business@tribunemedia.net
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021
$5.40
$5.17
$5.11
‘A real dampener’: Fear over new COVID strain By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE emergence of a new COVID-19 strain threatens to put “a real dampener” on Bahamian tourism’s rebound and that of the wider economy in the Christmas run-up, it was feared yesterday. Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business the country needed to “get ahead of the curve” now to protect public health and preserve its fledgling economic recovery by implementing “proactive” measures that reduce the chances of COVID’s Omicron variant reaching these shores. And the Government, seemingly hearing his appeal to “act sooner rather than later”,
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
SIR FRANKLYN WILSON these countries within the last 14 days will not be allowed entry into The Bahamas at this time,” the Government said. Besides banning these nationalities from entering The Bahamas, the Ministry of Health and Wellness said in a statement that Bahamians and legal residents who are returning from having visited these countries will
have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine at their own expense and undergo screening. This applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons. However, with the COVID Omicron strain said to have been identified in both the US and UK, two of The Bahamas’ major source markets for
SEE PAGE 8
Hotels ‘can’t ask for more’ over post-COVID rebound By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN resorts are seeing the high-occupancy Christmas period expand by 50 percent, a top hotelier has revealed, adding of the post-COVID rebound: “We couldn’t have asked for more.” Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that the industry’s typically strong Christmas/New Year occupancies were this year set to last for ten days as opposed to the traditional
Bahamas exports drop 40% in 2020
• Hotels chief urges: ‘Get ahead of the curve’ • Ex-minister suggests PCR entry test return • ‘We can do tourism and safety at same time’ subsequently did just that by imposing travel bans on citizens from the African countries where Omicron was first detected - South Africa; Botswana; Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; and Zimbabwe. “Individuals not ordinarily resident in The Bahamas who have travelled to, through or from
$5.44
BAHAMIAN goods exports declined by 40 percent in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been revealed, with those entering the US under trade preference regimes hitting a ten-year low. The US International Trade Commission’s recently-released 2021 report on the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), the initiative by which millions of dollars in Bahamian goods enter that country dutyfree, revealed the extent to which total exports to the country’s northern neighbour have progressively declined over the past decade. Some 69 percent, or $269m, of The Bahamas’ $390m in total worldwide exports were dispatched to the US during 2020, with the latter figure representing a $264m year-over-year decline compared to 2019, the report found. “Goods exports from The Bahamas in 2019 totaled $654m, the highest level
since 2016, “The country’s top exports included spiny lobster (35 percent by value), polystyrene (33 percent) and heterocyclic compounds (15 percent). Exports fell to $390m in 2020, a decline of 40 percent from 2019,” the US International Trade Commission said. “The Bahamas is the fifth-largest source of US imports under CBERA, at 5 percent of total CBERA imports. Total US. imports from The Bahamas have trended down over the last ten years, hitting a low of $269m in 2020. “Imports from The Bahamas under CBERA followed a similar trajectory, with import values of $61m and $57m in 2019 and 2020, respectively, which were the lowest in the last ten years - even compared to a drop in 2016 after Hurricane Matthew.” The report continued: “The number of products imported into the US from The Bahamas increased until 2006, and then decreased through 2020. From 2005 onward, The
SEE PAGE 10
ROBERT SANDS six to seven-day period enjoyed pre-COVID. Suggesting that hotels were now benefiting from holding their nerve during the pandemic,
SEE PAGE 7
Cruise lines ‘bullied’ Gov’t over port fees By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU’S port was “starved of funds” because the cruise lines had “bullied” successive administrations into levying less than $1 per passenger, an ex-tourism minister has asserted. Dionisio D’Aguilar, who held that post under the Minnis administration for just under four-and-a-half years, made the revelation as he defended the decision to outsource Prince George Wharf’s management to Global Ports Holding via a 25-year lease and concession,
DIONISIO D’AGUILAR Writing in a post to “The Bahamas International Think-Tank” What’s App group, which has several hundred participants, he asserted that “not one dollar will come from
SEE PAGE 9
Nobody Does it Better!
INSURANCE MANAGEMENT
(BAHAMAS) LIMITED. INSURANCE BROKERS & AGENTS
PAGE 2, Monday, November 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Fidelity: ‘No overhang to depress worker morale’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BISX-listed bank’s conservative approach to COVID loan loss provisioning has paid off by ensuring “there’s no overhang that depresses staff morale”, its chief executive says. Gowon Bowe told Tribune Business that Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) decision to take more than $20m worth of provisions during 2020’s first nine months meant it got all “the bad news” out upfront rather than letting it continue to pile up gradually. As a result, he argued that staff and the bank itself are better positioned “to participate in the exuberance of the recovery” post-COVID rather than having to worry about the continual booking of provisions that act as a drag on bottom line profitability. Speaking after Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) total comprehensive income more than quadrupled to $17.796m for the nine months to end-September 2021, as opposed to just $3.723m the prior year, Mr Bowe said of the figures: “One of the things we are fairly confident in is that they are fully representative of the realities on the ground. “We have not changed our approach to lending, provisioning and how we run the business. There’s nothing we could say is an extraordinary boost or gain. With the new accounting standards, we are confident we recognised everything by the end of last year.” Rather than place a vast number of borrowers in blanket COVID loan deferral programmes, as many rival institutions did, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) opted for a ‘horses for courses’ approach where only those clients in actual distress
GOWON BOWE received such forebearance. And it also declined to treat the latter borrower category as remaining current with their payments. “The reality is that when you go into a loan deferral programme, the difficulty is what does that do to your data in terms of its quality,” Mr Bowe said. “Fidelity never put persons into a deferral programme that says: ‘You’re still current’. We knew we had to exercise forebearance. “What it resulted in was us taking very significant provisions last year, but it set us up where there’s no overhang that continues to depress staff morale. What I mean by that is the global pandemic is tiring in and of itself, and if you see bad news for an extended period of time, it has a mental impact on staff. “If you get a little bit of bad news every week, is that better than a lot of bad news up front?” the Fidelity chief asked, suggesting that the answer was negative. “I don’t want bad news that repeats itself. “What has been most gratifying for the executive management team is our staff have a very full appreciation for why we were very conservative in our provisioning last year even though our financial performance took a hit,” he added, “because this year we are able to participate in the exuberance of the recovery that is taking place.” Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) staff have been able “to focus on the willingness of borrowers to bring their loans back current”, while also restructuring credit facilities where they are able to. “There’s a level of excitement that if we can perform admirably in difficult times we so set ourselves up to do better as the economy recovers,” Mr Bowe said. The BISX-listed institution’s increased 2021 profitability has been driven largely by reduced loan loss provisions, which fell by 76.4 percent year-overyear - from $20.314m in the first nine months of 2020 to $4.793m - as a result of it booking anticipated losses related to COVID-19 early. Its aggressive loan loss provisioning contrasts with rivals such as Commonwealth Bank, which suffered a $23.9m loss for the nine months to end-September 2021 - a near-$50m turnaround from the prior year’s $25.3m profit - due to having delayed booking its provisions on delinquent credit until this year.
William Sands, Commonwealth’s executive chairman, in a message to shareholders said: “The primary contributor to the results has been the bank’s loan impairment expense of $74.8m, which when compared to the same period in 2020 reflects an increase of 92 percent. “While the bank maintains a well-diversified loan portfolio, our customers in good standing that were granted extensions to participate in our loan payment deferral programme have been concentrated in the sectors of the economy most impacted by the pandemic, namely the hotel and leisure sectors.” Mr Bowe, meanwhile, said Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) has “new products coming on stream that we are very excited about” and will launch in 2022, although he declined to provide specifics. He added that their introduction will boost the bank’s fee income. “Fee income is not being generated to compensate for less interest income,” the Fidelity chief said. “It comes with value added services being released. We should earn money from interest income and the loan portfolio.” Mr Bowe said the impact from the downgrade of The Bahamas’ sovereign creditworthiness by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) was likely to force Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) to take a provision equal to 1 percent of its $115m government securities portfolio - a sum of around $1m or just over. “It could cost us $1m in additional provisions,” he acknowledged. “It may not be quite as high, but is only around 1 percent. We’ve not shied away from government exposure. We certainly believe they have the capacity and ability to pay. “But we have changed the tenor. You’ll see more of our reinvestment in the shorter-term paper. Really, for us, it’s more about the Government being put in a position of strong cash flow. For most institutions it’s not about exposure; it’s ensuring regular turnover of cash flow. “It’s expected that, as we do the calculation based on the credit rating, there will be additional provisions on our government securities portfolio but that is a paper provision, and it will come back to shareholders as we get closer to normality on each of the instruments.”
THE TRIBUNE
BAHA MAR JUDGE SEEKS BAHAMIAN JUDICIAL HELP By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A NEW York judge has signed off on requests for Bahamian judicial help over the British Colonial Hilton’s sale and other issues relating to Sarkis Izmirlian’s $2.25bn fight with Baha Mar’s contractor. Judge Andrew Borrok, of the New York State Supreme Court, signed on November 4, 2021, five separate requests for assistance from the Bahamian judicial system in obtaining evidence sought by both Baha Mar’s original developer and China Construction America (CCA) and its affiliates. The assistance requests, made on behalf of both CCA and Mr Izmirlian’s BML Properties vehicle, ask the Attorney General’s Office to apply to the Bahamian Supreme Court for orders compelling a local realtor; engineering company; accountant; Scotiabank (Bahamas); and Citibank (Bahamas) to provide documentary evidence that could bolster both sides’ legal claims. Tribune Business revealed the requests for Bahamian judicial assistance when they were made earlier this year, but Judge Borrok’s sign-off means they have now gone live or been put into action. Both parties in the Baha Mar dispute had hoped to obtain the evidence they were seeking by August/ September this year, but that is now an impossibility. One assistance request involves Cross & Mosko Real Estate and Development Company, whose principals are Jimmy Mosko and Kevin Cross, asking that they produce multiple documents and communications relating to the British Colonial Hilton’s October 2014 sale to CCA which they brokered. Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties believe these may provide evidence to support their claim that the Chinese state-owned contractor used a disputed $54m payment intended to “accelerate” its construction work at Baha Mar to instead fund its acquisition of the downtown Nassau resort. “Plaintiff seeks to obtain documents from Cross & Mosko, who brokered the sale in October 2014 of the British Colonial Hilton to defendants,” the New York court’s legal assistance request states. “These documents have a direct connection to the subject matter of the New York litigation because plaintiff alleges that in order to purchase and develop the British Colonial Hilton, defendants used funds they had pledged to the Baha Mar project and diverted both tangible and intangible resources to the Hilton venture, defrauding plaintiff and exacerbating the delays already plaguing Baha Mar.”
BAHA MAR RESORT The legal assistance request, made under The Bahamas’ Evidence (Proceedings in other jurisdictions) Act 2000 and filed by the New York court on April 5, 2021, asks that Cross & Mosko be “compelled” to produce all documents related to the sale plus communications on the deal with CCA; Aubaine Capital (the seller); and the then-Christie administration. Other documents sought include communications potentially detailing CCA and its affiliates moving “workers, managers or tangible resources” from Baha Mar to the British Colonial Hilton as the contractor ramped up to develop the $200m Pointe project and associated Margaritavillebranded resort. Communications from CCA executives, including David Wang, Daniel Liu and Tiger Wu, relating to CCA’s “intention to work or actually work” at the Bay Street resort property are also targeted by the Cross & Mosko legal assistance request, which is targeted at a three-year period covering 2013-2015. The New York court has also moved on behalf of Mr Izmirlian and his legal team to obtain the production of documents thought to be held by Graphite Engineering, whose principal is Sonia Brown, and which acted as the “engineer of record” for the Baha Mar project’s construction. Setting out the original developer’s case, the court documents state: “Plaintiff contends that defendants who invested in and served as construction manager of the Baha Mar project concealed their intent and knowledge that they would not construct the complex on time and on budget, in violation of New York’s common-law prohibition on fraud and defendants’ contractual obligations. “Much of the parties’ dispute hinges on whether and to what extent defendants’ work, including its alleged failure to timely obtain the requisite permits and approvals from the Government of the Bahamas, resulted in the delays to the project. “Graphite was the engineer of record for the project and worked with the various design and construction teams, as well as the Government of The Bahamas, to keep the project compliant with local code
requirements,” the New York court added. “Graphite also oversaw the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection installation. Graphite is therefore likely to possess documents and evidence concerning defendants’ alleged failure to adequately address defects in the project.” Among the documents and papers being sought are communications over “stop work orders” issued by the Ministry of Works in relation to construction activities at Baha Mar in the lead-up to Mr Izmirlian’s ultimately unsuccessful Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing in mid-2015. Graphite Engineering’s dealings with CCA over efforts to get electrical power for the project; the fire alarm testing results; alleged “fireproofing defects” and “CCA’s failure to build the fire life-safety system in conformance with Government of The Bahamas regulations and approved plans” are also the focus of the legal assistance request. There is no suggestion that any of the Bahamian companies involved, or their principals and executives, have done anything wrong in relation to either the British Colonial Hilton’s sale or the Baha Mar project. However, the legal assistance requests are not limited to Mr Izmirlian. For the New York court is requesting assistance from the Attorney General’s Office and Bahamian Supreme Court on CCA’s behalf in a bid to obtain information on transactions and money flows involving multiple Baha Mar accounts at Citibank (Bahamas) and Scotiabank (Bahamas) when Mr Izmirlian was in charge. CCA is seeking these details to bolster its counterclaim that Mr Izmirlian’s
SEE PAGE FIVE
Monday, November 29, 2021, PAGE 3
PAGE 4, Monday, November 29, 2021
DPM IN MEETING WITH ABACO TOURISM STAFF
THE TRIBUNE
Retailers face nervous festive inventory wait By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
CHESTER COOPER, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, stopped at the Ministry of Tourism’s Abaco office and greeted staff on his recent trip to the island. Pictured from L to R: John Pinder, parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation; staff member, Megan Simmons; Mr Cooper; and Winsom Ferguson, office manager for the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation. Photo:Kemuel Stubbs/ BIS
A BAHAMIAN retailer yesterday said “goods are sitting in places and we can’t get them”, as she lamented the supply chain woes disrupting the run-up to a vital Christmas season. Margo Farrington, Lorene’s Department store’s chief marketing officer, told Tribune Business it is uncertain whether delayed
shipments and deliveries will arrive in time for a festive season that many merchants are counting on to provide some relief from COVID-19’s ravages. “If we can’t supply it we would definitely recommend someone else,” she said. “We will have some inventory, but our problem is going to be mostly in lingerie sizes because our suppliers are only sending half of the order. So we’ll have some sizes, but not all sizes.” Inflationary pressures from increased shipping costs and supply chain bottlenecks are also a major factor this Christmas. Ms Farrington said: “Especially with the freight, the prices are really high. We are trying to do our best to absorb the cost of it so we don’t have to increase our prices. But I don’t know how long that can last.” Lorene’s will have a full complement of staff for
this Christmas season, and she added: “We hope that Bahamians like usual will shop at Christmas time. So we’re hoping it will still be a good one. People are starting to trickle in now for the Black Friday weekend. Then, gradually every week, it will increase leading up to Christmas Day.” Latoya Miller, retail store manager for Custom Computers, said: “Right now we have a lot of back orders. We are filled up with headphones and speakers right now, so we’re waiting on our Apple stuff to come in. “There are a lot of things that we need that our customers are looking for. So it is a lot of backlog. For example, for some items the ETA (estimated time of arrival) is in February next year. “We will have some stuff, but certain things like printers that our customers are looking for, or certain laptops that our customers are
looking for, those kinds of stuff are low and limited right now. But we will have a full store. Demand is high but inventory is running low.” Custom Computers is still selling-off back-to-school equipment dating from August. Prices increased in the summer, so Ms Miller is not expecting any dramatic new hikes. “If prices go up, it won’t be that drastically,” she said. Jody Moree, vice-president of Sandy’s Department Store, said it was not having any supply chain issues. “We have seen some increase with the cost of containers, and the cost to have them shipped is more than what it used to be. But everything in The Bahamas is expensive.” Sandy’s will have a full staff complement this Christmas season, and will bring back “the usual additional staff” to handle the end-of-year rush.
THE TRIBUNE
OUR DAILY BREAD
Monday, November 29, 2021, PAGE 5
By Chris Illing
A
ll Christians in this world pray hundreds of millions of times for “our daily bread” every new day. The ancient Romans, masters in preserving an empire, knew very well that “divide et impera” would never work without “panem et circenses”. Louis XVI did not possess this cleverness. Who knows whether the French Revolution would have happened if he had cut taxes on grain after two bad harvests in a row, and thus prevented the dramatic rise in the price of bread at the time? But, even in recent times, the tortilla crisis in Mexico in 2007 and 2008 shows that rising grain prices have what it takes to change the course of history. This is one of the reasons why we should be concerned about the the significant rise in wheat prices that is currently taking place. After all, it is not about rare earths, semi-conductors or magnesium, but about a vital staple food. Wheat prices reflect wholesale prices. The most important trading venues for wheat are the MATIF commodity futures exchange in Paris, and the Chicago stock exchange. The wheat price on the stock exchanges is largely determined by supply and demand. However, there are other influencing factors as well. Never in history did so much have to be paid for a ton of wheat on the leading European exchange for agricultural products, the MATIF, as in the second week of November 2021. For the first time ever, the price for the standard contract traded there was over 300 euros, exactly at 300.50 Euros. It exceeded the highs from 2008, 2010 and 2012, when they were between 280 and 290 euros per ton. In the US, wheat was priced at $846 per bushel in November 2021, which is up from $749 in October 2021, and 63 percent above the $500 march achieved in November 2020. The main reason for the increase is persistently strong demand from Asian countries, with simultaneous crop failures due to the severe summer storm in Iowa and periods of
drought in other important growing areas. It is not for nothing that traders, farmers and producers are now wondering how things will go in 2022. Another key influencer is the dollar price/exchange rate, as transactions are usually carried out in US dollars. The main wheat importing countries are Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Algeria, Philippines, China, Brazil, Bangladesh, Morocco, the European Union (EU) and Mexico. The oil price also plays a role in the the wheat price, as wheat often must be shipped over long distances in accordance with the orders from countries. From an analytical point of view, the most recent increase already exceeds almost any “normal” movement. But things are rarely normal on the world’s stock exchanges, and certainly not now. In addition, new all-time highs also have the same informative value for agricultural goods, which are called “soft commodities” in the financial jargon, as for example for stock indices. On average, they are the best possible confirmation of an existing upward trend and make a forecast easy for precisely that reason. They are followed with a relatively high probability, further increasing rates and prices. The rise in wheat prices is therefore very unlikely to have reached its high point but will rather continue. Where exactly the journey will go, only the gods know in these uncertain times. But new records in the range of 8 to 10 percent should be waiting for us. This increase is unlikely to happen in one go. Fluctuations, which can sometimes take on larger proportions, are always part of the financial markets. This is especially true in the current situation. The wheat price has been rising for nine weeks in a row above the Monday opening. That does not happen very often. A trend like this usually suggests that the short-term momentum has
BAHA MAR JUDGE SEEKS BAHAMIAN JUDICIAL HELP FROM PAGE THREE alleged mismanagement of the Baha Mar project wiped out its $150m preference share investment in the original development, even though it was subsequently selected for the $700m contract to complete the Cable Beach-based venture. And the Chinese stateowned contractor is also seeking documents allegedly under the control of Ed Rahming, the Bahamian accountant and Intelisys (Bahamas) principal, who acted as one of the three Baha Mar liquidators after the Chapter 11 bid failed. “Defendants seek documents relating to Baha Mar’s finances in order to evaluate the
appropriateness of its expenditures throughout the project, along with e-mail communications and other electronically stored information regarding the project,” the legal documents seen by this newspaper state. “Access to these documents is particularly important given that Baha Mar Properties (Mr Izmirlian’s vehicle) has indicated that the ‘scope of documents available’ to it in the normal course of discovery is ‘severely limited’ because the liquidators and/ or receiver/managers, pursuant to lawful Bahamian court order, took possession of the ‘[Bahamar.com email domain, and computer servers, databases and physical documents ... in 2015’.”
NOTICE IDEA RELIEF FUND LTD. (Voluntary Liquidation) Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, the abovenamed Company is in dissolution, which commenced on the 25th day of November, A.D., 2021. The Liquidator is Galnom Ltd., CUB Financial Center, Western Road, Nassau, Bahamas. GALNOM LTD. Liquidator
been completely exhausted, and that market participants will now slow down for the time being. This applies even more to striking resistances such as the previous all-time highs. Resistances often only work as well as the memories of those who acted when they were created. Thirteen years is a long time for a stockbroker to remember, and there can be uncertainty about where exactly the previous highs were and what conclusions can be drawn from them. This creates uncertainty, and in such phases, if there are no good reasons to act differently, reluctance can set in. However, this pause is unlikely to change anything in terms of medium-term technology, which currently indicates a further rise in prices. With a shrinking agriculturally-usable area in the world, weather instability in the growing areas, the simultaneous increase in demand and a productivity that can hardly be increased, prices must rise. We will not be able to overturn this market mechanism. It is not certain that food is abundantly available - especially not at today’s prices in the world. Our climate must be very important to us, as well as food for eight billion people. It is good that both are linked.
WITH a shrinking agriculturally-usable area in the world, weather instability in the growing areas, the simultaneous increase in demand and a productivity that can hardly be increased, prices must rise.
PAGE 6, Monday, November 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
DPM VISITS BAKER’S BAY DEVELOPMENT CHESTER Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, and officials from his ministry toured the Baker’s Bay Golf & Ocean Club development on Great Guana Cay, Abaco, last week. In the group photo from L to R are: Shawn Ygnatowiz, Bakers Bay’s chief operating officer; Phylicia Woods-Hanna, the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation’s director of investments; John Pinder, parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation;
RETAILERS DETECT BLACK FRIDAY SPEND REBOUND By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
Mr Cooper, Dr Livingston Marshall, Baker’s Ba’s senior vice-president, community and environmental
affairs; and Homeowners Association executive director, Craig Sacco. Photo:Kemuel Stubbs/ BIS
RETAILERS reported a “spending rebound” on Black Friday as shoppers queued from 5am to seekout bargains leading into the Christmas holiday shopping season. Patrice Thompson, Aliv’s general manager for New Providence, told Tribune Business: “Aliv is experiencing a very strong Black Friday as we acquired a record number of new customers as well as great momentum with our existing customers. “We are seeing high volumes of visits to all of our retail stores in all islands, and a lot of interest at our pop-up locations as well. We have provided our customers with many ways to shop, ensuring safety at each touch point. “We are also expecting this momentum to continue through the weekend as we continue to have exciting deals. We feel very optimistic about the rest of the holiday season as all indicators point to a rebound in spending.”
Brent Burrows, CBS Bahamas (Commonwealth Building Supplies) president added: “Things went extremely well. We had a great day. The crowd were well behaved and we had good police presence.” Consumers were lined outside of CBS before 5am on Friday morning in hopes of beating the Black Friday rush so they could exploit price discounts. “We opened at 5am, and we had quite a number of people outside. We had security posted outside of our doors from 2am just to ensure things ran smoothly,” Mr Burrows added. Adam Treco, managing director of Fine Threads, said: “Normally on Black Friday we would have a sale in our store, but we just don’t have the inventory for that because of the logistics challenges. So we are having a regular sidewalk sale, which is more of a clearance sale. He added that Fine Threads has experienced “nothing but headaches” for the past three quarters in getting inventory from California and North America in general. “I’m sure you have heard
that finding the Playstation five and the new Xbox is difficult because there is a chip shortage,” Mr Treco added. “But, relative to how things are going, it is pretty OK compared to a normal year because we just don’t have what we normally would have.” At this time, Fine Threads would normally have 80 percent of its winter inventory in stock, but are currently around just 25 percent du to supply chain backlogs. Despite this, Mr Treco is remaining “optimistic” for the Christmas season as he feels the shipping and logistics challenges will eventually work themselves out. “The demand is coming up but we just don’t have the supply. That seems to be the problem in general,” he added. Wanda Cartwright, general manager of Rubin’s Palmdale, said of Black Friday: “We didn’t have a sale on but things weren’t that bad.” She was concerned that consumers were staying at home rather than shopping, but said it was still a good day for Rubins.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, November 29, 2021, PAGE 7
HOTELS ‘CAN’T ASK FOR MORE’ OVER POST-COVID REBOUND FROM PAGE ONE and “maintaining the integrity of the room rate”, he added that it would have been “very difficult” for properties and the wider sector to reverse any discounts offered in a bid to ‘buy’ business. Mr Sands, confirming that average daily room rates (ADRs) have risen for “a lot of properties” on New Providence/Paradise Island as tourism continues rebounding from COVID, said this upward trend had not been confined to the Bahamian capital. Room rates for Family Island resorts “have been through the roof” due to the pentup demand caused by last year’s travel shutdown. While away from his office when speaking to this newspaper, and unable to access data, Mr Sands confirmed last week’s assessment by Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general, that room rates have increased rather than reduced as the Bahamian hotel industry continues to re-emerge from last year’s COVIDrelated devastation. While there are no aggregate ADR figures for all Bahamas-based resort properties, the BHTA chief said it was likely that Mrs Jibrilu was referring to data obtained from a pool of New Providence and Paradise Island-based resorts. “I’m sure she was looking at analysis done from select hotels which shows that, in the main, ADR has increased for a lot of properties,” Mr Sands said. “Family Island hotels, their average rates as well have been through the roof in the last year because demand has been extremely high.” He added that increased room rates, together with an “extended length of stay” in The Bahamas by many visitors, was helping to drive greater spending in the destination by tourists and improve the industry’s yields. “I think the increased spending is a direct relationship with the increase in the average rate, and also a direct relationship with the length of stay. All of these things contribute. The length of stay may be increasing,” Mr Sands said, explaining that this was forecast to result in lengthier periods of sustained high hotel occupancies. “The period of effective occupancy has increased by 50 percent,” he explained. “Where you may have had a week of strong, high occupancies we’re seeing that extend to ten days. Where we would have seen a buildup post-Christmas, starting maybe on the 27th or the 28th, we’re seeing that from the 26th now. “We’re seeing the period of days within the festive season increasing from a traditional timeframe of six days to a week to ten days. With increased occupancies, increased length of stay, increased average rates, it means the visitors in the destination are spending much more in the destination. “That is reinforced by information coming from the Central Bank of The Bahamas that revenues for
the country are increasing as a direct result of improvement in the tourism sector.” Mr Sands, who spoke to Tribune Business just as COVID-19’s Omicron mutation started to emerge as a potential threat, said most Bahamian hotels had realised early on in the pandemic that it was “not in their best interests” to discount room rates in an effort to buy business. This, he explained, would have created the impression in travellers’ minds that The Bahamas was previously an over-priced destination offering too little value for what it was charging, thus making it very hard to return them to pre-COVID levels. “I think the reality is that under any difficult circumstances, where business is depressed, one would have thought the way to attract business is to reduces rates,” Mr Sands told this newspaper. “However, most properties realised it was best to retain value and keep the rates they have or increase them. “If you reduce them, it’s very difficult to get them to the level necessary when the business returns, and it has returned very quickly.” Pointing out that Bahamian tourism has endured “a protracted period” of struggle dating back all the way to Hurricane Dorian, he added: “I think hotels decided it was not in their best interest, based on the level of business out there, to go after that business based on rate but, instead, based on value-added.” This approach, Mr Sands explained, included offers such as the free use of hotel amenities or children being allowed to eat for free. “In this environment, once you reduce the room rates, it’s very difficult to get them back to a level where you return a profit and to a level that justifies the value of the offering. “You’re saying to the travelling public that this is the true value of the offering. These impressions become very difficult to reverse.” Asked whether the hotel and tourism industry had been taken aback by the speed of the postCOVID rebound, Mr Sands replied: “I don’t know if it’s a question of surprise, but we always knew there was pent-up demand for travel.” The BHTA chief, though, cautioned that even if The Bahamas hit its one million stopover visitor target for 2021 this was still just 56 percent of the 1.8m arrivals seen in 2019. And some Caribbean rivals, such as Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands and US Virgin Islands, had been able to exploit their territorial/colonial links to get a recovery “head start” on The Bahamas. Still, Mr Sands said: “I don’t think we could have asked for anything more. The rebound is happening at a pace we can deal with. There are a number of operational issues we have to deal with.” These include retraining workers recalled from furlough, plus providing the appropriate skills to new hires who will replace previous employees who decide not to return.
PAGE 8, Monday, November 29, 2021
‘A REAL DAMPENER’: FEAR OVER NEW COVID STRAIN
FROM PAGE ONE tourism, it is unclear how effective such measures will be since it may only be a matter of time before the mutation arrives in this nation. “It is certainly a concerning issue,” Mr Sands told this newspaper. “However, as long as we continue to employ the safety protocols we have in The Bahamas and the Government initiates certain bans on these restricted countries sooner than later..... It would be
THE TRIBUNE my recommendation to act sooner than later.” The Davis administration has done precisely that, bringing The Bahamas into line with the global Omicron response, which has seen the US, UK and others impose similar restrictions on the affected southern African nations. The UK has gone back to mandatory mask wearing in shops and public transport, and requiring PCR tests for all arriving travellers on the second day in-country. Mr Sands said that, for The Bahamas, the loss of tourism business from the African nations impacted will be “minimal” given that “the lion’s share” comes from North America. But he added: “Whatever we can do to insulate The Bahamas from this particular strain will be in our best interests. “If we are proactive in eliminating the opportunity we will better serve ourselves by doing so. If we get ahead of the curve there won’t be the necessity to implement restrictions.” The reimposition of restrictive COVID-19 measures could be potentially disastrous for a tourism-dependent Bahamian economy, reversing much of the post-lockdown progress. And an Omicron-driven fourth wave would further strain an already-weakened public healthcare system, which was overwhelmed and came perilously close to collapsing - during the most COVID infection surge which, at its peak, resulted in close to 200 persons being hospitalised. As part of The Bahamas’ defences, Mr Sands said this nation must “continue to push the need for vaccinations. That’s absolutely critical”. With the vaccination pace having slowed, despite inoculations being made available at sites such as Super Value and the Fusion SuperPlex, he welcomed efforts to roll-out booster shots and vaccinations for younger children. “I think we’re hitting close to the 38-40 percent fully vaccinated mark. We’re half-way to where we need to be,” the BHTA chief said in reference to the need to fully vaccinate 80 percent of the population to achieve so-called ‘herd immunity’. “I think a vaccinated destination, certainly when the economy begins to pick up, and with business and tourism increasing, it’s critical more Bahamians avail themselves of the opportunity and become vaccinated.” Dr Duane Sands, Mr Sands’ brother and former minister of health, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas cannot afford to close its borders as the likes of Israel have done in response to the Omicron strain. However, he suggested that enhanced border screening/testing via a PCR test for all incoming travellers - Bahamian and non-Bahamian, vaccinated or unvaccinated - may be needed. “People are not going to like it, but I think we can do tourism and health safety at the same time,” he said.
“It cannot be business as usual. If we do not adjust it is equivalent to rolling the public health dice.” Dr Sands said The Bahamas was “in the pregnant phase” where it was unsure how serious an impact the new COVID mutation will have, although initial evidence suggests it is more transmissible than previous variants and comes with milder, less obvious symptoms upfront. “We don’t know is this is going to be a game changer like the Delta variant was,” he added. “Any public health official will hope for the best but prepare for the worst. That’s what we should be doing.” Revealing that he supported returning to an enhanced COVID testing regime, rather than border closures, Dr Sands said: “I think we find ourselves in a situation where things could go terribly wrong fairly quickly. “The emergence of this new variant speaks to us that we ought to be doubling down in terms of adhering to the public health measures... I don’t think it’s a big shock to me that we will get to the point where vaccination is required for entry to The Bahamas. There’s people that will cry bloody murder and they’ll get over it.” The Bahamian private sector reacted with weary concern to the COVID Omicron strain’s emergence and potential threat. “It’s a matter of great concern,” Sir Franklyn Wilson, the Arawak Homes and Sunshine Holdings chairman, told Tribune Business. “It’s a time for prayer, a time for prayer. We have to hope and pray this doesn’t emerge as the next serious issue. “What else can you do? So much is trending in the right direction that this is a real dampener. It’s a real dampener. Everything was trending so favourably; Christmas prospects. I hope this will inspire people who have not done so to consider whether they take the vaccine or not. We must do everything we can to contain this thing as best we can.” Ben Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president, said: “I guess right now I’ve sort of become accustomed to this stuff. I don’t think there’s going to be a lull. We’re going to have to deal with this for quite some time. We just have to try and remain positive and hope everything works out just fine. There’s not a lot we can do at this point. “We’re rebounding well, and have rebounded well throughout this ordeal. Hopefully they’ll [the Government] remain consistent. I think this is a place that people recognise they can come and be socially distanced spread over our islands and cays. Bahamians have adjusted and pivoted accordingly.” Warning that there will likely be more COVID strains to come after Omicron, Mr Albury praised the Government for its action to-date. “We will definitely have to be more proactive and less reactive,” he said.
DR DUANE SANDS
THE TRIBUNE
CRUISE LINES ‘BULLIED’ GOV’T OVER PORT FEES FROM PAGE ONE
the Bahamian taxpayer” towards the cruise port’s $289m transformation. Branding Prince George Wharf “a horrible experience” when he took over as minister of tourism and aviation in May 2017, Mr D’Aguilar argued that a private-public partnership (PPP) - with the Government retaining ownership of the real estate, and the private sector operating it and raising the necessary capital - was the only available model given the cash-strapped Public Treasury. “The repayment of the $300m investment is to be received from the three to four million cruise passengers that will be stopping at that port,” the former minister wrote in a lengthy posting that was obtained by Tribune Business. “Not one dollar will come from the Bahamian taxpayer “Each cruise passenger will now be paying $8.50 plus VAT to dock at the Nassau Cruise Port. Amazingly, the Nassau Cruise Port only collected $0.70 (and no VAT) per cruise passenger when it was run by the Government of The Bahamas. “No wonder it looked so run down..... The cruise companies had bullied the Government of The Bahamas to keep the rates low and, as such, that facility was starved of funds to maintain a decent standard of operations.” The former Minnis administration rejected a rival bid by a cruise line consortium to take over and manage Nassau’s cruise port, instead opting for the Global Ports Holding offer. The latter’s $250m Prince George Wharf redevelopment (around $289m if financing costs are included) is due to be completed around April 2022. The project is being financed via a mix of debt and equity, with Bahamian investors set to have the opportunity to subscribe for a collective $25m equity stake via an initial public offering (IPO) that it is understood will launch imminently prior to Christmas 2021. Mr D’Aguilar, meanwhile, said his comments were intended to counter views that the cruise port’s development “is bad for Bahamians and bad for downtown”. He admitted that he “pushed hard” for the project to take place given the condition he found Prince George Wharf in when he took office. “One of the first places I visited was the Welcome Centre (Festival Place) at the Prince George Dock,” he wrote. “It was in horrible condition... so much so that
the building had been abandoned and all the vendors were set up outside. “In addition, the quality of the experience enjoyed by the 10,000 cruise passengers arriving at the Nassau Cruise Port every day was horrendous. The space was tight, run down, hot and the visitors were being greeted by a barrage of requests from local vendors trying to sell their wares or services. “Of particular note was the working conditions of the taxis where they were all jam up on the sidewalks and roads surrounding the port entrance and the need, in their mind, to make a hard and aggressive sell just to make a fare. Once again, it was a horrible experience and I felt that changing that as a priority of the Ministry of Tourism.” Determining to follow the same management/capital raising outsourcing model that was employed for the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), Mr D’Aguilar continued: “We needed hundreds of millions of dollars to fix up and refresh the marine infrastructure (docks and piers) and build a new experience for the over 10,000 cruise passengers that we expected to arrive each day. “And it was clear, at the outset, that the public purse did not have the funds needed to fix up that port.” As a result, Mr D’Aguilar said the Government developed a model where it would continue to own the port and receive an annual rent, but a private sector partner would be responsible for transforming the facility, financing this process and managing its operations. He added that the 25-year lease granted to Global Ports Holding was renewable at the Government’s determination, as well as the port operator, with a two-year “wind down” period provided if it was not extended. Doing that to a consortium partially owned by Bahamian retail investors could provide difficult. In return, Mr D’Aguilar said The Bahamas and its people will receive “a brand new port” that will attract increased numbers of cruise ships and their passengers, enticing more off the vessel and raising per capita spend, while “creating a whole host of business and entrepreneurial opportunities for Bahamians” in downtown Nassau and elsewhere.
ADVERTISE TODAY! CALL THE TRIBUNE TODAY @ 502-2394
NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that KLEBER BELLEVUE of, Malcom Road Nassau, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of November, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
Monday, November 29, 2021, PAGE 9
NASSAU CRUISE PORT
PAGE 10, Monday, November 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
BAHAMAS EXPORTS DROP 40% IN 2020 FROM PAGE ONE
Bahamas’ export diversification index had several swings, but showed less reliance on major products in 2020 than in 1990.... “The number of products exported increased between 1990 and 2020 for Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and The Bahamas, and decreased for Haiti and Jamaica.” While last year’s decline, and its extent, can be attributed largely to COVID-19’s worldwide economic disruption, the slippage trend is likely to cause concern for economic policymakers given that The Bahamas’ few goods exports - chiefly fisheries (crawfish) and Polymers International’s products - still represent valuable sources of diversification and foreign currency earnings. And US environmental regulatory initiatives are taking their toll on the Freeport-based manufacturer. “Almost all (more than 98 percent) of imports under CBERA, and 20 percent of total imports from The Bahamas in 2020, were expandable polystyrene (EPS), which is used as a construction material and as packaging,” the US International Trade Commission report said. “This has been the case for many years. EPS production is dominated by a single export-oriented manufacturer, Polymers International, which exports 90 percent of its production to the US. Imports of polystyrene from The Bahamas fell from a peak of $155m in 2014 to $55m in 2020. “This drop is attributed primarily to environmental initiatives banning EPS packaging introduced throughout the US, which resulted in a steep drop in demand. The Bahamas issued its own ban on single-use Styrofoam, a trademarked term for EPS, for packaging, which went into effect January 1, 2020,” the report continued. “In addition to polystyrene, the other significant exports include rock lobster (13.7 percent of 2020 imports by value); salt (8.2 percent); gravel (12.0 percent); and petroleum oils (5.3 percent). None of these other products enter under CBERA preferences.” The US International Trade Commission report, though, acknowledged concerns from the Bahamas’ embassy in the US, as well as Bahamas Customs and
the Government’s “trade and industry unit”, that more needs to be done to make Bahamian companies aware of the benefits and advantages conferred by CBERA’s import tariff concessions. “A written submission from the Embassy of the Bahamas suggested that CBERA utilisation could increase with greater public education and awareness regarding coverage provided by the CBERA trade preferences,” the report said. “It also stated that it would be helpful if the US International Trade Commission could organise a webinar on CBERA and provide additional engagement opportunities for Bahamian authorities to assist the public in ensuring that CBERA-eligible products receive maximum benefits. “The Bahamian trade and industry unit and the Customs Department also ‘advise that for local companies to benefit from CBERA, challenges for micro enterprises should be addressed, including scaling-up issues; logistics management; marketing and promotion; e-commerce; and connecting with niche market opportunities’.” The US International Trade Commission report also suggested that some CBERA-eligible Bahamian exports were failing to take advantage of tarifffree access to US markets. “Despite the Government of The Bahamas targeting areas outside tourism for development, the number of products exported in significant quantities has remained limited,” it said. “In addition, there are indications that some exports that may be eligible for CBERA preferences fail to claim the benefit. The Bahamas’ CBERA utilisation rate was 73 percent in 2020 and 58.2 percent in 2019; both slightly above the average for CBERA beneficiaries. “The Bahamas is the largest registry of cruise passenger ships, is second in the Caribbean in container ship traffic. Consequently, The Bahamas is involved in ship repair and maintenance, some of which constitute dutiable exports to the US. Though some repairs are eligible for CBERA preference, imports totaling $28m in 2018; $18m in 2019; and $5m in 2020 did not claim the preference.”
BLACK FRIDAY IS BACK BUT IT’S NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE By TALI ARBEL AND ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — On this year’s Black Friday, things almost seem normal. Malls and stores report decent-sized crowds, if not the floods of people that used to fight over the latest toys and electronics — online shopping is much too common for that now, and discounts are both more subdued and spread out over the weeks leading up to Christmas, on both websites and in stores. Out-of-stock items due to supply crunches, higher prices for gas and food, and labor shortages that make it more difficult to respond to customers are also causing frustrations for shoppers. Christian MacDonald, the first person in a line of about 75 people waiting for a Costa Mesa, California Target store to open, came away empty-handed. “I came here because I figured since it was Black Friday, they’d have the new Switch OLED in stock, but they didn’t,” said
MacDonald, who waited an hour and a half to get in for the sought-after Nintendo video game console. “So I’m just going to go home, I guess.” The country’s largest mall, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, said nearly 100,000 people had come as of early afternoon Friday, more than double last year but a bit shy of 2019 numbers. “We had a fantastic start,” said Mall of America senior vice president Jill Renslow. The staffing issues that have hit many retailers and restaurants, however, also affected Mall of America. It had to trim the hours it was open. Still, Black Friday retail sales surged 29.8% through mid-afternoon, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all types of payments, including cash and credit cards. That was above its 20% growth forecast for the day. Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard, says the numbers speak to the “strength of the consumer.”
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, November 29, 2021, PAGE 11
PUBLIC NOTICE
INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, NORMA CHARLESSCOTT of #27 Caspian Road, East, P.O. Box N9227 Nassau, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to NORMA CHARLES. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice. LEGAL NOTICE
N O T I C E EXXONMOBIL EXXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION MALAYSIA (VENTURES) LIMITED Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000, notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by The Registrar General on the 11th day of November, A.D. 2021 Dated the 29th day of November A.D., 2021. Daniel A. Bates Liquidator of EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION MALAYSIA (VENTURES) LIMITED LEGAL NOTICE
MARTON INVEST & TRADE CORP. Company No. 1878555 (In Voluntary Liquidation) NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to Section 204 (1)(b) of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 that MARTON INVEST & TRADE CORP. is in voluntary liquidation. The voluntary liquidation commenced on 24th November 2021 and Markus Ducrey of Hofstrasse 12, 5073 Gipf-Oberfrick, Switzerland been appointed as the Sole Liquidator.
Dated this 25th day of November 2021 Sgd. Markus Ducrey Voluntary Liquidator
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, November 29, 2021, PAGE 13
BUSINESSES LURING EMPLOYEES ALONG WITH CUSTOMERS THIS SEASON By ADAM BEAM Associated Press FOLSOM, Calif. (AP) — The Hampton Inn in Folsom, California, has 147 rooms, but General Manager Enid Baldock could only rent 117 of them recently because she did not have enough workers to clean them. “I was turning people away with 30 rooms (available). Ridiculous,” she said while stuffing bedsheets down a laundry chute to help our her skeleton housekeeping staff. At the Palladio, a nearby shopping center with 85 stores and restaurants just off a busy highway, businesses appeared more focused on attracting workers than customers as “now hiring” signs outnumbered Black Friday fliers. Mac, a cosmetic retailer, was advertising a $1,500 bonus for anyone who would agree to work full time. Businesses struggled to get through the Great Recession more than a decade ago with minimal staff because low demand forced them to lay off workers. But the opposite is playing out in the pandemic, this time with lots of demand but fewer workers willing to return following government-imposed lockdowns. Experts point to a number of factors, including the high cost of
child care, more generous government benefits and lifestyle changes that have made workers less willing to accept the salaries and conditions of their old jobs. That has pushed up wages for some retail and restaurant jobs, but not enough to overcome the gap. “It changes people’s behavior the longer that COVID persists,” said Roy Kim, deputy director for workforce development with the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency. “The longer people can survive and make adjustments that way, it becomes life altering.” The labor shortage has played out in surprising ways across California, the nation’s most populous state with nearly 40 million residents that, were it an independent nation, would have the fifth largest economy in the world. Folsom, an affluent suburb of Sacramento, has a mix of big-name retailers that cater to upper middle class consumers and locally-owned restaurants and shops that line a traditional downtown corridor to create a cozy atmosphere for a town with roots stretching back to the Gold Rush. The city is filled with young tech workers for companies like Intel, Micron and PowerSchool.