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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

$4.56 Bahamasair flies into action over licence suspend

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMASAIR flew into action after it encountered regulatory turbulence in Canada to ensure the suspension of its charter licence lasted no longer than 24 hours.

Tracy Cooper, the national flag carrier’s managing director, blamed an administrative error by the Canadian Transportation Agency for the temporary hold placed on its ability to offer charter services between The Bahamas and that market.

The Canadian regulator imposed the suspension on November 28 on the basis that Bahamasair was in breach of the law by not having the necessary liability insurance in place to be able to carry fare-paying passengers.

However, the licence was restored one day later with Bahamasair receiving an apology from the Canadian Transportation Agency for failing to enter the data provided by the airline in its system.

“It was not from our side,” Mr Cooper explained. “It was a simple matter. What it is, it’s just simple stuff that the Canadian Transportation Agency themselves did not put in place.”

He explained that “this is the time of year we change our insurance over”, and full details were provided to the regulator. “We sent it in to the Canadian Transportation Agency, but the person dealing with our account was on vacation,” Mr Cooper added.

“When we contacted them they gave us their apologies and updated their system.” The Canadian regulator has also confirmed via its website that the licence suspension was lifted on November 29, one day after it was implemented.

Referring to the November 28 order, the Canadian Transportation Agency said: “The licensee [Bahamasair] is licensed to operate a non-scheduled international service on a charter basis between The Bahamas and Canada.

“The licensee has ceased to meet the requirement to have the prescribed liability insurance coverage” that is set in Canadian transportation law. Bahamasair had been given one year to come back into compliance.

Mr Cooper said the licence was maintained just

SEE PAGE 4

$4.57

Govt to raise $300 light bill VAT waiver

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE government is “likely” to raise the $300 VAT-free threshold on electricity bills to minimise the impact from Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) $650m refinancing, a Cabinet minister revealed yesterday.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, told Tribune Business that Dr Hubert Minnis will make a public announcement on the issue amid fears the additional charge added to BPL bills for servicing this mammoth borrowing could push many Bahamian households above this mark and expose them to the extra burden of monthly VAT payments.

“That’s one thing the government is considering; raising the VAT threshold on electricity bills,” Mr Bannister confirmed. “I gave an indication that the prime minister will make an announcement, but it’s likely that what he’s going to do is increase the threshold for VAT.”

• So no extra burden from $650m bond • And to minimise impact on low users • Shell deal ‘really going to be up to Shell’

DESMOND BANNISTER

His comments come amid general anxiety as to what BPL’s upcoming bond refinancing will mean for already sky-high consumer electricity bills, coupled with the potential knockon impacts for household finances and business profitability/investment.

The minister himself told the House of Assembly last week that “the average household” will likely have to endure a $20-$30 monthly increase in their electricity bills for some ten

months in 2020 immediately after the bond is placed, and several Tribune Business sources had voiced concerns that even this small increase could push low energy users over the $300 VAT-exempt threshold.

Debbie Deal, head of the Chamber of Commerce’s energy and environment committee, told this newspaper: “Are they going to raise the threshold? Below $300 a month you don’t pay VAT on your bill. Say my bill is $285 per month, if

AN ACCOUNTANT who sat on Baha Mar’s creditor payout committee has been exposed as the “bag man” who passed Sarkis Izmirlian’s confidential legal papers to the project’s main contractor.

Legal filings by the $4.2bn project’s original developer have identified Norbert Chan, a Chinabased Deloitte & Touche accountant, as the person who provided China Construction America (CCA) with documents that Mr Izmirlian claims belong to him by virtue of attorneyclient privilege.

Mr Chan’s role was revealed by CCA’s US attorneys in responses to questions posed by Mr Izmirlian’s counsel. They disclosed that he “handdelivered” the papers “in a

you go up another $20-$30 you’ve gone above $300, so not only are you paying an increase but VAT as well.

Have they thought about that?”

Mr Bannister’s remarks suggest the government has, and that it is conscious of the increased burden and potential “double whammy” that the BPL bond’s debt servicing charge could inflict on low energy users - the majority of whom are likely to be single persons and low income families - by pushing them above the threshold where they must pay VAT. Paul Maynard, the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union’s (BEWU) president, told Tribune Business last night that he thought the light bill VAT exemption will have to be increased to $500 to offset the bond servicing charge and alleviate the potential negative impact for

SEE PAGE 4

Customs system ‘worst thing i have confronted’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter

LARGE Bahamian merchants and importers yesterday echoed broker concerns over Customs’ new digital platform, with one blasting: “This is the worst thing I have ever confronted.”

Lance Major, in-house customs broker for the d’Albenas Agency, told Tribune Business that the new Electronic Single Window (ESW) system, known as Click2Clear, had created “extra work for every department in this office” since it went live for seaborne imports to New Providence on October.

Revealing that the switch-over has put he wholesaler back on four out of every five days in the working week, Mr Major said: “This really is a setback. It is taking you twice the amount of time it used to take us on the old eCAS (Electronic Customs

Brokers ‘working butt off’ but no progress Automated Services) than it is now with this single window system.

“The shipment company is charging you storage and extra amounts if you don’t get your shipments off the dock in time. We have a shipping company with the manifest that now comes out 24 hours later than it was supposed to. If you have a LCL (less than container load) shipment that comes in on the boat, it takes you some 24 hours before you can get the manifest number. That is a big, big, big setback. It seems like you are working your butt off but you can’t get anything done. “ Wade Thompson, inhouse customs broker for Super Value, said: “We’ve had our challenges, but we are working our way through. We had a couple of shipments that we were not able to get through the

system because of the massive amount of data we have coming in. The majority of our files are electronic files and, if you can imagine, it is a whole lot of data to be uploaded into the single window and we have had some challenges on our side as well as on the Customs Department side.”

Asked whether Super Value’s imports had been delayed as a result, with the retailer incurring increased costs, Mr Thompson said: “The only big shipment that we have pending is some groceries that came in last week, but that particular shipment and a couple of the ones we have coming now we have been experiencing some issues uploading the files to Customs.

“That may be an internal issue more than it is external in terms of our system at Super Value. We now

‘Bag man’ revealed in Sarkis papers dispute

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

$4.60

• Deloitte accountant handed key documents to CCA • ‘Truth withheld’ from Bahamian Supreme Court • Local law firm in row with ex-developer attorneys

SARKIS IZMIRLIAN sealed envelope” to a CCA (Bahamas) employee in Beijing the day before the Bahamian Supreme Court was due to hear arguments as to whether they should be “unsealed”.

The materials were then passed to Tiger Wu who, together with Daniel Liu,

represented the most senior CCA executives on the ground in The Bahamas during Baha Mar’s ill-fated 2011-2015 construction.

Mr Wu then shipped the papers on to CCA’s in-house general counsel and the state-owned contractor’s US attorneys, the latter of whom eventually confessed all.

As a result, Mr Izmirlian petitioned the New York State Supreme Court on November 27 to “rectify” CCA’s allegedly “improper conduct” by issuing a protective Order requiring the contractor, its attorneys and their associates to destroy or hand over all copies of the papers so that they cannot be used in his ongoing $2.25bn fraud and

breach of contract claim.

The documents central to the latest skirmish between the original developer and his long-time CCA adversary are legal opinions produced by two international law firms, Glaser Weil and Kobre & Kim, that assess the strength of the potential legal claims and related damages Mr Izmirlian had against the Chinese contractor in early 2015 after it failed to complete Baha Mar on time and on budget.

These works, which Mr Izmirlian alleges are privileged communications between a client and his attorneys, were inherited

SEE PAGE 6

have our programmer looking at some issues on our side. I have checked with some of our competitors and they seem to be OK, but the difference is that they are using a separate system than what we are using.

“But in terms of cost, we would have incurred quite some demurrage and storage charges on some shipments prior, but we are trying to resolve our issues internally to ensure that we don’t have any issues on our side before we turn to Customs,” he continued.”

“Generally speaking the program is challenging, but what most persons and some of the businesses I have spoken to said is they were not aware that the new system was supposed to make the Customs clearing system easier and more

SEE PAGE 5

$4.60 Nassau/PI hotel room nights off 10% post-Dorian

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net LARGE Nassau/Paradise Island hotels endured a “tepid” October in the wake of Hurricane Dorian with revenues falling on the back of a ten percent decline in room nights sold.

The Central Bank, unveiling its October monthly economic report, revealed that the Category Five storm’s impact on demand for The Bahamas resulted in a five percent room revenue fall for the major New Providence resorts that month despite a near six percent rise in room rates.

“Developments within the hotel market were also tepid for October,” the Central Bank said.

“Information from The Bahamas Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) and the Ministry of Tourism, which covers a sample of large hotels in New Providence and Paradise Island, showed a five percent fall-off in room revenue during the month despite the 5.9 percent increase in the average daily room rate (ADR) to $190.39. This was due to a ten percent decline in room nights sold, with the occupancy rate lower by 4.8 percentage points.”

However, the report reaffirmed the Central Bank’s prior confidence that tourism’s 2019 first half gains had already been largely locked in prior to Dorian’s arrival. For the October declines had seemingly done little to dent the double-digit growth in many performance indicators for the Nassau/Paradise Island hotel industry during the first ten months of the year.

“Room revenue expanded by 24 percent during the ten months to October, amid respective gains in room nights sold and the ADR of 21 percent and 8.2 percent, while the average occupancy rate rose by 7.1 percentage points to 68.7 percent,” the Central Bank added.

Noting that tourism was “performing under potential” in Dorian’s aftermath, the regulator said: “In terms of traffic through the country’s gateway airport, data from the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) revealed a recovery in departures vis-à-vis September’s contraction, with a 1.7 percent growth year-over-year in October, but this was markedly lower than the

SEE PAGE 5

PAGE 2, Tuesday, December 3, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

BISX share index rises by almost 3% THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange’s (BISX) All-Share Index maintained its year-long climb by closing up 2.94 percent for the first nine months of 2019.

The trend, which began in the 2018 fourth quarter, reversed the 4.82 percent decline suffered by the Index during the same period last year.

“For the nine-month period ending September 30, 2019, the BISX AllShare Index closed at 2,171.36,” BISX said.

“This represented a yearto-date increase of 61.95 or 2.94 percent. By comparison, for the nine-month period ending September 28, 2018, the BISX AllShare Index closed at 1,964.04. This represented a year-to-date decrease of 99.53 or 4.82 percent.

The BISX All-Share Index, which excludes debt instruments such as preference shares and bonds from its calculations, measures only the collective share price movements among listed equity stocks.

It does not account for dividend payments, which are equally if not more important in delivering investment returns to

Bahamian shareholders.

Meanwhile, BISX said its total market capitalisation stood at $5.773bn at end-September 2019 when equity and debt listings were combined. “As at September 30, 2019, the market was comprised of 19 ordinary shares with a market capitalisation of $4.983bn,” the exchange added.

“In addition, there were eight preference shares with a market capitalisation of $277m and 13 bonds with a face value of $513m.”

However, the 2.94 percent upward movement in the BISX All-Share Index for the first nine months of 2019 was less then the improvements enjoyed by other global stock market indices, which enjoyed increases ranging from 4.74 percent to 18.59 percent.

Trading volumes and values were below prior year comparatives for the first nine months of 2019, with BISX revealing: “Trading volume for the nine-month period January 2, 2019, to September 28, 2019, was 5.934m shares for a value of $28.927m.

By comparison, trading volume for the nine-month period January 1, 2018, to September 28, 2018, was

7.211m shares for a value of $35.481m “Trading volume for the three-month period July 1, 2019, to September 30, 2019, was 1.478m shares for a value of $7.058m. By comparison, trading volumes for the three-month period July 1, 2018, to September 28, 2018, were 3.343m shares for a value of $13.347m.”

And the exchange added: “For the nine-month period from January 2, 2019, to September 30, 2019, the average volume per trading day was 31,806 shares for a value of $155,688. By comparison, for the ninemonth period from January 2, 2018, to September 28, 2018, the average volume per trading day was 38,501 shares for an average value of $188,801.”

Commonwealth Bank remained the most-widely traded stock on BISX in terms of both volume and value for the first nine months, accounting for 31.3 percent of shares traded and 28 percent of their value. FOCOL Holdings stood at second place in both categories, accounting for 22.2 percent of volume and 14.8 percent of value.

Bahamas hosting trade infrastructure workshop

THE Bahamas is hosting a regional workshop focused on rebuilding quality infrastructure, which is especially timely in Hurricane Dorian’s aftermath.

The three-day conference is concentrating especially

on the area of trade, based on the framework provided by the World Trade Organisation Technical Barriers of Trade (WTO/TBT) Agreement.

The event has attracted attendees from territories

across the Caribbean. It is taking place at the Warwick Hotel on Paradise Island from December 2-5, 2019.

Presenters and facilitators of the workshop are pictured with minister of labour, Senator Dion Foulkes, centre.

CCAREER PPORTUNITY AREEROO PPORTUNITY

The Aviation Civil Aviation Authorityof of The The Bahamas invites applications from suitably qualified qualified The Civil Authority Bahamas invites applications from suitably individuals for the following position: individuals for the following position:

DIRECTOR GENERAL, CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF THE BAHAMAS

DIRECTOR GENERAL, CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF THE BAHAMAS

Position Summary The Director exercises regulatory oversight of civil aviation matters in The Bahamas, in alignment with Position theSummary Civil Aviation Act of The Bahamas, the Regulations, and the Convention on International Civil The Director regulatory oversight of civil aviation matters in The Bahamas, Aviationexercises and its Annexes.

The span of regulatory oversight includes certification with respectintoalignmen the granting, suspension, or imposition conditions on aviation documents, and enforcement of the Civil Aviation Act ofrevocation The Bahamas, theofRegulations, and the Convention on Internationa the provisions of the Act and Regulations through inspections and ongoing surveillance activities to Aviation and its Annexes. The span of regulatory oversight includes certification with respect ensure the safe, secure and orderly growth of the aviation sector in The Bahamas.

granting, suspension, revocation or imposition of conditions on aviation documents, and enforcem As the Chief the Director provides the inspections high-level strategic leadership foractivit the provisions ofExecutive the ActOfficer, and Regulations through and direction ongoingandsurveillance the Authority and is directly accountable to the Board of Directors for the Authority’s performance in ensure the safe, secure and orderly growth of the aviation sector in The Bahamas. achieving its strategic goals and priorities.

As the Chief Executive Officer, the Director provides the high-level strategic direction and leadersh Qualifications & Experience the Authority and is directly accountable to the Board of Directors for the Authority’s performa achieving its strategic goals and priorities.

Minimum Requirements • Master’s Degree in Business Administration or equivalent relevant degree from an accredited institution with fifteen (15) years of experience—ten (10) of which must have been at the Qualifications & Experience managerial level in a civil aviation agency; and • Fluency in English.

Minimum Requirements • Master’s Degree inRequirements Business Administration or equivalent relevant degree from an accr Specific Knowledge • Sound with knowledge of applicable national and regulations; (10) of which must have been a institution fifteen (15) years oflaws experience—ten • Sound level knowledge of ICAO Annexesagency; and aviation managerial in a civil aviation andanalytics; • Sound knowledge of policies, practices, procedures, rules and ordinances pertaining to civil aviation • Fluency in English.

in The Bahamas; Working knowledge of principles and practices of effective human resource management and Specific Knowledge supervision;Requirements • knowledge of management principles of administration, including strategic • SoundSound knowledge of applicable national laws and and practices regulations; planning, budgeting, purchasing, contracting and maintenance • Sound knowledge of ICAO Annexes and aviation analytics; of records; and • Sound understanding of the air transport industry.

•

• • • •

Sound knowledge of policies, practices, procedures, rules and ordinances pertaining to civil av in The Bahamas; Ability to: • Plan,knowledge organize, and a wide and variety of regulatory programmes and services to meet civil Working ofdirect principles practices of effective human resource managemen aviation needs and to effectively ensure compliance with safety and operating regulations. supervision; • Analyze and interpret a broad range of civil aviation-related laws, regulations and standards.including str Sound knowledge of management principles and practices of administration, Page 1 of 2 • Manage and report upon the status of a variety of safety management programmes. planning, budgeting, purchasing, contracting and maintenance of records; and • Manage the selection, training, evaluation, and disciplining of regulatory directorate staff and Soundresolution understanding of the air transport industry. of interpersonal conflicts.

•

Exercise independent judgment and initiative within established guidelines.

•

Prepare and deliver effective public presentations.

Ability •to: Prepare clear, concise and complete correspondence, reports and other written materials.

• organize, Establish andand maintain effective working relationships with elected officials, Board • Plan, direct a wide variety of regulatory programmes andmembers, servicesstaff, to mee BCAA operational directorates, and others in the course of work. aviation needs and to effectively ensure compliance with safety and operating regulations.

Interested, qualified candidates should submit their Curriculum Vitae and all relevant supporting documents to the attention of The Manager Human Resources, Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas, at BODCAAB@BCAABahamas.com, on or before December 13, 2019.

Page

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 3, 2019, PAGE 3

BTVI OFFICIALS TOUR ORLANDO CAMPUS A TEAM of officials from the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) visited the Orlando campuses of Valencia College as they prepare to rebuild their facilities following Hurricane Dorian.

The visit focused on learning how to build and equip new facilities aimed at training a strong technical workforce in The Bahamas. BTVI’s Abaco centre was demolished by Hurricane Dorian, while the Freeport campus was also extensively damaged.

With funding from the Caribbean Development Bank and the Government, BTVI officials are planning to rebuild both campuses and develop training programmes so they can prepare the Bahamian workforce to meet the demand for skilled workers who can, in turn, help rebuild the islands’ facilities.

The fact-finding mission, which took place from November 18-19, resulted from recent conversations between Valencia College and BTVI officials, following a visit by the former to The Bahamas in October.

Dr Robert W. Robertson, BTVI’s president, said: “We wanted to see the college’s physical premises, and visit with administration and staff at a best-in-class community college. What we experienced was a very useful visit. The workshops and presentations throughout the two-day visit will assist us as we recover from Hurricane Dorian.

AN 11-member contingent from The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) recently visited Valencia College in Orlando on a fact-finding mission. Shown here from left are: Alexander Darville; Zakia Winder; Veronica Collie; Michael Pratt; Peter Whitehead; BTVI president, Dr Robert W Robertson; Mike Kepner; Kevin Basden; Don Forbes; George Rolle; Peter Gape; and Joe Battista, Valencia College.

We are exploring a variety of collaborations, including faculty and staff exchanges, study abroad and ‘two plus two initiatives.”

During the tour, BTVI officials also visited Valencia’s advanced manufacturing training centre, where the college offers short-term training programmes in areas such as electronic-board assembly, welding and industrial maintenance technology.

The Bahamian team also travelled to the college’s Osceola Campus in Kissimmee to tour the construction lab, see the facilities used to train students in carpentry and masonry, and test-drive simulators where students learn how to operate heavy construction equipment such as bulldozers, backhoes and articulated trucks.

Lisa Eli, Valencia College’s assistant vicepresident for global and continuing education, said: “Valencia College and BTVI are like-minded institutions with a mission to serve our communities and transform lives through

education. This visit provided us with a wonderful opportunity to learn more about each other’s institutions and discuss how we can further develop opportunities for teaching and learning.”

BTVI officials also visited Valencia College’s east campus, where they learned more about the software degree program, toured information technology laboratories and examined the new state-of-the-art sound and music recording equipment.

They also took a tour of Valencia’s new Walt Disney World School for culinary arts and hospitality, which is located at the new campus in downtown Orlando. While they visited Orlando to learn best practices in layout and design of these types of spaces, BTVI officials also met with faculty and staff to discuss a proposed ‘two plus two’ transfer agreement, and exchange ideas and information regarding IT, accelerated skills training and faculty development.

PM TO LEAD SPEAKERS FOR BUSINESS OUTLOOK THE Prime Minister, Dr Hubert Minnis, pictured, will deliver the keynote address at the 29th Bahamas Business Outlook (BBO) conference when it takes place on January 16, 2020, at the Baha Mar resort.

The conference’s theme is A new era: Resilience in the face of Vulnerability. Joan Albury, founder of the seven-island Business Outlook series and president of TCL Group, said: “The Bahamas Business Outlook series is dedicated to bringing together key players from across the economic

and social spectrums to give insight into the challenges and opportunities of the New Year.

“Many in the business community take away information gleaned from the forum to assess and trim their plans for the year. It is always important to learn of the Government’s plans for the year and beyond, and who better to hear from than the government leader?

“We are very grateful that Prime Minister Minnis has confirmed his intention to participate on January 16.

We will announce the rest

of a very carefully selected speaker slate very shortly.”

Mrs Albury added: “To us at TCL Group, the 2020 Bahamas Business Outlook will be the most important to date, hence the theme A new era: Resilience in the face of Vulnerability. The entire world is moving into a new era where global trade trends are bound to bring some significant changes.

“Because of the profound impact of Hurricane Dorian, the changes for us are likely to be radical. However, with change comes opportunity and we Bahamians have demonstrated remarkable resilience over the years, especially when the chips are down.”

JOB VACANCY Lead Electricians Purpose: Leads small installation teams of site electricians and other tradesman.

Duties and responsibilities · Review and understand electrical, architectural, structural and mechanical/plumbing drawings · Discuss with site superintendent any questions/discrepancies which you and the other field staff may have regarding the projects plans and specifications · Assist the Site Superintendent with the electrical layouts and planning of the daily/weekly activities and look-ahead schedules. · Assign and inspect the work of the site electricians to ensure timely completion and quality standards · Maintain time cards, material records and field reports as necessary · Maintain a harmonious working relationship with the other contractors and tradesman and coordinate the electrical work with their work · Ensure the company’s safety policy is adhered to and report any violations Required skills · Working knowledge of the electrical code and other relevant standards and regulations · At least 10 years’ experience on medium and large scale electrical installation projects in the Bahamas · Should be able to lead by example by demonstrating hard work, integrity & taking ownership · Must be Skilled in leading the work activities of self and others. · Must possess a Working Knowledge of the tools, equipment and materials common to the trade · Must be skilled in both verbal and written communication Suitably qualified individuals shall submit CV’s via email to

jobs@flameless.com

This opportunity is located in Nassau Submission deadline is December 23rd, 2019.

Only preferred qualified submissions will be contacted

Retailers optimistic on strong Christmas sales

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter

BAHAMIAN retailers yesterday voiced optimism that a solid Thanksgiving showing will translate into strong Christmas sales as they ready for the most important season in the industry’s calendar.

Margo Farrington, chief marketing officer for Lorene’s department store, said sales were “good” for the Black Friday and Thanksgiving holiday period.

She said: “It was good.

People were shopping.

I’m just working on our figures right now but I am not sure what we ended up doing.” Ms Farrington added that Lorene’s preparations for the upcoming Christmas season were in full gear, as she added: “We are getting in our inventory now.

So we hope that people are going to shop.”

Expressing concerns about the continuing fall-out from HurricaneDorian, she said: “I think the hurricane will impact what people are spending.

So we can only cross our fingers and hope for the

best. All of the VAT and the increases in the prices at the food store and everything, it all affects us.”

Anthony Maycock, store manager at Kelly’s Home Centre in the Mall at Marathon, told Tribune Business: “Sales went great for Black Friday Shopping.

We expect, as we get busy, our store hours are going to be open on Sundays now from December 1 straight through the next three Sundays before Christmas.

“When you look at it now as far as the numbers and crowd, we are doing much better than we did last year. We are expecting great things for Christmas. As a matter of fact, the crowd is already coming in now shopping for Christmas.”

Josette Christie, Aliv’s chief marketing officer, said: “We expect a very successful Christmas. We just opened our Cable Beach store and that is doing very well so far. We expect all of our stores to do well this year.

“After the hurricane and coming out of it, and how well we did with our support of the community,

the people are really happy and very loyal to us because they see that we are really here for the people. We will do great things for this Christmas season.”

As for the hotels, Baha Mar’s booking pace was said to be “very robust” leading into the Christmas season from this past Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

Robert Sands, its senior vice-president of government and exterrnal relations, told Tribune Business: “We’re still in the Thanksgiving holiday period so we’re still working. We saw business for this Thanksgiving holiday that was as good as last year. We are encouraged that our booking pace has increased post-Dorian.”

Explaining that Thanksgiving was a good indication as to how the Christmas season may turn out, Mr Sands added: “Our booking pace is very robust and has improved, and we are very encouraged by the results. We should be as good or better than last year.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, December 3, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Govt to raise $300 light bill VAT waiver FROM PAGE ONE

BPL’s most vulnerable consumers.

And he also questioned whether VAT will be levied on the debt servicing fee as well as the other portions of customer bills, adding that this would produce a potential revenue windfall for the government if that happened.

“The bond is what it is,” Mr Maynard said. “The whole town is talking about it. I think they’re a bit off

with the figures. There’s no way they are going to pay back $650m at $40m a year.

They have to get the money first, and they’ve not even gotten that yet.”

Bahamian households and businesses are effectively being made to pay for years of mismanagement, poor governance and political interference at BPL by bailing-out the state-owned electricity provider through this bond issue.

Possibly the only monopoly to be losing money,

what has made this new financial burden especially difficult for Bahamians to bear is the total lack of trust they have in BPL producing a more reliable, lower cost energy supply as a result of their outlay.

BPL and the government, though, have remained consistent in arguing that the $650m refinancing - which will make $222m available for electricity infrastructure improvements, as well as removing $321m in debt from the utility’s balance sheet - will more than offset the bond debt servicing charge and result in total energy costs decreasing.

In the first instance, they say this will be achieved by the new 132 megawatts (MW) of Wartsila generation capacity that is due to come online this month.

Besides enabling BPL to switch back to the cheaper Bunker C (heavy fuel oil) from more expensive diesel, these new engines also have a lower heat rate,

meaning they require less fuel to generate the same amount of electricity as the existing engines.

This, in theory, will lower BPL’s fuel costs and result in savings that can be passed on to consumers.

And the addition of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the generation fuel mix via Shell’s power plant that is due to become operational in late 2021/early 2022 is supposed to further slash energy costs.

Yet concerns persist.

Ms Deal said the government “didn’t embrace us in any way” over the bond refinancing and its plans for BPL and wider energy sector reform. This, in turn, made it much more difficult for the private sector to approve of the plans.

“They’ve not addressed other issues besides new generation,” she added.

“Transmission and distribution is also 60 years-old, and we’ve not addressed the back-up generation that

was supposed to be temporary. Here we are eight to nine years later and we still have back-up generation.

It doesn’t seem like the fix this country needs at this point in time.”

Mr Bannister’s House of Assembly presentation set out how BPL plans to use the bond refinancing proceeds for both transmission and distribution and renewable investments, with New Providence due to receive over $100m in the former area alone.

Yet doubts over Shell’s involvement in the energy reform mix persist, with Mr Bannister telling this newspaper that “the Shell decision is really going to be up to Shell. There are a number of things they have to do” for the proposed multi-fuel power plant at Clifton Pier to go ahead under its lead.

Speaking after Tribune Business was tipped that the Cabinet met on Friday to discuss the Shell deal,

Mr Bannister said the project had obtained some but not all of the necessary government approvals.

“There are a number of decisions that have been taken, and a number of other things that have to be done,” he added.

“We’ve taken a number of decisions in relation to Wartsila, done a number of approvals, and the Shell decision is really going to be up to Shell...

“As far as we are concerned the process with Shell is proceeding. Shell has gotten a number of approvals. The National Economic Council has given Shell a number of approvals. There are just a few issues that have to be resolved before they get all the approvals, but they’ve gotten a number of them.

“They have a number of issues they’re going to have to resolve, and once they resolve them they will have all the approvals to be able to move ahead.”

Bahamasair flies into action over licence suspend FROM PAGE ONE

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that PIERRECINE PROPHETE MONESTINE, of P.O.Box CR-54802, Faith Avenue North , Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 25th day of November 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

in case Bahamasair was required to provide charters between The Bahamas and Canada, especially given its role in opening up service from new tourism markets into this nation.

“We do have it just in case we do need it,” he explained. “We do operate charter flights, and at times when the parties come to us we don’t want to be dealing with regulatory issues, so we keep it available in case we need it.”

Mr Cooper, meanwhile, said Hurricane Dorian had impacted 30 percent of Bahamasair’s business

NOTICE is hereby given that RICARDO MATHIEU, of Fowler Street, Market Street 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 3rd day of December 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

A minimum of three to five years of experience as a licensed Boat Captain (Class A Master Captain’s License or Class B Captain’s License). Extensive knowledge of Bahamian Marine rules and regulations. Familiarity in the Tourism Sector also preferred. Prior experience at high end luxury properties and/or businesses are highly desired.

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by knocking out domestic and international airlift to Grand Bahama and Abaco in its immediate wake.

Its routes into those destinations from Fort

NOTICE

The Cove Resort & Spa, Eleuthera is seeking a qualified Boat Captain to join our Guest Activities Team. The successful candidate should have the following minimum requirements:

All interested applicants can forward their Resume and Cover Letter to:

A BAHAMASAIR plane on the runway at LPIA.

30th

Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, in particular, remain affected, and the Bahamasair chief said: “As with all entities in and around The Bahamas, Dorian affected Bahamasair tremendously as Abaco and Freeport account for 30 percent of our business.

“We’re going to start coming back on stream.

We’ve started flying back out to Freeport, and those two flights should come back on in another two weeks. We’re waiting on the final approvals both airports, Marsh Harbour and Freeport, need to get from the Transportation Security Administration.”

Both destinations have limitations, with no night flying currently permitted into Freeport.

While international air service into both

Dorian-ravaged islands has been missing for three months, Mr Cooper said demand for passenger seats had begun to “pick up” on domestic routes again in November.

“We’ve seen strong bookings for Thanksgiving,” he added. “The flights have been relatively full for the past two to three weeks, even though I think the whole Bahamas is still shell-shocked from Dorian to be honest with you.

“We’re plugging along as best we can. The Bahamian consumer doesn’t tend to book well in advance.

They book around pay day and those kind of things.

For Thanksgiving the numbers have been up, and for Christmas we’ve seen the numbers climbing and expect them to be strong for this year.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 3, 2019, PAGE 5

Customs system ‘worst thing i have confronted’ FROM PAGE ONE fluid, and you are supposed to walk step-by-step, get your cargo and go.

“What people find most challenging is that you pay your duty, and then Customs checks your entry that you presented, which is reverse of what the old system was. So what happens now is that you take your entry and prepare it, you submit it through the single window, the single window then processes it through for payment, and then you go and pay.

After you have paid you then have to wait until Customs processes your paperwork and, if there is a problem, then you may have a further delay in getting your cargo because whatever the issue is would have to be addressed and fixed.”

Mr Thompson said there was typically a 24-hour turnaround time between paying due taxes on an import shipment and picking the cargo up, provided Customs had no issues.

“Understand what is now happening with this system,” he added. “Unlike before with the eCAS, where you make up an entry and you submit it, it may sit there, but a Customs officer may pick up the electronic file that you sent, check your documentation and once everything is okay they clear it for you to pay and, once you pay, then you can go and pick up your cargo.

“The reverse is happening here with the electronic single window. You submit your documents, the system

Nassau/PI hotel room nights off 10% post-Dorian FROM PAGE ONE

19.1 percent expansion during the same period in 2018.

“In particular, the US component grew by 2.6 percent, significantly lower than the 17.2 percent growth in the prior year. However, the non-US international segment contracted by 3.7 percent, contrasting with a 31.6 percent increase a year ago.

Much of Dorian’s economic fall-out was still working its way through the Bahamian economic system during October, with the full effects likely to be felt in 2020. Turning to vacation

green-light’s you to go and pay, but now after you have paid you have to sit and wait for an officer to check your documentation.

“The major issue with this is that once you paid it may take a day or two before someone picks it up and looks at it, and greenlights it further for pick-up.

Most of the persons I have spoken to prefer it the old way. People expect that when they pay the government, they expect to go and get their stuff,” Mr Thompson said “The case is that you pay the government now, and then you pause and wait for Customs to now tell you that you can pick up your goods. People are now stunned, because you have now collected my money and are now telling me that I have to wait.”

Another in-house broker for a large import wholesaler, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business: “The process is too tedious and too long. I have always had a beautiful relationship with the Customs department with me being a former customs officer myself, but I don’t think this new system should have been implemented at this time.

“I know they have a particular mandate by the Prime Minister’s Office/ the Ministry of Finance ,having already been granted loans from the Inter-American Development Bank to put this thing through. But I think the thing with this is the removal of the automatic feature and now, because there is manual intervention, it may be causing a lot of backlog.”

They explained: “The system was designed for electronic submission of data and, once you pay, it is supposed go through the system electronically from one stage to the next stage to allow the in-house broker to see the stages online when they would advise their client when their goods are ready for collection.

“That shouldn’t take more than a half an hour because it is done electronically. But what they have done is remove the automatic feature and now there is manual intervention at the second stage, which is processing the entry as it was accustomed to. So what they have done is effectively remove the ease of doing business and are now are intervening manually.”

The in-house broker continued: “The process has a lot of repetition in submitting the documents. I would go to put in the address of a supplier and the system would then go back and ask me to resubmit the same information I just gave them on a previous page.

“The system is designed to determine whether or not the shipment should be examined, but they have removed that to some degree whereby you have officers determining whether a shipment should be examined, claiming that they understand that is not what the system is designed for, but they are doing it any how.”

Confirming that brokers and wholesalers had met with Customs and the Ministry of Finance on the issue some two weeks ago, the in-house broker said the

rentals, the Central Bank said: “Total available listings firmed by 8.9 percent relative to October 2018 amid growth in the Exuma and New Providence markets, which partly compensated for the declines in Grand Bahama and Abaco.

“Likewise, with higher engagements in New Providence and Exuma, total booked listings rose by 32.1 percent when compared to last year. Against this backdrop, the average daily room rate (ADR) for entire place listings gained 1.3 percent to $351.27, although the hotel comparable rate fell by 0.5 percent to $148.25.

“Over the ten-month period, available offresort listings expanded by 16.3 percent, reflecting gains in entire place and private room offerings.

Similarly, bookings grew by 31.7 percent relative to

2018. However, the ADR for both hotel comparable accommodations and entire place listings were lower by 6.6 percent and two percent, respectively.”

In preparation for potential Dorian-related loan losses, the Central Bank said Bahamian commercial banks increased their provisions by $28.1m or 6.9 percent during October to bring them to $437.8m. This brought the ratio of provisions to non-performing loans close to 93 percent, as the industry wrote-off a net $9.5m in bad credit.

Ahead of a likely spike in non-performing loans and loan arrears created by Dorian, the Central Bank said there had been consistent, steady improvement in reducing the banking industry’s post 2008-2009 pile of bad credit.

industry was still waiting to see how their concerns will be addressed.

“We had a meeting with the Ministry of Finance and the financial secretary, Marlon Johnson, two weeks ago, and we raised some of the concerns but I am not sure they had time to effect those changes,” the source said.

“We had Customs comptroller, Dr Geanine Moss, along with the administrator of the system as well as two other Customs officials in addition to two representatives form Crimsonlogic, the firm from Singapore that programmed the system, and a group of wholesalers along with the financial secretary and his officials from the ministry. All of these issues were addressed in that meeting two weeks ago.”

Bahamas given two years on maritime body’s Council THE Bahamas has been elected to serve on the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) council for the two-year period between 2019 to 2021.

The Bahamas, which was elected at the IMO’s 31st assembly last week, will begin its term when the 40-member Council begins its work on December 5, 2019. Also elected to the Council in category “C” are Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

During its term on the Council, The Bahamas has pledged to continue providing significant input on important issues and to support the structural reforms

being considered by the IMO. An IMO release said: “The Council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work of the organisation. Between sessions of the Assembly, the Council performs all the functions of the Assembly except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.”

The IMO is the specialist United Nations (UN) agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping, and the prevention of maritime pollution by ships.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

CCAREER PPORTUNITY AREEROO PPORTUNITY The Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas invites applications from suitably qualified

The Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas invites applications from suitably qualified individuals for the following position: individuals for the following position: DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL, CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF THE BAHAMAS

DIRECTOR GENERAL, CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF THE BAHAMAS

Position Summary The Deputy Director General assists with providing strategic leadership for the Authority by working Position Summary with the Director General, board of directors and the executive management team to establish longrange goals, strategies, plans and oversight policies. of civil aviation matters in The Bahamas, in alignmen The Director exercises regulatory

the Civil Aviation Act of The Bahamas, the Regulations, and the Convention on Internationa position assists with the regulatory oversight of civil aviation matters in The Bahamas, in alignment AviationTheand its Annexes. The span of regulatory oversight includes certification with respect with the Civil Aviation Act of The Bahamas, the Regulations, and the Convention on International Civil granting, suspension, revocation or imposition of conditions on aviation documents, and enforcem Aviation and its Annexes. The span of regulatory oversight includes certification with respect to the the provisions of the Actrevocation and Regulations inspections ongoing granting, suspension, or impositionthrough of conditions on aviationand documents, andsurveillance enforcement ofactivit ensure the theprovision safe, secure of the sector in The Bahamas. of theand Act orderly through growth inspections and aviation ongoing surveillance activities to ensure the safe, secure and orderly growth of the aviation sector in The Bahamas.

As the Chief Executive Officer, the Director provides the high-level strategic direction and leadersh Qualifications & Experience the Authority and is directly accountable to the Board of Directors for the Authority’s performa achieving its strategic goals and priorities.

Minimum Requirements • Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Aviation Management, Aviation Science or a related field from an accredited institution with 10 years of experience—6 of which must have been at the Qualifications & Experience managerial level in a civil aviation agency;

Minimum Requirements Specific Knowledge Requirements • Master’s Degree in Business Administration or equivalent relevant degree from an accr • Sound knowledge of applicable national laws and regulations; institution with fifteen (15) years of experience—ten (10) of which must have been a • Sound knowledge of ICAO Annexes; managerial level in a civil aviation agency; and • Sound knowledge of the roles and functions of ICAO, BCAA, and other international and regional • Fluency in English. civil aviation agencies; •

Sound knowledge of policies, practices, procedures, rules and ordinances pertaining to civil aviation

•

resolution of interpersonal conflicts. correspondence, reports and other written materials.

Prepare clear, concise and complete

• •

Methodically planand andmanage coordinate withinsituations. the confines of the regulatory statute.

Monitor, control crisiswork and programs natural disaster Monitor, control and manage crisis and natural disaster situations.

Specific Knowledge Requirements in The Bahamas; • Familiarity with safety concepts inclusive of safety management systems and state • Sound knowledge ofcontemporary applicable national laws and regulations; safety; • Sound knowledge of ICAO Annexes and aviation analytics; • Well-developed human resource management and analytical skills; • Sound knowledge of policies, practices, procedures, rules and ordinances pertaining to civil av • Sound knowledge of management principles and practices of administration, including strategic in The Bahamas; planning, budgeting, purchasing, contracting and maintenance of records; and • Working knowledge of principles and practices of effective human resource managemen •Ability Sound to: understanding of the air transport industry. supervision; Ability to: and interpret a broad range of civil aviation-related laws, regulations and standards.

• Analyze • Sound knowledge of management principles and practices of administration,Page including str • Analyze a broad range of of acivil aviation-related laws, regulations and standards. 1 of 2 Manage and and interpret report upon the status variety of safety management programmes. planning, budgeting, purchasing, contracting and maintenance of records; and • Manage and upontraining, the statusevaluation, of a varietyand of safety management programmes. the report selection, disciplining of regulatory directorate staff and • Sound understanding of thetraining, air transport industry. resolution of interpersonal conflicts.

• Manage the selection, evaluation, and disciplining of regulatory directorate staff and

Ability •to: Prepare clear, concise and complete correspondence, reports and other written materials. and deliver effective public presentations.

• organize, Prepare deliver effective public presentations.

Lead andand motivate staff.

• Plan, and direct a wide variety of regulatory programmes and services to mee • Lead and motivate staff.

Methodically coordinate work programs withinwith the confines theoperating regulatory statute. aviation needs andplan to and effectively ensure compliance safety of and regulations.

Interested, qualified candidates should submit their Curriculum Vitae and all relevant supporting documents to the attention of Theshould Manager Human Resources, Civil Aviation Authority of Thesupporting Bahamas, Interested, qualified candidates submit their Curriculum Vitae and all relevant at BODCAAB@BCAABahamas.com, on or before December 13, 2019. documents to the attention of The Manager Human Resources, Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas, at BODCAAB@BCAABahamas.com, on or before December 13, 2019.

Page

PAGE 6, Tuesday, December 3, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

CCAREER PPORTUNITY AREEROO PPORTUNITY The Bahamas Air Navigation Services Division of the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas

The Civilinvites Aviation Authority The Bahamas invites applications from suitably qualified applications fromofsuitably qualified individuals for the following position: individuals for the following position: GENERAL MANAGER, BAHAMAS AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES DIVISION

DIRECTOR GENERAL, CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF THE BAHAMAS

‘Bag man’ revealed in Sarkis papers dispute

Position Summary Plans, organizes, integrates and directs the programs, operations, staff and activities to ensure the sition Summary provision of air navigation services (ANS), including Air Traffic Management (ATM), Procedures for Air Navigation Servicesregulatory Operations (PANS-OPS), andThe Surveillance (CNS) and e Director exercises oversight ofCommunications civil aviation Navigation matters in Bahamas, in alignment with FROM PAGE ONE Aeronautical Services—safely, economically and efficiently the provision of all e Civil Aviation Information Act of The Bahamas, the Regulations, and thethrough Convention on International Civil and services collaboration with all stakeholders. iationneeded and facilities its Annexes.

The inspan of regulatory oversight includes certification with respect to the

by Baha Mar’s Deloitte & anting, suspension, revocation or imposition of conditions on aviation documents, and enforcement of Touche receivers and used The position holder, who reports directly to the Board of Directors, is required to ensure that all systems e provisions of the Act and Regulations through inspections and ongoing surveillance activities to to help produce reports valand processes enable the seamless operations of BANSD in alignment with the Civil Aviation Act of The sure Bahamas the safe,and secure and orderly growth of the sector in The Bahamas. uing the legal claims against the Convention on International Civilaviation Aviation and its Annexes, and to provide the high CCA as part of a process level strategic direction and leadership for the delivery of air navigation services consistent with the the Chief Executive Officer, the Director provides the high-level strategic direction and leadershiptofordetermine the worth of objectives and priorities of the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Baha e Authority and is directly accountable to the Board of Directors for the Authority’s performance in Mar’s assets.

The valuation reports hieving its strategic goals and priorities.

Qualifications & Experiences remain “sealed” by the Supreme Court followMinimum&Requirements ing Justice Ian Winder’s ualifications Experience § Masters’ Degree in Business Administration or equivalent relevant degree.

May 1, 2019, ruling, but Mr Izmirlian and his attorneys § A sound technical aviation background in one or more areas within the span of control, with at least nimum ten Requirements are furious that neither (10) years’ experience.

Master’s Degree in years’ Business or equivalent relevant degree from with an accredited CCA nor the receivers dis§ At least five (5) seniorAdministration management experience in an aviation-related organization institution with fifteen (15) years of experience—ten (10) of which must have been at closed the that the contractor demonstrated proven leadership ability. had already obtained these managerial in a civil aviation agency; and § Fluent level in English documents one day before Fluency in English. the the Bahamian court Specific Knowledge Requirements hearing on the matter.

Sound knowledge of national regulations and ICAO standards and recommended practices and ecific§ Knowledge Requirements And no disclosure was documents pertaining to ANS; made prior to the judgment Sound knowledge of applicable national laws and regulations; § Sound knowledge of management principles and practices of administration, including strategic either, leading the original Soundplanning, knowledge of ICAO Annexes and aviation analytics; of records; budgeting, purchasing, contracting and maintenance developer and his advisers Sound knowledge of policies, practices, rules and ordinances pertaining to civil aviation § Sound understanding of the air transport procedures, industry; to accuse CCA of “defying § Principles and practices of effective management and supervision; and in The Bahamas; the orders” of the Supreme § Knowledge of industrial relations and ANSpractices human resources policies, procedures and best practices.

Working knowledge of principles and of effective human resource management Court. and The incident has supervision; Ability to: sparked a row between • Plan, direct, organize, manage and integrate the activities of a comprehensive air navigation services Sound knowledge of management principles and practices of administration, including Page 1 of 2 strategic Mr Izmirlian’s US attordivision; planning, budgeting, purchasing, contracting and maintenance of records; and neys and Lennox Paton, • Prepare and present proposals, industry-specific analytics and recommendations clearly, logically Sound understanding of the air transport industry. the Bahamian law firm and persuasively in public meetings; that represents the former • Develop and implement the ANS strategic plan; Baha Mar receivers, who bility to: • Analyze, interpret and explain proposed legislation and programs in terms of their implications and then included now-ComPlan, organize, directservices a wide ofand regulatory programmes and services to meet monwealth civil impact on airand navigation andvariety objectives; Bank president, aviation needs and to effectively ensure compliance with safety and operating regulations.

Raymond Winder.

• Establish and maintain highly effective working relationships with ANS executives and managers, Lennox Paton, accordand stakeholder representatives. ing Page 1 of 2 to Mr Izmirlian and his legal team, has to-date Interested, qualified candidates should submit their Curriculum Vitae and all relevant supporting refused to answer any quesdocuments to the attention of The Manager Human Resources, Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas, tions posed to it by Glaser at BODCAAB@BCAABahamas.com, on or before December 13, 2019.

Weil, which is probing to

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

MONDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2019

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,191.24 | CHG: 1.30 | %CHG: 0.06 | YTD: 81.79 | YTD%: 3.88 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 6.10 2.60 2.00 5.47 11.75 6.17 4.64 11.25 2.81 3.96 10.21 7.60 16.90 9.40 3.63 14.20

52WK LOW 3.35 20.91 4.90 4.46 1.01 0.22 2.00 9.30 5.60 3.95 6.75 2.35 1.76 8.00 6.10 12.10 6.41 3.01 13.01

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson

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

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

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

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

52WK HI 2.27 4.32 2.08 194.86 158.57 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.21 8.23 10.10 6.85 11.45 12.32 10.74 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.58 1.69 1.66 1.09 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

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)

MUTUAL FUNDS

MARKET TERMS

LAST CLOSE 3.37 17.43 6.00 6.10 2.46 1.80 4.36 11.06 6.16 4.14 8.06 3.34 3.96 10.06 7.60 16.90 9.33 3.20 14.00

CLOSE 3.37 17.43 6.00 6.10 2.46 1.80 4.36 11.06 6.16 4.15 8.06 3.32 3.96 10.05 7.60 16.90 9.33 3.20 14.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 -0.02 0.00 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00

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

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

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno 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

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

VOLUME

15,000

2,600

VOLUME

0.002 of 2 Page 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

NAV 2.27 4.32 2.08 193.72 158.42 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.19 8.31 10.26 6.88 11.45 12.32 10.70 9.92 8.68 11.38

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 1.760 0.369 0.070 0.000 -0.438 0.722 0.449 0.184 0.140 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.939 0.203 0.631

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.610

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

P/E 14.1 18.7 N/M 16.5 N/M N/M -10.0 15.3 13.7 22.6 57.6 32.5 8.5 15.6 10.4 20.7 9.9 15.8 22.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 5.04% 7.23% 0.00% 4.26% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00% 6.51% 3.57% 2.89% 0.00% 13.07% 1.52% 3.26% 3.16% 3.20% 2.14% 3.75% 4.36% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

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%

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

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.06% 3.81% 1.91% 3.39% 2.23% 2.75% 4.99% 6.20% 7.18% -0.08% 2.88% 3.80% 4.56% 6.50% 3.35% 4.17% 5.77% 7.89% 11.19% 12.08% 18.66% 19.64% 4.33% 5.06% 10.43% 7.24% 5.42% 5.77% 3.11% 0.77% -0.71% 0.16% 7.40% 2.70% 10.20% 1.30%

NAV Date 31-Oct-2019 31-Oct-2019 25-Oct-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 31-Oct-2019 31-Oct-2019 31-Oct-2019 31-Oct-2019 31-Oct-2019 31-Oct-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

discover whether anyone else among the Deloitte & Touche receivers was involved in helping Mr Chan both leak and obtain the two disputed legal opinions and the same number of valuation reports.

Peter Sheridan, in a September 16, 2019, letter to Brian Simms QC, senior partner at Lennox Paton, alleged: “At the March 26, 2019, hearing and at the time of issuing judgment neither the joint receiver managers (Deloitte & Touche) nor CCA informed the court that CCA had already been provided with the two opinions.

“This constituted a knowing omission by the joint receiver-managers, withholding from Justice Winder the truth, namely that the legal opinions at issue in the hearing had already been provided to CCA” one day before.”

Mr Sheridan, careful not to accuse Mr Simms or any other Lennox Paton attorney of knowing about “the improper provision” to CCA, added: “The above facts demonstrate that the joint receiver managers intentionally failed to inform the court that the documents under seal were previously disclosed to CCA in violation of the joint receiver managers’ duty as officers of the court.”

Mr Simms, in a previous letter to Mr Sheridan that was disclosed by Tribune Business, had branded his and Mr Izmirlian’s claims as “misconceived and wrong” on the basis that the Bahamian Supreme Court “seal” only prevented third parties not involved in the Baha Mar dispute from accessing the documents.

He explained that there was nothing to prevent them from being shared among entities involved in the case, which the receivers, CCA and China Export-Import Bank all were. And Mr Simms also rejected Mr Izmirlian’s claim that the legal papers were protected by attorneyclient privilege.

The Bahamian QC argued that the advice was provided to Baha Mar and not Mr Izmirlian’s BML

Properties vehicle, which is the entity bringing the New York case. He also said the latter vehicle was not entitled to them even if it had acted as Baha Mar’s manager as claimed.

This, though, prompted an immediate riposte by Mr Sheridan, who said Justice Winder’s May 1 judgment “contradicts your assertion that there is no basis for any legal privilege”. He added that this issue had already been dealt with by the Bahamian Supreme Court, “which found that Baha Mar’s privilege had not been waived such that CCA is not entitled to gain access to them”.

Arguing that BML Properties retained “joint interest privilege” in the legal opinions, Mr Sheridan told Mr Simms: “It is therefore wholly improper for you to state: ‘It is not apparent to me how the documents could belong to BML Properties when there is no evidence that the advice to which the documents pertain was ever sought or obtained by BML Properties’. That is for the courts to decide, not you.”

The timing of the March 25, 2019, document handover suggests that CCA, aided by the China Export-Import Bank, was effectively hedging its bets as to the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing and decided it needed to obtain the documents by whatever methods proved necessary.

Both CCA and the China Export-Import Bank, which as Baha Mar’s financier appointed the receivers, share the same owner in the Chinese government. Mr Chan is a China-based employee of Deloitte & Touche which operated as the bank’s agents in their role as Baha Mar receivers.

He was also a member of the committee established to assess Bahamian creditor claims, and make around $101m worth of payouts to them, in the wake of China Export-Import Bank moving to realise its loan security and take possession of the Baha Mar project following its collapse into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THE CHILDREN AT RANFURLY

T

he Ranfurly Homes for Children has been a safe haven for thousands of Bahamian children since 1956. The Home provides a safe, structured environment for children who have been orphaned, abused, neglected or abandoned.

YOU can make a difference in the lives of the children at Ranfurly. With your support children can have nutritious food, warm beds and a safe environment where they can discover the joy of being children. For years the children living and learning at Ranfurly have made great social and academic strides.

Their further development requires additional support in the form of a Transitional Home, planned for construction on the Ranfurly property.

This residence will cater to teenagers and young adults who are beyond school age, but need accommodation while they find work and gain independence from the Home.

We look forward to your continued support in this worthwhile endeavour.

MEMBERSHIP PACKAGES Individuals, Families & Corporate Sponsors Children Helping Children - $5 (Individual children from ages 6 - 18) Individuals Helping Children - $50 (Individual adults 18 years and over) Families Helping Children - $100

CIRCLE of FRIENDS Silver: $1,500 - $2,499 Gold: $2,500 - $4,999 Platinum: $5,000 plus

OPPORTUNITIES • • • •

Invitations to Ranfurly events Assist with fundraising events Involvement with special activities Adults are eligible to join the Board after three months • Stay in touch with Ranfurly through website and newsletters

BENEFITS

• Personal fulfillment in knowing you are impacting lives • Ranfurly children’s appreciation and positive response • Continued support provides stability and constant care

For more information visit: www.ranfurlyhome.org Please “Like” us on Facebook Ranfurly Home for Children, Mackey Street P.O. Box 1413 Nassau, Bahamas 242-393-3115

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333