11232016 business

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

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Govt told: Stop ‘nickel and dime-ing’ taxpayers

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas was yesterday urged to abolish Business Licence fees and cease “nickel and dime-ing” taxpayers through streamlining numerous “little middling” levies.

K P Turnquest, the Opposition’s finance spokesman, told Tribune Business that Business Licence fees, in particular, “make no sense” because they are based on a company’s gross turnover rather than profitability.

He also argued that the Government needed to eliminate

Bahamas urged to abolish Business Licence fees And streamline ‘little middling’ taxes and fees FNM deputy: ‘We have taxes that don’t make sense’ numerous small transaction taxes, such as fees and Stamp Duty on items such as Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and bank withdrawals, on the

Fears over ‘retroactive’ property tax crackdown

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Fears were expressed yesterday that the Government’s real property tax crackdown is seeking to “retroactively” extract more revenue from compliant owners on the grounds that their homes/businesses are under-valued.

Attorneys, realtors, businessmen and MPs collectively called for the Ministry of Finance to clarify this element of its tax enforcement drive, amid concerns it will impose an extra, unwarranted burden on taxpayers who had no reason to believe they were noncompliant.

Richard Lightbourn, the FNM MP, raised the issue in the House of Assembly on Monday night, and yesterday told Tribune Business that “a lot of litigation” would likely result should the See pg b4

MP concerned compliant taxpayers may be hit Governance campaigner: Prior years ‘closed off’ Govt urged to clarify compliance intentions

Richard Lightbourn

Chamber to ‘hold Govt to account’ on VAT extension

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Chamber of Commerce’s chairman yesterday pledged to “hold the Government to account” over Value-Added Tax (VAT) filing extensions granted to businesses hit hard by Hurricane Matthew.

Gowon Bowe confirmed to Tribune Business that the Chamber, on the private sector’s behalf, had sought a “blanket” extension of the time granted for businesses to submit their VAT paperwork in the Category Four storm’s wake.

He added that in discussions with Michael Halkitis, minister of state for finance, and his officials, the Chamber had also suggested that businesses remit VAT payments to the Government by the normal deadline.

However, it also sought an agreement from the Government that VAT registrants pay an “estimated” sum, and that any discrepancies would subsequently be ‘made good’ without any penalties imposed as the paperwork caught up.

Mr Bowe said that while the Ministry of Finance did not want to grant the Chamber’s “blanket” extension, it would grant deadline waivers on an individual basis to

Wanted ‘blanket’ filing extension post-Matthew Govt agreed to ‘caseby-case basis’ And no penalties if paperwork late firms that were impacted by Matthew, and no penalties would be imposed.

“We felt the paper filing should have been extended as businesses were impacted by access to their accounting records and the loss of electricity,” he told Tribune Business.

“We sought a compromise: Business pay on time based on the estimated VAT, businesses make a best effort to pay on time, but they extend the filing time.”

The Christie administration did not go for the ‘across the board’ filing extension proposal, Mr Bowe conceded, adding: “We haven’t got confirmation of them extending it in that way.

“They said they would do it on a case-by-case basis, and persons unable to file would not be penalised.

See pg b5

grounds that it will boost the Bahamas’ ‘ease of doing business’.

Mr Turnquest suggested that the Bahamian taxation system required consolidation, and greater efficiency, after Tribune Business revealed that this nation had been ranked as a ‘world leader’ for several unwanted indicators.

The World Bank’s ‘Paying Taxes 2017’ report said the Bahamas and its private sector had suffered the greatest increase, out of 190 nations, in the time they now have to spend on tax compliance as a result of Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) See pg b5

The Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) has placed plans to create a short-term commercial paper/trade finance market “on the shelf” after the needs of potential business users changed.

Keith Davies, BISX’s chief executive, also told Tribune Business that plans for the exchange’s micro listing facility, the Small Alternative Market (SAM), were also “not moving at a very fast pace” due to the work required to ‘bridge the gap’ between capital sources and businesses.

BISX and Mr Davies first unveiled plans for the ‘commercial paper’ market during an interview with Tribune Business in late 2012, but the latter recently revealed that market needs had altered in the subsequent four years.

Emphasising that BISX’s products and services were always driven by the market’s needs, Mr Davies said: “Things have changed over the last months and years. The business fo-

Land Registry and house price index for property tax fix Owner ‘consternation’ from Govt crackdown But can’t enjoy ‘free ride’ in tax compliant society Chamber chief: Govt needs better systems

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

K Peter Turnquest

BISX ‘shelves’ ambitions for trade finance

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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Exchange chief: Market needs have altered; not ‘dead’ Small Alternative Market ‘not moving fast’ ‘Deliberate’ plan needed to match expectations cus and growth model has changed for a number of businesses.”

BISX’s original idea was to provide an alternative - and cheaper source of short-term financing than commercial banks, with both the Government and small businesses potential users.

Explaining that ‘commercial paper’ was something completely different to fixed income securities, such as corporate bonds and preference shares, Mr Davies previously said it was akin to trade financing - a See pg b5

The Bahamas needs a modern Land Registry and house price index if the Government is to properly capture changing real estate market dynamics for real property tax purposes, the Chamber’s chairman said yesterday.

Gowon Bowe told Tribune Business that while these were “future” objectives that will not be realised in the short-term, the Government needed a better system for accurately assessing property valuations.

He acknowledged that the Ministry of Finance’s recentlylaunched crackdown on real property and other tax defaulters would “cause consternation” for Gowon Bowe some, but in the tax compliant society that the Bahamas needs to become, such persons can no longer enjoy “a free ride”.

Mr Bowe, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC), backed the Ministry’s drive, through the Department of Inland Revenue, to tackle abuses that have resulted in more than $500 million worth of due real property taxes going uncollected.

In particular, he said the Government was targeting properties that classified as residential, but which may have been converted into commercial use - such as shops and duplexes/rental income properties.

See pg b4

PAGE 2, Wednesday, November 23, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Andrew Holness (left), Prime Minister of Jamaica, meets with Prime Minister Perry Christie (centre) and Sandals founder and chairman, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, prior to the official re-opening of Sandals Royal Bahamian on November 18.

400 invited guests at Sandals re-open More than 400 invited guests and hundreds of hotel visitors joined Prime Ministers from two countries in celebrating Sandals Royal Bahamian’s re-opening last Friday.

The event featured speeches touting the Sandals Foundation’s donations of more than $27 million in seven years, and the chain’s 20 properties and 14,000 employees that are spread across seven Caribbean countries.

Sandals founder, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, was praised by Deputy Prime Minister, Philip Davis, for his “singular commitment to exceeding customer needs through rigid standards of quality for service and innovation.”

Mr Stewart himself confessed that when he first wanted to add luxury to all-inclusive, there were those who had their doubts. But 35 years after the Sandals brand was born, the same year son Adam Stewart arrived on the scene, the elder Stewart’s vision taken hold to such an extent that the chain is the only resort brand that has made the Fortune 500 list five years running.

Now, the younger Stewart, who serves as Sandals Resorts International’s deputy chairman and chief executive, said the combination of beach, romance, luxury, fine dining and quality service ensures Sandals stands out in the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

Andrew Holness, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, called the elder Stewart the “guru of Caribbean tourism.”

Obie Wilchcombe, minister of tourism, said Sandals was the most recognised brand in the Caribbean, and he thanked the Stewarts for investing so heavily in the Bahamas and operating their training facility, Sandals Corporate University.

Mr Davis, who delivered remarks on be-

Sandals chief executive, Adam Stewart, touted Sandals’ standards for training and service excellence among its 14,000 employees on 20 properties. half of Prime Minister Perry Christie, said the elder Stewart has perfected the art of risk excellence.

“Thirty-five years ago, in the face of warnings of the financial ruin for prospective investors in the Caribbean hotel industry, Jamaica’s Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart took the risk anyway,” said Mr Davis. “Butch invested in one hotel in Montego Bay and took risk after risk, growing the now world-renowned brand at breakneck pace to include 20 properties today.”

“Anyone who has been trained by Sandals can get a job anywhere in the world,” said Butch Stewart, who has consistently insisted on training the Sandals way – hire for attitude, teach the skills.

“This hotel, Sandals Royal Bahamian,” he added, looking over a crowd that numbered more than 1,000, “has never looked more beautiful than it does tonight.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 23, 2016, PAGE 3

Ex-minister supports BTC select committee

By NATARIO McKENZIE

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Encourages review of all Govt decisions

A former Cabinet minister in the Ingraham administration yesterday encouraged the Government to proceed with creating a select committee to probe the 2011 Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) privatisation, arguing that reviewing government decisions should become “common practice”.

Phenton Neymour, former minister of state for the environment and a vocal proponent of the deal, told

Tribune Business: “In regards to the select committee, I encourage the Government to proceed with it.

“If it is fairly conducted, I believe it will increase transparency and improve democracy. It would also set a minimum mark for governance going forward.

I would like this to be done more often.”

Shane Gibson, minister of labour and national insurance, moved a parliamentary motion on Monday

Tribune Business Reporter

Phenton Neymour to create a select committee that will probe the BTC privatisation.

He described the committee as “critical” to determining the financial merits of a deal that saw a 51 per cent majority BTC stake sold to Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) for around $206 million.

Mr Neymour told Tribune Business: “I would like to see legislators work in committee more often and conduct a review of government’s performance, and for these committees to also improve accountability to the Bahamian people.

“The Bahamian people, in my view, should expect more select committees. I say this because when the Government changes next

year there are many decisions made over the last four-and-a-half years that will require review, issues such as BAMSI, the BEC management agreement, Baha Mar, Road Traffic and its lost revenues, the Renew Bahamas contract, Stellar Waste and the LOI, waste disposal and the trucking contracts that were awarded.”

He added: “I encourage them. Let us make this a common practice for us to review government decisions. Let the MPs earn their money.

“I encourage them to do it fairly. I want them to reveal everything that the

Government received, not just the money but the services that BTC provided before the sale and what they provide now. Let’s not just look at the money part but the services provided before and after the sale.

“I don’t think that the FNM has anything to hide.

It’s something I think the FNM should take a more aggressive approach to informing the public on why the decision was made to sell BTC. I have told many others that when I go to my grave, that with the facts presented to me at that time, I made the right decision.”

Nassau hotels eye strong Thanksgiving business

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Surinder Deal, Alric Lindsay and Higgs & Johnson’s financial controller with Terah Bowe of Private Trust Corporation

Law firm holds annual seminar The Higgs & Johnson lawfirm has hosted its annual client seminar under the theme ‘Best Practices for success in Challenging Times’.

Hope Strachan, minister of financial services, gave opening remarks in which she warned that the Bahamas is in a competitive fight for its very existence as an international financial centre (IFC).

She added that the country could only succeed if all stakeholders worked together to remain effective in protecting the integrity and soundness of the industry.

The first session, ‘Cayman and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS)’, was presented by senior Higgs & Johnson associate, Alric Lindsay .

This presentation reviewed how the CRS enhances the existing due diligence framework with respect to certain parties.

Bahamian partner, Paul Davis, spoke on the topic ‘Survival of Offshore Businesses’. He highlighted the current challenges faced by offshore businesses with respect to the automatic exchange of information, and the opportunities that are available to clients.

Hope Strachan, minister of financial services gives words of encouragement in opening the firm seminar.

Tara Cooper Burnside, a Bahamas-based Higgs & Johnson partner, spoke on the topic ‘Corporate Insolvency in the Bahamas – Where are we now?’

She elaborated on the current developments in Bahamian insolvency law, including recent legislative changes and cases. She addressed concerns as to whether the laws are sufficiently sophisticated to address the needs of financially-distressed companies.

Gonzalo S. Zeballos, partner at Baker Hostetler in New York, was invited to speak on ‘Universalism and the US Cross-Border Insolvency Law’.

He provided a history of insolvency law relating to cross-border issues, the elements and shortcomings of territorialism, and how universalism in a modified state may be better suited for future cases. He also elaborated on the use of Chapter 15 as a way to facilitate cooperation between US courts and foreign bankruptcy proceedings.

The seminar concluded with a panel discussion on ‘Data Protection & Cyber Security for the Future’.

Panelists included Portia J. Nicholson, partner, and Kendrick Knowles, systems administrator at Higgs & Johnson, along with Gowon Bowe, group chief financial officer for Fidelity Bank & Trust International.

The discussion focused on decreasing risks relating to client data exposure.

Each panelist gave a perspective as attorney, information technology specialist and client in tackling this issue.

To promote education in the Bahamas, Higgs & Johnson sponsored the attendance of faculty and students from both the UWI/COB Law Degree programme and the Eugene Dupuch Law School.

Atlantis executives yesterday said the resort is “slightly ahead” of last year’s Thanksgiving bookings as it gets set to host the sixth installment of the ‘Battle 4 Atlantis’ basketball tournament today.

Ed Fields, senior vicepresident of public affairs, told Tribune Business: “Adjusting for the Coral Towers rooms, we are slightly ahead of last year’s bookings.”

The Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, which is known to be the richest Division I men’s pre-season basketball tournament, is set to begin today and run until Friday.

The tournament is expected to generate an influx of hotel guests to the Atlantis resort, boosting the Bahamas’ attraction as a sports tourism destination.

This year’s tournament will feature the Michigan State Spartans, the Louisville Cardinals, the Wichita State Shockers, St John’s

Red Storm, Virginia Commonwealth University Rams, Baylor Bears, LSU Tigers and Old Dominion Monarchs.

Other Nassau-based properties also reported a ‘bump’ in their occupancies for the Thanksgiving period. Gary Williams, the Sandals Royal Bahamian general manager, told Tribune Business that the resort’s occupancy level would be at 84 per cent for the Thanksgiving period.

“We will be running at 84 per cent for Thanksgiving. As we have said before, it’s shaping up to be a very strong winter,” said Mr Williams.

The Warwick Paradise Island’s general manager, Lorenzo Symonette, told Tribune Business that the resort was anticipating a ‘bump’ in occupancy over the Thanksgiving period.

“We are still in the introductory stage of what we call a soft opening. It’s going quite nicely. We have relatively quiet occupancies but it is increasing over the Thanksgiving period, and that’s customary around

this time,” said Mr Symonette.

“We know that we will perhaps take a dip shortly thereafter and, just after Christmas going into the New Year, things will pick back up and take us into the high season expected in the latter part of January all the way through to April. It’s relatively quite now but we anticipate a bump in occupancies over the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Jermaine Wright, the Comfort Suites general manager, told Tribune Business: “Comfort Suites Paradise Island’s business is positive. We hope the trend continues through the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday period, with individual guests and groups coming to enjoy some Bahamian sunshine and relaxation.

“We will also be hosting special Thanksgiving activities around the property with holiday food and beverage offerings in Crusoe’s Restaurant for both inhouse guests and patrons from the local community.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Fears over ‘retroactive’ property tax crackdown From pg B1 Government hit compliant owners with retroactive ‘back tax’ bills.

He confirmed that his reading of the Ministry of Finance’s statement was that the crackdown’s targets include owners who have been “under-paying” due taxes because the Government’s assessments are either outdated or undervalued.

“That’s how I understand it,” Mr Lightbourn, an attorney, said. He added that the Government side “didn’t get up and correct me” when he raised the matter in the House of Assembly.

“How can you have an assessment sent out every year by the Government they are bound by that assessment - and you are now talking about going back and making it retroactive?

No way,” the Montagu MP said then.

The Ministry of Finance, unveiling a wide-ranging offensive against real prop-

erty tax delinquents, said: “Analysis of real property tax assessments reveals that a substantial number of property owners in the Bahamas are under-paying their true tax liability, either because the valuations are out of date, the properties are misclassified, or they are unregistered entirely.

“In the very near future, the Ministry will courier communications to 5,000 property owners, requesting payment of their additional property tax assessments together with their regular tax bill..... The value of these properties will be re-assessed if they were not assessed during the last five years.”

The Ministry, and its Department of Inland Revenue, are thus casting a wide net in a push to catch as many defaulters, and types of non-payment as possible.

Mr Lightbourn, though, said the language was “clearly inferring” that the targets included home and business owners who, in

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THE TRIBUNE

tion, they will be able to recover it, but because they’ve never enforced that, they will only get the assessed value.”

Mr Lightbourn continued: “I really don’t see how they’d be able to go back and say we assessed it, or didn’t, and sat on the ball and did nothing. It’s the Government’s problem, not yours.

“There’ll certainly be a lot of litigation, or maybe argument, if that’s the route they plan to take. I’m not aware of any [real property tax] case that has got to court and the estoppel argument is made.

“But you can be damn sure it will be made if an assessment is done, people say they’ve paid religiously year after year on that, and a new valuation is done.

That’s your problem, not mine.”

The McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes partner added that numerous legal issues would arise if the Government sought the retroactive recovery of real property tax from ‘compliant’ taxpayers.

“We’ll see how it pans out,” he added. “When you look at the problems the Treasury has had over the years in collecting real property tax, it seems an extraordinary way to add fuel to the fire; introducing a whole slate of new issues when you can’t collect what you have now.”

Mr Lightbourn’s concerns were echoed by Robert Myers, principal in the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), who also urged the Govern-

ment to target all real property tax defaulters - not just homes in wealthy and upper middle class communities, as the Ministry of Finance said in its statement.

“You can’t just go after the affluent communities; it’s one law for all or no law at all. I don’t think that’s fair,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business.

“The other thing I would say is that if the Government doesn’t do its job of assessments of properties, I don’t see how they can go to the citizenry and say you’ve not paid your fair share of tax.

“If you’ve got a process for assessment, that’s the basis you go on. You can’t come back and say: ‘You owe us hundreds of thousands of dollars’. That’s like saying we didn’t do our job, but still want to get paid,” he added.

“Those years are closed off. You’d put people out of business if you start doing that. We’ve got to start taking responsibility for our own actions. If your own inaction caused you in government to miss out on revenue, that’s not the business or property owner’s fault.”

Mr Lightbourn also questioned why the Government would seek to squeeze more money from compliant real property taxpayers when it consistently let delinquents off the hook.

Pointing to the frequent ‘amnesties’, the Montagu MP said penalties were waived for defaulters who managed to pay their tax liabilities by a certain date.

“Most countries that profess to have an organised

tax collection system would enforce it,” he told Tribune Business.

“In the US, if you don’t pay they can sell your home within months. Here, we don’t do anything. I don’t think they have ever sold a landowner’s property to enforce taxes. Never. They wait for you to sell the property before trying to collect on it.”

However, Mr Lightbourn backed the Government’s intention to target the larger, more blatant instances of real property tax evasion, such as the failure to bring accurate conveyance documents forward for Stamping and recording.

The Ministry of Finance’s offensive is also targeting properties that are not on the tax roll, plus those commercial properties that have been wrongly classified as residential, thus enabling them to ‘under-pay’.

Mr Lightbourn’s brother Mike, president of Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty, was sceptical that the Government could - or would - seek to impose additional real property tax retroactively on compliant taxpayers.

“The Government needs revenue, and I can see the desperation, but that’s not going to happen,” he added.

“That makes no sense.

I think they’re just trying to scare people. I can’t see them going after people who have paid their taxes, and then tell them they haven’t been paying enough. I don’t see that happening.”

Land Registry and house price index for property tax fix

proper mapping of New Providence and its various communities.

However, while agreeing that they were “things for the future”, Mr Bowe said a fully-functioning Land Registry and house price index “would actually make this exercise more efficient, more timely and less impactful”.

A Land Registry would enable the Government to capture, record and analyse real time data on all taxable properties, while a house price index would assist valuations/assessments by factoring in real estate prices and related inflation.

Real property tax compliance rates have been estimated at just 40 per cent, given that many defaulters have long believed there are no consequences for not paying.

The Auditor-General said an “exorbitant” $541.886 million in real property taxes were outstanding as long ago as 2010-2011, when almost $95 million in real property taxes went uncollected.

And the Government failed to collect almost $108 million in due real property taxes during the 2011-2012 Budget period, a sum equivalent to almost 25 per cent of that year’s fiscal deficit.

Unveiling its real property tax crackdown, the Ministry of Finance said: “Analysis of real property tax assessments reveals that a substantial number of property owners in the Bahamas are under-paying their true tax liability, either because the valuations are out of date, the properties are misclassified, or they are unregistered entirely.

“In the very near future, the Ministry will courier communications to 5,000 property owners, requesting payment of their additional property tax assessments together with their regular tax bill. These properties are in higher value or upper middle class communities. The value of these properties will be re-assessed, if they were not assessed, during the last five years.

“In the coming weeks, another r ound of notifications will be issued to owners of properties that are either not registered for property tax, or misclassified. An example of a misclassification is a business property (a store) that is classified as residential.”

The Ministry pledged that the Inland Revenue Department would work with targeted taxpayers whose homes had been impacted

by Hurricane Matthew.

good faith, had been paying their real property tax bills in full and on time based on the assessments sent to them by the Government.

The Ministry’s announcement, he added, implied that these ‘compliant’ owners may now be hit with an additional bill for retroactive taxes when the issue of under-valuation was the Government’s problem not the taxpayers.

Mr Lightbourn told Tribune Business that the Real Property Tax Act does include provisions requiring owners to file a declaration every year.

They are supposed to place a value on their real estate holdings, and state if any improvements or additions have been made to the property, so that the Government is able to determine an accurate valuation for real property tax purposes.

Mr Lightbourn said the Government could theoretically use this to legally justify retroactive real property tax billing, but its failure to enforce such annual declarations would likely undermine its case.

“They’ve never, ever, since the thing was implemented way back when, enforced it,” he told Tribune Business.

“I don’t think they could suggest that through your failure to file that declaration we were not aware of improvements to your property, and because of that we can hold you to that failure.

“I can understand it if someone’s not been paying taxes and they’ve added a whole house. In that situa-

From pg B1 While no tax is paid on the first $250,000 of a residential property’s valuation, a 1 per cent rate is levied on its commercial counterparts - meaning that such ‘converted’ properties may have been under-paying their tax liabilities for years.

Mr Bowe said the “integrity” of the Government’s real property tax system had often been breached, due to its failure to conduct timely valuations and assessments of properties on the tax roll.

He used the example of a single storey residence that may have last been assessed 10 years ago, but which had added another floor since, and therefore should have been paying more taxes

based on the ‘value added’.

“Those properties in the past have been able to shuffle through without assessments being made,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business, adding that the Government’s systems were previously “not aware of changes to property dynamics”.

While the Real Property Tax Act requires owners, both residential and commercial, to submit an annual declaration on their property’s market value and whether they have made any improvements to it, this legal requirement has not been enforced in practice.

Mr Bowe acknowledged that “no one is going to run to the Government” to inform them of an increase to their property’s value, given that this would inevitably result in a tax bill increase.

“It’s therefore upon the Government to have systems in place to capture that,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business.

The Government has sought to use technology to improve the recording and analysis of real property tax data, having contracted Tyler Technologies to conduct

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 23, 2016, PAGE 5

Govt told: Stop ‘nickel and dime-ing’ taxpayers From pg B1 introduction.

This nation was also coleader, alongside Croatia, when it came to the greatest increase in tax payments, again due to VAT - an outcome that Mr Turnquest found “surprising but not surprising”.

“I am surprised we are a world leader,” he told Tribune Business of the ‘Paying Taxes 2017’ report’s findings, “but then again I shouldn’t be, because we have so many taxes, some of which don’t make any sense and can be amalgamated into other streamlined forms of taxation.”

Asked to identify such taxes, the FNM’s deputy leader responded: “The Business Licence basically

makes no sense in how it is done. It’s on gross turnover, which doesn’t take into account the expenses necessary to make that revenue.

“You can also look at Stamp Duty, transaction taxes on bank fees, withdrawals; those little middling taxes all over the place. It seems to me that we should streamline that and have as few tax points as possible.

“It will be simpler, more efficient, easier to track and easier to audit. That may mean that the rate on the taxes you settle on increases to account for it, but at least the Government will not have to nickel and dime people on the small things.”

Mr Turnquest’s calls echo comments in Tuesday’s

BISX ‘shelves’ ambitions for trade finance From pg B1 mechanism for Bahamian companies to issue shortterm debt securities to buyers as a way of overcoming temporary cash flow issues.

However, BISX’s chief executive said recently that the exchange had noted the increasing preference of Bahamian companies to raise financing through private debt placements, which typically took the form of preference shares.

“That has taken hold,” Mr Davies told Tribune Business, “and we want to see where things turn over

the next 12 months.

“The things we talked about were different types of derivatives. It now requires a different model in terms of the approach the exchange has to take and required education.”

He added of the proposed ‘commercial paper’ initiative: “It’s something that’s not dead, but you do the hard work and put it on the shelf until you’re ready to pull it off.”

Had the proposal moved forward, BISX would have been facilitating an alternative to bank overdrafts,

Tribune Business by Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) principal, Robert Myers, who suggested that the Bahamas reduce “inefficient taxes across the board”.

He said the Government’s VAT earnings, at a gross $852 million over the first 18 months, had exceeded expectations and given it scope for reducing other tax and fee streams - as it had promised in its 2013 tax reform ‘white paper’.

Mr Myers returned to the theme yesterday, advocating that the Government abolish Business Licence fees in line with that 2013 commitment to reduce them to a flat $100 ‘across the board’ charge once VAT had bedded in and was delivering predictable income streams.

“Let’s reduce the amount of taxes and create an efficient tax structure,” he told Tribune Business. “They

said they would get rid of Business Licences and move it to $100. Let’s do that.

“We’ve made more money than we thought in VAT, so let’s do away with Business Licences. We can lower the number of taxes, the cost of taxation to business, and look at it much more carefully with the mindset of improving our global ranking.”

The private sector has long argued that Business Licence fees represent one of the most inequitable forms of Bahamian taxation, given that they are calculated as a percentage of gross turnover rather than profits.

This has resulted in many companies paying more in Business Licence fees than they earn in annual profits.

And it has resulted in high turnover, low profit margin businesses such as food stores and gas stations, plus

those impacted by price controls, paying considerably more than low volume, high profit margin companies.

However, Mr Myers said the relatively high VAT compliance levels would help encourage the Government to move away from “less efficient taxes”.

He added that in return for increasing the existing 7.5 per cent VAT rate by a single percentage point, the Government slash existing Customs duty rates by a blanket 4-5 per cent, so that the tax burden on Bahamian consumers and businesses was not increased.

“This should be a process, and one we all benefit from,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business yesterday.

“It’s not us and them [the Government].

“We all need to benefit and improve the ease of doing business, making taxation more efficient and re-

moving inefficient taxes.

“This will help the economy and the Government,” he added. “It’s going to make for a stronger economy, and not just stronger government revenues and income. What we’re trying to do is create a stronger economic environment across the board; not just for government, but for businesses, government and the citizenry.

“That’s only going to happen if we start to remove these inefficiencies and make it easier to conduct business. In my mind, we definitely seem to be moving in the right direction, but not near fast enough.”

Mr Myers reiterated that the Bahamas also needed to become “a modern society” through developing “a much more inclusive form and culture of governance”.

bridging loans and letters of credit (LOC) for creditworthy companies, who could demonstrate that they had assets and incoming cash flow to repay their financiers.

Companies with temporary cash flow shortfalls would issue, via BISX, short-term debt securities to Bahamian investors, which would then be registered with the exchange.

Petroleum retailers, and other retail businesses that needed inventory and restocking, could also use such a facility, as opposed to a bridging loan or overdraft.

Mr Davies, meanwhile, said BISX’s immediate focus was the continued development of its proposed

SAM market, plus expanding the pool of capital markets participants through investor education and an enhanced website.

The SAM would provide both capital access and a way to establish a track record for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who the exchange would ultimately hope graduate to its ‘main board listings’.

Mr Davies told Tribune Business that a major impediment to the SAM’s rapid progress was the need to develop a mechanism that matched entrepreneur expectations to their prospects of obtaining financing.

“All hands need to be on deck to make something

like this work,” he said, “and to come up with avenues that make a market like this work - valued partnerships with companies seeking capital in alternative ways.

“A lot of persons need to have a reality wake-up call.

Just because money is there to start up a new business doesn’t mean you will get it.

“You’re required to do a lot of work to have the concept proven, getting people to understand what you’re doing, to believe in what you’re doing, and that you’re serious about doing it.”

Mr Davies continued: “Capital doesn’t come to you because you want it.

Capital is finicky, capital is discerning, capital is diffi-

cult at best. It’s hard to capture. Just because you want it doesn’t mean you will get it.

“We’re going to have to develop systems that bring together capital and business. The work that goes into making that function is very hard, and unfortunately the majority that come forward will not be successful.

“Pairing that reality with a market of our size means we have a lot of work to do if we will ever be successful putting in place something like this,” he added.

“This is primarily what is causing this to move at a very deliberate pace, which is not a very fast pace.”

Chamber to ‘hold Govt to account’ on VAT extension From pg B1

It was a discussion we had with the Minister of State for Finance and the Financial Secretary.

“I don’t think there was an objection to granting an extension. We wanted a blanket extension as we

didn’t want it to be subjective. They said it would be granted if businesses could show they were impacted.”

Mr Bowe promised that the Chamber, on the private sector’s behalf, would ensure the Government lived up to its agreement

to a more lenient VAT filing approach in Matthew’s wake.

“We will hold them to account on that,” he told Tribune Business. “As we support their tax enforcement initiative, we hope they support our efforts to make sure the ease of business continues to improve.

There’s a reciprocal nature to the support of one another.”

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Landscape Special Projects Supervisor YOUR

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY @JOYFMBAHAMAS WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

The Landscape Special Projects Supervisor will be the hands-on leader of a special projects landscape crew. He/She must have the ability to lead, supervise and instruct 15 to 20 persons at any given time. Additionally, the Landscape Special Projects Supervisor must be capable of reading and scaling landscape and architectural plans, installing materials and must have a comprehensive understanding of Plant species and their Latin and Common names.

Summary of Responsibilities: o Must be able to layout palms, trees and shrubs based upon plans o Must be capable of performing a wide variety of horticultural tasks to ensure an attractive landscape and an optimal level of plant health, including weed control, certain perennial cultural practices, pruning, pest treatments, and other routine lawn-care activities o Experience in design and layout without the reference of plans o Expert ability to operate backhoes, skid steer, trenchers, forklifts and tele-handlers o Must possess a high level of knowledge of both landscape lighting installation and irrigation installation and layout o Plan and organize crews daily, weekly and monthly schedule o Maintain and submit all paperwork and computer work associated with supervising work crew o Manage daily payroll and associated invoicing of daily works o Develop and manage weekly maintenance of Estate homes o Communicate to Maintenance Director and Landscape Director effectively on daily production o Assist in scheduling and running training programs for employees and implementing additional programs with management Skills and Qualifications: o Must have held a similar position for at least ten (10) years at supervisory level o Excellent time management skills o Knowledge and experience using Microsoft word, excel, Outlook, and Jonas POS systems o Excellent attendance and punctuality record o Proven ability to effectively manage, train and coach team o Must have excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills Education Must possess FNGLA certifications in CHP and CLT Interested applicants may forward their resumes on or before: 2nd December, 2016 to: hr@bakersbayclub.com Landscape Special Projects Supervisor Baker’s Bay Golf & Ocean Club Great Guana Cay, Abaco

PAGE 6, Wednesday, November 23, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

US home sales reach strongest pace in nearly a decade WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans bought homes in October at the fastest pace in nearly decade, helped out by low mortgage rates that have since started to climb following the presidential election of Donald Trump.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of existing homes rose 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.6 million. Sales reached their strongest pace since February 2007, a sign that the market is still healing from the collapsing prices and foreclosures that ignited the 2008 financial crisis.

A stable job market and historically cheap borrowing costs have spurred demand from homebuyers this year. But sales growth has been tempered somewhat by accelerating prices and a shortage of properties on the market. Sales gains could possibly slow in the coming months as rising mortgage rates are making home loans more expensive.

“Clearly, the market continues to underestimate just how much demand for homes is out there, even in the face of tight inventory and rising existing home prices that are now the highest on record,” said Svenja Gudell, chief economist at the real estate firm Zillow.

Falling mortgage rates helped boost sales for much of the year, but rates surged following this month’s presidential election. The increase means that yearly debt payments for a medianpriced home would increase by more than $500 on average for people attempting to buy homes in November and December.

Investors expect the federal budget deficit to rise in a Trump administration, causing the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes to reach roughly 2.3 percent.

The rising interest rates trickled into the housing market. The average 30year, fixed-rate mortgage climbed to nearly 4 percent

from less than 3.5 percent at the end of October. Few housing experts say that higher rates at this stage will fully disrupt sales, although it might cause some existing homeowners to stay in place rather than upgrade to new homes and costlier mortgages. The impact of higher rates could be offset if wages accelerate strongly during a Trump administration, giving Americans higher incomes.

Still, the supply crunch of the past year shows little sign of reversing itself.

Sales listings have fallen 4.3 percent over the past year to 2.02 million homes.

The shortage has pushed up the median sales price of existing homes 6 percent from a year ago to $232,200.

The low mortgage rates aided buyers with solid credit, although tighter lending standards appears to have hurt potential sales.

An analysis released this week by the Urban Institute, a Washington-based

a home for sale in Andover, Mass. Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors reports on October sales of existing homes. (AP Photo) think tank, found that there could have been an additional 1.1 million mortgages issued in 2015 if traditional lending practices had been in place that put less emphasis on stronger credit scores above 700.

The tighter credit standards have helped foster a housing market that prefers cash buyers and investors who may be more likely to rent homes to tenants than live in them.

_________________________________

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that at a Resolution of the Shareholders of the above-named Company duly convened and held on the 26th day of October, 2016 the following resolutions were passed:

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, (As Amended) NOTICE is hereby given that, KEEP INVESTMENTS LIMITED is in dissolution and that the date of commencement of the dissolution is the 8 day of November A. D. 2016

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, (as amended) NOTICE is hereby given that RRA Investments Limited is in dissolution and the date of commencement of the dissolution is the 9th day of November, 2016.

RESOLVED that Marcia Melo Campos Pahl be appointed the Liquidator for the purpose of such winding up.

MARKET REPORT TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2016

Beecham D. Braynen and Theresa Haven-Adderley t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,938.45 | CHG 2.90 | %CHG 0.15 | YTD 114.50 | YTD% 6.28 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.25 17.43 9.09 3.50 4.70 0.18 8.28 8.50 6.10 10.60 15.50 2.72 1.60 5.82 9.00 11.00 8.69 6.90 12.25 11.00

52WK LOW 2.50 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.77 0.12 5.50 8.05 5.50 7.66 13.05 2.18 1.31 5.60 6.60 8.56 6.12 6.23 11.81 10.00

PREFERENCE SHARES 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

900.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 106.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 105.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 105.50 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

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 Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol ICD Utilities J. S. Johnson Premier Real Estate

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE

LAST CLOSE 4.06 15.85 9.09 3.50 1.96 0.12 5.60 8.50 5.83 10.49 13.98 2.26 1.55 5.82 8.78 10.74 8.50 6.61 11.93 10.00

CLOSE 4.06 15.85 9.09 3.50 1.96 0.12 5.60 8.50 5.83 10.49 13.98 2.30 1.55 5.82 8.78 10.74 8.69 6.61 11.93 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.00 0.00 0.00

Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.11 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

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

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-3Y 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 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

110.41 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

110.50 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.09 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

E J K L M N

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00 100.00

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

113.70 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

The Public is hereby advised that I, SHAKARA GREEN of Cox Close, P.O.Box EE-17860, Nassau, Bahamas mother of SEAN GIBSON intend to change his name to ISAIAH AMIR KNOWLES. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742 Nassau Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

NOTICE

RESOLVED that SCREENFIELDS HOLDINGS LIMITED be wound up voluntarily.

JACQIE E. STIRLING, LIQUIDATOR c/o Edward Street P.O. Box 2254 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, KY1-1107

The Tribune wants to hear from people who are making news in their neighbourhoods.

Perhaps you are raising funds for a good cause, campaigning for improvements in the area or have won an award.

If so, call us on 322-1986 and share your story.

PUBLIC NOTICE

SCREENFIELDS HOLDINGS LIMITED

NOTICE

Share your news

VOLUME

1,000

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.304 1.351 1.086 0.220 -1.134 0.000 0.185 0.551 0.508 0.541 0.528 0.094 0.166 0.510 0.612 0.960 0.650 0.703 0.756 0.000

DIV$ 0.090 1.000 0.000 0.160 0.000 0.000 0.187 0.260 0.200 0.360 0.610 0.060 0.040 0.240 0.275 0.000 0.280 0.120 0.640 0.000

P/E 13.4 11.7 8.4 15.9 N/M N/M 30.3 15.4 11.5 19.4 26.5 24.5 9.3 11.4 14.3 11.2 13.4 9.4 15.8 0.0

YIELD 2.22% 6.31% 0.00% 4.57% 0.00% 0.00% 3.34% 3.06% 3.43% 3.43% 4.36% 2.61% 2.58% 4.12% 3.13% 0.00% 3.22% 1.82% 5.36% 0.00%

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 7.00% 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2017 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

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

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2017 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

LIQUIDATORS c/o EFG Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Ltd 1 Bay Street 2nd Floor, Centre of Commerce P.O. Box SS-6289 Nassau, Bahamas

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT 2000

FRIEDENSTHAL LIMITED In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act, FRIEDENSTHAL LIMITED is in Dissolution.

The date of commencement of the dissolution was the 21st of November 2016.

Mercedes Parker, 26 East Avenue, P.O. Box CB-11651, Nassau, Bahamas is the Liquidator of FRIEDENSTHAL LIMITED Mercedes Parker Liquidator

NOTICE

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.01 3.91 1.93 169.70 140.34 1.45 1.67 1.56 1.09 6.94 8.65 5.92 9.94 11.15 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.40 1.61 1.50 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

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

NAV 2.01 3.90 1.93 169.70 140.34 1.45 1.67 1.56 1.09 6.94 8.65 5.92 9.59 11.15 9.57

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.11% 4.17% 3.28% 4.34% 2.07% 2.93% 4.73% 5.64% 5.70% 7.66% 2.86% 3.86% 2.64% 3.93% 2.51% 3.63% 5.44% 4.48% 4.05% 8.28% 5.93% 13.53% 2.73% 4.73% 3.97% -3.53% 2.96% 4.33% -4.26% -6.22%

NAV Date 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business CompaniesAct, (as amended) NOTICE is hereby given that Huntsville Ventures Limited is in dissolution and the date of commencement of the dissolution is 23rd November 2016.

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

Lorna Kemp and Magdaline Carey LIQUIDATORS c/o Clairmont Trust Company Limited Pineapple Grove #5 Lyford Cay P.O. Box SP-64284 Nassau, Bahamas

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 23, 2016, PAGE 7

Asia laments Trump rejection of Pacific trade pact TOKYO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership but other Pacific Rim leaders are vowing to push market-opening efforts they say are vital for growth.

The possible decline of the 12-nation TPP could give a boost to alternative initiatives including one promoted by China in which the United States is not taking part.

Trump’s message, in a brief video, was issued after President Barack Obama and other leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group, meeting in Peru, called Sunday for fighting the backlash against trade highlighted by Trump’s victory and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

Promoters of the TPP say it is a step toward building a wider, pan-Pacific free trade zone, though critics object it would shift too much control over regulation to companies from governments and the public.

“There is very strong support among the other 11 parties to the TPP to ratify it and to seek to bring it into force,” said Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Trump described the 12-nation pact as a “potential disaster for our country.” He has also said he wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

Obama has said he would give up seeking congressional approval for the TPP. He had championed it as a way for the United States to lead the creation of “gold standard” rules for 21st century trade.

“I think not moving forward would undermine our position across the region,” Obama told reporters in Lima.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Washington will need to think about what role it wants to play in Asia and its fast-growing markets.

“The United States isn’t an island. It can’t just sit there and say it’s not going to trade with the rest of the world,” said Key after returning home. “At some point they’re going to have to give some consideration to that. But naturally, we’re a bit disappointed.”

The TPP, signed this year in New Zealand, would take effect after it is ratified by six countries that account for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic product of its member nations.

The United States is 60 percent of the combined GDP of that group and Japan less than 20 percent, so those conditions cannot be met without U.S. participation.

“TPP is meaningless without the United States,” said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Last week, he became the first foreign leader to meet Trump since his Nov. 8 election victory.

As Japan’s most powerful leader in a decade, Abe invested political capital in overcoming opposition to the TPP from farmers and the medical lobby. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party pushed TPP ratification through the lower house of parliament and had been set to seek final approval in the upper house.

Renegotiating the agreement would “disturb the fundamental balance of benefits,” said Abe, who was in

NOTICE DAHERMONT INCORPORATED In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, DAHERMONT INCORPORATED is in dissolution as of November 21, 2016.

International Liquidator Services Inc. situated at 3rd Floor Withfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

LIQUIDATOR ______________________ NOTICE CORNERSTONE VALLEY INC. In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, CORNERSTONE VALLEY INC. is in dissolution as of November 21, 2016.

International Liquidator Services Inc. situated at 3rd Floor Withfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

STARWELL BUSINESS LTD. Company No. 57340 (In Voluntary Liquidation) NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to Section 204 (1)(b) of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 that STARWELL BUSINESS LTD. is in voluntary liquidation. The voluntary liquidation commenced on 21st November, 2016 and MARTINA STEIGER of Gässli 1, 7203 Trimmis, Switzerland has been appointed as the Sole Liquidator.

Dated this 21st day of November, 2016 Sgd. MARTINA STEIGER Voluntary Liquidator

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, poses for a picture with Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri at the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Abe is on an official visit to Argentina after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. (AP Photo) Argentina following APEC. Other TPP members include Chile, Mexico, Canada, Peru, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia.

China hopes for progress on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, it is promoting with the 10 governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said.

The RCEP would require fewer market-opening concessions than TPP. Critics say that would let China shield its huge but inefficient state-owned companies from competition.

The agreement would include

China, India, Indonesia and South Korea but no countries from the Americas have joined.

“We would like to push the negotiation process to make headway at an early date,” said the spokesman, Geng Shuang, at a regular briefing.

China also called at APEC for progress on a separate arrangement, the Free Trade Agreement of the Asia Pacific.

“We hope these free trade agreements can reinforce rather than thwart each other,” said Geng. “We should prevent fragmentation of economic and trade arrangements or politicizing such agreements.”

N O T I C E OLFORD HOLDINGS LTD. (Dissolved) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to Section 138(8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 (No. 45 of 2000) the dissolution of OLFORD HOLDINGS LTD. (Dissolved) (the “Company”) has been completed and a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued by the Registrar of Companies. The Company has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 15th day of November, 2016.

__________________________________ TONI Y. GODET and CELESTE F. MITCHELL Liquidators

N O T I C E

N O T I C E

SUNSET WATERS HOLDINGS LTD. (Dissolved)

MARBLE INVESTMENTS LIMITED (Dissolved)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to Section 138(8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 (No. 45 of 2000) the dissolution of SUNSET WATERS HOLDINGS LTD. (Dissolved) (the “Company”) has been completed and a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued by the Registrar of Companies. The Company has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 15th day of November, 2016.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to Section 138(8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 (No. 45 of 2000) the dissolution of MARBLE INVESTMENTS LIMITED (Dissolved) (the “Company”) has been completed and a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued by the Registrar of Companies. The Company has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 15th day of November, 2016.

__________________________________ TONI Y. GODET and CELESTE F. MITCHELL Liquidators

__________________________________ TONI Y. GODET and CELESTE F. MITCHELL Liquidators

PAGE 8, Wednesday, November 23, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Dow surpasses 19,000 as a record-setting drive continues NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones industrial average surpassed 19,000 for the first time Tuesday as a post-election rally drove indexes further into record territory. Discount store chains made large gains, but health care companies tumbled.

Stocks opened solidly higher after setting records on Monday.

They gave up some of their gains around midday but reached new highs late in the afternoon. Health care stocks slumped after weak results from medical device company Medtronic. Retailers soared after strong earnings from Dollar Tree and Burlington Stores.

“The consumer in general is far more budget-conscious than they were in previous generations,” Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics, said of discount chains.

The Dow picked up 67.18 points, or 0.4 percent, to 19,023.87. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 4.76 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,202.94. The Nasdaq composite gained 17.49 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,386.35.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller companies, continued to set records as it traded higher for the 13th day in a row. It jumped 0.9 percent.

The Dow has closed at a record high six times in the two weeks since the presidential election, but trading volume has fallen in recent days. U.S. trading will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and

people walk to work on Wall Street beneath a statue of George Washington, in New York. Global shares rose yesterday, tracking the overnight rally on Wall Street, as oil prices pushed higher amid hopes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree on production cuts. (AP Photo) markets will close early on Friday.

Shoppers continued to flock to discount stores. Dollar Tree raised its profit and sales forecasts after the chain reported solid results in the third quarter. Burlington Stores also raised its outlook after it posted a larger profit than analysts expected. Dollar Tree jumped $6.69, or 8.2 percent, to $88.68 and Burlington Stores added $11.86, or 16 percent, to $86.04.

Other retailers like Home Depot, TJX and Signet Jewelers also rose as consumer stocks reached all-time highs. Perkins, of Retail Metrics, said chains like Dollar

Tree were able to win over new customers after the Great Recession, and low-cost clothing companies like TJX, the parent of TJ Maxx, have also performed well since that time.

Health care stocks, which are still trading lower than they were at the start of this year, took hefty losses after weak results from Medtronic, one of the world’s largest medical device companies.

Matt Miksic, a medical device analyst for UBS, said some investors worried that Medtronic’s results mean a lot of drug and medical device companies will

face slower growth. Miksic said Medtronic reported weak sales “across pretty much every one of their categories in the U.S.” The company also cut its profit guidance. It sank $6.98, or 8.7 percent, to $73.60. Health care products giant Johnson & Johnson slid $2.26, or 2 percent, to $112.74 and Abbott Laboratories, which makes infant formula, drugs and medical devices, gave up $1.66, or 4.2 percent, to $38.10.

Medical supplier Patterson Cos. plunged, touching a threeyear low, after it said its dental business struggled in the second quarter and its animal health business was hurt by weak prices for brand-name drugs. Patterson cuts its profit forecast and its shares dropped $7.95, or 16.7 percent, to $39.56.

Campbell Soup’s profit in its fiscal first quarter was better than expected thanks to lower expenses and better sales of snacks like Pepperidge Farm. Hormel, the maker of Spam, reported better results from its refrigerated foods business and its Jennie-O turkey unit. Hormel also gave solid guidance for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup gained $1.98, or 3.6 percent, to $57.02 and Hormel rose 92 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $35.86.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group said it will buy fruit drink maker Bai Brands for $1.7 billion. Bai Brands markets its drinks as having fewer calories than other brands and

doesn’t use artificial sweeteners.

Dr. Pepper Snapple stock picked up $2.25, or 2.6 percent, to $87.50.

Industrial companies, including makers of aircraft and engines and other equipment, continued to rise. Companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman were trading around record highs before the election and they have done better than the broader market since then. Boeing climbed $2.50, or 1.7 percent, to $149.52 Tuesday.

Oil prices wobbled and energy companies fell. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 21 cents to $48.03 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 22 cents to $49.12 a barrel in London.

The price of oil rose about 4 percent Monday.

Investors continued to sell short-term bonds, which sent their prices lower. The yield on the twoyear Treasury note rose to 1.09 percent, its highest in six years.

Longer-term bond prices held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 2.31 percent.

The dollar, which is trading around 13-year highs, was little changed. It rose to 111.14 yen from 111.07 yen. The euro inched up to $1.0624 from $1.0612.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline picked up 1 cent to $1.41 a gallon. Heating oil remained at $1.53 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Global stocks, oil rise after Wall Street hits record LONDON (AP) — Global stocks rose on Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street’s close at a record high and hopes that OPEC will support the price of oil with a production cut.

KEEPING SCORE: France’s CAC 40 added 0.8 percent to 4,563, while Germany’s DAX was up 0.6 percent at 10,746. Britain’s FTSE 100 was 1.1 percent

higher at 6,849. U.S. shares were set to add to their record levels, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both up 0.3 percent, as optimism continued over the potential boost to the economy from President-elect Donald Trump’s policies.

OPEC LOOMING: Expectations are growing that oil ministers will agree to limit production at a meet-

ing of the OPEC oil cartel on Nov. 30 in Vienna, Austria.

That’s helped buoy oil prices in markets. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 7 cents to $48.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, having jumped $1.88 on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 13 cents to $49.03.

vestors are trying to strike the right balance between positioning for a major dose of U.S. fiscal stimulus and not getting too committed, given the uncertainty surrounding what policies the new Trump Administration will actually implement,” Margaret Yang, a market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a commentary.

ANALYST TAKE: “In-

RENMINBI RETREAT:

Chinese authorities set the yuan’s official “parity rate,” known as the fix, for the country’s tightly controlled currency at 6.8779 on Tuesday, breaking a 12-day losing streak. The yuan, also known as the renminbi, has been weakening as the dollar has surged in value against other currencies.

ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index

added 0.3 percent to finish at 18,162.94 after dipping briefly following a powerful earthquake in northern Japan that set off a small tsunami but caused minor damage and injuries. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9 percent to 1,983.47 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.4 percent to 22,678.07. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 added 1.2 percent to 5,413.30 and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.9 percent to 3,248.35. Shares in Southeast Asia and Taiwan also gained.