11272018 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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MARK A TURNQUEST

‘Ain’t going to sleep’ until small business legislation enacted

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A SMALL business consultant yesterday pledged that he “ain’t going to sleep” until the Government ends the decade-long wait for legislation that will govern help for the sector.

Mark A Turnquest, of Mark A Turnquest Consulting, told Tribune Business that while The Bahamas now possessed the longawaited Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) it still lacked the legislative framework needed to co-ordinate the multiple policies and agencies seeking to assist small

SEE PAGE 4

‘We cannot sit back and take’ BPL hike

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMAS Chamber of Commerce executive yesterday urged Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) to produce a plan to address high energy costs, questioning: “Is there any relief?”

Debbie Deal, chair of the chamber’s energy and environment committee, said: “The more I hear, the more I assume that our prices will not go down.

We have a three-year timeframe [until] this LNG plant will be up and running, and Clifton is virtually non-active. Are we going to be paying diesel costs as opposed to Bunker C for the next three years?

“Even when the [Shell] plant is up they have already said that we shouldn’t expect energy costs to go down immediately because of the historical debt, and that was before the fires. It looks like very few people are going to be able to pay their energy bills. I don’t see how they plan to rectify that over the next three years.

“We can’t just sit back and take this. Consumers are complaining about high energy costs, all businesses are complaining. Is there any relief?” Ms Deal

SEE PAGE 2

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Minister promises: ‘No NHI black hole’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CABINET Minister yesterday pledged “there’s not going to be an NHI information black hole” amid private sector concerns about insufficient details to justify the scheme’s pricing.

Dr Duane Sands, pictured, minister of health, told Tribune Business that “if I have anything to do with it” the studies showing how the $1,000 annual premium for National Health Insurance’s (NHI) minimum level of care was calculated and the scheme’s projected

A

* Key studies revealed if Sands has way * ‘Bit of a stretch’ to discard previous work * Urges Chamber to give ‘sin tax’ proposal economic impact - will be released to the Bahamian public.

He spoke out after the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), the group that represents the widest cross-section of Bahamian businesses and industries, said it was “extremely concerned” about the lack of empirical data to support how the Standard Health Benefit’s (SHB) premium

cost was derived.

Michael Maura, the Chamber’s chairman, expressed fears that Bahamian businesses could be called upon to pay ever-increasing taxes to finance NHI if the Government had got its sums over the SHB premium wrong.

“It cannot be the business community that has to fix it by providing greater funding,” he told Tribune

THE hotel union’s president yesterday said he would act “in the best interests” of members and the industry, as the “work-to-rule” across New Providence resorts continues to Thursday.

Darrin Woods, pictured, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers (BHCAWU) union chief, told Tribune Business that the “frenzy” over it placing 5,000 members on “work-to-rule” last week was an over-reaction by government ministers and hoteliers as it did not mean a withdrawal of labour at the start of the key winter tourism season.

He revealed that the proposed meeting between the union and Atlantis to resolve the grievances that sparked the dispute had been pushed back to Thursday this week, having originally been scheduled for Monday, after key resort executives were said to be unavailable.

“They changed the date.

They pushed it back to Thursday,” Mr Woods said of the meeting scheduled to be held at the Department of Labour. “We were ready but not the employer.

We’re still optimistic, we’re prepared, but I don’t know how important it is to them.

“We’ll see what they say whenever the meeting is held. We’re ready. We’re obviously available for

discussions and will see if the ministry can bring us closer and go from there.”

The hotel union last week placed its members on “work-to-rule” at multiple New Providence resorts just prior to the Thanksgiving weekend that kick-starts the vital winter tourism season, after it was unable to resolve differences with Atlantis over its new “12

point” disciplinary system and proposed shift system for housekeeping staff.

The union’s action extended to other properties that are members of the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association (BHREA), the industry’s bargaining group.

These resorts include the Four Seasons Ocean Club;

WTO membership to unlock ‘billions’ in trade potential

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

the British Colonial Hilton; Melia Nassau Beach; and Lyford Cay Club, as well as Atlantis.

This prompted pleas, led by Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism, for the hotel union and its members not to engage in industrial action that could disrupt the sector’s projected “double digit” growth through the Christmas period and into the New Year.

Mr Woods, though, yesterday suggested this was an over-reaction to the union’s stance. “I guess people made a whole big frenzy about it,” he told Tribune Business. “It’s just where you do what you’ve got to do. Anything else

SEE PAGE 3

SEE PAGE 4

SEE PAGE 3

* Union: No cause for panic over move * Will act ‘in best interest’ of members, industry * Atlantis dispute meeting pushed to Thursday

THE ATLANTIS resort.

ZHIVARGO LAING

THE Bahamas’ chief WTO negotiator has urged businesses to identify overseas markets this nation should target, arguing it has “billions of dollars” in untapped trade potential to unleash.

Zhivargo Laing, the former minister of state for finance, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that the Bahamian private sector needed to proactively identify goods and services export opportunities that would secure its future growth in the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) rules-based trading environment.

Disclosing that other countries were already approaching The Bahamas on behalf of their own industries about opportunities in this nation, Mr Laing said this nation was already fully engaged in international trade as highlighted by its $473.335m worth of goods exports in 2017.

He argued that full WTO membership will provide the platform for the Bahamian private sector to expand beyond this nation’s borders and grow gross domestic product (GDP) by millions of dollars, since it will provide “certainty and fair treatment” for both local and international investors.

Mr Laing said The Bahamas would better secure market access for its products, services and exporters under the WTO’s rules-based regime, while foreign investors will have

Hotel work-to-rule ‘frenzy’ unwarranted

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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PAGE 2, Tuesday, November 27, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

IDB TEAMS UP FOR BLOCKCHAIN COURSE TWENTY-FIVE Bahamians will this week attend a two-day blockchain developers course being staged by a partnership involving the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The IDB has partnered with Blockgeeks, The Caribbean Blockchain Alliance (CBA) and the University of The Bahamas (UB) to provide the course, which will be held from November 30 to December 1 at IDB House.

Besides a coding bootcamp that uses live online training with facilitators,

students will participate in a weekend-long hackathon and final exam at the end of the course. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate that is recorded on a blockchain.

“We are pleased to collaborate with organisations such as CBA and UB in helping young professionals become proficient in blockchain technology, and understand the importance of equipping citizens with the tools and knowledge required to remain

STEFEN DELEVEAUX on the cutting edge,” said Michael Nelson, the IDB’s

Eleuthera developer moves to gold course’s final phase

chief of operations.

The initiative’s goal is to increase the awareness and capacity of blockchain development in The Bahamas. “Blockchain technology is seen as the next step in Internet and financial technology, in what many describe as Web 3.0,” said Stefen Deleveaux, the CBA’s founder.

“There is a huge opportunity to use this technology to improve public and private services in this country.

In addition, competent blockchain developers are

in high demand in an industry that almost guarantees access to a high-income job or potential project.”

The Caribbean Blockchain Alliance (CBA) is a nongovernmental organisation dedicated to promoting the use and adoption of blockchain technology in the Caribbean region through education and advocacy.

“One of our goals is to build a cohort, and eventually multiple cohorts, of proficient blockchain developers. This is primarily because the

technology itself will be extremely important in terms of software infrastructure,” Mr Deleveaux said.

“In the years to come, developers will be at the forefront of everything that’s happening with this technology. It will definitely open up opportunities for skilled workers and highskilled jobs.”

The CBA’s first goal is to build a large number of blockchain developers in The Bahamas before expanding this to the wider Caribbean region.

‘We cannot sit back and take’ BPL hike FROM PAGE ONE

ERMA Carey laying the turf.

A DEVELOPER yesterday said it has given “a major sign that change is on the way in South Eleuthera” after the final development phase for a Tiger Woodsdesigned golf course began.

Eleuthera Properties, owner of the Jacks Bay, Cotton Bay and Davis

Harbor properties, said it had begun to lay the sod for the golf course’s final stage after ten container loads of grass were shipped from Port Everglades on Friday.

Erma Carey, Eleuthera Properties’ corporate secretary and treasurer, is pictured laying the

turf. Claudia Sands, widow of the late Albert Sands, Eleuthera Properties’ founding president, and Lawrence Griffin, the founding treasurer/director, assisted the work yesterday which was accompanied by an ecumenical service of prayer.

said the Chamber is still seeking to meet with BPL, having sought to get answers from its board about last year’s generation bidding process, which some bidders believe was unfair.

Research by Tribune Business shows that BPL’s fuel charge has increased by 66.8 percent year-over-year, rising from 11.69 cents per KWh in October 2017 to the 19.5 cents recently cited by its chairman, Dr Donovan Moxey.

Fuel costs account for just over half of customer bills, and the two-thirds increase in this component can be traced directly to the spike in global oil prices over the past year. This, though, has been exacerbated by events at Clifton Pier, where a maintenance backlog has been compounded by the fires that knocked out BPL’s two most efficient turbines and their 60 MW of generation capacity.

This has forced BPL to rely heavily on the Blue Hills power plant, and its more expensive ADO fuel,

BPL HQ

for the bulk - around 70 percent - of New Providence’s power needs, thereby creating a “perfect storm” for long-suffering businesses and households.

Dr Moxey earlier this month yesterday pledged it is “looking at all options” to secure cheaper fuel sources amid fierce consumer criticism of high electricity bills.

He noted that the monopoly energy provider has had to rely more on its Blue Hills plant, and more expensive fuel, to meet New Providence’s electricity needs due to the recent fires.

Dr Moxey previously indicated that the targeted timeline for Shell North America’s multi-fuel power plant for New Providence to be operational is 2022. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project was signed earlier this month.

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THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, November 27, 2018, PAGE 3

Better enforcement to tackle aviation hackers

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN airline’s principal yesterday called for “more action” to be taken against illegal charter operators, demanding greater enforcement of the aviation rules and procedures.

Captain Randy Butler, Sky Bahamas chief executive, agreed that the

CAPT RANDY BUTLER

long-promised crack down on illegal charters or “hackers” was badly needed as the issue has gone unchecked for “too long”.

“Part of the problem may lie with the regulator because they have not been working to certify the people that are qualified. A number of people have said they have applied to make themselves legal and there are some who are new,” Captain Butler said.

“It should not take two, three or four accidents to see something happen.

The rules, the law, the regulations and guidance material is adequate. It is in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 1. I think the problem is with implementation and enforcement. That is what really needs to be addressed. We can have rules but we need the

enforcement. There really is no need to keep talking about this.”

He spoke out after Charles Beneby, the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority’s director-general, told Tribune Business last week that the aviation regulator will roll-out new pilot licensing requirements in the 2019 first quarter, as it aims to crack down on illegal charter operations as a “matter of urgency”.

Following a plane crash off Andros in January 2018, which claimed the lives of six people, the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority pledged an unprecedented effort to clamp down on illegal charter operations by embracing technology, involving law enforcement, and increasing surveillance to identify and prosecute law-breakers in the aviation industry.

Minister promises: ‘No NHI black hole’ FROM PAGE ONE Business. “The metrics are critical. The challenge we have, while undoubtedly a lot of good work has gone into the concept of NHI, we feel there’s not sufficient analysis and real model data to help us understand what will be the impact to businesses and people who enrol in the plan.

“We appreciate the intent, but in our view there is insufficient analysis to help us.

The Government is making it very clear this [NHI] is a national objective; we get it, we buy into it, but we don’t have the analysis.

“The analysis has not been shared with the private sector to help us understand how we as a nation can be successful in meeting this objective and, because of that, we are extremely concerned.”

Dr Sands yesterday suggested that much of the necessary NHI costing and economic impact modelling had been performed by consultants hired under the former Christie administration, and that it made little sense to “discard” work that had already cost Bahamian taxpayers millions of dollars.

He argued that it was “a

bit of a stretch” to call for this work to be done again, asking “to what end” would this achieve anything except burden the Public Treasury with more costs at a time of fiscal austerity.

The minister also responded to the chamber’s assertion that it was “unfair” to single out “sugary drinks” for taxation that could help to finance NHI, urging it to recommend other unhealthy food and beverage products that could be subjected to such levies as part of its call to broaden the base of so-called “sin taxes”.

Asked whether the Government will share information to address the chamber’s remaining NHI questions, Dr Sands told Tribune Business: “Let me say to you very candidly: This administration has made it a significant philosophy that we are going to be transparent, particularly as it relates to fiscal matters.

“The fiscal strategy report that came out last week in the House is just one example, and any of the guiding [NHI] studies that shed some light for the public, if I have anything to do with we’d be happy to release them for public digestion and

discussion. There’s not going to be a black hole where information is not made available.”

Dr Sands said the NHI Authority’s revised NHI scheme, released for public consultation last month, would have used the financing, pricing and costing work done by the former Christie administration’s consultants to help it arrive at its design.

“Bear in mind that I think some of this information will have been based on a lot of the work done previously on NHI,” he told Tribune Business. “They didn’t start with a blank slate. What they would have done is sift through a mountain of very expensive data, studies, and some of it would have been extrapolated on and used to do some modelling based on all the statistics.

“I know they would have utilised quite a lot of information gleaned in the lead-up to the roll-out of NHI in March 2017. Millions of dollars of work was done. Do you believe we’ve got to go away and re-do all these things? I think it is a bit of a stretch.”

The former Christie administration hired three sets of consultants - Sanigest International, and the

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG accounting firms - to help it build its NHI care model. KPMG has since been retained by the NHI Authority under the current government.

Dr Sands said the economic modelling and assumptions underlying Sanigest’s report, including its NHI pricing and economic impact, were subsequently tested by PwC. Further work was then performed

by KPMG, and he added: “There was a huge amount of work done about the economic impact of NHI. “That then generated an action plan in terms of the readiness of hospital facilities, determination of manpower needs and so forth, and we used a lot of the data in decisions about the shortage of nurses, how many physiotherapists we need, and have used it in the ongoing construction activity in the healthcare sector.

“A lot of this has been done. To now go and do it again and do it again, I’m not sure it’s a tremendously good use of money. To say that work ought to be discarded, and the information gleaned ignored and start over, to what end?”

Dr Sands queried.

“Fundamentally, the work has been done. What we’re trying to do is modify the product and determine a reasonable way of delivery and funding. If we agreed before that it’s going to cost $125-$130m, and we’re now saying how are we going to generate that $100m or so, the economic impact hasn’t really changed. All we have to determine is from where the funds come.”

The chamber’s primary concern is that the $1,000 annual SHB premium significantly under-estimates the costs associated with providing an expanded package of healthcare benefits and services, in comparison to what is currently offered, and which now includes secondary care.

It fears this will force the Government to impose everincreasing taxation to finance an NHI scheme whose costs continue to escalate, especially as the NHI Authority has given little to no detail on how it plans to contain costs.

Many observers, such as the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA), have also questioned how the Government can determine the $1,000 SHB premium

without yet having set up a doctors/medical services providers network for NHI and, most importantly, established a fee structure for their services.

Dr Sands, meanwhile, called on the chamber to recommend other unhealthy foods and beverages - besides “sugary drinks” - that could potentially be taxed to finance NHI. The chamber’s NHI position paper said it was “unfair” to single out “sugary drinks” as this was “tantamount to the Government making a selection of market winners and losers” - an approach that the minister described as “interesting”.

“Maybe the suggestion that I’d like to see in writing is, Ok, what else do you want us to go after,” Dr Sands told Tribune Business. “If we can get broad-based consensus from the Chamber of Commerce and business community about what else is reasonable and appropriate, it makes the process a little bit easier.

“The discussion is one that is very timely. It will be more helpful to say what their recommendation is than just say you can’t single this one out.”

Hotel work-to-rule ‘frenzy’ unwarranted FROM PAGE ONE above that, you get the person hired to do that job.”

A “work-to-rule” means hotel union members will stick rigidly to their job descriptions and “not go beyond the call of duty”, so if their employer is shortstaffed because of absences due to sickness and holidays they will simply go home and refuse to work any extra hours.

Mr D’Aguilar, though, has urged union leaders to “remain level headed” as The Bahamas “doesn’t need to jeopardise a very good thing right now” with the country’s largest industry set for “a very

healthy Christmas” based on forward booking and air arrivals (stopover visitor) data.

He called on hotel workers not to “impair” the quality of visitor experiences by delivering “sub-standard service” through a “workto-rule” or any form of industrial unrest, hinting that doing so would effectively undermine their own best interests.

With Christmas and peak 2018-2019 winter season rapidly approaching, Mr D’Aguilar suggested it represented an end to reduced work weeks for many in the sector and a chance to earn increased income from tips/ gratuities.

Mr Woods declined “to get into a public spat with any of the ministers” yesterday, but added that himself and other union executives had been elected to do a job and will “do what’s in the best interest of members and the industry” in resolving the dispute with Atlantis.

“Whatever the minister says from this point on will be him talking,” Mr Woods added. “We’ll do what we believe to be in the best interests of members and the industry, but they will have to co-exist.

“Either way, it’s going to be resolved. Nothing stays the same one way or the other. Negotiations, we say it’s a beginning, middle

and the end.”

Mr Woods last week said the union had done everything it could to avoid any potential labour disruption, but could “stand by” no longer given the potential impact on its members.

Arguing that negotiations had proven fruitless, despite the union engaging in talks since late September, Mr Woods said it had decided to take a stand due to concerns that other hotel properties are likely to follow Atlantis’ lead.

There have been no reports to-date of the “work-to-rule” negatively impacting the hotel industry and its service quality, or the guest experience. Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, last week said the industry would take any measures necessary to avoid such disruption.

“The union has made its position clear that if they do some industrial action it will impact the Melia, and we

will be guided accordingly and take the necessary precautions to ensure guests are not disrupted by any such eventuality taking place,” Mr Sands said.

“Everybody has been put on alert. The action has been geared towards a particular property [Atlantis], although the union made it clear they may include all member properties of the BHREA. That’s not determined, and we have to wait and see how this progresses.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, November 27, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

WTO MEMBERSHIP TO UNLOCK ‘BILLIONS’ IN TRADE POTENTIAL FROM PAGE ONE more clarity over which industries they can invest in and the rules protecting their capital.

“One of the things I said to the chamber is that we’re getting requests from countries for bilaterals, as they have a particular interest to pursue [in The Bahamas],” the Government’s chief WTO negotiator told Tribune Business.

“I invite the chamber and private sector to tell me the areas you believe that we should seek audiences with countries to advance the business interests we have.”

Having emphasised that trade is a two-way street, and that the private sector needs to drive the Government in seeking out future export-led growth opportunities, Mr Laing said The Bahamas was already heavily integrated into the global economy.

Completing this process by finishing The Bahamas’ 17-year WTO accession process, he argued, would unlock further trade and investment opportunities that will fuel economic growth and diversify the economy away from its “twin pillar” reliance on tourism and financial services.

“If you understand the full story of The Bahamas’ trading profile you will know we have lots of trade: $400m-plus in goods exports, and $3bn worth of imported goods, and billions of dollars of goods and services potential we can still have,” Mr Laing told Tribune Business.

“Without question The Bahamas is an existing trading country, both on the goods and services sides, and has the potential to be substantially more. That said, The Bahamas needs to preserve what we have, enhance what we have, and develop ourselves further...

“Membership of the WTO does that as it gives you a more certain platform for both the goods side and the services side, and the investment environment.

That’s good for Bahamian and foreign investors, more local business ownership, more entrepreneurial opportunities and more wage opportunities,” he continued.

“All these opportunities are enhanced by participation in the WTO. In addition to that, business people in The Bahamas put up millions and millions of dollars in import tariffs up front to import items. Under WTO membership that will be reduced substantially.

“I want you to ask yourself: What will businessmen do with millions and millions of dollars in capital freed up? The potential for that freed up capital is enormous.”

Mr Laing argued that full WTO membership, which

The Bahamas hopes will be ratified by mid-2020, will ensure this nation “does things for ourselves” in modernising the Bahamian economy through initiatives such as competition law and intellectual property rights protection that will help domestic businesses to grow.

“Your competition rules, your intellectual property rights, all of the things Bahamian business people want to happen to give them transparency and certainty in operating in the country will extend to international investors,” he added. “You make the jurisdiction more attractive for doing business as a Bahamian and international person.”

Mr Laing said one disadvantage of The Bahamas being the last western hemisphere nation to join the WTO was that other countries are able to discriminate against it at will, and potentially deny market access to its goods

and services exports - as happened when Polymers International sought to export to Mexico.

“Here’s what is true today,” he told Tribune Business.

“The Bahamas does not have Most Favoured Nation status as a country because it is a non-WTO member.

The US, for example, is not obligated to treat The Bahamas in the same way as a member of the WTO in respect of accessing its market.

“It makes your jurisdiction less attractive for investment than it otherwise could be. Upon joining, you will have that MFN status.

Companies in The Bahamas can then use that to their advantage in accessing the market.” “MFN status” means a country cannot be treated less favourably in comparison to other nations by a trading partner under WTO rules.

Mr Laing added that WTO membership will

encourage increased crossborder trade by Bahamian companies “on a platform of certainty and fair treatment for Bahamian businesses”.

The Government has made clear it views accession as a key element in its plans to break out from the Bahamian economy’s low growth/high unemployment cycle that has persisted since the 20082009 recession.

It sees the move as part of efforts to deregulate and liberalise the economy, restructuring it towards new foreign exchange-earning opportunities, and reducing reliance on tourism and financial services while generating more jobs.

Not everyone agrees with this strategy, though, as opposition to WTO membership was among the many grievances aired by demonstrators on last week’s march to the House of Assembly.

‘Ain’t going to sleep’ until small business legislation enacted FROM PAGE ONE and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

He warned that in the absence of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Act, now under its third administration, the SBDC and other agencies might end up competing with each other resulting in the “inefficient and ineffective” use of scarce taxpayer resources.

Mr Turnquest argued that the legislation, first proposed under the last Ingraham administration, would ensure that all agencies and private sector bodies working in the area of small business development would be “on the same page” rather than conflicting with each other.

“The problem is we have a lot of different policy initiatives like the OverThe-Hill initiative, but unfortunately there’s not a

collaboration of different private and public sector agencies in doing something meaningful without the Small Business Act,” he told Tribune Business.

“At this time we have five to six agencies doing different things.

“We have a lot of policies going on at the same time, but the utilisation of resources may overlap and not be used in an efficient and effective manner...

The most important thing that needs to take place is the inter-locking of different agencies in one unit so everyone can focus on strategies in the national interest and collaborate to use that $5m a year effectively.”

The Minnis administration has allocated $25m over its term in office, or $5m per year, to grants and loans intended to finance small and medium-sized (SME) development, but Mr Turnquest said

legislation was desperately needed to underpin the effort and ensure government agencies did not compete and conflict with one another.

The SBDC is currently doing business plans, and providing tuition, for free, but the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), for example, has traditionally played a similar role in vetting and preparing entrepreneurial schemes.

In what is a crowded SME assistance field, both the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) and Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture (venture capital) fund provide financing for qualifying SMEs, highlighting Mr Turnquest’s call for better co-ordination among the Government agencies.

The SBDC’s creation, as a “one-stop shop” for entrepreneurial and SME assistance, has effectively leapfrogged over the need

to pass the enabling Act, leading Mr Turnquest to express concern that “confusion” might overwhelm the Government’s wellmeaning intentions.

Pointing out that passage of the Small Business Act was among the FNM’s 2017 election manifesto commitments, he added: “Have one national small business development vision that can be encapsulated in the Act, so everyone can look at that and see who does what, where and when.

“There might be some confusion, and that’s what we don’t want to take place. Now we have some positive strategies on the lower end, we may need to put something on the upper end and can do that by having the Act so everything is underpinned by a good foundation.”

Mr Turnquest said he planned to meet with the prime minister and Ministry of Finance, and all

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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 4.45 17.43 7.00 4.46 1.01 0.52 2.30 9.30 6.16 4.14 12.42 2.49 1.78 8.05 6.30 12.80 6.75 3.62 13.01

CLOSE 4.45 17.43 7.00 4.46 1.01 0.52 2.30 9.30 6.16 4.14 12.42 2.49 1.78 8.00 6.30 12.80 6.75 3.62 13.01

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.05 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

15,000

10

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.214 0.932 -0.306 0.317 0.059 0.000 -0.588 0.700 0.441 0.154 0.627 0.102 0.209 0.000 0.670 0.701 0.578 0.277 0.631

DIV$ 0.100 1.260 0.000 0.240 0.000 0.010 0.000 0.710 0.220 0.120 0.620 0.060 0.060 0.084 0.280 0.500 0.150 0.130 0.600

P/E 20.8 18.7 N/M 14.1 N/M N/M -3.9 13.3 14.0 26.9 19.8 24.4 8.5 N/M 9.4 18.3 11.7 13.1 20.6

YIELD 2.25% 7.23% 0.00% 5.38% 0.00% 1.92% 0.00% 7.63% 3.57% 2.90% 4.99% 2.41% 3.37% 1.05% 4.44% 3.91% 2.22% 3.59% 4.61%

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 2.18 4.16 2.02 182.41 158.55 1.59 1.71 1.67 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46 10.00 8.69 11.79

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 2.18 4.16 2.02 182.41 158.55 1.59 1.71 1.67 1.09 7.36 8.47 6.53 11.32 11.67 10.54 9.92 8.69 11.79

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.90% 4.07% 0.44% 4.38% 1.70% 2.35% 2.08% 3.47% 3.35% 5.94% 3.67% 4.43% 0.73% 0.96% 2.88% 3.53% -0.53% 0.27% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69% -0.71% 0.16% 3.96% 7.75% 8.34% 14.88

NAV Date 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 28-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 30-Sep-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-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

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

government agencies in the SME area, to emphasise the need for the Act and better co-ordination between all parties.

Suggesting that a committee where all agencies were represented be established to co-ordinate their activities in the interim, he told Tribune Business: “It’s 2019. It is the right time to come together and implement this Small Business Act. The time is now.

“Once we have the co-ordination and legal framework in place everything will be driven by the Act. I ain’t going to sleep until the Small Business Act is legislated. I’m going to be out there every day promoting the importance

and mission of the Act. It must be legislated.”

Mr Turnquest said that without the Act assistance to Bahamian SMEs was vulnerable to changes in government every five years. “The challenge is if there is a change in government initiatives will be stopped and not carry on,” he warned.

“I want the present government to seal the deal finally with the Small Business Act so we don’t waste time in the future coming back to this. We are almost overwhelmed with a lot of initiatives. Put them under one legislative framework and have all the agencies focus themselves, thrusting in one direction.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

NOTICE NETTLE LIMITED N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) NETTLE LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 22nd November, 2018 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, Akara Building, 24 de Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Dated this 27th day of November, A. D. 2018 _________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that OMAR ROBERT BRYAN of Hamster Road, P.O. Box AP59223,New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, for Registration/ Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd November, 2018 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O.Box N7147 Nassau, The Bahamas.