11302018 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2018

$4.80 Hotel ‘workto-rule’ goes into weekend

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net UNIONISED hotel employees will continue their “work-to-rule” through the weekend after little progress was made in resolving differences with Atlantis at yesterday’s Labour Department meeting.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers (BHCAWU) president, told Tribune Business that “the status quo” over the Paradise Island resort’s “12 point” disciplinary system and proposed shift system for housekeeping staff remains with both sides due to meet again at 1pm on Monday.

He said he had informed John Pinder, director of labour, that the union was not willing to meet and negotiate with Atlantis executives outside the Department of Labour’s supervision, given what he described as the resort’s tendency to ignore it and proceed as it wished.

However, Mr Woods told this newspaper that Atlantis representatives were now “actually sitting and negotiating” with the hotel union having purportedly ignored its issues with the disciplinary and shift systems since September.

He added, though, that the union will “know exactly what our next move will be” following the outcome of Monday’s meeting, and said: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

The meeting between Atlantis and the hotel union will follow that between the Prime Minister and multiple union leaders, as the Government

SEE PAGE 3

$4.56

Web shops stunned by ‘patron tax’ rules tabling

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

W

* QC: Key concerns not addressed * Queries if govt acting ‘in good faith’ * Will ‘try to avoid’ litigation in Monday meet

EB shop attorneys yesterday said the sector was stunned by the Government’s tabling of the five percent “patron tax” rules in Parliament given that the two sides remain far apart.

Wayne Munroe QC, who represents the Island Game and Paradise Games chains, told Tribune Business that the Minnis administration had moved ahead despite no progress having been made in resolving the WAYNE domestic gaming industry’s MUNROE major concerns.

QC He revealed that the

latest rules did not address “rounding up or down” of fractional over-thecounter ticket sales, which the sector fears could spark lawsuits from over-taxed patrons while also resulting in it failing to collect the five percent stamp duty rate set by law.

Mr Munroe added that the Government had also failed to revise its position on requiring web shops to hire independent auditors to verify that the correct amount of patron tax has been collected and paid,

branding this as “unnecessary” and an unwarranted extra expense for his clients.

With all web shops already subject to independent audits mandated by the Gaming Board, he argued that it made little sense for each operator to now be scrutinised by two different accounting firms.

The well-known QC said he now questioned whether the Government is acting “in good faith”, given that Wednesday’s rules tabling

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER attorney general yesterday warned that “difficult legal challenges” may result from eliminating preferential incentives for existing foreign investors by end-2021.

John Delaney, principal of the Delaney Partners law firm, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas would have to “navigate” potential lawsuits from the beneficial owners of existing International Business Companies (IBCs) and other entities which stand to lose tax breaks such as a 20-year stamp duty exemption.

He explained that existing legislation had given such investors/entities a “legitimate expectation” that they would enjoy these

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

“Finally it seems as if people are starting to listen and understand the extent of the problem,” Mr Myers told this newspaper. “The important question is what will the Government of The Bahamas do about it, and when will they act?

“I have likened the problem to a canoe trying to carry a 50,000 pound anchor. It doesn’t matter how fast you try to row, the boat is going down.

The Government has to match its size and spending to the economy, and the match has to sustain itself year-over-year.

“A failure to act on this will result in a failed economic model and the country will suffer. We are in good global company the world over, but the survivors will be the countries that understand and fix the problem. The Bahamas has great potential if it acts.”

Mr Myers praised the Government for seeking to solve The Bahamas’ fiscal

SEE PAGE 7

JOHN DELANEY preferential incentives, which are not available to Bahamians in the domestic economy, for their full duration.

However, the need to

DION FOULKES

Govt concern: Best paying jobs going to non-Bahamians

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

as the flat $300 business licence fee - for a further three years.

This effectively means that all IBCs incorporated from 2002 onwards will not enjoy the 20-year stamp duty waiver their beneficial owners will have anticipated. Mr Delaney, going so far as to suggest existing Bahamian law may have given investors a “vested right” to such benefits, highlighted the potential legal peril that awaits the Government as a result.

“The question mark is around already existing IBCs that have the benefit of existing rights of

SEE PAGE 5

SEE PAGE 7

SEE PAGE 4

* Existing entities may have ‘vested rights’ * Revised beneficial ownership ‘more efficient’ * EU/OECD demands ‘won’t turn off lights’ comply with the European Union’s (EU) anti-tax evasion/avoidance drive means that The Bahamas has to eliminate all such “ring fencing”, or preferential tax regimes for non-resident entities and foreign investors that are not offered to their Bahamian counterparts.

And, despite the Government’s efforts to secure a longer transition period, the Removal of Preferential Exemptions Bill 2018 only allows existing IBCs, Investment Condominiums (ICONs) and Exempted Limited Partnerships (ELPs) to maintain their special investment incentives - such

$4.66

A CABINET Minister yesterday said the Government is concerned that “most” high-paying financial services jobs are held by non-Bahamians due to labour shortages locally.

Dion Foulkes, minister of labour, bemoaned The Bahamas’ failure to develop more wealth managers and specialised personnel during his Senate address.

“From a labour point of view and all indications we have received, both at a ministry level and a department level, we are satisfied that the banking industry and the financial services industry in The Bahamas is stable, strong and growing,” he said.

“Some of the best wages, some of the best salaries in our country, are earned by Bahamians in the financial services industry; probably the highest if you were to do an average. From a labour point of view we have ongoing meetings, discussions and dialogue with the Association of International Banks & Trust Companies (AIBT) and the Bahamas Financial Services Board, (BFSB) and the Clearing Banks Association (CBA).

“We meet with them on a regular basis and have discussions with them on a weekly basis. We are also in constant contact with the union of central bankers that represents the workers

Ex-AG warns of ‘legal challenges’ to incentives end

Bloated public sector like ‘50k pound canoe anchor’ THE Government was yesterday urged to eliminate “excess weight” in the public sector that is dragging The Bahamas down “like a 50,000 pound anchor for a canoe”.

Robert Myers, pictured, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, said revelations that the Bahamian civil service scored just 19 out of 100 on an InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) assessment of its performance exposed the need for the Government to “turn its reform microscope inward”.

Emphasising that civil service inefficiency directly translated into higher private sector costs and a worsening “ease of doing business”, Mr Myers told Tribune Business that the IDB findings should force the Minnis administration away from further tax and fee increases to solve its fiscal woes.

With Camille Johnson, the Cabinet Secretary, quoted as telling the IDB that the civil service is “40 percent overstaffed” and its second-highest rank - the deputy permanent secretaries - are “extraordinarily weak”, the ORG principal said the reality of how a “bloated” government is “killing” The Bahamas is now being brought home.

$4.82

PAGE 2, Friday, November 30, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

SHOW INTELLIGENCE IN MANAGING EMOTIONS

E

MOTIONAL intelligence is the capacity to understand and manage your emotions. The skills involved in emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

As emotional beings, our primary and secondary emotions often turn up in various areas of our lives.

Our actions in response to these emotions - particularly at work - sometimes leave much to be desired, demonstrating that we are not as emotionally intelligent as we should - and could - be in corporate settings. Let us view for a moment the dimensions

of emotional intelligence.

Self-awareness is about understanding yourself: Knowing your weaknesses, strengths, drivers, values and your impact on other people.

In practice, this would look like self-confidence and a thirst for constructive criticism. If you are a manager, you might know that tight deadlines bring out the worst in yourself. A self-aware and emotionally intelligent manager would plan their time properly and get the work done well in advance of any deadlines.

Self-management is the ability to control and redirect disruptive impulses and moods. Think of

trustworthiness, integrity and comfort with change.

It is stopping your emotions from crippling you, and instead marshalling your positive emotions and aligning them with your passions. For example, if a team botches a presentation, the leader ought to resist the urge to scream. Instead, they could consider the reasons for failure, explain the consequences to team members and explore solutions together.

Having the ability to empathise is understanding other people’s emotional makeup. It involves considering others’ feelings, especially when making decisions.

Some trademarks of empathy include expertise in hiring and retaining top talent, and an ability to develop other people and sensitivity to cross-cultural differences.

This skill helps a male manager coach his star female employee through a difficult patch in her career because of a challenging pregnancy and/ or bitter separation. Despite his inability to fully understand the psychological and physiological nuances, his emotional intelligence allows him to empathise with her and, ultimately, help her cope.

Finally, social skill is building a relationship with others to move them in desired directions. Think “influence”

here. Evolved leaders with good emotional intelligence are able to coerce even difficult team members to buy into the vision of their department and support the initiatives.

We all have a measure and degree of emotional intelligence, but we need to take more time to self-assess and work on our emotions. As with anything it takes practice, but even small steps can make a big difference.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has

IAN FERGUSON BY

served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at iferguson@ bahamas.com.

GOVTS PROCUREMENT OVERHAUL PRESSES ON THE Government’s planned electronic procurement and supplier registry will create “fairness, equity and equal access” in bidding on public contracts, the deputy prime minister said yesterday.

KP Turnquest, pictured, addressing a seminar on the e-procurement and supplier registry, said it will help to level the playing field between small, medium and large businesses and ensure a minimum 20 percent of all government contracts go the former category.

“I know that for most businesses in The Bahamas that I have come across, one of the things that they have been concerned about is fairness and access,” said Mr Turnquest.

“We know how it worked in the past, where if your party is in power you get the contracts, and when your party is not in power you’re out of luck. This system seeks to try to create some balance, some equity and fairness across the system, so that we can take out these kinds of bias.

“If we allow the system to work the way it has been designed to work, it is going to create equity and it will result in savings and GDP business growth for all Bahamians.”

Mr Turnquest said the recently-launched Small Business Development Centre will aid the Government’s goal of ensuring public sector contracts are more widely spread among the business community.

“I think we all know that there are those entities who, because of their resources, have been able to corner the market on procurement and economic activities in this country,” Mr Turnquest said.

“Through the efforts of the Small Business Development Centre, we are hoping to empower the ordinary Bahamian who doesn’t have a rich parent or some connected source [so] that they will be able to obtain the kind of support and resources that will allow them to enter the mainstream and compete with the ‘big boys’ and the legacy institutions.

“That is very important.

Because as we move into a

more modern society, and as we have more and more of our young people coming into the sector with very high expectations, it is important that they have an opportunity to compete and fulfill their visions without unfair bias.

So, we are extremely happy with what the Small Business Development Centre is doing, particularly in Grand Bahama.”

Mr Turnquest said the Ministry of Finance has spent months engaged in a reform effort to transform the entire system of government procurement. This, he added, involves legislative reform and the establishment of the online e-procurement and supplier registry system (E-PSR).

“When we speak of government procurement, we are literally referring to goods and services which central government or state-owned enterprises purchase,” said Mr Turnquest.

“Government procurement accounts for a substantial portion of the Bahamian economy. Naturally, that means that it also accounts for a substantial portion of taxpayer’s money.

Rightfully so, taxpayers expect us to carry out public procurement fairly, transparently, efficiently and with high standards of conduct.

“Recognising the weaknesses in our current system that expose the Government to waste and corruption, the public procurement reform that is currently underway is aimed at modernising the public procurement process by developing a strong and unified legal framework.

Mr Turnquest added that the public procurement legislation is rapidly approaching completion, resulting in the need to raise awareness in Grand Bahama. A pilot test of the E-PSR will be launched in January 2019.

“We want to make sure that potential Grand Bahamian

suppliers are equipped with the tools to fully and comfortably participate in this test bid and, more broadly, public procurement in the future,” said Mr Turnquest.

“The test bid will give suppliers an opportunity to ensure that they understand how the E-PSR operates before we implement the mandatory use of the E-PSR for all public procurement. We have completed drafting the proposed Public Procurement Act, which will be presented to Parliament very shortly.”

The deputy prime minister said the proposed legislation will: • Establish a Department of Public Procurement that will enhance transparency and value for money within the procurement process by providing oversight and accountability.

• Modernise and align procurement practices with international best practices.

• Establish a public procurement board and review tribunal.

• Establish a fully transparent bidding process, where bids and bid winners are posted on line.

• Define in law the suite of procurement methods, including competitive bidding, selective bidding, restrictive bidding and limited bidding.

“It represents a revised national framework for all public procurement. Under this new framework, we’ve committed to reserve a portion of national procurement budgets for small businesses, which will benefit entrepreneurs in Freeport and other Family Islands,” added Mr Turnquest.

“The Public Procurement Act will oversee the E-Procurement and Supplier Registry system, and all national procurement will be executed through the online procurement and supplier registry system in the near future.”

Mr Turnquest stressed that registration will be mandatory for any business seeking to obtain a contract with the Government. The Independent Procurement Review Tribunal will provide recourse for all persons who feel there has been an injustice in any tender process.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, November 30, 2018, PAGE 3

Hotel ‘work-to-rule’ goes into weekend FROM PAGE ONE moves to dampen an increasingly heated labour relations environment that threatens to disrupt the wider economy ahead of the Christmas season - the impact to the Princess Margaret Hospital being one example where the Bahamian public are placed at a disadvantage.

“We have to go back on Monday. They’ve [Atlantis] not agreed to do anything different; the status quo remains. We’ve got to to continue the talks on Monday, and it’s really hard for me to say what they’re going to do. They say one thing and go ahead and do something different,” Mr Woods told Tribune Business.

He revealed that Mr Pinder had asked the union, its shop stewards

and Atlantis’s housekeeping department heads to meet and see if any workers have an interest in the shift system, which the resort plans to adopt from December 3.

“The union is doing whatever is necessary to try and bring resolution to it,” Mr Woods added. “We told the director we’re acting in good faith. On Monday we will know exactly what our next move will be. The work-to-rule continues until we get resolution.

“I told the director of labour we’re not meeting with them outside of the department. They’re actually talking to us now. We had told them what we’d like to see done, asked for information that was needed, and they went ahead and did it anyway.

But they’re actually sitting and negotiating.

“The test of the pudding will be in the eating, and we just have to see what happens Monday. That will tell us which direction, whether to push further or if it will get resolved. I believe the union has done everything necessary to try and bring resolution to this issue.”

The hotel union’s workto-rule extends 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; the British Colonial Hilton; Melia Nassau Beach; and Lyford Cay Club.

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

Marine science firm holds groundbreaking

THE official groundbreaking for Coral Vita, a marine science company intending to grow corals for both export and replenishing The Bahamas’ sea floor, took places yesterday in Freeport.

Coral Vita will also

host touristic activities exploring the marine environment. Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said there potential links between the project and the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI),

University of The Bahamas (UB), and the underwater film industry.

Mr Pintard is pictured, left; with KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, second left, during the groundbreaking ceremony.

due to sickness and holidays they will simply go home and refuse to work any extra hours.

This previously 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.

He 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.

PAGE 4, Friday, November 30, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Web shops stunned by ‘patron tax’ rules tabling FROM PAGE ONE in Parliament took place before yesterday’s meeting with himself and Alfred Sears QC, who represents Island Luck.

That meeting has now been pushed back to 8.30am this coming Monday, and Mr Munroe said he was approaching it with “an open mind” in a bid to either “avoid” litigation or minimise the impact on his clients.

“I am taken aback by the tabling of what ought to be the product of the discussions before we had them,” he told Tribune Business, revealing he only became aware of the Stamp Gaming Patron Rules’ tabling through the media.

“We didn’t get to speak about it, but they tabled this thing in Parliament. I don’t understand the process. When you table it, are you saying this is my discussion? I don’t know if, when you talk to me now, whether you’re talking in good faith.”

Mr Munroe added that the latest “patron tax” rules submitted to the industry and its attorneys for review did little to nothing to resolve their main concerns, some of which web shops fear could leave them exposed to costly lawsuits.

“They had sent us a revised draft, but the only change I noticed was that, as I pointed out to them, they were calling it [the patron tax] stamp tax when the law called it stamp duty. They didn’t address the rounding up and down that creates the conflict,” he said.

“They didn’t address the appointment of an independent auditor to audit web shops when they are already audited. I pointed out to them that this was unnecessary because all gaming houses are independently audited already.

If Deloitte audits me why should EY audit me too?

They didn’t realise that the web shops have to be

MARKET REPORT THURSDAY, 29 NOVEMBER 2018

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 2,028.69 | CHG 0.02 | %CHG 0.00 | YTD -34.88 | YTD% -1.69 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 20.91 7.50 4.90 1.10 0.52 3.92 9.30 6.60 4.93 12.50 2.74 1.78 8.21 6.30 13.20 6.98 4.49 13.50

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 7.00 3.32 0.90 0.16 2.25 8.60 6.10 3.54 9.00 2.30 1.50 7.25 6.00 10.10 5.67 3.25 12.50

1050.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

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1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

SYMBOL LAST CLOSE AML 4.45 APD 17.43 BPF 7.00 BWL 4.90 BOB 1.10 BBL 0.52 CAB 2.30 CIB 9.30 CHL 6.16 CBL 4.14 CBB 12.42 CWCB 2.55 DHS 1.78 EMAB 8.13 FAM 6.30 FBB 12.99 FIN 6.75 FCL 3.62 JSJ 13.01 CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

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

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

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 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

CLOSE 4.45 17.43 7.00 4.90 1.10 0.52 2.30 9.30 6.16 4.14 12.42 2.48 1.78 8.24 6.30 12.85 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 -0.07 0.00 0.11 0.00 -0.14 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

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

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

VOLUME

2,000

4,156

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 15.5 N/M N/M -3.9 13.3 14.0 26.9 19.8 24.3 8.5 N/M 9.4 18.3 11.7 13.1 20.6

YIELD 2.25% 7.23% 0.00% 4.90% 0.00% 1.92% 0.00% 7.63% 3.57% 2.90% 4.99% 2.42% 3.37% 1.02% 4.44% 3.89% 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%

NAV 2.18 4.16 2.02 182.41 158.55 1.59 1.71 1.67 1.09 7.41 8.57 6.55 10.68 11.65 10.62 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

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 20-Nov-2029 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 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 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-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

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independently audited.”

Mr Munroe said requiring an independent auditor solely to verify compliance with the “patron tax” was “going to be costly” for the web shops, and was an expense that should be paid by the Government not the sector.

He argued that this should be redundant in any event, given that all web shops were mandated by the Gaming Board and the law to undergo external audits on an annual basis with the results submitted to the regulators. “Why should they have two independent auditors appointed by two different agencies?” Mr Munroe asked.

“The most important thing is the rounding up and down that makes it inconsistent with the Stamp Act. The more significant thing is telling me to round up and round down, as I will collect more or less tax than I should, and I can’t do that by law.

“If I buy a ten cent number, five percent is half a cent, and rounding it up to a penny takes it to ten percent of ten cents. Round it down, and you collect less than you should. You can’t collect either less or more. We said to them [the Government] that nobody does these things,” he continued.

“I’d hoped to have some serious conversations with them to see why that can happen. They’ve tabled it, and either they have a serious explanation or you’ve left us looking for the court’s protection for our clients.

“Nothing stops a patron suing and saying: ‘You’ve collected more money from me than you should’... Our clients don’t want to be faced with patrons getting together, forming a class action, and and be made by the court to pay back more than the five percent that’s supposed to be collected.”

Mr Munroe reiterated that neither the Government, nor an individual minister, can tell the web shops to collect a tax amount - or rate - that is inconsistent with the laws passed by Parliament.

The Government and web shops have been at odds ever since the 2018-2019 budget, and its new and increased taxes for the sector, were unveiled on May 30, 2018.

The industry continues to argue it was denied due process, via a lack of proper consultation, over both the “sliding scale” taxation structure and the five percent “patron tax”.

The introduction of both taxes has been delayed, though, first by implementation challenges and then the Supreme Court action initiated by the web shops.

The patron levy, in particular, meant that the industry needed to have all its games tested and re-certified by independent laboratories to verify that they performed as advertised - a process it says takes months, and was not anticipated by the Government.

The delay has already cost the Government between $8-$12.6m in revenue for the first quarter of its 20182019 fiscal year, although its recent Fiscal Strategy Report declined to adjust forecasts because its legal case is “on solid ground”.

The gaming sector - hotel casinos as well as web shops - forecast to generate $70m in revenue for the Public Treasury this fiscal year, having exceeded 2017-2018 estimates by 35.8 percent at $37.2m compared to initial projections of $27.4m.

The increased web shop taxation is thus predicted to almost double total gaming revenues in 2018-2019, with the Ministry of Finance is forecasting that gaming revenues will grow steadily to $73.5m in 2019-2020, before increasing further to $76.5m in 2020-2021 and $79.1m in 2021-2022.

The web shop industry, and its consultants, have argued that The Bahamas is unique in levying a tax directly on patrons as opposed to the gaming houses. However, the Government believes this is necessary to tackle the social ills caused by excessive gambling and help deter the industry’s growth.

Mr Munroe, meanwhile, blamed the Government’s failure to properly consult the web shop industry for the two sides’ dispute. And he questioned whether any good would come from Monday’s meeting, and if the two sides will be able to avoid litigation, given that the rules’ tabling seemed to signal the Minnis administration has determined its stance.

“I hope to have some of the answers to the questions on Monday,” he told Tribune Business, “but they are more or less going to be we’ve tabled this, so it sounds like a one-sides conversation.

“I live in hope. They can always recall a regulation or amend it. I’m going in on Monday with an open mind, and trying to avoid as far as possible any litigation or minimising what happens.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, November 30, 2018, PAGE 5

Ex-AG warns of ‘legal challenges’ to incentives end FROM PAGE ONE legitimate expectation that [these incentives will last] longer than three years,” he told Tribune Business. “Shortening that to three years will likely give rise to some legal issues that will have to be navigated.

Mr Delaney said the Removal of Preferential Exemptions Bill’s objectives were “quite clear”, and the removal of preferential exemptions from newly-incorporated Bahamian-domiciled corporate entities was “logical enough” as The Bahamas bids to avoid the EU’s threatened “blacklisting” and meet its demands

by December 31.

While the three-year transition period might be long enough for some foreign investors to adjust, but not others, Mr Delaney reiterated that the potential legal complications could prove troubling.

“Certainly first impressions are that persons have had a legitimate expectation that the legally-afforded exemptions in statute, and which have vested in them certain rights, to come behind and remove it on the face of it gives rise to difficult legal challenges that have to be navigated and tested,” he told this newspaper.

However, Mr Delaney, who had previously expressed concern over the Government’s plans to create a centralised beneficial ownership registry, said the Bill tabled in Parliament appeared to be closer to his suggestion that The Bahamas simply use and expand its existing regulatory regime that requires registered agents to keep ownership details on all entities they act for.

The Government had previously proposed creating a single registry, off-Internet and only accessible to persons designated by the authorities and financial services regulators. The Bill tabled Parliament, though, calls

for the creation of “a secure search system” that will provide access to a beneficial ownership database maintained by every Bahamian registered agent.

Mr Delaney described this as a “more efficient” and “more workable” solution than the one initially proposed, and said: “I see improvement has been made around the issue of a registry of beneficial ownership.

“That has moved in a way in which it seems that reliance is going to be placed on registered agents, and a regime will be in place through which designated persons from the competent authority can make use of registered agents’ obligation to keep beneficial ownership information,” he added.

“It seems that the draft evolved to where they’re bolting on to the already understood duties of registered agents who are either licensed financial and corporate services providers or bank and trust companies.”

Mr Delaney said registered agents outside these regimes, such as lawyers whose offices acted as the address for domestic companies, will now face the same duties, while the Bill had gone “all the way up” in defining “beneficial owner” as the ultimate owner of a Bahamian-domiciled corporate vehicle.

“It requires the registered agent to keep the database, and the data a registered agent has will somehow be made available to this search system,” he told Tribune Business. “I think it’s more workable because it’s more efficient and it’s more practical than the original draft regime.”

The former attorney general said it was now critical for the Bill’s regulations to be published as soon as possible, as this will set out how the beneficial ownership regime is to work in practice and the timeline for its

implementation.

Despite fears that compliance with the EU and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) demands will result in further contraction for the Bahamian financial services industry, Mr Delaney agreed with KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, that it represented an opportunity to attract more business and jobs to this nation.

He cited the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Bill, in particular, which establishes an “economic substance” regime that effectively requires companies to have a physical presence - and do “real business” - in The Bahamas.

“I would agree that it might first appear to be a very active and disruptive event to business as we know it,” Mr Delaney told Tribune Business, “and some might be inclined to think everything is negative in impact, and that’s not necessarily the case.

“I’ve been around long enough to know that in 2000 people thought we’d have to be turning off the light, and that was not quite the case. The industry was able to evolve and even mature in ways now recognised as beneficial.

“There is real opportunity for that in this case, and as a jurisdiction and industry we need to be alert, we need to be entrepreneurial and embrace the opportunity to have real, substantive economic activity transpiring in our jurisdiction that has the possibility of having a far greater multiplier effect on our economy.”

Mr Delaney said the Commercial Enterprises Act was one tool that the Bahamas now possesses to “promote or facilitate the establishment of businesses in The Bahamas” with a physical presence.

He added: “I’m with the deputy prime minister in this view... Anything that creates more substance to commercial activity happening in The Bahamas, where we’re able to attract commercial activity, and have that kind of substance here, that’s more enduring and resilient to shocks than business that doesn’t have any substance here.”

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PAGE 6, Friday, November 30, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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NOTICE MACTODD INVEST LTD.

NOTICE LAVASHTI INVEST LTD.

NOTICE is hereby given as follows:

NOTICE is hereby given as follows:

(a) Mactodd Invest Ltd. is in Voluntary Dissolution under the provisions of Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) Lavashti Invest Ltd. 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 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

(b) The Dissolution of the said Company commenced when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Beatus Limited, P.O. Box N7776-348, N.P., Bahamas.

(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Beatus Limited, P.O. Box N7776-348, N.P., Bahamas.

Dated 29th day of November, 2018.

Dated this 29th day of November, 2018.

Beatus Limited Liquidator

NOTICE REBANO INVEST LTD.

Required qualifications, skills, knowledge: • Experience in the preparation of agreements for sale, conveyances and mortgages, and other relevant documents; • The ability to use initiative, multi task, work accurately under pressure, possess exceptional organisational and communication skills and be able to work overtime and weekends; • Computer literacy, including advanced proficiency in the use of Microsoft applications; • Pleasant and able to work in a small environment Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications and experience; excellent benefits Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

Beatus Limited Liquidator

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NOTICE BRASIDAS INVEST LTD.

NOTICE TUNESBLAZIN LTD.

NOTICE is hereby given as follows:

NOTICE is hereby given as follows:

NOTICE is hereby given as follows:

(a) Rebano Invest Ltd. is in Voluntary Dissolution under the provisions of Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) Brasidas Invest Ltd. is in Voluntary Dissolution under the provisions of Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) Tunesblazin Ltd. 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 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

(b) The Dissolution of the said Company commenced when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

(b) The Dissolution of the said Company commenced when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Beatus Limited, P.O. Box N7776-348, N.P., Bahamas.

(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Beatus Limited, P.O. Box N7776-348, N.P., Bahamas.

(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Beatus Limited, P.O. Box N7776-348, N.P., Bahamas.

Dated this 29th day of November, 2018.

Dated this 29th day of November, 2018.

Dated 29th day of November, 2018.

Beatus Limited Liquidator

Beatus Limited Liquidator

Beatus Limited Liquidator

NOTICE OAK HARBOR HOLDINGS LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation

NOTICE HUACHUCA INC. In Voluntary Liquidation

NOTICE SEAVIEW GROUP LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, OAK HARBOR HOLDINGS LTD. is in dissolution as of November 23, 2018

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, HUACHUCA INC. is in dissolution as of November 8, 2018

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, SEAVIEW GROUP LTD. is in dissolution as of November 28, 2018

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

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

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

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

NOTICE DULUTH POST INC. In Voluntary Liquidation

NOTICE FIRST MOMENTUM INC. In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, DULUTH POST INC. is in dissolution as of November 8, 2018

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, FIRST MOMENTUM INC. is in dissolution as of November 2, 2018

NOTICE CARIBINVEST MANAGEMENT AND HOLDING LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation

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

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

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, CARIBINVEST MANAGEMENT AND HOLDING LTD. is in dissolution as of November 8, 2018 International Liquidator Services Inc. situated at 3rd Floor Whitfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, November 30, 2018, PAGE 7

Bloated public sector like ‘50k pound canoe anchor’ FROM PAGE ONE crisis, but warned: “Increasing fees and taxes has to stop, and taking excess weight out of government has to start and be ramped up.

“If we don’t trim and get rid of some of the excess weight, we won’t have an anchor that is properly sized for the boat. The anchor is the size of government, and the boat is the economy.”

The ORG chief said the Government will increasingly be forced to seek out internal solutions because the Bahamian public’s opposition to any further new and increased taxes is growing, especially since there has been little to no improvement in many citizens’ lives despite the Minnis administration’s lofty promises prior to taking office.

“It’s becoming ever more urgent because people are

upset that they’re seeing more cost increases than decreases, they’re seeing more bureaucracy than ease of business, they’re seeing more inefficiency than efficiency in the public sector, and more unanswered corruption than equitable enforcement of the rule of law and, most important, because they’ve given away so much in taxes and seen very little in return,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business.

“The Government must focus its economic microscope inwards to right-size itself and not continue to tax the private sector and public. It is time to fix the size and efficiency of the public sector, and significantly reduce the weight of the anchor in the canoe.”

He added that the remarks by Ms Johnson, and Elise Delancey, the Ministry of Public Service’s permanent secretary, who said the civil service has “a

Govt concern: Best paying jobs going to non-Bahamians FROM PAGE ONE at Central Bank, and also with the Bahamas Financial Services Union (BFSU) that represents some of the workers in some of our commercial banks in the country.”

Despite this progress, Mr Foulkes said the Government is concerned about the lack of trained Bahamians in many sectors of this nation’s economy, with financial services being no exception.

“We have a shortage, for example, of accountants,” he added. “We have a shortage of wealth managers and specialised personnel in the private banking industry. There are far too many applications for labour certificates, especially from private banking, in specialised areas that come before the Labour Department.

“I have had many discussions with the three organisations mentioned to find out exactly what the issues are and, in a lot of cases, they are legacy issues. One of the main concerns we have in the

Ministry of Labour is that most of the highest-paying jobs in the private banking sector, not all, are given to non-Bahamians.

“At the clerical, human resource and the administration support level, it’s practically 100 percent Bahamianised in terms of employees. When you go up to $150,000$200,000 in annual salary, when you deal with specifically wealth managers, you would find that that area is predominantly, not exclusively, occupied by non-Bahamians.”

Mr Foulkes said the Government must decide how it will approach the issue. “It could be something where, in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, there is something we are not doing right,” he added.

“We are very pleased that the prime minister and the Cabinet of The Bahamas has appointed a skills training committee to look into problems like this so we can seriously advise methods to address this problem.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

hollow middle” and lacks skills essential for modern governance, showed that key executives were aware of the problem’s scale and the need to act.

Part of the solution, Mr Myers argued, lay in privatising loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) such as ZNS and Bahamasair, plus liberalising sectors such as energy to introduce competition for the likes of Bahamas Power & Light (BPL).

“These are the things that are going to get the weight off the public sector

and allow the private sector to flourish,” he told Tribune Business. “But when the economy labours, they want to add more cost.

“You’ve just whacked us with VAT, are killing is with power bills and are now talking about National Health Insurance (NHI).

How many more nails do you want to drive into the coffin? Let’s lighten the load so we can keep the canoe afloat. The bigger problems are internal, not external.

“What’s really disappointing is that the public

sector is 30-40 percent overstaffed and we still can’t get anything done.

If it was 30 percent overstaffed but efficient people would not be screaming.

The fact is we’re 30 percent over-staffed and it still doesn’t work. It’s a double whammy,” Mr Myers added.

“No matter how hard you paddle it can’t work.

It’s a huge problem that feeds into the cost and ease of business. Inefficient governments the world over are killers of countries and economies. It’s right

up there with corruption.

Bloated governments kill economies and countries.

Stop taxing people and figure out to run the Government more efficiently.”

Mr Myers said too little work had been done to right-size the Government, with efforts to-date largely built on talk rather than action. Calling for greater transparency and more collaboration with the private sector, he added that any progress in this area will help restore “very low business confidence”.