08222018 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018

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Govt’s Grand Lucayan deal to close Sept 11

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government’s $65m Grand Lucayan purchase is due to close on September 11, with the Hotel Corporation’s chair pledging: “This is not going to be a haemorrhage of taxpayer funds.”

Michael Scott, confirming the acquisition price remains the same as that agreed by former buyer, the Wynn Group, yesterday revealed to Tribune Business that the Government is setting up another special purpose vehicle (SPV) to purchase and own Freeport’s “anchor” hotel property.

With KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, previously telling this newspaper that the purchase will be financed by borrowing, the SPV structure will enable the Government to keep any debts incurred off its balance sheet.

The Christie administration previously employed the SPV structure to bailout Bank of The Bahamas

SEE PAGE 5

BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) boardroom turmoil has already delayed completion of a deal to provide Nassau with cheaper, more reliable energy by a month, it was admitted yesterday.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, told Tribune Business that Shell North America executives were supposed to sign a memorandum of understanding

BPL boardroom battle sparks power outages

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

B

AHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) former chairman was yesterday accused of exposing New Providence residents to power outages by blocking the purchase of critical parts.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, told Tribune Business that BPL was facing a $10m-plus loss after Darnell Osborne and fellow former director, Nick Dean, refused to authorise the acquisition of equipment needed to restore ten percent of the utility’s Nassau generation capacity.

The minister’s charges came as the battle between BPL’s former board factions intensified, following a day of recriminations, allegations and counterallegations, as each side sought to paint the other as responsible for the total breakdown in unity that led to their removal last week.

Mr Bannister, who has

(MoU) with BPL for New Providence’s new 270 megawatt (MW) power plant from August 3.

Progress, though, has been halted by the infighting that resulted in the utility’s board being dissolved and replaced, with Mr Bannister acknowledging that the new directors needed to get the MoU signed “as soon as possible”.

Yet the Minister, who has ministerial responsibility for BPL, reaffirmed the

SEE PAGE 6

BPL battle exposes governance reform need among SOEs

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net GOVERNANCE reformers yesterday argued that the Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) board turmoil highlights why The Bahamas must overhaul how state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are run.

Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, told Tribune Business that the Government needed to enact legislation similar to New Zealand’s State Sector Act to prevent a repeat of infighting that threatens to jeopardise

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Moody’s: Faith shaken in Bahamas’ fiscal credibility

BPL Board turmoil delays Shell deal

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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ROBERT MYERS a $500m economic boost that may cut light bills in half.

Emphasising that energy reform “merits high priority”, Mr Myers said the potential benefits from

SEE PAGE 4

* Minister: Ex-chair, director blocked critical parts * Causing load shedding, $10m-plus losses * Refutes claims over ‘first class China trip’

DESMOND BANNISTER ministerial responsibility for BPL, disclosed that the stateowned monopoly faced being without 31 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity at its Clifton Pier plant for at least four months - a situation that will cost it $2.7m per month.

He added that Whitney

“like a nightmare”, Mr Bannister said Mrs Osborne and Mr Dean, who headed the former board’s procurement committee, had refused to authorise the turbochargers’ purchase unless their questions were answered

MOODY’S yesterday revealed that faith in The Bahamas’ fiscal policy credibility had been shaken by the Government’s revelation of $760m in total unfunded arrears over the past two years.

The credit rating agency, in its annual full country analysis, said the “frequent deviations” from deficit targets - and differences between the figures presented in mid-year and full-year budgets - had exposed problems with The Bahamas’ fiscal transparency and data quality.

“In terms of fiscal policy, the introduction of the medium-term fiscal consolidation plan in 2013 presented clear guidance for the policy framework,” Moody’s said, in an implicit criticism of the former Christie administration. “However, the weak state of the economy,

SEE PAGE 4

SEE PAGE 5

DARNELL OSBORNE

Heastie, who remains BPL’s chief executive, had “made arrangements” to order the turbochargers necessary to restore the affected engine to service but the former board and its procurement committee blocked the purchase.

Describing the situation as

PAGE 2, Wednesday, August 22, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

BAHAMAS ‘SEIZES’ GREATER TOURISM, AVIATION BUSINESS THE Bahamas has “seized additional business opportunities for its tourism and aviation sectors” at the world’s largest international aviation conference.

Captain Greg Rolle, the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation’s senior director of vertical markets and aviation, said The Bahamas had “made quite an impression” at the EAA AirVenture Conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Captain Rolle, who is the only non-North American to have served as chairman of the International Federal Partnership (IFP), said: “The Bahamas is the only country, outside of the USA and Canada, to be a part of the prestigious IFP, which works closely with Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) representatives on this event.

“The Bahamas government plays a pivotal and influential role in IFP, and has a respected voice that moves our tourism and aviation industry forward to benefit our country.”

Ellison Thompson, the ministry’s deputy

NOAA National Weather Service director discusses with Ellison Thompson, the Ministry of Tourism’s deputy director-general, NOAA’s tools and resources that can help The Bahamas.

INTERNATIONAL Federal Pavilion partners - the US, Canada and Bahamian government officials - at the 2018 EAA AirVenture Conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of Preston Keres, United States Department of Agriculture).

director-general, who attended the conference for the first time, said: “This conference has always been rewarding for us. As an IFP member, participation in the conference makes us privy to vast opportunities - ranging from individual and group travel to The Bahamas, and the addition of new airline programmes and partnerships, to upcoming trends and new FAA policies and

with the media, general aviation pilots and our US federal government agencies inclusive of its customs, immigration, agriculture and border control departments.”

Mr Thompson added: “Pilots’ confidence and interest in our islands has grown substantially over the past year, based on the high number of requests for Bahamas information and capacity

regulations facing the aviation sector.

“Being privy to such information in advance helps us to better plan, safeguard and implement the necessary and appropriate measures to capitalise on these opportunities and/ or mitigate possible fallouts arising from them.

Additionally, our presence at the conference allows us to further build on new and existing relationships

filled seminars which our flying ambassadors conducted daily for pilots.

“Almost 600 pilots attended our ‘Flying To The Bahamas’ seminars, all of which reached standing room levels, and were attended by pilots interested in either flying to The Bahamas individually or in groups. This will especially benefit our Family Islands.”

Representatives from

government agencies, including the Meteorology Department; Royal Bahamas Police Force; Bahamas Customs; and Immigration are scheduled to attend a one-week training programme next month that is being offered by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - an agreement reached at this year’s conference.

TOURISM RECONNECTS WITH FLORIDA TRAVEL COMMUNITY THE Ministry of Tourism recently held a joint dinner and mini tradeshow for 60 members of South Florida’s largest travel agent association.

The event, targeted at the Travel Industry Association (TIA) of South Florida, was held at La Jolla in Coral Gables, and kickstarted the ministry’s renewed targeting of this business channel.

Travel agents were educated on new hotel product offerings in The Bahamas, and updated on new airlift and tourism programmes.

The session was led by the Ministry’s sales and marketing team, headed by Betty Bethel-Moss, director of sales, and

THE MINISTRY of Tourism’s sales and marketing team with TIA officials and industry partners. From left: Betty Bethel-Moss, director of sales, Ministry of Tourism; Adrian Kemp, senior marketing representative; Tina Lee; Pablo Aviles, Bimini Undersea; Elena Diaz, Luisa Yu, TIA board member; Veronica Bolanos, FRS Caribbean; Vivian Roeder Marin, Resorts World Bimini; Donna Mackey, senior sales manager, Ministry of Tourism; and Phylia Shivers, senior marketing representative, Ministry of Tourism.

representatives from FRS Caribbean, Bahamasair, Resorts World Bimini and Bimini Undersea.

Tina Lee, the Ministry’s district sales manager for Dade and Broward counties, said: “The Bahamas is pleased to rejoin the esteemed TIA organisation and reengage with the group of influential agents who represent the number one tourist market for The Bahamas, as well as partner with them in providing educational seminars, familiarisation trips and joint targeted promotions, which will further drive business to The Bahamas destination.”

Elena Diaz, TIA president and owner of New

Era Travel Agency in Miami, said: “This partnership now allows us to work closely with the Ministry, its hotel suppliers and industry providers to create programmes and generate additional bookings that will further increase business for us both.

“Already, we are planning a mega fam trip to Nassau in September for TIA members, which will give us an opportunity to experience, first-hand, the new products being offered.”

TIA is south Florida’s largest group of travel agents, comprising more than 120 members across Miami, Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 22, 2018, PAGE 3

BPL OUTAGE PERFORMANCE ‘BETTER THAN ANY SUMMER’

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday asserted that Bahamas Power and Light’s (BPL) performance this summer relative to power outages is “still better than any in the past”.

Speaking outside Cabinet yesterday, Desmond Bannister, minister of works, said: “I’m having a chart prepared to compare power outages every summer compared to this summer.

I think you will find that this summer is still better than any summer you would have had in the past.

There are some challenges and this is why I talk about the board costing BPL money.

“BPL has had an engine generator sitting down since May 30. It requires some parts that cost in the several millions of dollars. The CEO located these parts, which are sole sourced; there are only two sources in the world where you can get these parts from, and he has not been able to order those parts because

of issues with the (former) board.”

Despite the ongoing board turmoil, Mr Bannister said BPL employees have not been forgotten in the company’s plans. “I’ve met with Mr Christie and Mr Maynard - the Bahamas Electrical Utility Managerial Union (BEUMU) and Bahamas Electrical Workers Union presidents - respectively. I know they had concerns,” he added.

“One of the challenges has been that there have been so many things to fix at BPL, and we have gone about trying to fix them and deal with all of the challenges and the VSEP. We do have to sit down with them and have to assure them of where the opportunities lie as it relates to BPL. The first duty has to be to the consumers.

“The first challenge is to fix what we have to, and then look at all of the matters that impact the staff and employees at BPL so they can be happy. We want to keep them. We have good, high quality people.”

The BEWU’s Mr Maynard, meanwhile, called

for an end to what he described as the “petty and sad” recriminations stemming from the dissolution of Bahamas Power and Light’s (BPL) former board, adding: “They need to get a grip on this nonsense.”

In particular, he suggested Mr Bannister had “gone low” by suggesting he had blocked the payment of personal bills incurred by former chairman, Darnell Osborne, including payments for make-up services and home security systems.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on at BPL and this is what he’s talking about?

We don’t have time for that.

They need to get a grip on this nonsense,” said Mr Maynard, adding it was time to cut the “pettiness and right the ship”.

“I’m very concerned that since 2012 until now, we can’t seem to get this process right with BPL. This is extremely sad and all of what is going on isn’t making any sense. We need to turn this company around for the Bahamian people.”

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Sterling names senior analyst STERLING Global has named Aniska Rolle to the post of senior analyst at the financial services business with nearly $10bn under administration or management.

“Aniska brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in banking and finance, having worked with retail, corporate and commercial clients over the past decade,” said Sterling’s chairman, David Kosoy. “Her skill will be a tremendous asset to our team of professionals as we continue to pursue our corporate objectives.”

Ms Rolle, who was recently honoured by Professional Services Bahamas as one of its “40 under 40” most influential and successful professionals in the nation, has served as a relationship manager for a local bank assisting corporate and commercial clients with identifying investment strategies and key market drivers to improve their bottom line.

Her responsibilities also extended to extracting and analysing complex data from corporate and commercial portfolios valued at around $40m, and making recommendations to ensure clients received the desired outcome.

Ms Rolle, who holds

ANISKA ROLLE

a Master’s of Science in Finance from England’s University of Leicester, said: “I’m very excited to be joining Sterling Global Financial at this time.”

Her appointment comes as Sterling Global’s affiliate, Sterling Hurricane Hole, is working to develop a threephase, $250m mixed-used development project on 13 acres of land on Paradise Island over a five-year period.

As senior analyst, Ms Rolle’s primary responsibilities include supporting the Sterling team in evaluating,

underwriting, structuring and closing high value transactions. She will develop financial models, and conduct property site visits and inspections in addition to executing financial analysis of leases, acquisitions and cost structures.

“I enjoy working with my new colleagues,” said Ms Rolle who has been with the company for about a month. “The team that has been assembled is hardworking, visionary and dynamic, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to help grow the company.”

A Financial Institution Seeks to fill the position of

Head of Private Banking (Managing Director) Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the successful applicant must be self-motivated and capable of managing a dynamic team. Oversees all aspects of private banking activities that service the needs of high net-worth clients. Ensures that client relationships are developed and expanded and that the resources of the private banking team are properly leveraged to provide efficient and personalized service delivery.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to: • New clients acquisition • Develop existing and new client relationships • Management of Private Banking Team • Provision of investment solutions • Marketing strategy development and implementation Qualifications and Experience: • Bachelor’s Degree in Business or Finance • Minimum 7 years advanced experience in, and excellent knowledge of private banking • Exceptional track-record in business development/client relationship management • Thorough knowledge of compliance, regulatory and risk issues • Has established networks with existing portfolios of HNW individuals • Commitment to quality and service excellence • Willing to travel • Ability to meet deadlines and manage expectations • Experience in managing a team • Flexibility in office hours and hands-on approach when required • Goal oriented, self-motivated, positive attitude and outlook • Excellent oral and written communication, presentation and client relationship management skills • Proficiency in Microsoft Office • Fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian Interested persons should submit their curriculum vitae along with a cover letter

by August 24th 2018.

Private & Confidential Head of Private Banking c/o The Tribune Box DA 110505 P.O. Box N-3207 Nassau, The Bahamas

PAGE 4, Wednesday, August 22, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

BPL boardroom battle sparks power outages FROM PAGE ONE - something that Mr Heastie had attempted to do.

But a three-page document, widely circulated on social media, and which appears to have originated from Mrs Osborne and her faction, gave an entirely different perspective on the row over the turbochargers.

It accused Mr Heastie and former BPL vice-chairman, Patrick Rollins, of attempting to “pressure” or bounce their fellow ex-directors into ordering $4m in turbochargers “without adequate supporting information” on the cost, commercial terms and absent a tendering process.

Refuting these allegations, Mr Bannister told Tribune Business that “personalities were getting in the way of making decisions in the best interests of the country” when it came to

BPL and its former Board.

He revealed that the impacted Clifton Pier generation engine had been off-line since May 30, and added: “One of the reasons we have load shedding now is because we don’t have this engine up.

“Mr Heastie made the request for procurement from July 24. Mr Heastie made the arrangement, ordered the parts and the ordering of the parts is still not approved by the procurement committee.”

Confirming that the parts in question were turbochargers, Mr Bannister continued: “They are made to order and take a while to deliver.

The quickest we could have gotten it was four months.

We have to load shed until we get that engine back into service. We are losing $2.7m a month because of this. It’s a very serious thing.”

The Minister said Mr Heastie had informed him

that he sought to satisfy Mr Dean’s concerns, but the turbocharger purchase was “still not getting done”. He added: “Mrs Osborne said until those questions were answered they would continue to block it. It’s just like a nightmare.”

Not surprisingly, the three-page document setting out the case for Mrs Osborne’s Board faction places an entirely different complexion on events, as both sides seek to “spin” the controversy to their advantage in the public domain.

The document, which was sent to Tribune Business, alleges: “The chief executive [Mr Heastie] and deputy chairman [Patrick Rollins] attempted to pressure the Board member in charge of procurement [Mr Dean] to approve a funding request made by the chief executive for $4m to replace two pairs of turbochargers at the Clifton Pier plant.

“The funding request was pushed back by the procurement committee head because there were so many things wrong with it. The request made by the chief executive was for a sum of $4m, which was considerably larger than the $2.8m proposal he presented along with the request.”

Mr Heastie could not be reached for comment by Tribune Business yesterday, but the document says no information was provided to support the $1.2m “gap” between the proposal and funding request.

“Therefore it was not known what full amount BPL would be committed

to once the initial payments were made,” it added. “The proposal did not include shipping, duty, VAT or even the cost of installation. The danger was that once BPL had spent the first $4m it could be committed to several million more before the process was complete...

“The proposal was only valid for seven days. The board was being pressured by the chief executive to make a $4m decision in seven days without adequate supporting information. What made this time pressure even more suspicious was the fact that the engine under question had failed since March 31; however, the first proposal was not provided to BPL until mid-July.

“The revised proposal sent on July 24 (which included an additional $134,000 fee for expedited delivery) was only good until July 31, thus the pressure to make a quick decision. This timeline makes absolutely no sense.”

The engine failure date differs from Mr Bannister’s March 31, with the document then suggesting that the turbocharger proposal from a single company violated BPL procurement policy that requires competing bids to be sought via tendering.

It also claimed that Christina Alstom, BPL’s chief operating officer, who is in charge of supply chain procurement, and other senior executives, were sidelined over the turbocharger selection and purchasing process.

Mrs Osborne and her

board faction are understood to deny authoring the document, but the level of detail and nature of the allegations suggest it was written by someone highlyplaced within BPL who had knowledge of key events.

Mr Bannister, meanwhile, also refuted claims in the same document that Messrs Heastie and Rollins took an “unauthorised first class trip to China” and then attempted to saddle BPL with the bill.

“That’s not true,” he told Tribune Business, explaining that the duo did not accompany him on his trip to Shanghai. “Mr Rollins and Mr Heastie went to Macau at the invitation of the government of China.

They went to China several weeks before I went to Shanghai.

“These are very nasty things that people are putting out there. The government of China some people from the Ministry of Works as well as BPL, and the chief executive of BPL was formally authorised to book the trip and ensure that was paid. People get so nasty and petty. I’m so disappointed. It’s very unfortunate.”

The leaked document, though, accused Mr Heastie of departing at the very moment his presence was required in the Bahamas to oversee BPL’s voluntary separation programme (VSEP) that attracted over 300 applicants.

“The purpose of that trip was not disclosed to the other board members, and remains unknown to this

date,” it alleged. “The board was not provided with a report upon their return to The Bahamas.

“However, BPL was slapped with the expenses for a trip at a great cost to the company. This trip to China has still not proven to have been on BPL business.

To add insult to injury, when they received pushback from the chairman when she refused to pay for the trip, the deputy chairman waited until she was out of the country and signed off on the payment himself.”

The welfare of BPL’s customers and staff, and the utility’s operations, appear to have been caught in a power struggle between two competing factions on the former board - one headed

by Mrs Osborne, the other featuring Messrs Heastie and Rollins.

Mr Bannister alluded to this yesterday, saying: “One of the challenges is we can’t let personalities get in the way of making decisions in the best interest of the country. That’s one of the challenges we have had with the former board.”

The spark that ignited the dispute appears to have been the respective appointments of Messrs Heastie and Rollins as chief executive and executive director, respectively. Mr Bannister yesterday suggested that Mrs Osborne had sought the post granted to Mr Rollins together with a $300,000 salary - a proposal he rejected. Mr Rollins’ salary is $180,000.

BPL BATTLE EXPOSES GOVERNANCE REFORM NEED AMONG SOES FROM PAGE ONE Shell North America’s new power plant for New Providence were in danger of being undermined by allegations and counter-allegations of political meddling and other “nonsense”.

“Why are we not putting the right people on these Boards with the right experience and understanding?” the ORG principal asked.

“This goes back to ORG’s position for the need for these reforms represented in the State Sector Act. “The State Sector Act

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was specific legislation put in place by New Zealand for the same reason and problems we seem to be having; that there’s too much political meddling between MPs and stateowned enterprises.

“They [governments] put political supporters and donors in charge of these boards rather than the right people. Politics gets in the way.”

Mr Myers explained that a Bahamian version of the State Sector Act would define the relationships between ministers and SOE Boards and management, limiting the former’s influence and involvement to policy issues and setting out the relationship and roles between all parties.

He argued that, in this way, the potential for political interference would be eliminated or minimised, improving governance and

the operational/financial performance at SOEs. It would also boost accountability and transparency in the public sector.

“It would be the same as the private sector; find the best person and hold them accountable,” Mr Myers said. “We’ve been saying that for five years; accountability, accountability, accountability.

“Hold them [board members and management] accountable, give them a mandate, give them a timeline. Put the right people on the board and give them a directive. Ministers are there to set policy and give direction. They’re not there to run the business.”

Mr Myers told Tribune Business that too much was at stake for The Bahamas and its economy for there to be a repeat of the BPL Board controversy and its potential impact on energy reform. “There’s half-a-billion dollars in this decision,” he said, “the one very thing we should be pounding away on.

“It’s more delays, more nonsense, more people having to come up to speed... These are serious businesses, and they’re not

being run like serious businesses. Until somebody steps up and recognises this is a serious setback to the running of the board we’re going to keep making the same mistake.

“The State Sector Act would keep people in their place. Politicians will be politicians, board members will be board members, and management will be management. Until we do that we will keep running around in circles,” Mr Myers continued.

“It’s insanity. Get some people in there that understand business, understand governance, and make changes to our laws that make changes to our governance.”

Paul Maynard, the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union’s (BEWU), told Tribune Business that The Bahamas needed to end situations where families were forced to choose between putting food on the table or paying their light bill.

“We need to cut light bills in half,” he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to survive. The time has come for a mother to stop deciding whether to feed her children or pay BPL.”

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that JANET NOEL of Lucky Hart Corner off East Street, P.O.Box N7978,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 signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th August, 2018 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N7147, Nassau, The Bahamas.

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that DENISE New PIERRE of Wilson Track, 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 signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 22nd August, 2018 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N7147, Nassau, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 22, 2018, PAGE 5

Govt’s Grand Lucayan deal to close Sept 11 FROM PAGE ONE and purchase UBS House, and Mr Scott said of its use in the Grand Lucayan deal: “It will make it easier to sell the resort.”

The well-known attorney confirmed he will become chairman of the SPV, but declined to comment further on the deal’s specifics.

However, this newspaper understands that others who have been recommended to serve on the Grand Lucayan SPV Board are hotelier Russell Miller; attorneys Terence Gape and Carey Leonard; Willie Moss; and Linda Turnquest from the Grand Bahama Shipyard.

All have strong Grand Bahama connections, and provide a combination of resort and legal expertise.

An accountant is also being sought to round out the Board of Directors.

Well-placed Tribune Business sources speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the Government and Cheung Kong (CK) Property Holdings, which is effectively Hutchison Whampoa’s real estate arm, have already agreed the purchase details.

“They’ve signed a contract. It’s done. It closes on September 11,” one source said, ahead of a site visit by the prime minister and Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism, to the Grand Lucayan property today.

Tribune Business understands that the Government has paid $10m upfront, with a further $20m due upon closing, and the $35m purchase price balance to be paid off in a series of $5m instalments over a period of three-and-a-half years.

Yet some elements in the Minnis administration are thought to be exploring

GRAND LUCAYAN RESORT, GRAND BAHAMA

whether the Government should take a tougher line with CK Property Holdings/Hutchison given Paul Wynn, the Wynn Group’s chief executive, described as its “indifferent” attitude to the Grand Lucayan’s plight and wider ramifications for Freeport’s economy.

Tribune Business understands that the Hong Kong-based conglomerate received $80-$85m in insurance proceeds following Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 but, rather than reinvesting this in reopening and repairing the Grand Lucayan, simply pocketed the money in a similar fashion to what Driftwood Freeport did with the Royal Oasis in 2004.

Questions have also been raised internally within the Government as to whether CK Property Holdings/Hutchison is in violation of the 1997 Heads of Agreement for the Grand Lucayan, especially clauses that require it to maintain the resort as an “upper end, premium, first class resort”.

With some taking a hard look at whether the

Government has leverage it can exploit, there have also been suggestions that it should seek to purchase Grand Bahama International Airport from the Hutchison-controlled Freeport Harbour Company.

The airport’s relatively high costs have frequently been cited as a deterrent to attracting airlines, and the Grand Lucayan’s revival will require every bit of airlift Freeport can get.

For that reason, the Grand Lucayan and airport are being eyed as a potential “package deal”.

Mr Scott, though, would only confirm that the Government does not intend to finance repairs and restoration that could add up to $100m to its Grand Lucayan costs, as it bids to both minimise taxpayer exposure and quickly find a private buyer to take on the burden.

“It’s a quasi bail-out,” he told Tribune Business.

“Buy, stabilise, keep some of the property open, keep some people employed and look for qualified investors with a plan and vision for restoration of the resort as the micro centre of Freeport.

“Harness private expertise to finance that restoration and get the resort going again. While I’m on the board of that hotel, this is not going to be spending a lot of government money. The country cannot afford it. This is not going to be just turning on the spigots.

“This is not going to be a haemorrhage of government funds to keep the resort open,” Mr Scott emphasised. “First of all, government should not be in the hotel business.

I firmly, philosophically believe that. Second, the country cannot afford that expense.

“This is not going to be a financial haemorrhage, and is not going to be a wasteful use of money like under the previous administration.”

Wynn Group, which withdrew from its acquisition bid last month, estimated that up to $55m may be required to repair and reopen the Grand Lucayan’s closed sections. With preopening costs of $8-$9m, and an estimated $25m needed to rebuild airlift and for marketing support, the total cost involved was likely to exceed $150m

when the purchase price is included.

With the cash-strapped Treasury unable to support such extensive liabilities, the Government is opting to keep the “status quo” in place while hoping to find a private sector buyer it can sell, or “flip”, the Grand Lucayan to as rapidly as possible.

It is unclear, though, whether what some have described as “a patch job” will be enough to prevent further business closures and redundancies at the Port Lucaya Marketplace and other areas that depend on the hotel’s guests. With the Breaker’s Cay and former Memories properties closed, just 200 rooms at the Grand Lucayan’s Lighthouse Pointe property remain open with around 400 staff employed.

Still, many Bahamians who remember the multimillion losses incurred by the Pindling administration’s Hotel Corporation will likely be breathing a sigh of relief that the Government is seeking to limit its outlay on the Grand Lucayan.

Resorts are extremely capital intensive, and the Government’s exposure would likely go well beyond $150m - money it will never recover - if it sought to re-open the resort and was forced to hold it for years if no buyer emerged.

CK Property Holdings/ Hutchison Whampoa is understood to have lost between $10-$20m per year at the Grand Lucayan on average.

Mr Scott yesterday promised that the SPV Board will “think out of the box” to resolve the situation, and rigorously scrutinise potential Grand Lucayan purchasers to prevent the Government “being burnt

by fly-by-nights” as it has in the past.

“The board I have recommended to the Government to appoint, we’re going to deploy some lateral thinking in coming up with creative ideas in leveraging the investment concepts that are available internationally to take advantage of the potential of Freeport,” he told Tribune Business.

“I don’t think Hutchison were particularly creative in the way they ran that hotel. We’ve got to think out of the box on how that hotel can be properly positioned. We’ve got to look at it with fresh ideas and a fresh approach, and come at it with an open mind.

“The reason why that hotel was a loss leader for years, from speaking to people with much more experience in the industry than I do, was they did not have the experience to run a hotel of that size.”

Pledging to secure the right buyer, Mr Scott said: “This is not an opportunity for someone like a Wynn to come in, spend a few dollars and flip it. There’s got to be a vision and a plan. We’re looking for a quality buyer who’s going to invest in the vision for Grand Bahama.

“I’m very conscious of the fact that the Government has been burnt before by pie in the sky investors who were not properly vetted. The board is going to be populated by private sector individuals that are experienced and very careful in vetting investors before they even get to Cabinet.

“We have got to go through this very carefully because the Government has been burnt several times. I don’t want any more nightmares like that.”

Moody’s: Faith shaken in Bahamas’ fiscal credibility FROM PAGE ONE expenditure rigidities, and exogenous shocks such as hurricanes caused frequent deviations from deficit targets.

“Moreover, fiscal deficit outcomes tended to be revised after being presented in mid-year budget updates or budget speeches, which points to issues regarding fiscal data transparency and quality. A particular issue that weighed on fiscal policy credibility involved the revelation by the FNM government, after it took office in May 2017, of large arrears.

“Arrears worth $205m were incorporated into the 2016-2017 fiscal result, while another $195m were included in the 2017-2018 outturn. Additionally, as presented in the 2018-2019 budget, the remaining arrears amount to $360m and will be mainly covered by the government between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021.

These $760m in arrears represent six percent of 2018 GDP.” Moody’s acknowledged

that the transparency and data quality issues were being addressed but “slowly”, through the move to accrual accounting within the public sector and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financed project to improve financial management within the Government.

However, its comments highlight previous warnings by the private sector that frequently missed fiscal consolidation targets, and the absence of explanations and quality supporting data, threatened to undermine The Bahamas’ policy credibility in the eyes of international markets and investors.

Moody’s, meanwhile, also warned that The Bahamas needs another Baha Mar-scale investment to boost GDP growth above 1-1.5 percent and maintain its fiscal consolidation pace.

The credit rating agency, in its annual full country analysis, said the Government’s fiscal deficit will experience “more moderate” reductions over the next three years due to lower economic growth forecasts.

“We expect that with Baha Mar fully operational this year, economic activity will continue strengthening, both in terms of additional tourism flows and higher employment (the resort will employ 5,000 workers),” Moody’s said.

“Thereafter, and in the absence of another largescale investment project, we expect that growth will return to levels close to The Bahamas’ potential growth of 1-1.5 percent... While we expect a more moderate deficit reduction path over the next three years, in part due to somewhat lower economic growth forecasts, we forecast the government’s debt-to-GDP ratio to stabilise under 60 percent between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019.”

Moody’s is forecasting two percent and 1.7 percent GDP growth for the Bahamian economy in 2018 and 2019, respectively, slightly below the 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent projections provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year.

The IMF has previously warned that a consistent average GDP growth

rate of over five percent, maintained over a fiveyear period, was necessary to both slash the existing unemployment rate in half and absorb all new workforce entrants.

The Bahamas remains well short of such expansion, and Moody’s yesterday gave a not-so veiled warning that the VAT rate hike to 12 percent and other budget tax increases could weigh on the country’s economic growth prospects.

“Fiscal consolidation, both in terms of restrained public spending and higher taxes on consumption, may also weigh on growth over

the coming years,” the rating agency said. “Additionally, we consider that The Bahamas’ growth remains constrained by structural bottlenecks, including issues related to ease of doing business and high energy costs.”

Still, the Minnis administration can take some comfort from Moody’s prediction that the Government’s debt-to-GDP ratio will stabilise this fiscal year before gradually heading downwards towards the 50 percent target set out in the Fiscal Responsibility Bill.

“Short-to-medium-term fiscal challenges include

tax collection inefficiencies, particularly related to property and customs taxes, and large financial transfers to state-owned enterprises (SOEs),” Moody’s said.

“In 2017-2018, the government provided SOEs with $429m in transfers, $79m more than in the previous fiscal year and about a quarter of current spending. The government will aim to address these issues, which over time would also contribute to the fiscal consolidation process, but we expect that any measures or reforms will bear fruit only in the medium term.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF ROSALIND MARIE CATES, late of Sea Breeze Estates in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Deceased IT IS HEREBY NOTIFIED, for the information of those it may concern, that all persons having any claim or demand against the above Estate are required to send the same to the undersigned on or before the 29th day of August, A.D. 2018 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 of 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 8th day of August, A.D. 2018 CALLENDERS & CO. Chambers, One Millars Court, P.O. Box N-7117, Nassau, The Bahamas Attorneys for the Personal Representative

PAGE 6, Wednesday, August 22, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

OF BPL board turmoil RANKS MOST VALUABLE delays Shell deal COMPANIES FROM PAGE ONE

Government’s commitment to proceed with the Shell agreement as the solution for New Providence’s energy woes, emphasising that it could not be changed by the new board.

Mr Bannister added that the refinancing of BPL’s legacy debt and liabilities via the proposed Rate Reduction Bond (RRB) issue would also proceed as planned, notwithstanding the present controversy swirling around the stateowned utility.

He revealed that he was “ready to go to Cabinet” with the RRB details for its approval, and suggested that BPL’s new board would “go on the road in October” to sell the bonds to potential investors in what is likely to be a $500-$650m capital raising.

“Shell was supposed to come here from August 3 to sign the MoU,” Mr Bannister confirmed to Tribune Business. “That

was delayed. We need to get the MoU signed as soon as possible.

“Once we get the new board in place we will have to sign that. We’re going to be basically a month behind, but the commitment of the Government is to Shell. The board is not authorised to change that; it’s a Cabinet decision.”

The Cabinet ratified Shell as the preferred bidder to build, own and operate a new multi-fuel power plant at Clifton Pier that will be charged with providing more reliable, lower-cost energy to New Providence’s long-suffering households and businesses.

The new generation plant, which is scheduled to become operational in 2021, is intended to boost economic and private sector competitiveness, and enhance household disposable income while reducing the foreign exchange drain from fuel purchases.

Shell was selected by the board that has now

been dissolved, but Mr Bannister’s revelation of the month’s-long delay highlights how initiatives designed to benefit the Bahamian people and national interest can be derailed by turmoil at the top of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) such as BPL. Paul Maynard, president of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU), which represents BPL’s line staff, yesterday urged the warring parties to “get out of Shell’s way” and let the multinational energy giant proceed with a plant that is “the only way to save BPL”.

“I don’t care what they tell you,” he told Tribune Business. “We need to get out of the reciprocating engine business and go to turbines. We need to go to propane and then on to LNG. That’s the only thing that will save BPL. We need to get off Bunker C and diesel and return to the modern world.

“We [BPL] cannot afford a new plant. We also need to upgrade the transmission and distribution system.

That will cost us $100m and we don’t have the money to do that. We picked Shell, and need to get out of Shell’s way and let them do their work.”

Mr Bannister, meanwhile, suggested the RRB issue - the other move critical to BPL’s commercial viability, and which will determine how much of he savings produced by the new Shell plant will ultimately reach Bahamian consumers would not be delayed or impacted by the board switch-out.

“I’m ready to go to Cabinet with the directives for the RRB,” he told Tribune Business. “They have to go on the road in October, the board and the board for the SPV. We anticipate they will go on the road with respect to that and find the funding they need.

“I’m not letting anything distract me. I’m just sorry we have come to this [the former board’s infighting].

This thing could have been done in a much different way.”

BPL is currently handicapped by around $350m in bank and bond debt, plus liabilities such as its $100m pension deficit and the need to clean up past environmental pollution.

To address this, the former Christie administration’s plan involved issuing the RRB bonds, via a special purpose vehicle (SPV), to Bahamian and international capital markets investors.

The proceeds would take out the legacy debts while keeping the new financing off BPL and the government’s balance sheets, enabling the former to raise new capital to invest in badly-needed network upgrades.

The Minnis administration initially seemed reluctant to adopt the long-term financial restructuring tool left behind by its Christie predecessor, but the RRB’s placing has become critical to raising the nine-figure sum required to restructure its legacy debt.

It will add an additional charge to consumers’ electricity bills, representing monies that will be used to pay interest to investors in the RRB, but this will be a small component of the overall bill.

“The company needs that RRB,” Mr Maynard agreed yesterday. “It really needs that. I don’t know how they’re going to do that.

[New chairman Donovan] Moxey and his crew, they need to get it done as soon as possible.

“As for the Shell deal, they need to look at it quickly and decide what they’re going to do. We need to go with the Shell plant; we need to change.”

MARKET REPORT TUESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2018

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,976.63 | CHG 36.10 | %CHG 1.86 | YTD -86.94 | YTD% -4.21 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 19.17 7.50 4.10 1.39 0.19 3.92 9.17 6.60 5.30 12.00 2.71 1.77 8.21 6.21 13.00 7.00 13.67 13.00

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 7.50 3.32 0.90 0.12 2.75 8.55 6.09 3.33 9.00 2.30 1.40 7.25 6.00 9.50 5.67 3.25 12.50

1050.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

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 ##########

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

LAST CLOSE 3.90 17.43 9.09 4.06 1.00 0.18 2.75 9.17 6.15 3.57 12.50 2.77 1.75 7.81 6.21 12.00 6.36 3.75 13.00

CLOSE 3.90 17.43 9.09 4.06 1.00 0.18 2.75 9.17 6.15 3.75 12.50 2.81 1.75 7.73 6.21 13.00 6.36 3.75 13.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.18 0.00 0.04 0.00 -0.08 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 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

108.57 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.18 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00 108.39 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

VOLUME

2,000 89,009

1,000 213

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.268 0.932 -0.306 0.283 -0.973 0.000 -0.996 0.638 0.573 0.171 0.627 0.102 0.231 0.000 0.545 0.679 0.719 0.277 0.631

DIV$ 0.100 1.130 0.000 0.230 0.000 0.010 0.000 0.710 0.220 0.120 0.620 0.060 0.070 0.084 0.320 0.500 0.200 0.120 0.590

P/E 14.6 18.7 N/M 14.3 N/M N/M -2.8 14.4 10.7 21.9 19.9 27.5 7.6 N/M 11.4 19.1 8.8 13.5 20.6

YIELD 2.56% 6.48% 0.00% 5.67% 0.00% 5.56% 0.00% 7.74% 3.58% 3.20% 4.96% 2.14% 4.00% 1.09% 5.15% 3.85% 3.14% 3.20% 4.54%

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% 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%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 ############### 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

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.16 4.16 2.00 180.30 157.58 1.56 1.70 1.64 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46 10.00 8.45 11.20

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.50 1.62 1.58 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 2.16 4.12 2.00 180.30 155.10 1.56 1.70 1.65 1.09 7.27 8.32 6.48 11.32 11.71 10.31 9.93 8.45 11.20

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.87% 3.98% -0.44% 4.28% 1.05% 2.26% 0.90% 3.44% 1.11% 6.05% 2.14% 4.33% 0.17% 4.01% 1.67% 4.18% -0.96% 0.73% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69% -0.61% 0.75% 1.13% N/A 2.95% N/A

NAV Date 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 29-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018

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

SHIFTED DURING BULL MARKET

NEW YORK Associated Press

THE MOST valuable American companies at the start of the current bull market included an oil company and retail and consumer goods giants, and just one technology company.

The ranking seems very traditional, even a bit oldfashioned, compared to today, when big technology companies dominate the top of the market.

The top five most valuable companies at the end of February 2009 — Exxon Mobil, Walmart, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and AT&T — includes several in sectors that are generally considered safe, a reflection of investors’ anxieties at a time the market was suffering huge losses.

Today, the top four most valuable companies on the US market are concentrated in technology.

They’ve used innovations in commerce, communications and software to change how people spend their time and money, and how they work.

Apple’s iPhone debuted in 2007 and was a fairly new product when the market hit its low point in early 2009. Today, it’s the source of most of Apple’s revenue.

Thanks in part to steady sales and the high profitability of the phone, Apple became the first public company valued at $1tn earlier this month.

Exxon, P&G, Walmart and AT&T remain among the most valuable

companies on the market, but only one company that held a position in the top five in 2009 is still there today: Microsoft, which made huge gains in recent years by branching out into cloud computing.

Amazon, currently the second most valuable US company at $925bn, may have shaken up more industries than any other.

Its focus on fast shipping and delivery to customers has forced companies that sell clothes, groceries, electronics and other goods to follow suit — or risk falling out of favour with investors.

Amazon was worth less than $30bn back in March 2009.

Alphabet has made steady gains during the bull market as Google came to dominate the online search market and the advertising revenue that comes with it. Alphabet also runs several smaller tech businesses including Waymo, a selfdriving car company.

Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway is a bit of an anomaly at the top of today’s market.

Berkshire does own a big chunk of Apple stock but isn’t particularly focused on technology. It owns several insurance companies and has investments in railroads, airlines, banks and Coca-Cola. The firm’s value has more than tripled during the bull market as investors rewarded it for deals including its purchase of Precision Castparts and Heinz Foods, which then combined with Kraft.

NOTICE

Would Rodney Thervil or his relative contact Janice Miller or Monique McKenzie at the Placement Unit of The Department of Social Services, Sunshine Plaza, Baillou Hill Road or contact telephone number 376-3538

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, TAMIKA NARISKA CASH, of Coral Reef Circle, West Wind, New Providence, Bahamas mother of ALEXIA’KHOLE MARIA RICHRDS, intend to change her name to ALEXIA’KHOLE MARIA RICHARDS-DONALD. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that LAURIE FELIX of Bacardi Road, 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 signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 22nd August, 2018 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N7147, Nassau, The Bahamas.

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that EMANIS SIMILIS of Hanna Hill Eight Mile Rock, Freeport, Grand Bahama, 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 signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd August, 2018 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N7147, Nassau, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

BID TO CREATE NEW CITY IN GEORGIA TRIGGERS A FEDERAL LAWSUIT STOCKBRIDE Associated Press

LAWYERS for the city of Stockbridge, Georgia, claim in a federal lawsuit that a plan to carve off parts of the city to form a new, wealthier, whiter city impairs its citizens’ right to vote and harms the city’s ability to pay municipal bond obligations.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday against the state of Georgia, Gov Nathan Deal and other state officials.

It comes just days after Capital One Public Funding — one of the nation’s largest issuers of municipal bonds — filed a similar lawsuit seeking to stop the referendum to create the new city of Eagles Landing from moving forward as planned in November.

Deal signed legislation in May allowing for the creation of Eagles Landing, in part from land currently in Stockbridge. The new city’s formation must first be approved by local voters, and a referendum is planned for November’s midterm elections. Stockbridge residents outside the proposed new city won’t get a vote.

If created, Eagles Landing would take approximately one third of Stockbridge’s residents and about half of its tax revenue.

Christopher Anulewicz, an attorney representing Stockbridge, said the city’s lawsuit centres on three claims. “Two of them deal with voting rights, one of them deals with the right to have integrity in our contracts.” Anulewicz said.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018, PAGE 7

US plan for coal power deregulation could cause more deaths WASHINGTON Associated Press THE Trump administration yesterday moved to prop up the declining coal industry with an overhaul of Obama-era pollution rules, acknowledging that the increased emissions from aging coal-fired plants could kill hundreds more people annually and cost the country billions of dollars.

The proposal broadly increases the authority given to states to decide how and how much to regulate existing coal power plants.

The EPA said its Affordable Clean Energy rule “empowers states, promotes energy independence and facilitates economic growth and job creation.”

“CLEAN COAL”, President Donald Trump tweeted ahead of a Tuesday trip to coal country in West Virginia. Trump was expected to promote the plan as making good on his campaign pledge to bring back the coal industry, which is being hit hard by market forces that make natural gas and other cleaner fuels cheaper and more appealing.

“Today we are fulfilling the president’s agenda,” acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler told reporters.

The proposal dismantles President Barack Obama’s 2015 Clean Power Plan, one of his administration’s legacy efforts against climate change. The Obama rules, which have been halted by court challenges, would have increased federal regulation of emissions from the nation’s electrical grid and broadly promoted cleaner energy, including natural gas and solar

THE DAVE Johnson coal-fired power plant is silhouetted against the morning sun in Glenrock, Wyo. The Trump administration yesterday proposed a major rollback of Obama-era regulations on coalfired power plants, striking at one of the former administration’s legacy programmes to rein in climate-changing fossil-fuel emissions.

Photo: J David Ake/AP and wind power.

Michelle Bloodworth, president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a trade group that represents coal producers, called the new rule a marked departure from the “gross overreach” of the Obama administration and said it should prevent a host of premature coal-plant retirements.

But the Natural Resources Defense Council called the Trump’s proposal “Dirty Power Plan”.

Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator when the Obama plan was developed, said the proposed changes show the Trump administration emphasising “coal at all costs”.

The EPA’s 289-page regulatory analysis acknowledged that every possible scenario under its proposal projects “small

increases” in climatechanging emissions and some pollutants, compared to the Obama plan.

EPA officials said they could give no firm projections for the health effects of their plan because that will depend on how states regulate power plants within their borders.

But models provided by the agency estimate that under the Trump plan, 300 to 1,500 more people would die prematurely each year by 2030, compared to the Obama plan.

The models for the Trump plan also project tens of thousands of additional major asthma attacks and hundreds more heart attacks compared with the Obama plan.

When health costs from air pollution — soot and smog killing people, increased asthma and heart

attacks — are factored in, the repeal of the coal power plan would cost the country $1.4bn to $3.9bn annually, according to the agency.

“It shows that removing the Clean Power Plan would be detrimental to health,” said University of North Carolina environmental engineering professor Jason West, who went through the agency’s regulatory analysis with The Associated Press.

“The cost to society in increases of death and other outcomes from air pollution are greater than the cost to industry from removing the Clean Power Plan,” West said.

The projection of increased deaths and costs marks “what’s extraordinary about this proposal,” said Richard Revesz, dean emeritus at the New York University School of Law.

“To their credit, they tell us directly, ‘We are doing something to cause great harm to the American people.’”

Environmentalists and other opponents said they expect legal challenges, arguing the Trump administration is abdicating its responsibilities under the Clean Air Act as set by Congress and the courts.

Bill Wehrum, head of the EPA’s air office, told reporters that the administration rejects any suggestion the agency has a broad legal duty to combat climate change through regulation of power grids or promotion of cleaner energy.

“An important part of what we’re doing here is getting us back into our lane,” Wehrum said.

The EPA called the Obama-era regulations on coal power plants “overly prescriptive and burdensome”.

Combined with the EPA’s proposal earlier this month to ease gas-mileage requirements for vehicles, the move may actually increase the country’s climate-changing emissions, according to some former top EPA officials, environmental groups and other opponents.

Yesterday’s move opens a public-comment period on the proposal before any final approval by the president.

Scientists say that without extensive study, they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate change, but that it is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme events such as storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.

The new proposal establishes guidelines for states to use when developing any plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, August 22, 2018

By MATT O’OBRIEN Associated Press INTENTIONALLY or not, Microsoft has emerged as a kind of internet cop by devoting considerable resources to thwarting Russian hackers.

The company’s announcement yesterday that it had identified and forced the removal of fake internet domains mimicking conservative US political institutions triggered alarm on Capitol Hill and led Russian officials to accuse the company of participating in an anti-Russian “witch hunt”.

Microsoft stands virtually alone among tech companies with an aggressive approach that uses US courts to fight computer fraud and seize hacked websites back. In the process, it has acted more like a government detective than a global software giant.

In the case this week, the company did not just accidentally stumble onto a couple of harmless spoof websites. It seized the latest beachhead in an ongoing struggle against Russian hackers who meddled in the 2016 presidential election and a broader, decade-long legal fight to protect Microsoft customers from cybercrime.

“What we’re seeing in the last couple of months appears to be an uptick in activity,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, said in an interview this week. Microsoft says it caught these particular sites early and that there’s no evidence they were used in hacking.

The Redmond, Washington, company sued the hacking group best known as Fancy Bear in August 2016, saying it was breaking into Microsoft accounts and computer networks and stealing highly sensitive information from customers. The group, Microsoft said, would send “spear-phishing” emails that linked to realistic-looking fake websites in hopes targeted victims — including political and military figures — would click and betray their credentials.

The effort is not just a

THE TRIBUNE

Microsoft’s antihacking efforts make it emerge as an internet cop

ALEX KIPMAN, a technical fellow at Microsoft, stands on stage after speaking at the Microsoft Build 2017 developers conference in Seattle. Microsoft stands virtually alone among tech companies with its aggressive approach that uses US courts to fight computer fraud and seize hacked websites back from malicious perpetrators. But in the process, the company is taking on a role that might look more like the job of government than a corporation.

Photo: Elaine Thompson/AP question of fighting computer fraud but of protecting trademarks and copyright, the company argues.

One email introduced as court evidence in 2016 showed a photo of a mushroom cloud and a link to an article about how Russia-US tensions could trigger World War III. Clicking on the link might expose a user’s computer to infection, hidden spyware or data theft.

An indictment from US special counsel Robert

Mueller has tied Fancy Bear to Russia’s main intelligence agency, known as the GRU, and to the 2016 email hacking of both the Democratic National Committee and Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Some security experts were skeptical about the publicity surrounding Microsoft’s announcement, worried that it was an overblown reaction to routine surveillance of political organisations — potential cyberespionage

honey pots— that never rose to the level of an actual hack.

The company also used its discovery as an opportunity to announce its new free security service to protect US candidates, campaigns and political organisations ahead of the midterm elections.

But Maurice Turner, a senior technologist at the industry-backed Center for Democracy and Technology, said Microsoft is wholly justified in its approach to

identifying and publicising online dangers.

“Microsoft is really setting the standards with how public and how detailed they are with reporting out their actions,” Turner said.

Companies including Microsoft, Google and Amazon are uniquely positioned to do this because their infrastructure and customers are affected. Turner said they “are defending their own hardware and their own software and to

some extent defending their own customers.”

Turner said he has not seen anyone in the industry as “out in front and open about” these issues as Microsoft.

As industry leaders, Microsoft’s Windows operating systems had long been prime targets for viruses when in 2008 the company formed its Digital Crimes Unit, an international team of attorneys, investigators and data scientists. The unit became known earlier in this decade for taking down botnets, collections of compromised computers used as tools for financial crimes and denial-of-service attacks that overwhelm their targets with junk data.

Richard Boscovich, a former federal prosecutor and a senior attorney in Microsoft’s digital crimes unit, testified to the Senate in 2014 about how Microsoft used civil litigation as a tactic. Boscovich is also involved in the fight against Fancy Bear, which Microsoft calls Strontium, according to court filings.

To attack botnets, Microsoft would take its fight to courts, suing on the basis of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and other laws and asking judges for permission to sever the networks’ command-andcontrol structures.

“Once the court grants permission and Microsoft severs the connection between a cybercriminal and an infected computer, traffic generated by infected computers is either disabled or routed to domains controlled by Microsoft,” Boscovich said in 2014.

He said the process of taking over the accounts, known as “sinkholing”, enabled Microsoft to collect valuable evidence and intelligence used to assist victims.

In the latest action against Fancy Bear, a court order filed Monday allowed Microsoft to seize six new domains, which the company said were either registered or used at some point after April 20.

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