within reach of both individual Bahamians and citizens.

Recalling GB Express’s formation some 22 years ago, the company told clients: “Not only did we provide courier services to the individual citizens of Freeport, but we also worked tirelessly to meet the air cargo needs of the vast majority of local businesses.

“The times have changed, especially the Customs laws, and their application at air freight has made it impractical to operate an air courier service. Since we are not set

up to operate through the harbour, I am left with two options – shut down the air service and start sea service or close down GB Express Ltd. “The cost of meeting the demands of Customs has priced the product beyond the reach of the Bahamian citizen and GB cannot continue absorbing this cost.

With Customs’ direction in the future it is only going to be more difficult to operate in Freeport. Therefore I feel the best business decision I can make is to close the doors.”

GB Express said it needed both its courier and air freight segments to remain profitable for the

business to succeed, but the former is still “losing gross amounts of money at the airport on the courier side”.

“With the changes at air freight via Bahamas Customs over the past few years, it has become impractical and virtually impossible to operate a daily courier service at the airport,” GB Express reiterated to customers.

“I realise our expected daily flights have not been operating on a daily basis.

This is due to the fact that our filler (individual) courier shipments have not been sufficient to make the daily flights possible.”

WTO ‘DEVASTATING’ FOR FARMERS AND FISHERIES

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net BECOMING a full World Trade Organisation (WTO) member will be “devastating” for Bahamian farmers because they are “not prepared” for the competitive demands of liberalised trade regimes.

Caron Shepherd, president of the Farmers United Cooperative, told Tribune Business: “Farmers are not in agreement with WTO because the farmers are not prepared for it. That is the long and short of it. There were no systematic plans put in place for agriculture and fisheries for WTO. “It would be devastating because you would have local farmers who are not

prepared, and other parts of the world who have been preparing and are in a better position than we are to substantiate WTO.”​​ She added: “The biggest question I have asked is: Which country has benefited from WTO and are better off today? It begs the question whether WTO is beneficial for farmers and fishermen. We can legally export anything we have, but it is not on a large scale at this time.

“What benefit does WTO bring to the table? Right now there is trade war going on between China and the US. Both of them are issuing sanctions against each other, and every other day there is some sanction. How would we stand up against big players like that?​​

Zhivargo Laing, The Bahamas’ chief WTO negotiator, recently suggested on his Guardian Radio programme that The Bahamas was unlikely to meet the June 2020 WTO accession deadline set by the Minnis administration.

He suggested that the process might take several more years to complete, and hinted that the government was sensitive to the political (election vote) implications given the level of opposition to joining the WTO from some elements in Bahamian society.​​ Ms Shepherd, meanwhile, said there remains tremendous potential in this nation’s agricultural and fisheries sectors that needs to be harnessed. She reiterated, though, that several

long-standing obstacles and bottlenecks need to be addressed for this to happen.

Among the proposals suggested by Farmers United is that registered local farmers be given a Visa-type card to purchase and bring in goods as necessary without “the red tape”. “We would like to extend the leases from 20 to 40 years for those who are consistently farming, and not those looking at manipulating the land to eventually turn it into a subdviision,” Ms Shepherd added.

“We don’t agree with that. There is a lot of potential for farming and fishing; it just needs to be harnessed and the product needs to be improved.”

JITNEY DRIVERS ‘HOLD OFF’ ON CASHLESS PAYMENTS

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net JITNEY drivers have held-off on introducing cashless payment mechanisms into the bus system due to the costs associated with maintaining them.

Frederick Farrington, president of the Bahamas Unified Bus Drivers Union (BUBDU), said such expenses undermined the feasibility of proposals such as the implementation of electronic tickets as a replacement for cash.

Mr Farrington told Tribune Business: “We found that the only way at that time it could work is with a few pennies coming out of every bus fee collected.

You have to consider the constant updating of the software and

maintaining the hardware, all this coming at the driver’s expense. We decided to hold off as we are trying to take a different approach.​“​ Mr Farrington suggested drivers were not opposed to electronic and cashless payment systems, but their own efforts had not met with much success. The union had planned to introduce a smart card reader that uses WiFi, with the aim to run a pilot programme of the system on six buses starting in February of this year.​ His comments came after the government was urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prioritise introducing electronic bus tickets as a means to encourage Bahamians to switch to digital payments.​ The fund, in a recentlyreleased assessment of the Bahamian payments

system, said this was “a great opportunity” for generating confidence and trust in electronic payments among Bahamians given that bus fares were among the highest-volume forms of cash transactions.​​ “Given that payments for bus tickets constitute one of the large use cases of retail payments (in terms of volume) in the country, the introduction of a digital ticket presents a great opportunity for advancing the usage of electronic payment instruments,” the IMF argued. ​​ “This could also help users of the public transportation system gain trust in the electronic payment means, and also potentially start using them for other purposes in their daily transactions. The fact that the Ministry of Transport is already considering

this option constitutes a first step in the direction of a digital transportation system.”​​

POSITIONS WANTED Established Bakery Needs:

• Experienced Bread Maker • Cashiers w/ Pos Experience Please send resumes newapplication2019@gmail.com

JOB OPPORTUNITY Property Superintendent – to oversee dayto-day operations of a commercial property in Nassau. The Property Superintendent is responsible for overseeing all daily maintenance, repairs, security, janitorial services, landscaping, etc. and to handle tenant maintenance complaints. Responsible for performing periodic property inspections to ensure tenant compliance with leases, scheduling routine service and maintenance on equipment and proper upkeep of the property.

The following qualities are desirable for job selection: - exceptional communication and organizational skills, detail oriented, customer service experience, ability to work under pressure, selfmotivated, self-directed, assertive, group problem solving and the ability to take direction and be an effective part of a property management team.

Project or property management experience required.

Qualified applicants are to email a current and complete resumé to: bahamaspropertymanagerposition@gmail.com

by July 11th, 2019

PAGE 4, Monday, July 8, 2019

‘Deepen the spend’ on 17.5% tourist rise FROM PAGE ONE “expansion, innovation and creativity in the parts of the sector Bahamians do own”.

Unveiling a 121,000 year-over-year increase in stopover visitors for the first nine months of 2019, Mr D’Aguilar said the “double digit” growth rate was projected to slow to single digits as The Bahamas entered the slower summer months.

He disclosed that forward bookings for the three-month July to September period were tracking around eight percent ahead of 2018 figures based on forecasts from the ForwardKeys service, and acknowledged that the hotels and wider industry still have much work to do to “kill the valleys” that persist in the tourism calendar during September and October.

Mr D’Aguilar, agreeing that the tourism industry’s performance was about much more than arrivals numbers, said: “The destination still

has a considerable amount of appeal and our numbers continue to be very, very robust.

“The difficulty is deepening the spending, deepening and strengthening the linkages between tourism and the domestic economy, and getting more of the spend to remain here. We’re still very challenged to provide excursions and interesting venues for people to spend their money.

“Bahamians have to become a lot more creative in giving people a reason to experience something new.

That continues to be the challenge. Growing numbers is one thing; getting them to spend more money here is the challenge and will always be the challenge.”

Studies have shown that around 85 cents of every $1 spent by tourists in The Bahamas “leaks out” of this economy - the highest such rate in the Caribbean. This has been blamed on the

THE TRIBUNE “mega resort” nature of the tourism industry, and the inability of small-scale domestic producers to meet the supply quantity and quality demanded by hotels - something many local businesses will likely dispute.

Mr D’Aguilar’s remarks also allude to the concerns/ feelings expressed by many observers who believe that the current increases in tourism arrivals have yet to translate into economic benefits that are felt by all Bahamians across society.

The minister, meanwhile, said “there are a number of complaints” of insufficient activities and excursions for large groups numbering between 1,500 to 1,800 persons to do once they exit the resort property.

While Bahamian providers were well able to cope with several hundred visitors at a time, Mr D’Aguilar said they lacked the necessary scale to deal with the increasingly large groups that the likes of Atlantis and Baha Mar are attracting to their convention centres.

“With the quantity of highend groups they’re getting at Atlantis and Baha Mar, they

want to do things at a particular level in terms of quality and interest,” he added.

“While there are some tours, they are not at the scale to deal with that capacity.

“This is the challenge.

Some of the hotel operators are complaining that while they’ve upgraded the quality of their hotels, people have not upgraded the quality of their tours. People are still using the same boats they had 25 years ago, operating as they always have done, and we’re getting 500,000 more visitors.

“There needs to be an upgrade and expansion in capacity, and I think that’s where we’re lagging in encouraging Bahamians to expand, and be creative and innovative, in the part of the industry Bahamians generally control.”

Mr D’Aguilar had earlier this year projected that visitor arrivals growth rates would slacken during 2019 once the peak winter season was over, and Ministry of Tourism data released yesterday did backed up his forecast.

The Ministry, in a statement, said inbound visitor booking tracked by ForwardKeys showed that The Bahamas’ May arrivals rose by 7.1 percent largely due to visitors from the major source markets of the US and Canada.

“Due to the summer holidays, forward bookings for the next three months are running 8.4 percent ahead

with June, ahead by 12.3 percent, showing the most favourable outlook,” the Ministry of Tourism added.

The Bahamas will also have been aided by the negative publicity associated with the US tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic, although that will likely be only a temporary boost with rival low-cost destinations - the likes of Jamaica - probably the prime beneficiaries.

Mr D’Aguilar said the “soft periods” in the Bahamian tourism calendar remained a challenge, adding: “As we maximise our air arrivals we’ve still got a lot of headroom. Our business is very cyclical with peaks and valleys.

“It’s how you kill the valleys. The peaks are at their maximum. I spoke to someone trying to come to The Bahamas for Christmas 2019 and they said they couldn’t find a room anywhere. It was booked out.

“But obviously September and October continue to be extremely challenging months. There are a lot of rooms, not a lot of demand, and the hotel operators have to get creative in how they fill their rooms.”

Mr D’Aguilar said total visitor arrivals for the first five months of 2019, combining both air and sea visitors, were up by 13.2 percent or 378,000 persons year-overyear. Focusing on stopover arrivals for that period, he revealed that New Providence was up by 21.3 percent

- a pattern repeated for most destinations with the exception of Grand Bahama.

Abaco’s stopover arrivals were ahead by 8 percent, the minister added, with the figures for Eleuthera and Exuma ahead of prior year numbers by 17.7 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively.

Stopover visitors to Bimini were down by 23 percent or 3,000 persons, which Mr D’Aguilar blamed on the end to Bahamasair’s service.

However, total arrivals to Bimini were up by 2.4 percent for the first five months of 2019 as a surge in boating arrivals offset the stopover decline. Mr D’Aguilar said the “double digit” increases for the period to end-May were ahead of the 2018 growth rates of 15 percent for stopovers and 3.1 percent overall.

“They were fabulous, very robust,” he told Tribune Business of the 2019 tourism figures to-date. “Our tourism economy continues to expand by double digits, spread over the major destinations in the country. The only soft spot is, of course, Grand Bahama which is in a state of flux until we cure the problem down there.”

Mr D’Aguilar said the government was “still within our schedule” in talks with the ITM Group/Royal Caribbean joint venture to acquire the Grand Lucayan and redevelop Freeport Harbour, adding that both sides were “haggling back and forth, but that’s normal in negotiations”.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, July 8, 2019, PAGE 5

WEB SHOPS DONATE TO GAMBLING ADDICT FIGHT BAHAMIAN web shops have donated $7,500 to Grand Bahama Health Services (GBHS) to help finance the training of two clinicians in how to treat gambling disorders.

The Bahamas Gaming Operators Association (BGOA), in a statement issued last night, said the donation was part of

its extended partnership with the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) and the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre to building capacity in treating and preventing gambling disorders.

It added that the partnership would be similar to the Association’s May 2018 tie-up with

Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre last May, which is designed to help screen, assess and treat persons who may be most at risk form web shop gaming. It is also intended to stop persons engaging in risky behaviour.

“We are pleased to provide funding support in the amount of $7,500 to up-skill two professional clinicians from GBHS to become internationally-certified in the area of treating persons with a gambling disorder,”

A service-oriented individual is being sought to work in the private residence of a high-ranking American official for the following position:

RESIDENTIAL HOUSE MANAGER The Residential House Manager will:

• Provide oversight of all household activities assuring timely and high-quality completion of all household tasks.

• Identify maintenance problems, request and schedule repairs, and follow-up on the work from start to finish.

• Supervise the work of contractors and U.S. Embassy Facilities personnel.

• Ensure all routine household supplies are always on hand.

• Develop shopping lists for all household requirements.

• Perform shopping according to employer’s guidelines.

• Assist in event planning and coordination.

• Assist with the serving of meals and drinks at receptions.

• Assist housekeeper with daily cleaning chores.

The successful candidate for this position will possess/demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, attributes, certifications, and/or qualifications:

• A high school diploma is required.

• Must have two years’ experience as a Residential or Commercial House Manager.

• Basic computer skills.

• Time management skills with the ability to work under pressure to ensure deadlines are met.

• Workplace management skills, i.e., ability to multi-task and maintain a clean environment.

• Flexibility, adaptability, dependability, decorum, and discretion.

• Willingness to perform duties in multiple residential, recreational, and/or commercial locations as directed.

• Willingness to work a highly irregular schedule including a variety of shifts and many weekends and holidays.

• An ability to collaboratively work with a diverse workforce.

• Language: Excellent working knowledge of spoken and written English (Level IV).

Applicants must be a Bahamian citizen or foreign resident who is otherwise eligible for employment in the Bahamas.

Please submit resume and three references via e-mail to

Nassauhr@state.gov

addressed to the Human Resources Office no later than Friday, July 19, 2019.

Telephone calls will not be accepted in reference to this advertisement.

the association said.

“The course will be done through the University of Minnesota Duluth Centre for Economic Development and North American Training Institute (NATI).

The online courses are 60 hours, with supplemental on-campus workshop visitations.”

It added: “This initiative is fully aligned to the domestic gaming industry’s robust responsible gaming policy, whose programmes are now standardised across

all operator members.

The industry continues to work with our key industry partner stakeholders, like GBHS. “Additionally, the BGOA recognises that in a highly-regulated environment, and in keeping with international best practices, it was obliged to ensure a safety net was not only put in place but broadened to help those patrons who may require professional intervention at no cost to them.

“We have also increased

our awareness and educational campaign regarding encouraging persons to game responsibly, and to prevent individuals from becoming at risk when engaging in this form of entertainment.

The BGOA said it plans to hold several Responsible Gaming town hall meetings, and Addiction Awareness symposiums, in Eleuthera, Long Island, Andros, San Salvador and east and west Grand Bahama before yearend 2019.

PAGE 6, Monday, July 8, 2019

Bank chief: ‘We can do better’ over card fees FROM PAGE ONE debit and credit card transactions, and lower fees relating to the former, Mr Bowe added that “merchant education” was also critical in encouraging both companies and consumers to make the switch to electronic payments.

He agreed that the issue “requires wider national consideration among the Central Bank, banks and both Visa and MasterCard” to address what has been a long-standing complaint among many Bahamian merchants about perceived high fees associated with debit and credit card transactions.

The Bahamas has no domestic “switch” mechanism for the settling of card transactions, Mr Bowe said, unlike the UK’s Maestro

system and other countries.

With its relatively small population size likely making the economics of a domestic “switch” impractical, Bahamian card payments are settled via Visa and MasterCard’s international networks.

“We need to look at how we ensure the interchange fee from the card associations are reduced to an absolute minimum and banks have only to pass the savings on to merchants,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business.

“It’s requiring education of merchants and banking institutions to ensure we lower the actual cost associated with debit card transactions so we facilitate greater consumer awareness of a cashless society.

“There are obligations on financial institutions and the banking community, particularly the acquiring banks, and we have to sit down with the card associations and ensure we can achieve lower costs..... We can do better by working

THE TRIBUNE with these associations to minimise costs.”

Mr Bowe was speaking after the IMF, in a report on the Bahamian payments system released last week, said Bahamian merchants were being “penalised” for accepting debit card payments because the transaction fees levied on them were the same as for credit card payments.

The fund argued that there was there was “no economic rationale” for banks to apply the same processing fees for credit and debit card transactions given that the former’s costs are higher, and warned that this was another potential obstacle to the Central Bank’s drive to shift the Bahamian payments system from its traditional reliance on cash to electronic transactions.

“A paradox that occurs in The Bahamas is that there is no differentiation between debit and credit card merchant discount rates,” the IMF found. “There is no economic rationale for this practice given that

interchange fees (which are the main driver of MDRs) are higher for credit cards compared to those for debit cards. In other words, merchants are ‘punished’ for accepting debit cards.”

Calling on Bahamian commercial banks to “differentiate between debit and credit card merchant discount rates”, it added: “The current model of applying the same MDR for debit and credit cards does not have any economic justification and serves as a disincentive for merchants to accept debit cards.”

Mr Bowe agreed that credit card transactions should attract a higher fee than debit card counterparts because of the greater risk involved. While debit card payments were effectively an “equity” transaction similar to a wire transfer, in that money was switched from the paying customer’s bank account to that of the providing merchant, credit cards represented an advance payment prior to the customer paying it back to the bank.

He added that the IMF report largely summarised the discussions its staff had with himself and others when it visited Nassau. Disclosing that card processing/ transaction fees ranged from 2.5 percent to “as high as seven percent”, he said many merchants had yet to realise how these charges were set.

Suggesting that the private sector also needed to help itself, the CBA chief told Tribune Business: “There are a couple of issues at play. The first one is merchant education, and having an appreciation that there is a cost associated with physical cash transactions.”

While businesses saw the cost of electronic payments on their financial statements, Mr Bowe said many did not realise bank deposit fees, safes, security systems, guards and vans represent the costs of running a cash-based operation.

He added that Bahamian merchants also needed to understand that card payments was a volume-based business, with their fees determined individually according to how many such transactions they processed.

Mr Bowe explained that businesses benefit from a lower processing/transaction fee by actively encouraging customers to use debit and credit cards, as this results in “a more favourable rate”.

He also suggested that some companies were stuck with higher fee rates because they had failed to update their transaction volumes with the acquiring bank that holds their accounts.

“We have some very large merchants, in terms of retail organisations, that have a discount rate of 2.5 percent,” the CBA chairman revealed. “The average is between five percent to

5.5 percent.... We have to do a better job of educating clients to become more efficient and maximise their returns by lowering costs.

“This is not one where it’s to the advantage of the banks by having a higher discount rate. Banks do better by having a higher volume using cards. We earn based on the interchange fee. There’s a fixed cost associated with operating a card business, and the cost is the same whether you’re dealing with 5,000 transactions or 500,000 transactions is the same.

“It’s far better to spread the cost over a greater volume of transactions as opposed to a small number of high volume transactions as you still have the same infrastructure.”

The IMF last week reported that many Bahamian merchants were also unaware that they can negotiate processing fees, known as the merchant discount rate (MDR), with the bank that maintains their business account. As a result, it said many companies were paying higher transaction fees than necessary on every debit and credit card payment they accept.

It added that many Bahamian merchants “opt out” of installing point of sale (POS) systems to accept electronic payments because there are too few users to justify the costs, resorting back to cash and cheque methods.

THE TRIBUNE

‘Slow climb out’ on Govt reform goals FROM PAGE ONE Dr Hubert Minnis’ delivery unit is aiming to have just 17.5 percent of government services online and digitised from “end-to-end”

by July 2021. While a significant rise on the 3.5 percent “baseline” established last year, this still means less than one-fifth of such services will be fully online in two years time.

The government is also seemingly leaving itself a lot of work to do to hit the 2030 National Energy Policy target that 30 percent of all energy produced in this nation will come from renewable sources.

With just 0.22 percent of Bahamian energy produced by renewable sources in 2018, the Minnis administration is targeting 4.56 percent by 2021 - leaving the government with significant ground to make up over the final nine years.

“I get it,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business. “It takes time to do this stuff. It’s the right direction, it’s good to hear and I’m pleased to see it. We just need to stay on track and see if we can speed it up. I’d love to see those be 2020, not 2021.

Think of the efficiency. The upside of that efficiency is two to three-fold.

“I would have thought it should be faster. Maybe they’re over-promising and over-delivering. It would be nice to see this moving along faster, and one way to do that is to involve the private sector in some private-public partnerships (PPPs).

“The time is an aspect of how quickly we want the economy to recover and grow. If we’re going to drag on efficiency, drag on using IT and lowering the

PRIME MINISTER HUBERT MINNIS cost of governance... the longer you take to do that, the longer you will take to get GDP growth. That’s the reality,” Mr Myers continued.

“We have to get efficiency to get the ease of doing business moving, and we have to lower the cost of business to stimulate foreign and local investment.

The longer that takes the slower GDP growth will be.

If we can’t move it faster than that, in essence you’re telling me it’s going to be a slow climb out.”

Mr Myers reiterated that The Bahamas also needed to complete passage, and implementation, of a host of governance-related legislative reforms including the Freedom of Information Act and the Integrity Commission Bill.

He added that ORG, together with the likes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), had long laid out a road map involving education and ease/cost of doing business reforms when it came to “moving the needle” to higher economic growth rates

for The Bahamas.

“If the people don’t want it to happen, the government will not be motivated to make it happen,” the ORG chief told Tribune Business. “It should be coming from the people to move it forward. If we don’t do it we deserve everything we get.

“The critical thing is time is running out, and we’re labouring. GDP per capita is labouring. It’s not improving. That’s not a good sign. Even though the economy is growing modestly, GDP per capita is not improving, which means there are more people and less productivity, and workers are not doing so well and the quality of life is not improving.

“The people need to put pressure on the government to move faster to get more investment. Let’s stop the politicking and ignorant politics and get on with creating opportunities for the people.”

Mr Myers argued that, outside the tourism industry, there was insufficient focus on attracting investment - both local and foreign - to The Bahamas.”

Monday, July 8, 2019, PAGE 7

PAGE 8, Monday, July 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

SALE OF OFFICE EQUIPMENT AND OFFICE FURNITURE Used Equipment/Office furniture and other store items such as Tables, Chairs, Steel cabinets, Computers & Printers etc. are available for sale on “as is where is” basis.

Interested parties may contact on the numbers 242-4264412, 4264406 and 4264409.

OFFICE-IN-CHARGE

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT

2017 CLE/QUI/No.0003

Common Law and Equity Division BETWEEN IN THE MATTER of the Quieting Titles Act 1959 AND IN THE MATTER OF Petition of “VERNELL ROLLE” AND IN THE MATTER of ALL THAT piece parcel or lot of land bounded on the North by Romer Street and running thereon 44.70 feet Eastwardly and bounded by 12 feet Alley Way and running thereon 81.86 feet Southwardly and bounded by property said to be owned by Joseph Forbes and running thereon 56.80 feet Westwardly and bounded by property said to be owned or claimed by Joseph Forbes and running thereon 82.65 Feet.

NOTICE TAKE NOTICE that Vernell Rolle claims to be the owner in fee simple in possession of the said land and has made application of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Under Section 3 of the Quieting Title Act, 1959 to have their title to the said land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted by the Court in accordance with the provision of the said Act. A plan of the said land NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any person or persons having dower or rights may be inspected during normal working hours at: of dower or an Adverse Claim of Claim not recognized in the Petition shall on or (a) The Registry of the Supreme Court, New Providence in the before the 7th day of August A.D, 2019, file in the Supreme Court in New Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Chambers of V. Alfred Gray Providence aforesaid and serve on the Petitioner or the undersigned a & HEREBY Company,GIVEN Dowdeswell House, Dowdeswell Armstrong NOTICE IS that any person or persons and having dower or Street, rights Statement of their claim aforesaid on or before the 7th day of August A.D., New of dower or anProvidence; Adverse Claim of Claim not recognized in the Petition shall on or 2019, or it will operate as a bar to such claim.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any person or persons having dower or rights before the 7th day of August A.D, 2019, file in the Supreme Court in New of dower or an Adverse and Claimserve of Claim thethe Petition shall on or Providence aforesaid on not the recognized Petitionerinor undersigned a day claim of August A.D, on 2019, file in the the 7Supreme New before the of 7ththeir th day of Court Augustin A.D., Statement aforesaid or before Dated this 12th day of June A.D., 2019 Providence aforesaid and serve on the Petitioner or the undersigned a 2019, or it will operate as a bar to such claim.

Statement of their claim aforesaid on or before the 7th day of August A.D., 2019, or it will operate as a bar to such claim.

Dated this 12th day of June A.D., 2019 V.ALFRED GRAY & CO. th day of June A.D., 2019 Dated this 12Chambers Dowdeswell House Dowdeswell & Armstrong Street Nassau, Bahamas Attorneys for the Petitioner V.ALFRED GRAY & CO. Chambers

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, July 8, 2019, PAGE 9

Ex-minister holds off on $6m BOB ‘default’ FROM PAGE ONE

higher than that currently available on bank deposits, Mr Gomez added that he was still awaiting court hearing dates on applications relating to the judgment he hopes to enforce.

“I have applications that are outstanding for the receivership and the charging order,” he said.

“It needs to be before a judge. My undertaking is no big deal in the scheme of things. If we get a hearing before the end of the month I’ll be lucky.”

The $6m default judgment obtained by Mr Gomez on behalf of his family’s trust, and efforts to enforce it, plunged Bank of The Bahamas back into multi-million dollar losses and halted its financial recovery efforts.

The BISX-listed bank, which had been inching towards consistent profitability following five successive years of heavy losses prior to 2018, unveiled a $4.039m net loss for the three months to end-March 2019.

The “red ink”, which wiped out first-half profits worth more than $3.5m, drove Bank of The Bahamas into a $209,604 loss for the first nine months of a financial year that ends on June 30 - resulting in what management described as a 119.52 percent “decrease” in net income compared to the $1.074m earnings for the same period in 2018.

Kenrick Braithwaite, Bank of The Bahamas’ managing director, blamed

DAMIAN GOMEZ the hike in operating expenses - and the institution’s return to making heavy losses - on provisions taken after the third quarter’s end for potential losses relating to the $6m default judgment.

“Subsequent to March 31, 2019, the bank was made aware of a judgment in default against the bank for approximately $6m plus interest and cost,” Mr Braithwaite wrote. “The bank has filed the applications to set aside the default judgment and the said damages, and also to stay or, in certain circumstances, strike out enforcement proceedings.

Adequate provision has been made in the financial statements for any loss that might ultimately be determined.”

Mr Gomez, who resigned from the then-Cabinet to deal with the dispute with Bank of The Bahamas, subsequently confirmed that Mr Braithwaite’s statement referred to the

NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF SIR ARLINGTON GRIFFITH BUTLER late of Number 2 Hillview Drive, Winton Estates in the North 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 claim or demand against the above Estate are required to send the same duly certified in writing to the Undersigned on or before the 12th day of August, A.D. 2019, after which date the Co-Executors will proceed to distribute the assets having regard only to the claims to which they 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.

MERIDIAN LAW CHAMBERS Attorneys for the Co-Executors Chambers, P.O. Box N-168, East Bay Shopping Center, East Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas.

judgment he had obtained.

He explained that the dispute related to mortgage loans extended by the bank

that were secured on real estate assets owned 50/50 by his family trust and that of David Jenrette.

Despite promising orally, and three times in writing, to extend further loans, he added that Bank of The Bahamas “never came through” and placed the properties acting as collateral for the existing loans in jeopardy.

“As a result of that, the companies had a period of defaulting on various amounts and lost several millions of dollars in properties,” Mr Gomez revealed previously. “We were left basically holding the bag.”

The ex-minister added that, “in the middle of litigation”, Bank of The Bahamas then assigned several of the mortgages

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, CATHERINE OLIVIA EVANS also known as CATHERINE OLIVIA MURPHY and OLIVIA CATHERINE EVANS of P.O. Box N-3941, Nicholl’s Town, Andros, Bahamas, intend to change my name to CATHERINE OLIVIA SWEETING. 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 the publication of this notice.

to Bahamas Resolve, the government-owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) created to facilitate the two taxpayer-funded bail-outs of the BISX-listed institution in 2014 and 2017.

Describing this as a “very peculiar way of doing business”, Mr Gomez said the two family trusts had “never contested the mortgage debt” to Bank of The Bahamas - only some assessments of interest and penalties.

He revealed that they had repeatedly urged Bank of The Bahamas to agree a

“set-off” between the sums it, and the family trusts, were each claiming the other owed but to no avail.

Voicing surprise that Bank of The Bahamas had seemingly only suddenly become aware of the default judgment, Mr Gomez added that it had been served with all necessary legal papers the moment the judgment was first obtained. He added that the BISX-listed institution had initially succeeded in having it set aside, but he managed to have the ruling reinstated.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE RED ROSE PREMIER INVESTMENTS LTD. (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Pursuant to Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, notice is hereby given that the above named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 24th day of June 2019. The Liquidator is Beat Meier of Banca del Sempione Overseas Limited, George House, George Street, P.O. Box N-8159, Nassau, Bahamas.

Beat Meier Banca del Sempione Overseas Limited (Liquidator)

PAGE 10, Monday, July 8, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

PUBLIC NOTICE

JOB OPPORTUNITY

NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

PELICAN REEF LTD.

The Public is hereby advised that I,KIA REMILDA EDITHMAE ROLLE a.k.a KEYA

A reputable law-firm is seeking a receptionist to answer calls, greet clients and assist with the day to day running of the firm. All interested persons are invited to send their resumes to email address:

REMILDA EDITHMAE ROLLE a.k.a KEYA REMILDA EDITHMAE MARCHE

In Voluntary Liquidation

a.k.a KIA REMILDA EDITHMAE MARCHof Western District P.O.Box N-877 Nassau, Bahamas intends to change her name to KEYA REMILDA EDITHMAE MARCH. 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-792, Nassau,

Seekingreceptionist242@gmail.com

New Providence, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE

The date of commencement of dissolution was June 12th, 2019.

NOTICE is hereby given that JEAN LOUIS SHINIE JEAN BAPTISTE of 8th Street, The Grove, 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 8th day of July, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship,P.O.Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that FRITZNEL CYRIL JR, of Johnson Road Fox Hill, 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 1st day of July, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

LEGAL NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, PELICAN REEF LTD. is in dissolution.

George S. Fox #3 Queens Highway, P.O. Box F41322, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas the Liquidator.

LIQUIDATOR ________________________ LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE ASTROLABE LTD

LEGAL NOTICE

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000

JS GLOBAL STRATEGIES FUND LTD. Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, the dissolution of JS GLOBAL STRATEGIES FUND LTD. has completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was 11th June, 2019.

BLUE PENDANT LIMITED Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, the dissolution of BLUE PENDANT LIMITED. is completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was 26th June 2019.

Israel Borba 204 Church Street Olde Town, Sandyport P.O. Box CB-10988 Nassau, Bahamas

Amicorp Bahamas Management Limited Bahamas Financial Centre, 3rd Floor, Shirley & Charlotte Street, P.O.Box N-4865 Nassau, Bahamas

(Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of The International Business Companies Act 2000 the above-named Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 3rd day of July, 2019. The Liquidator is Kim Thompson of Nassau, Bahamas.

Kim Thompson (Liquidator)

NOTICE TVISIONAIRE CORP. N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:-

MARKET REPORT

a)

TVISIONAIRE CORP. is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 3rd July, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

c)

The Liquidator of the said company is Octagon Management Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, Nassau, Bahamas.

www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

FRIDAY, 5 JULY 2019

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,174.12 | CHG: -0.02 | %CHG: 0.00 | YTD: 64.67 | YTD%: 3.07 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 20.91 7.00 5.60 2.60 2.00 3.10 11.05 6.17 4.64 12.50 2.74 2.20 9.51 7.01 15.60 7.98 3.75 14.00

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 4.90 4.02 1.00 0.19 2.00 8.98 6.13 3.54 8.59 2.35 1.70 7.50 6.10 11.25 6.20 3.01 12.51

PREFERENCE SHARES 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 103.00 100.00 100.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

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

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

SYMBOL LAST CLOSE AML 4.24 APD 17.43 BPF 6.00 BWL 5.39 BOB 2.51 BBL 1.95 CAB 2.13 CIB 11.05 CHL 6.16 CBL 4.49 CBB 9.02 CWCB 2.87 DHS 2.20 EMAB 10.19 FAM 7.00 FBB 15.45 FIN 7.98 FCL 3.41 JSJ 14.00 CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

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

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00 LAST SALE 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.24 17.43 6.00 5.39 2.51 1.95 2.13 11.05 6.16 4.49 9.02 2.91 2.20 10.13 7.00 15.45 7.98 3.41 14.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 -0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

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

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

VOLUME

37,700

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.167 0.932 1.760 0.323 0.098 0.000 -0.438 0.708 0.480 0.184 0.627 0.102 0.209 0.000 0.611 0.743 0.939 0.205 0.631

DIV$ 0.160 1.260 0.000 0.250 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.068 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.600

P/E 25.4 18.7 N/M 16.7 N/M N/M -4.9 15.6 12.8 24.4 14.4 28.5 10.5 N/M 11.5 20.8 8.5 16.6 22.2

YIELD 3.77% 7.23% 0.00% 4.64% 0.00% 1.03% 0.00% 6.52% 3.57% 2.67% 0.00% 2.34% 2.73% 3.24% 3.43% 3.50% 2.51% 3.52% 4.29%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

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

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

YTD%12 MTH% 1.55% 3.97% 1.18% 4.17% 1.11% 2.71% 2.06% 4.97% 4.52% 0.96% 1.57% 4.58% 0.99% 4.25% 1.32% 4.12% 3.22% 5.64% 2.50% 6.46% 2.79% 8.14% 2.12% 4.69% 5.00% -3.39% 3.04% 3.32% 2.48% 3.55% -0.71% 0.16% 7.40% 2.70% 10.20% 1.30%

NAV Date 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-Mar-2019 31-Mar-2019 30-Apr-2019 30-Apr-2019 30-Apr-2019 30-Apr-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 31-May-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019

Dated this 8th day of July, A. D. 2019 _____________________ Octagon Management Limited Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION

International Business Companies Act (No.45 of 2000) In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act, (No.45 of 2000). Etta Global Inc. is in dissolution. The date of commencement of the dissolution is 2nd day of July, 2019. PANAMERICAN MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED is the Liquidator and can be contacted at 60 MARKET SQUARE, BELICE CITY, BELIZE. All persons having claims against the abovenames company are required to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator before the 31st day of July, 2019

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.24 4.29 2.06 188.32 158.55 1.62 1.76 1.70 1.15 7.66 8.96 6.74 11.83 12.04 10.63 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.56 1.68 1.64 1.08 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

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

NAV 2.24 4.29 2.06 188.32 154.49 1.62 1.76 1.70 1.15 7.66 8.89 6.74 10.89 12.04 10.63 9.92 8.68 11.38

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

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

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

LEGAL NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION

International Business Companies Act (No.45 of 2000) In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(8) of the International Business Companies Act, (No.45 of 2000). the Dissolution of WHINCROFT LIMITED has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was the 21st day of June