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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

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DR DUANE SANDS

NIB rejected as NHI manager

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE National Insurance Board (NIB) has been rejected as the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme’s administrator because its costs are simply too high, a Cabinet minister has revealed.

Dr Duane Sands, minister of health, who revealed the move at last week’s Exuma Business Outlook conference, said: “Unfortunately, we do not like to pay bills.

We do not like to pay taxes.

“We do not believe that any requirement of the Government is absolutely required to be paid, and hence we have a $385m exposure at the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation; a roughly half a billion exposure at the Bank of The Bahamas; at least two actuarial reviews which say that current benefit levels at NIB will be exhausted very soon.”

The minister continued: “When we looked at the reformulation of NHI, we discounted immediately the role of NIB in administrating NHI. In large part, the cost of NIB and lack of participation in NIB puts the administrative cost at about 20 percent [of contribution income].

“For NHI to be universal, all-inclusive and mandatory, we have to have a cap of around five to six percent on administrative costs.

NIB has not been able to hit that benchmark. If Cabinet agrees, we are going to roll out NHI through the private sector.

“It is a sad statement of where we are today, but the idea that we create another

SEE PAGE 7

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Lucayan’s 150 staff exits to cost $2-$3m

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE Grand Lucayan’s chairman yesterday estimated it will cost the Government between $2-$3m to finance the voluntary departures of 150 workers seeking to leave the resort.

Michael Scott, pictured, in a statement issued yesterday, confirmed that the Government’s newly-acquired resort is on track to to reduce its workforce by one-third after 60 management staff, and 90 line employees and casual workers, volunteered to accept severance packages.

He added that this would slash the workforce from more than 450 to around 303, describing the latter number as “more closely aligning” with the demands of the 196-room Lighthouse

* Workforce to reduce by one-third * ‘Crunching the numbers’ on sums owed * Buyer field likely to shrink by 50%

THE GRAND Lucayan Resort Pointe property - the only one of the three Grand Lucayan hotels that is currently open. The separations will start towards the end of this month or the beginning of November.

Mr Scott, who chairs Lucayan Renewal Holdings, the Government-owned

special purpose vehicle (SPV) that controls the resort until a buyer is found, told Tribune Business that he and the board were “crunching the numbers” to ensure figures supplied by the two trade unions representing its workforce matched their own.

Promising that the Grand Lucayan will “follow the law” on both the sums paid out and structure of the voluntary separation packages (VSEPs), he added that “misconceived claims” will not be entertained given that “public money” - meaning the Public Treasury and Bahamian taxpayers - will finance the payouts.

“If people wanted to leave we weren’t going to stand in their way,” the Lucayan Renewal Holdings chairman told this newspaper.

“We expected there would be some realignment and

DISNEY’S Lighthouse Point rival yesterday said “nothing is off the table” over the rejection of its “game changing” proposal, which it argued had been “misunderstood” by many in Eleuthera.

Shaun Ingraham, chief executive of the One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF), told Tribune Business that a Judicial Review-style legal challenge to the Government’s decision to approve Disney Cruise Line’s project remained an option for Lighthouse Point Partners (LPP) given its continued belief that the process was “flawed”.

restricted to the south.

Suggesting that Bahamians, and especially South Eleuthera residents, had not SHAUN INGRAHAM been given sufficient opportunity to compare and “interrogate” Disney and LPP’s respective plans for the 700-acre site on the island’s southern tip, Mr Ingraham said the controversy caused by the competing proposals further exposed the need

Private sector must do more in OECD fight

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

for a national economic development plan.

“We are still reviewing all our options now. We haven’t taken anything off the table in terms of how we respond,” Mr Ingraham said of the LPP group’s position. “We’re still having conversations with the partners about how we go forward this week.

“At the weekend everyone was taking a breather.

We were reviewing all our options ahead, as we do feel the process was flawed and people were deprived of the

SEE PAGE 6

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* Says ‘game changer’ plan ‘misunderstood’ * Was for ‘all Eleuthera, not just the south’ * Judicial Review challenge among options He and One Eleuthera, who are members of the LPP consortium, argued that the group’s stopoverbased, ecotourism vision would have “stimulated the whole island” whereas the impact for Disney’s cruise passenger “beach break” destination would largely be

GOWON BOWE

THE Clearing Banks Association’s (CBA) chairman has urged the private sector to play a greater role in preventing The Bahamas from being “blindsided” by the OECD and other initiatives.

Gowon Bowe told Tribune Business that the financial services industry needed to “leverage” its own contacts to uncover, and head-off, attacks such as last week’s listing of The Bahamas’ economic permanent residency product among 21 countries whose regimes were deemed potentially harmful to the global anti-tax evasion fight.

He added that The Bahamas needed “to mobilise what I call our best defence team”, featuring public and private sector executives, in dealing with the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and other international bodies that frequently threaten this nation’s financial services industry.

Arguing that the task cannot be left to the Government alone, Mr Bowe said The Bahamas needed to ensure it was fully involved in working groups such as the OECD’s Global Forum on tax transparency and information exchange rather than rely on a single person or minister-to-minister dialogue.

Regardless of whether it was a “blacklist” or not, then Clearing Banks chief said The Bahamas’ inclusion on the OECD list

Disney competitor: ‘Nothing ruled out’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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Perry ‘approved’ $1.5m web shop boss contract

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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PERRY Christie and his Cabinet approved the award and financial terms of a web shop boss’s controversial $1.46m computer supply deal with the Ministry of Finance, court documents allege.

Simon Wilson, the ministry’s financial secretary, says the contract was awarded to Xua Company Ltd, an entity owned by Pete Deveaux, chief executive of the Island Game, upon Cabinet approval “and the directions of the former minister of finance” - who was Mr Christie.

The top official, who remains on leave, also claimed that the financial terms of the “lease-to-own” deal struck with Mr Deveaux and Xua for the computer equipment were approved by

both Mr Chrisagainst allegations tie and Michael relating to both Halkitis, then the Ministry of • Top official: minister of state Finance’s dealIt got Cabinet for finance. ings with Xua backing The revelaand the Atillio tions came in Mr Holdings apartWilson’s lawsuit ment rentals - the against the Governsubjects of the two ment, which alleges it reports tabled in the denied him due process, House of Assembly by the “procedural fairness and Government last week. fundamental justice” in Arguing that the Auditor engineering his departure General had yet to proas financial secretary and duce its conclusions on the replacement by Marlon computer supply deal, Mr Johnson. He wants the Wilson said in his August Supreme Court to restore 14, 2018, reply to Ms Johnhim to that position, son: “The Cabinet of the together with the salary Commonwealth of The and benefits due to such a Bahamas had previously position. provided the Ministry of Replying to a July 30, Finance with the authority 2018, “show cause” memo- to engage in bulk purchases randum written by Camille of personal computers as a Johnson, the Cabinet sec- cost-saving mechanism. retary, which sought to “Pursuant to the Cabinet initiate disciplinary pro- approval and the directions ceedings against him, Mr of the minister of finance, Wilson defended himself the contract was awarded

to Xua. Financing arrangements are not subject to Tenders Board and Cabinet approval. The financial arrangement with Xua was approved by both the former prime minister and minister of finance, Perry Christie, and the former minister of state for finance, Michael Halkitis.”

Mr Wilson, in his August 14, 2018, reply to Ms Johnson said the computer equipment supply deal was struck after the Christie Cabinet gave the go-ahead for the Ministry of Finance to proceed with the Electronic Single Window (ESW) project to modernise Bahamas Customs.

This, he added, “included the replacement of a minimum of 400-600 hundred computers within the Customs Department” as part of efforts to digitise and

SEE PAGE 7

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 23, 2018, PAGE 3

SMALL BUSINESS CENTRE MOVES ON DISNEY PROJECT

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

the SBDC’s executive director, told Tribune Business that the small business incubator - working with the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce - plans to meet with Disney to develop plans for the inclusion of small businesses prior to the signing of a Heads of Agreement with the Government.

“We want these plans to be included as part of the formal expectation,” said Ms Blair. “We will be in Eleuthera for town meetings in collaboration with the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce from November 13-15 to launch Access Accelerator, SBDC.

“We hope to commence discussions with Disney prior to that to give real expectations to entrepreneurs with an interest in the project.”

Lighthouse Point is a 700-acre peninsula located at the southern tip of Eleuthera. Disney Line Island Development’s proposal for the site was approved by the Minnis Cabinet’s National Economic Council this past Friday.

The decision came despite calls from Disney’s competitor, Lighthouse Point Partners (LPP), for a 60-day delay to give it an equal opportunity to present its proposal for the property to the public.

Disney has already taken steps to acquire the site for the construction of its cruise passenger beach break destination, promising a $400m spend.

The SBDC, a non-profit

entity which launched back in September, is a partnership between the University of The Bahamas (UB), the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) and the Government. It is designed to build the institutional framework and support for micro, small and mediumsized enterprises (MSMEs) in their initial development stages.

Govt urged: Give post office ‘vision’

“It is disappointing that these are the actions of an administration that campaigned on transparency, accountability and economic empowerment for all. While the chosen location may have won the bid on merit, it has been tainted by a flawed process.”

Mr Armbrister warned: “The result of this myopic approach to governance is that we will either find ourselves seeking a new location in five years, or end up being stuck with this lease arrangement after investing millions of dollars in a property that we do not own.

“We implore the Government to clearly articulate a vision and plan for the modernisation of the postal system in The Bahamas in the age of technology and e-commerce. The business model must evolve with the changing trends and inspire entrepreneurship among the Bahamian people.”

Tribune Business has frequently reported about the collapse of the postal system, following multiple complaints from residents and businesses.

Mr Wells said the General Post Office site on East Hill Street has been condemned as being structurally unsound and mould infested, with staff repeatedly taking industrial action over their working conditions.

The Minnis administration previously announced it had acquired the former Phil’s Food Services building on Gladstone Road to house the General Post Office. But Mr Wells revealed last month that

the Government had gone back to the drawing board because Cabinet discovered it would cost more to renovate the building than it had budgeted.

The Christie administration had also looked at relocating the General Post Office to the Town Centre

Mall during its last term, but ultimately decided to enter into a public-private partnership (PPP) to construct a new building at the Independence Drive Shopping Centre across the roundabout.

The Town Centre Mall is partly owned by Brent

Symonette, minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, and his family. Mr Wells has defended the Government’s decision, saying: “This is not the first time that a member of the House of Assembly would have had their building leased [by the Government].”

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) yesterday said it was moving to ensure to ensure Bahamian entrepreneurs are well-placed to exploit Disney’s proposed Lighthouse Point development.

Davina Blair, pictured,

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is urging the Government to “clearly articulate a vision and plan” for modernising The Bahamas’ postal system, as it slammed the “flawed” Town Centre Mall relocation..

Buscheme Armbrister, the party’s spokesperson for transport and aviation, in a statement conceded that the main post office’s relocation was long overdue given the need to modernise its services for the 21st century.

“After years of inconvenience and discomfort, the Bahamian people expected a long-term solution and plan for the postal system. Unfortunately, we have been presented with another ad hoc and temporary solution – a temporary solution with a five-year commitment,” Mr Armbrister said.

Renward Wells, minister of transport, who last week tabled a parliamentary resolution to approve renting space for the Post Office at the Town Centre Mall, said the lease terms will offer a “concessionary rate” of $12 per square foot for the Post Office.

This, he said, was far below the going rate for commercial rentals on New Providence. Portions of the building will be leased and made suitable for the Post Office’s operations at the landlord’s expense, and the space will be leased for a five-year period.

“According to news reports, the Government will be leasing at least 56,000 square feet in the

Town Centre Mall at $12 per square foot for five years. The minister with responsibility for the post office could not confirm the total cost to taxpayers when asked by the media,” said Mr Armbrister.

“This would seem odd seeing that, on the face of it, the total cost would be a minimum of $672,000 per annum or approximately $3.4m over five years.

However, what remains unknown is the value of any anticipated leasehold improvements, ongoing maintenance costs and other associated fees for which the Bahamian taxpayer will be responsible.”

Mr Armbrister added: “In the absence of all the details, we question whether this is the best deal for the Bahamian people and how construction or renovation costs of other properties identified compare to the amount of funds the Government will utilise to finalise the deal with owners of the Town Centre Mall.

“Furthermore, the Government has failed to provide details on how this will be funded and whether the current budget can accommodate the total cost of this venture.”

He described the selection process for the new location as also leaving “much to be desired”.

Mr Armbrister said: “There was no Request for Proposal issued by the Government to provide an opportunity for all without bias and encourage competition among small to medium-sized businesses or owners of commercial property within the bidding process.

PHOTO: Serena Williams Media

Top CIBC executive tours local branches CIBC FirstCaribbean’s managing director of retail and business banking, Mark St Hill, recently toured the bank’s branches throughout The Bahamas.

During his visit he attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the official opening of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Baha Mar branch, which provides exclusive services for more than 5,000 Baha Mar employees.

“The pillars on which we do things are simplification and convenience. We’re extremely pleased to partner not only with what we see as a wonderful investment, but clearly one of the largest investments this country has seen in quite a while,” Mr St. Hill said.

“Our strategy is to be the leader in client relationships, and hence build a stronger brand. We’re extremely proud of this endeavour and see this as a model we hope to expand across the region.”

Mr St Hill also visited the Shirley Street, Carmichael, Palmdale, Harbour Bay and Bay Street branches in New Providence, before flying out

to Grand Bahama to connect with the Freeport sales teams.

Mr St Hill is pictured among other CIBC FirstCaribbean and Baha Mar executives at the ribboncutting ceremony for the Baha Mar branch opening.

Pictured from left: Allison Adderley, assistant director of compensation and benefits, Baha Mar; Jacqui Bend, director of retail sales and branch operations, CIBC FirstCaribbean; Kirsty Cowper, vice-president of human resources and organisational development, Baha Mar; Mark St Hill, managing director of retail and business banking, CIBC FirstCaribbean; Marie Rodland-Allen, managing director (Bahamas & Turks & Caicos), CIBC FirstCaribbean; Gezel Farrington, director of banking retail channels, CIBC FirstCaribbean; Sherwin Hilton, business support manager, CIBC FirstCaribbean; and Lisa Knowles, assistant customer service manager, CIBC FirstCaribbean Baha Mar branch.

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PAGE 4, Tuesday, October 23, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Colina parent teams on digital payment solution AN electronic payment provider has teamed up with Colina Insurance’s parent company to give Bahamian consumers the ability to make cashless transactions.

Island Pay’s partnership with the AF Holdings Group of Companies will introduce a convenient, efficient digital solution that enables consumers to make electronic payments between themselves and Bahamas-based businesses.

Frank Svatousek, Island Pay’s president, said: “Taking full advantage of the ease of doing business

that electronic transactions provide, Island Pay’s platform gives its clients convenient payment and money transfer options in a secure digital environment.

“The web-based and smartphone app interface, available for iOS and Android, offer clients full control of payments through a secure token that adheres to the highest standards of security, control and utility for its users. Additionally, our services are secured by a rigorous a KYC (Know Your Customer) registration engine that verifies the user’s identity and address

to safeguard their transactions.”

Steve Haughey, Colina Holdings Bahamas’ chief operating officer, added: “All of our companies will be able to utilise this tool to better serve our clients by adding cashless transactions to our service offering.

“Through the web and mobile applications, our clients will be able to make payments, withdraw from their policy loans (where applicable), receive dividends and initiate person-to-person money transfers along with a wide range of other services.”

Lucayan’s 150 staff exits to cost $2-$3m FROM PAGE ONE readjustment, and that’s OK with us as we want to run it as efficiently and cost effectively as we can.”

Mr Scott, an attorney, said both trade unions - the Commonwealth Union of Hotel Services and Allied Workers (CUHSAW), which represents the line staff and is headed by Michelle Dorsette, and the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA), which acts for middle management - had been co-operative in working with the board to supply lists of who wanted to leave and the sums said to be due to them.

“We’re crunching those numbers now,” he confirmed to Tribune Business. “That’s Ellison Delva, our restructuring officer, and Linda Turnquest, from Grand Bahama Shipyard, who sits on the board as treasurer.

“They’re crunching the numbers and going through everything. Once they’re done, we’ll have a firm number, hopefully by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. It’s hard to say, but it’ll be somewhere between $2-$3m. It will be several million.”

The Lucayan Renewal Holdings Board has to reconcile the union-supplied figures with its own, and determine if it needs to retain any of those wishing to leave to maintain the resort’s smooth functioning.

“I’m not paying any outstanding gratuities or claims that are misconceived. This is public money. I’ll be following the law,” Mr Scott warned, adding that the Government had “departed from the norm” by taking on the staff severance liabilities itself.

He added that this was normally the seller’s responsibility in transactions of this nature, but the Minnis

administration elected to take it on itself given the strained relationship with Hutchison Whampoa over the Grand Lucayan’s sale.

“We didn’t want to leave that to Hutchison. We’ve had a very difficult relationship with Hutchison,” Mr Scott admitted. “Severance is usually the obligation of the seller, not the purchaser, but in this instance, given the historically difficult relationship with Hutchison, the Government opted to exercise the principle of parens patriae - parent of the nation - as protector of its citizens’ rights of those who would be unable to protect themselves.”

Still, the severance pay costs are likely to reignite concerns about the Government’s (taxpayer’s) financial exposure to Freeport’s last “mega resort” property, especially if it is unable to fulfill its “quick exit” strategy by selling it to a new buyer within three to six months.

Besides the $65m purchase price, the Government also committed to a $2m subsidy to cover Hutchison Whampoa’s operating losses between August 1 and September 11, and waived the payment of $3.25m in Stamp Duty on the conveyancing by the Hong Kong conglomerate. The latter also walked away with $80-$85m in Hurricane Matthew insurance proceeds, rather than put them into repairs.

The Government also faces a $35-$39m repair bill if it chooses to proceed with renovating all three Grand Lucayan properties. KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, previously said the full financing costs could run as high as $124m - a sum still below the total subsidies demanded by Wynn Group and Sunwing, the last two private buyers to look at the property.

Mr Scott, meanwhile, said he expected around 50 percent of the “dozen people”

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showing interest in acquiring the Grand Lucayan to “withstand” due diligence, and come up with the capital and vision required, to revive the entire Lucayan strip and transform it into a destination product.

“We’ve got over a dozen people expressing interest, but maybe half a dozen will withstand due diligence and get the capital and liquidity together to make the investment this project requires.

That’s what it’s going to come down to,” he told Tribune Business.

“I’m not wasting time.

There’s no time to waste.

There’s extensive interest, significant in both terms of quality and in volume. We’re also getting inquiries from non-serious players, but those I file in the proverbial round hole, which is the garbage.”

The Lucayan Renewal Holdings chairman added that he hoped to obtain a new appraisal, showing the estimated value of the resort’s real estate and physical plant, by the end of this week. Its completion is key to enabling the SPV to complete its offering memorandum for prospective buyers, thereby launching the formal sales process.

Mr Scott was backed by Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, with both men separately visiting Florida on Friday to meet with potential Grand Lucayan purchasers and assess their existing operations.

“There’s certainly a lot of interest,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business, “but having people interested is one thing. It’s what you need to close the deal. The devil is in the detail. We’re looking at people we think are serious and discussing their vision and idea.

“We’re telling them what we can and can’t accept, so they can adjust their proposals accordingly. We’re trying to weed out who is a viable bidder and who is not. The way to do that is look at their projects and who they have coming out to make a proposal to see if they are credible and viable.”

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PAGE 6, Tuesday, October 23, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Disney competitor: ‘Nothing ruled out’ FROM PAGE ONE opportunity to hear our plans and proposal, and interrogate Disney’s plan. I don’t know if people thought through Disney’s plan, interrogated it, and looked at what they’re asking for.”

Mr Ingraham confirmed that a potential Judicial Review challenge to the perceived lack of proper public consultation by the Government over Disney’s proposal was among the options that are “not off the table”, with LPP’s decision on its next moves likely to be taken before the week ends.

Such a challenge is likely the only way the Government’s Disney approval can be overturned, with the LPP consortium disputing assertions by senior administration officials that the Town Hall meeting in south Eleuthera that was attended by the prime minister satisfied the requirement to conduct meaningful consultation with affected parties and local stakeholders.

Eric Carey, the Bahamas National Trust’s (BNT) executive director, previously said the organisation and other LPP members “absolutely do not accept that meeting”

amounted to the required consultation established by recent Bahamian court verdicts.

Numerous court rulings over developments such as Baker’s Bay at Guana Cay, Abaco, and the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) power plant at Wilson City, have established as legal precedent the need to meaningfully consult with affected parties and stakeholders over such projects.

But, the Government, in confirming its decision to go with Disney, suggested that LPP and its members had also spoken of their plans at community meetings in south Eleuthera. It also used the Town Hall meeting’s outcome, and opinion polls by the Public Domain research firm, both of which purportedly showed many Bahamians were in favour of the cruise line’s plan, to justify its decision.

Mr Ingraham, meanwhile, argued that LPP’s detailed plans for Lighthouse Point, released publicly just one week before the Minnis Cabinet made its decision to give Disney’s proposal the go-ahead, had not been fully digested or understood by many Bahamians.

“We still think our plan was misunderstood, and people didn’t fully read it,”

Mr Ingraham told Tribune Business. “There’s an old saying that if you want to hide something from Bahamians, put it in writing. Our challenge has been getting our model out there.

“They didn’t understand it was a game changer for how we do business in the country; Bahamian ownership, the property held in trust for the Bahamian people in perpetuity, and whatever ultimate benefits were generated would go to the Bahamian people. All employment would have been Bahamian.”

Members of the LPP consortium previously said economic projections released by the two sides showed their proposal for an eco-tourism, research and national park-centred development would have “significantly more impact” than Disney’s “beach break” experience for its passengers.

The group, whose members include some of Eleuthera’s most prominent institutions, such as the Leon Levy Foundation, One Eleuthera Foundation, The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute, as well as the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), produced statistics purporting to show the wages generated by its proposal would have been 146 percent higher on average than those

offered by Disney.

It placed particular emphasis on the 190 permanent jobs promised by its proposal exceeding the 120-150 pledged by Disney, with “wages estimated to be 270 percent higher than the minimum wage for the permanent, high calibre seven-day-a-week jobs, many of them managerial and professional positions”.

“Our plan was to stimulate the entire island; that’s what people missed out on,” Mr Ingraham told Tribune Business yesterday.

“To stimulate the economy you need people moving, shopping, driving, renting vehicles. That’s what people didn’t understand about the plan. It was not just for south Eleuthera; it was for all Eleuthera, from north to south.”

Emphasising that the LPP group had not asked for the tax breaks and investment incentives typically sought by foreign investors, Mr Ingraham said its proposed project was unlikely to work at another location due to the difficulty of matching Lighthouse Point’s qualities.

“You can’t take the Island House and just put it anywhere,” he explained. “It has to be somewhere special to draw people. We just felt like we had the right

mix of ingredients.” Apart from the Holowesko family -owned Island House, the LPP group had also produced letters from the Bahamas Boutique Hotels Group (owner of Hope Town Harbour Lodge) and Benjamin Simmons’ Little Island Group confirming their interest in partnering with the project to develop the eco-tourism component.

The One Eleuthera Foundation chief also responded to criticisms frequently voiced by Disney’s supporters that it lacked the financing necessary to both purchase the 700acre site, said to be valued at between $20-$25m, and then fulfill its own $23m development vision.

Mr Ingraham reiterated LPP’s 42-page proposal showed that USbased donors had already raised $6.463m for the cause, while the Leon Levy Foundation - an entity with more than $500m in assets had committed to financing the land acquisition.

Disney, though, held one distinct advantage in that it held a signed sales agreement with the seller, The Related Group and Meritage Hospitality, to purchase the 700-acre Lighthouse Point site. The Government indicated this weighed significantly in

its decision to approve the cruise line’s proposal.

LPP has also come under criticism for failing to act sooner, given the knowledge that Lighthouse Point was for sale and a prime development site, with Disney’s advocates arguing it had waited until the last minute to go public with its proposal.

This, they suggested, raised further doubts about LPP’s credibility, but Mr Ingraham yesterday said “the record” showed such assertions had no merit since the group’s members had been talking to successive governments about Lighthouse Point’s fate since 2008-2009 when The Related Group’s longabandoned plans first surfaced.

“The Shared Vision document came out in 2010, which outlined ideas for the property in a general way. It’s not like we’ve been sitting there,” the One Eleuthera chief said.

“We have been meeting, pushing. It takes time to get everything in place.”

He conceded, though, that it was only after the Leon Levy Foundation “joined the fight in the last couple of years” that LPP gained the financial firepower to make firm offers to acquire Lighthouse Point.

Private sector must do more in OECD fight FROM PAGE ONE was “not a positive sign for us”, and this nation needed to move rapidly to address any concerns that the group, which represents the world’s most powerful economies, has.

“As a country we really have to be in a position

where these things are not coming as a surprise, and we are keeping a better finger on the pulse,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business.

“I’ve seen the reaction by certain government officials in terms of the negative reaction, but we are in reality playing in their [the OECD’s] space and can’t

reply negatively to the pronouncements and actions they take.

“We can’t be emotive in our response. It makes it seem like we’re having a knee jerk reaction. We have to demonstrate a position of sensitivity, a position of confidence, and that we are concerned with criticism and have policies in place

to address and mitigate it.”

The OECD caught the Government, as well as the financial services industry and wider private sector, off-guard last week by listing this nation’s economic permanent residency offering among the investment incentive regimes of 21 countries that it says jeopardise “the integrity” of its Common Reporting Standard (CRS) automatic tax information exchange initiative.

While the OECD’s list, and accompanying report, did not mention the imposition of sanctions or penalties against The Bahamas and 20 other countries, it did call on financial institutions to apply greater scrutiny to persons benefiting from their investment-related residency and citizenship programmes when it came to determining their tax compliance.

Mr Bowe said The Bahamas needed to quickly find out whether the OECD was objecting to all investment-related residency and citizenship regimes as a whole, which seemed unlikely since members such as the US, UK and

Canada all offer similar incentives, or whether there were specific concerns with this nation’s economic permanent residency product that may have arisen from misunderstandings and lack of knowledge.

Calling on the Government to make the regime’s safeguards known, he added: “We can’t cry when we’re playing in their sandbox. We have to decide whether to change the regime to comply or stop playing in their sandbox.

We cannot be the child who is spoilt and cry about it. We have to be mature about it and demonstrate the regime we have in place.”

The Bahamas’ inclusion on the OECD list, at the very least, will plant “seeds of doubt” and uncertainty in the minds of investors as to the benefits of holding/ seeking economic permanent residency given that they will likely be subjected to greater scrutiny.

This will be especially unwelcome for investors who have legitimate privacy concerns, such as those from high-crime and politically unstable countries in Latin America,

increasingly a key source of business for The Bahamas, who may fear that information extracted by greater CRS scrutiny could fall into the wrong hands.

As a result, the OECD listing threatens to negatively impact a wide cross-section of the Bahamian economy, not just the hard-pressed financial services industry. Besides attracting high net worth clients and their assets to this nation, economic permanent residency drives lucrative business for real estate developers, realtors and attorneys, and produces spin-offs affecting virtually all industries.

Mr Bowe said The Bahamas has “to get it right in terms of our engagement” with the likes of the OECD and European Union (EU) to avoid being continually “blindsided” by their activities.

“Our engagement does not appear to be at the level we expect it to be where we are not blindsided,” he added. “If we’re piecemeal in our response we’re going to continually face these threats. We cannot be reacting to every report.”

A boutique Offshore Bank seeks to hire a

RELATIONSHIP MANAGER – ASIAN DESK QUALIFICATIONS: • Must possess a Bachelor’s degree or Higher • Minimum of 8 years of relevant industry experience • Candidates should have an understanding of money management and merchant services • Capable of actively planning, organizing and managing a deal team, consisting of applicable product partners to determine value-added approaches to clients and potential clients REQUIRED SKILLS: • Must possess excellent communication and listening skills • The ability to explain complex information clearly and simply • Must be able to speak Spanish and Mandarin • Good sales and negotiation skills • An interest in financial products and markets • Good mathematical and computer skills • The drive and motivation to meet targets • Must be honest and trustworthy • Accuracy and attentive to detail • The ability to analyse and research information • Provide guidance and coaching to team members Salary and benefits will commensurate with qualifications and experience. Suitable candidates should submit resumes to: Human Resources c/o The Tribune P.O.BOX N3207 DA 109576 Nassau, Bahamas

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 23, 2018, PAGE 7

Perry ‘approved’ $1.5m web shop boss contract FROM PAGE ONE streamline its operations, and reduce the cost and time involved with clearing goods to speed up cross-border commerce.

There is nothing to suggest that Mr Christie or Mr Halkitis did anything wrong in relation to the Xua contract, nor that either man is the “senior elected official” referenced in the reports tabled in the House of Assembly.

FTI Consulting, in its investigation of the Ministry of Finance’s procurement processes and contract award procedures, said the computer supply deal appeared to originate at a meeting attended by Mr Wilson, Mr Deveaux and the official - who held ministerial rank - some three months before the deal’s April 2017 signing.

Mr Wilson’s account, though, contradicts the FTI Consulting report over the issue of whether the award had Cabinet approval.

The report quoted a

September 25, 2017, “minute paper” written by his replacement, Mr Johnson, which said the Ministry had “not been able to locate the paperwork to support the authorisation of” the agreement with Mr Deveaux.

Mr Johnson’s report added that there was not evidence of “ministerial or Cabinet involvement, nor any quotes or tender documentation”.

He then suggested that this might be “a material breach of the [Financial Administration and Audit Act] in respect of the procurement of goods and services”.

The FTI Consulting report also challenged the “lease-to-own” terms, which appears to be the “financial arrangement” approved by Messrs Christie and Halkitis referenced in Mr Wilson’s legal “statement of claim”.

“It is unclear why the agreement was structured as a lease-to-own contract and why the Ministry of Finance did not simply purchase the equipment outright,” the report said. It added that Mr Wilson revealed it was

due to the Ministry’s budget constraints, which had left $200,000-$400,000 available to fund the deal, coupled with Mr Deveaux’s ability to provide financing.

Still, the timing of the FTI Consultants’ reports release through their tabling in the House of Assembly, coming exactly two weeks’ after Mr Wilson filed his legal action with the Supreme Court, suggests the Government’s action was motivated by the financial secretary’s move.

It appears to have wanted to justify its reasons for replacing Mr Wilson, and strike first over the dispute, possibly anticipating that the matter would become public and cause further controversy.

For both the Xua and Atillio deals were central to the alleged “breaches” by Ms Johnson in her letter to Mr Wilson. FTI Consulting, which was acting on the Auditor General’s behalf, said neither deal was put out to competitive bidding with the Government’s Tenders Board is routinely bypassed

in the awarding of contracts that should go before it.

Mr Wilson, in reply, reiterated that the Auditor General had to release his findings on both matters, and added “that there is no precedent for Tenders Board or Cabinet approving a residential lease agreement” as in the case of Atillio.

As for the other two matters cited by the Cabinet secretary, Mr Wilson said he was not holding the post of financial secretary when Walcott Industries was awarded a contract to provide LED lighting at the prison and University of The Bahamas.

And he denied acting as an attorney, and writing legal opinions, as was alleged over a letter sent to Etienne Dupuch Jr Publications “on the legality of an alleged contractual arrangement” between that company and Obie Wilchcombe, the former minister of tourism.

“In doing so you purported, based on your past conduct in office, to acknowledge the

existence of a contractual liability of more than $2m in circumstances where, to your knowledge, the Government, for several years, refused or failed to sign a written contract proffered by Dupuch Publications,” Ms Johnson claimed.

Mr Wilson alleged that the timing of the Cabinet secretary’s letter, sent some 11 months after he began a 54-week “directed leave”, was deliberately intended to prevent his return to work as financial secretary and keep Mr Johnson - the preference of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis - in the job.

He added that he had gone on leave “in good faith”, believing that he had reached agreement with Dr Minnis that he would be transferred to the Central Bank of The Bahamas as its economic adviser.

Mr Wilson said his discussions with the Prime Minister had given him a “legitimate expectation” this would happen, as Dr Minnis had - just over three months after the May 2017 general

election - initially offered to hire him as a consultant in his office due to his “known and generally accepted high level of competency on public financial matters”.

It was Mr Wilson who ultimately suggested the Central Bank post to enable him to make way for Mr Johnson to become acting financial secretary. But, after vacating his offices, Mr Wilson alleged he was “immediately denied” the benefits associated with being financial secretary, and had his e-mail access temporarily blocked.

Once this was restored, Mr Johnson “was given full access to the entire e-mail file” of Mr Wilson, who was “denied access to all of his working documents and files” in contravention of his “operational oversight authority as the substantive financial secretary”.

Mr Wilson’s statement of claim said he had worked with four ministers of finance and three ministers of state for finance, and “never ever been accused of any act of negligence or malfeasance”.

NIB rejected as NHI manager FROM PAGE ONE entitlement programme which Bahamians wish to benefit from but aren’t willing to pay is something we have to separate ourselves from.”

Dr Sands also revealed that the Government plans to roll-out NHI’s catastrophic care plans, costing “as little as $1,000 per year”, within the next three to four weeks.

That amount, he said, will be borne by the Government of The Bahamas, the employer and the employee, with contributions on a monthly basis by the employee of less than $20 or no more than two percent of a person’s salary.

The Minnis administration budgeted $20m for NHI in the 2018/2019 fiscal year. The government had budgeted $40m for NHI in the 2017/2018 budget. The Christie administration introduced the enrollment and primary care phase of NHI on May 1, 2017, although there was no public

insurer in place. The former administration had also originally committed $20-$25m

to cover catastrophic treatments under its $100m NHI primary care roll-out.

VACANCY NOTICE

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, YOLANDA BELTRE CONTRERAS MONTESINO of Faith Gardens, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my child’s name from OSEAN BELTRE CONTRERAS to OSEAN MONTESINO 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.

IP NETWORK SPECIALIST Cable Bahamas Limited is seeking to employ an experienced IP Network Specialist.

The successful candidate must have IP Network Experience and the ability to lead in a technical environment.

JOB SUMMARY The position of IP Network Specialist is a hands-on operational position working within the Network Operations Group. This role is expected to ensure maximum possible service availability and performance, provision customer network services on core equipment; provide IP engineering support to the Network Operations Team and other technical teams. In addition, to provide training, guidance and reporting on the dayto-day operations to the NOC Operations group; assist with IP network design projects and other projects as required which include installing, maintaining and supporting IP related technologies and elements of the Cable Bahamas IP Network Infrastructure; aid in the execution of Disaster Recovery Plans and Procedures; maintain network documentation, policies and procedures.

JOB DESCRIPTION • Fault handling and escalation (identifying and responding to faults on CBL’s systems and networks); • Manage and maintain the Monitoring Systems (these report on the status and

performance of CBL & Aliv Transport Networks, Cable Modem Network, and other core services and facilities); • Maintain customer premise equipment standards and deployment; • Provision customer’s aggregation links; • Maintain CBL’s Internal network infrastructure; • Develop / maintain network management / monitoring systems; • Maintain network quality of service policy, security standards and configuration; • Troubleshoot and assist in the resolution of problems and issues as they relate to IP related services; • Assist in the maintenance and tracking of hardware and software owned by the company; • Develop reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis on network performance and trends; • Participate in a 24 x 7 call-out rotation as required; • Escalate to IP Engineers as required after troubleshooting unresolved issues; • Create and manage policies related to DHCP, access-lists, VLANs; • Configure OSPF and BGP protocols; • Work with IP network security team regarding network security standards, policy and configuration; • Develop method of procedures, testing procedures, and proof of concept labs; • Document network faults via the support systems database; • Develop and automate meaningful metric based reports; • Provide root cause analysis and post mortem exercises with a goal to future mitigation of issues; • Perform any other IP Network related duties as determined and assigned by management.

SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED • A minimum of an Associate Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field; • Industry certifications in Network+ and CCNP an asset; • At least three (3) years’ experience in a technical support or similar role; • Experience in a telecommunications environment a plus; • Good communicator with a natural aptitude for dealing with people; • Good network diagnostic skills; • Work well in a busy team, being quick to learn and able to deal with a wide range of issues; • Strong analytical skills and able to collate and interpret data from various sources; • Must be flexible and work well with team; • Ability to assess and prioritize faults and respond or escalate accordingly; • Experience with switching and internet routing technologies; • Basic understanding of network monitoring concepts and management tools.

• Experience with network monitoring tools and protocols (MRTG, Solarwinds

SNMP); • Intermediate knowledge of the OSI model, switching and internet routing technologies; • This position interacts with Executives, Department Managers, Network

Operations Center (NOC), and Vendors on a daily basis, with regular interaction with the Outside Plant Team and Sales Engineering.

Qualified applicants should submit Resumes on or before Wednesday, October 24, 2018, to the Director of Human Resources, PO BOX CB-13050, Nassau, Bahamas or send electronically with Ref: IP Network Specialist to humanresources@cablebahamas.com.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, October 23, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

SAUDI PRINCE’S FUTURE PUT TO THE TEST AT INVESTMENT FORUM DUBAI Associated Press SAUDI Arabia is moving ahead with plans to hold a glitzy investment forum, despite some of its most important speakers pulling out in the global outcry over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Future Investment Initiative, which kicks off today, was intended to draw leading investors who could help underwrite Crown

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious plans to revamp the economy. But after the wave of cancellations, it could instead highlight the kingdom’s growing isolation and the damage inflicted on the prince’s reputation — as well as potentially his political future.

The forum is the brainchild of the crown prince, whose lofty vision for the Saudi economy hinges on his ability to attract foreign investments and create

enough jobs for the millions of young Saudis who will be entering the workforce in the coming years.

The prince, who is set to inherit the throne from his father, faces steep challenges. More than 4.5 million new working-age Saudis will be searching for jobs by 2030.

One estimate from consultancy McKinsey and Co says the kingdom needs some $4tn in investment to create as many as six million new Saudi jobs by then.

That’s almost three times as many jobs as Saudi Arabia created in the decade leading up to 2013, when oil prices soared.

Without a comprehensive economic overhaul underpinned by trillions of dollars in investments, the unemployment rate for Saudi nationals could exceed 20 percent, McKinsey has warned.

As unemployment rises, household income would fall— two key triggers that contributed to public fury

MARKET REPORT MONDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2018

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,991.52 | CHG 7.88 | %CHG 0.40 | YTD -72.05 | YTD% -3.49 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 20.91 7.50 4.46 1.26 0.19 3.92 9.26 6.60 5.30 12.50 2.74 1.77 8.21 6.30 13.20 7.00 4.50 13.50

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 7.50 3.32 0.90 0.15 2.30 8.60 6.09 3.54 9.00 2.30 1.40 7.25 6.00 9.75 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 3.85 17.43 9.09 4.46 1.01 0.19 2.30 9.25 6.16 3.86 12.42 2.60 1.75 7.31 6.29 13.20 6.35 3.63 13.01

CLOSE 3.85 17.43 9.09 4.46 1.01 0.19 2.30 9.25 6.16 3.92 12.42 2.56 1.75 7.42 6.29 13.20 6.35 3.63 13.01

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 -0.04 0.00 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 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

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

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

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

VOLUME

2,200 3,452 9,500

8,000 3,234

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.214 0.932 -0.306 0.317 0.059 0.000 -0.996 0.700 0.441 0.154 0.627 0.102 0.209 0.000 0.670 0.701 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 0.280 0.500 0.200 0.130 0.590

P/E 18.0 18.7 N/M 14.1 N/M N/M -2.3 13.2 14.0 25.5 19.8 25.1 8.4 N/M 9.4 18.8 8.8 13.1 20.6

YIELD 2.60% 6.48% 0.00% 5.16% 0.00% 5.26% 0.00% 7.68% 3.57% 3.06% 4.99% 2.34% 4.00% 1.13% 4.45% 3.79% 3.15% 3.58% 4.53%

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 2.17 4.16 2.01 180.30 157.58 1.58 1.70 1.66 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 1.52 1.68 1.61 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 2.17 4.15 2.01 180.30 155.10 1.58 1.69 1.66 1.09 7.36 8.47 6.53 11.32 11.67 10.54 9.93 8.45 11.20

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.58% 4.11% 0.39% 5.07% 1.47% 2.34% 0.90% 3.44% 1.11% 6.05% 3.22% 4.22% -0.38% 3.34% 2.39% 4.01% -0.38% 0.53% -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 31-Aug-2018 31-Aug-2018 31-Aug-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-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

SAUDI Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives to meet Prime Minister Theresa May outside 10 Downing Street in London. Saudi Arabia is moving ahead with plans to hold a glitzy investment forum that kicks off today, despite some of its most important speakers pulling out in the global outcry over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Photo: Alastair Grant/AP and revolts in other Arab countries nearly eight years ago.

Unemployment in Saudi Arabia has edged up this year to 12.8 percent. Currently, a third of Saudis seeking employment are between 25 and 29 years old.

That number is expected to grow in coming years with half the population under 25.

The crown prince’s ability to shepherd the Saudi economy is now in peril after the killing of Khashoggi — a Washington Post columnist who had been critical of the crown prince — in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct 2.

After insisting for weeks that Khashoggi had safely left the consulate on his own despite mounting evidence from Turkish authorities that he was killed by Saudi agents, Saudi authorities acknowledged his death last weekend, saying he had died in a “fistfight” with officials sent to convince him to return to the kingdom.

Even that explanation has failed to silence critics, who suspect the powerful crown prince ordered the killing or at the least had knowledge of it.

The Riyadh investment forum, which is meant to raise the kingdom’s profile and attract global investors, has seen numerous executives cancel their participation, including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Uber and Blackrock, as well as Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and the chiefs of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

All Western news outlets that had agreed to sponsor the Riyadh forum — The New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, the Financial Times and the Fox Business Network— have withdrawn their sponsorship in response to Khashoggi’s death.

Yesterday, hackers appeared to have taken

down the main website of the conference.

Prince Mohammed has sought to distance himself from the killing, but international skepticism over the Saudi account of how the journalist died continues to mar his standing and has thrown into question whether Western executives will continue business as usual with the crown prince, who as King Salman’s favoured son is the second most powerful man in the kingdom.

That could lead the prince to turn to Russia, China and other Asian nations still eager to do business with the oil-rich kingdom.

“This is not going to be end of the Saudi economy.

It is an important economy.

It is a major oil exporter.

It has other relationships across the globe,” Ayham Kamel of the Eurasia Group said. “I think we somehow underestimate the importance of Asian businesses.”

Last year, the investment forum debuted with Prince Mohammed announcing plans to build a $500bn futuristic city in the desert called “Neom” and wowing the crowd of global business titans with pledges to lead the ultraconservative kingdom toward “moderate Islam”.

But just days after the forum, the emboldened prince launched a sweeping shakedown of Saudi Arabia’s wealthiest businessmen and top princes for alleged corruption, transforming the same Ritz-Carlton hotel that had earlier hosted the investment forum into a prison for the country’s elite.

More than 200 people were rounded up, with many forced to hand over significant sums of their wealth in exchange for their freedom.

An estimated 1,700 individual bank accounts were frozen.

The crackdown rattled investors.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, YOLANDA BELTRE CONTRERAS MONTESINO of Faith Gardens, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my child’s name from AMBER BELTRE CONTRERAS to AMBER MONTESINO 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.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, RICHELLE ALEXIS DEMERITTE of Frank Edgecombe Street, P.O.Box N-9716, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to RICHELLE ALEXIS SPRINGER. 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.