12272017 business

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2017

$4.39

$4.49

Sarkis in $2.25bn claim against Baha Mar builder

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

S

arkis Izmirlian yesterday launched a $2.25 billion damages claim against Baha Mar’s main contractor, accusing it of “one of the largest construction-based frauds in this hemisphere”.

The $4.2 billion project’s original developer, in a lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court, alleged that China Construction America (CCA) and its subsidiaries perpetrated a “massive” scheme of “cover up”, “deceit”, “outright sabotage” and lies to both conceal its failures and “extort more money than it earned”.

* Claims ‘one of hemisphere’s top building frauds’ * CCA tried to ‘extort more money than was due’ * Says contractor never planned to hit deadline The action, filed in the name of Mr Izmirlian’s BML Properties vehicle, claims that the Chinese state-owned construction firm deliberately concealed its intention to use Baha Mar as “a massive training exercise” that ultimately doomed the project to failure.

Besides alleging that CCA’s “real intent” was never to complete Baha Mar “on time and on budget”, Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties also claim that it falsified and misrepresented reports on the

mega resort’s construction progress and the size of its workforce.

The claim, for breach of contract and fraud, alleges that the Chinese contractor earned “tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions” more than it should as a result of uncorrected defects plus inflated and “sham” billings.

And the lawsuit also details numerous alleged construction defects that, if not caught, would have compromised the health SARKIS IZMIRLIAN

SEE PAGE 2

$4.39

$4.39

Sarkis says CCA misused my $54m to acquire Hilton

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHA Mar’s original developer yesterday accused the project’s main contractor of misusing a disputed $54 million payment to finance its British Colonial Hilton acquisition.

Sarkis Izmirlian, in a $2.25 billion damages claim against China Construction America (CCA) and its Bahamian affiliates, alleged that the contractor used funds intended to “accelerate” its work at Baha Mar to instead fund the purchase of its downtown Nassau property.

Mr Izmirlian and his BML Properties vehicle are claiming that the misuse of the $54 million, which

* FUNDS SUPPOSED TO ‘ACCELERATE’ BAHA MAR WORK * REJECTS CONTRACTORS ‘OVERTIME’ PAY EXPLANATION * CLAIMS MISLED OVER POINTE ‘DIVERSION’ was to cover construction ‘change orders’ that the developer believed cost “significantly less”, amount to “yet another act of fraud” perpetrated against it.

They are also alleging that CCA’s chief executive

SEE PAGE 3

Sarkis alleges multiple construction defects

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHA Mar’s original developer yesterday revealed multiple alleged construction defects that could have endangered guests and staff at the $4.2 billion project.

Sarkis Izmirlian, in a $2.25 billion damages lawsuit against China Construction America (CCA) and its Bahamian affiliates, alleged that the development’s main contractor failed to inform Baha Mar Ltd of these problems “accurately or at all”.

As a result, the thendeveloper and his management team were never informed about

* Lists numerous safety threats not reported * Claims CCA got ‘millions’ it didn’t deserve * Works Ministry noted ‘alarming level’ of woe

resistant material at the convention centre. Fire alarm system testing for the elevators was another problem.

how CCA was charging them (and their $2.45 billion construction loan) for problems it should pay to remedy. They were also unaware of work schedule changes required to fix these woes, which delayed the construction completion and helped to miss two opening deadlines.

This, Mr Izmirlian alleges, resulted in CCA earning potentially “hundreds of millions” that it did not deserve.

Among the problems alleged by Mr Izmirlian and

* “Defective” interiors in hotel rooms and corridors. Mr Izmirlian alleged that CCA failed to properly seal the drainage connections for 200 bathtubs in the Rosewood property, “meaning that any water on the bathroom floor drains into the ceiling of the room below”. * Bamboo strand flooring was installed in all guest bedrooms and suites without being properly acclimated and no environmental control, “resulting in warped flooring in 70 per cent” of the units.

his BML Properties in their lawsuit were: * Defective tower railings, which could result in them “snapping under minimal pressure, such as a human leaning on them 25 floors up”. * CCA allegedly “improperly installed miles of fire alarm cabling” through the hotels without placing it inside a fire-resistant conduit, and tried to bill Baha Mar for this despite being in non-compliance with the Bahamas Building Code.

Mr Izmirlian alleged the contractor tried to overbill him for this work by $475,000, while the developer “incurred the expense of hundreds of man hours” to remedy the problems, costing it $130,000. * The original Baha Mar developer alleged that CCA’s fireproofing work at the project was also “of poor quality”. He referred to reports by Bahamian engineering firm, Graphite Engineering, that the contractor had failed to resolve defects in the sprayed fire

* In the Grand Hyatt, Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties claim that millwork was not installed with proper environmental controls, leading to “the louver detail of bathroom doors splitting in over 80 per cent of the rooms”. * CCA allegedly “compounded” its original error in “incorrectly screeding” the SLS hotel’s corridor floors by spraying water on the screed during curing, thereby allowing mould and other “microbial growth” to be absorbed into the baseboard and sheet rock. * Water intrusion issues impacted Baha Mar’s development throughout construction, according to

SEE PAGE 6

TAXPAYERS ‘DODGE BULLET’ ON $65M LUCAYAN DEAL

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN taxpayers “will dodge a bullet” if the Wynn Group can complete its $65 million ‘all-cash’ Grand Lucayan purchase, a prominent QC says.

Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, told Tribune Business he was “overjoyed” that the Government will seemingly not have to acquire Freeport’s ‘anchor resort’ itself, thereby sparing the Public Treasury from having to both finance the acquisition and

* QC ‘OVERJOYED’ IF WYNN PURCHASES CLOSES * APPROVAL ‘CONDITIONED’ ON SUNWING/MEMORIES TIE-UP * DPM SAYS LOI SHOWS ‘LIGHT AT TUNNEL’S END’ subsequent maintenance/ operating losses. But he also described the Wynn

SEE PAGE 4

SARKIS: CCA’S ‘UP FRONT’ FAILURE COST OVER $50M

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHA Mar’s original developer yesterday alleged that the project’s main contractor cost it more than $50 million by failing to deliver on its ‘up-front’ obligations.

Sarkis Izmirlian, in a $2.25 billion damages claim filed against China Construction America (CCA) in the New York Supreme Court, claimed that despite receiving up to $210 million prior to starting work the contractor only delivered on 75 per cent of its commitments. These obligations related to CCA’s

* FAILED TO DELIVER DESPITE $210M AT START * INADEQUATE STAFF DESPITE $83M FOR LABOUR * FELT CONTRACTOR ‘IN OVER HEAD’ FROM 2012 General Conditions Work Package (GCWP), but Mr Izmirlian and his BML Properties vehicle alleged that it failed to perform by

SEE PAGE 5

Use your Fidelity Credit or Prepaid Card

EARN DOUBLE REWARD POINTS NOVEMBER 1ST - DECEMBER 31ST

Shop. Save. Enjoy.

Nassau: t 356-7764 Freeport: t 352-6676/7 Marsh Harbour: t 367-3135

PAGE 2, Wednesday, December 27, 2017

NOTICE This is to inform the

GENERAL PUBLIC

that the private roadways and parking areas situate in the Harbour Bay Shopping Centre between East Bay Street and Shirley Street will be closed on Monday the 1st of January, 2018 in order to preserve the right of ownership thereof.

The Owners

NOTICE In the Estate of HENRY MORGAN SMITH late of Jupiter, Florida in the United States of America, deceased.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having any claims or demands against the above-named Estate are requested to send the same duly certified to the undersigned on or before the 19th January, 2018 and notice is hereby also given that at the expiration of the time above mentioned the assets of the deceased will be distributed among the persons entitled thereto having regard only to the claims of which the Administrator shall then have had notice.

And notice is hereby given that all persons indebted to the estate are required to make full settlement on or before the date hereinabove mentioned.

Roberts, Isaacs & Ward, Attorneys-at-Law, Unit 2, Cable Beach Court, 400 West Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

SARKIS CLAIM AGAINST BAHA MAR BUILDER from PAGE 1

and safety of thousands of tourists, hotel guests and Baha Mar staff (see other articles on Page 1B). “This case is based on a massive fraudulent scheme devised in 2012 primarily by defendant China Construction America (CCA) to enrich itself at the expense, and to the harm, of plaintiff BML Properties,” Mr Izmirlian alleged.

He added that this ultimately “led to the collapse of the project and the loss of BML Properties’ enormous investment, while CCA and its Chinese affiliates profited”.

“Defendants’ massive fraud is one of the largest construction-based frauds in this hemisphere,” Mr Izmirlian and his company alleged. “The scheme was based on CCA’s efforts to falsely create the appearance that it was working toward an on-time and on-budget opening in December 2014, while knowingly and fraudulently concealing its real intent not to construct the project on time and on budget, and in the process extort more money than it earned and was due.

“Starting in 2012, as significant ‘out of the ground’ construction began and the first floors above the foundations were constructed, CCA knew it would be unable to build the project on time, on budget and in accordance with the plans and specs because, among other things, it did not have - and would not commit to the project the qualified workforce or sufficiently senior managers needed to meet its representations and obligations.”

“CCA carried out its scheme by a series of knowingly and intentionally false representations, acts of extortion, material failures to disclose, fraudulent acts of concealment, outright sabotage, and lies to the Government of the Bahamas and the project lender [China Export-Import Bank,” Baha Mar’s original developer continued.

“CCA also knowingly and fraudulently intended, again

undisclosed to BML Properties, to use the project as a massive training exercise for its young and inexperienced cadre of workers, which doomed the project to failure, and without regard to its agreements and representations, but all at BML Properties expense......

“Due to CCA’s conduct, BML Properties has incurred in excess of $2.25 billion in damages.”

The lawsuit alleges that Mr Izmirlian and his Lyford Cay-based family have lost their entire $845 million equity investment in Baha Mar as a result of CCA’s actions, which resulted in the failed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection action, and subsequent provisional liquidation and receivership that ultimately ended with the project’s sale to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE).

“As a result of defendants’ acts and omissions, BML Properties lost its entire $845 million equity investment in the project, incurred additional hundreds of millions in losses, and lost its right to all the future benefits of running a world-class multi-billion dollar resort with unparalleled amenities, including luxury hotel rooms and suites, golf, a massive pool and beach area, and the Caribbean’s largest luxury casino, on property that the Government of the Bahamas had originally suggested to Sarkis Izmirlian (an experienced real estate developer and the chairman of Baha Mar) that Baha Mar Ltd acquire and redevelop,” the legal filings claim.

The New York-based lawsuit epitomises Mr Izmirlian’s ‘never say die’ attitude, and his determination to recover his family’s equity investment in the Cable Beach-based mega resort along with damages for the wrongful conduct he believes was committed against him.

However, the action is also a tacit admission that his already-faint hopes of regaining Baha Mar have been dashed. The documents make no mention of seeking to overturn the property’s sale to CTFE, or of any effort to sue the Bahamian government, and some may also interpret the filing as a sign that Mr Izmirlian has run out of patience with the Minnis administration.

While the New York action may be a ‘battle’ solely between Mr Izmirlian and CCA, with no major consequences for Baha Mar and its resort operations, the extent of the allegations against the contractor raises further questions over why the former Christie administration was so eager to go ‘all in’ with the Chinese and side with them against Mr Izmirlian.

Many observers believe the previous government’s desperation to ensure Baha Mar was open, employing thousands of Bahamians before the May 10 general election, led it to act as it did.

There have also been suggestions that it feared the awarding of constructionrelated contracts to family,

friends and political supporters, as highlighted by the e-mails of former Cabinet minister, Jerome Fitzgerald, may have been exposed had the Chapter 11 case been allowed to continue.

Regardless, the Baha Mar dispute’s handling remains akin to the ‘spectre of Hamlet’s Ghost’ for the former administration - it just will not go away, and continues to haunt it. One senior attorney, speaking to Tribune Business yesterday on condition of anonymity, also described it as “the gift which keeps on giving”.

They suggested that the pre-trial ‘discovery’ process could produce “very interesting” documents concerning the Christie administration’s Baha Mar actions, and even result in some members of the former government being called to act as witnesses should the matter proceed to trial.

“It’s going to be very interesting, the kind of discovery they’re going to get,” the attorney said. “I wonder if there’s going to be any documents the Government of the Bahamas will have an interest in?

“That’s going to be very interesting. That may have enormous residual fall-out questions against the former government.”

Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties, meanwhile, claimed that CCA and its Bahamian affiliate knew as early as 2012 that they were falling behind schedule and would not complete Baha Mar on time due to an insufficient Chinese labour force.

The contractor, knowing it would be exposed to a multi-million dollar claim for poor workmanship and delays, then allegedly concocted a strategy to ensure the project did not open “before it had in hand 100 per cent, or as near to 100 per cent as possible, of its expected (even if unearned) payment for construction of the project.....

“CCA had to be in a position to force payment even on its fraudulent claims for additional costs or alleged delay,” Mr Izmirlian and his investment vehicle charged, alleging that the contractor knew it “had to cover up the truth about the status of every key element” of its work from 2012 onwards.

“CCA knew that it had to use work stoppages and work slowdowns (in co-operation with its sub-contractors, the bulk of which were also affiliates of CCA’s ultimate parent, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC)) to extort commercial settlements before substantial completion,” Baha Mar’s original developer claimed.

“CCA knew later in the project that it had caused and/or would cause well in excess of 242 days of delay, thereby exposing CCA to the contractual maximum amount of $50 million in liquidated damages due Baha Mar Ltd for such delay, and thus the only way to avoid imposition of those damages was to compel BML

Properties (through fraudulent and extortionate means) to negotiate before any backcharge for the liquidated damages would be taken (at the earliest in January 2015).”

Mr Izmirlian branded CCA’s November 2014 promise of “a massive influx of workers” to complete Baha Mar by March 27, 2015, as ‘a big lie’.

He claimed that CCA, having realised as early as 2012 that it would not hit the original December 2014 opening date, had decided “to squeeze every dime out of the” $2.45 billion loan from China Export-Import Bank that was financing Baha Mar’s construction.

Accusing CCA of putting its narrow financial interests first, Mr Izmirlian alleged: “Accordingly, CCA’s entirely undisclosed and fraudulent intent in 2012 and thereafter included a plan to delay ‘opening’ of the project until it could negotiate its way out of the disputes it knew would arise, and concerning which it believed it had material exposure.

“CCA never intended to achieve the interim milestones and overall completion date(s) it represented after 2012 that it would achieve, over and over again, and intended to hide for as long as it could its inability to achieve those milestones and its disregard for whether it could or could not achieve those milestones.”

Mr Izmirlian argued that CCA’s alleged misrepresentations prevented the developer from taking action to remedy the construction woes, and he further claimed: “As the project moved into late 2014 and early 2015, CCA as well undertook to sabotage forward progress of the work, intentionally damage and disable life-safety, security and electrical supply systems to try to compel BML Properties and Baha Mar Ltd to accede to its demands on sham payment applications and on fraudulent ‘commercial claims’; stage labour walk-offs when it was already critically delayed in delivering the project; intentionally slow-down work at the project (a fact admitted by CCA’s executive at a meeting with the then-Prime Minister of the Bahamas in April 2015); and divert equipment and executive and labour effort to its newly purchased competing project just a few miles from the front door of Baha Mar.” The original developer branded the process by which Baha Mar was sold to CTFE as “secretive and suspect”, given that all details remain sealed by the Supreme Court at the China Export-Import Bank’s request.

And Mr Izmirlian also described the $145 million ‘remobilisation’ fee paid to CCA to complete the project’s construction as a “bail out”, given that much of the equipment, materials and manpower required were still in the Bahamas at the contractor’s The Pointe project, adjacent to the British Colonial Hilton.

THE TRIBUNE

CCA MISUSED MY $54M from PAGE 1

admitted in March 2015 that the $54 million “advance” was not used to pay sums owed to sun-contractors and workers, as the Chinese state-owned firm had originally stated, but to pay ‘overtime’.

Arguing that the latter statement was “false (and concealing)”, Mr Izmirlian’s action alleged: “BML Properties relied on CCA to be truthful regarding its last hope to open in the 2014-2015 season, namely an agreement reached in November 2014 to accelerate CCA’s work in return for an additional $54 which, unbeknownst to BML Properties, CCA never intended to perform and knew when it signed that it could not and would not perform.

“There is evidence that [the] $54 million advance paid in November 2014 to CCA Bahamas was actually diverted by CCA to its own coffers to fund the purchase of the neighbouring Hilton Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas.

“The chronology is telling: (i) CCA’s intended purchase of the Hilton was announced in October 2014; (ii) CCA Bahamas forced Baha Mar to pay an advance of $54 million for disputed change orders (believed to be worth significantly less and to be used, CCA said, to pay for subcontractors and labor that allegedly had not been paid) by way of a special payment request submitted in November 2014 to China Export-Import Bank.”

Mr Izmirlian alleged that CCA “fraudulently extorted” the $54 million because it “knew the amounts being paid to it were unearned and undeserved, and which completion date was fraudulent since CCA knew the date was unachievable because it did not have the resources to complete by that date.

“CCA closed on the Hilton acquisition for the reported sum of $60 million, also proving that CCA never intended to pay the $54 million to ‘sub-contractors and labour that had not been paid” and thus committing yet another act of fraud,” Baha Mar’s original developer further claimed.

“In March 2015, CCA’s chief executive admitted that CCA had not used the $54 million advance to pay back owed subcontractors and labor but rather - he said - CCA had paid it out for ‘overtime’.

“However, that in turn was a false (and concealing) statement because CCA did not employ ‘overtime’ on the project after the advance was paid, and missed the March 27, 2015, promised (but late) delivery of the project (that such ‘overtime’ would have helped achieve).

“Essentially, CCA had converted this $54 million to a purpose unhinged from its promises in the November 2014 meeting minutes, and otherwise wholly improper, which CCA knew would and did imperil the March 27, 2015 opening.”

Wednesday, December 27, 2017, PAGE 3 Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties are also alleging that the Chinese state-owned contractor kept them ‘in the dark’ over their negotiations to buy the British Colonial Hilton, then diverted machinery, materials and manpower from the Cable Beach project site to its new $200 million The Pointe project adjacent to the existing resort. Their lawsuit, filed in the New York State Supreme Court, alleged that CCA “diverted” its top managers - Tiger Wu, Daniel Lu and David Wang - to work on the Pointe project and another development in Panama from late 2014 onwards.

Besides “violating” the terms of CCA’s master construction contract (MCC) with Baha Mar, the legal documents allege this occurred in the critical run-up to the project’s two missed opening deadlines and when the contractor’s Bahamasbased executive ranks “were already thin to non-existent”.

“At the December 5, 2014, Baha Mar Board meeting, upon questioning by members of the Board as to whether both were fully dedicated to the project, whether they were on-site full time, and whether Mr Wu was involved in the Hilton project, both Mr Wu and Mr Wang denied that their time or efforts would be diverted to, or that they were involved in, or that they would in any way would be responsible for, the redevelopment work CCA planned at the Hilton in Nassau that CCA had just purchased at the end of October 2014,” Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties alleged, “and that they were fully committed to the project and achieving the opening date. “This was critical, as well, under the November

2014 meeting minutes, under which CCA received a $54 million advance on disputed ‘change orders’ and, in exchange, promised an increased workforce, refocused and increased efforts of senior management, and accelerated work to reach a March 27, 2015 opening.”

The lawsuit continued: “Both Mr Wu and Mr Wang knew that those statements were false and misleading, but fully intended the Board and BML Properties to rely on them. “Contrary to their statements, but unknown to BML Properties at that time, Mr Wang was already heavily involved in the Hilton project and the Panama project, Mr Wu was involved in the Panama project as well, and not only did they and CCA fail to disclose such, they also knew that a substantial amount of their time would be required on those projects while Baha Mar was still underway but failed to disclose that fact as well.”

Mr Izmirlian said Baha Mar, distrusting the two CCA executives, hired consultants following the December 5, 2014, Board meeting to assess just how distracted the Chinese contractor had become by its downtown Nassau acquisition.

“In December 2014, unknown to BML Properties until August 2015, CCA closed on the purchase of the Hilton for $60 million cash, a mere $6 million more than the $54 million advance that CCA had demanded and received just a few weeks earlier,” Baha Mar’s original developer claimed.

Disputing the contractor’s claim that the $54 million went to pay overtime, given that its workforce engaged in subsequent “walk-offs and staged work slowdowns”,

Mr Izmirlian suggested that CCA’s demands were linked to a “cash need” to finance the British Colonial Hilton’s purchase.

“BML Properties learned in January and February 2015 that because of the needs of the Hilton development, CCA was in fact not only diverting much-needed manpower and executive attention but was also diverting physical assets that were bought and paid for under the [Baha Mar] General Conditions Work Package,” the original Baha Mar developer alleged.

“In particular, as to furnishings in use on the project site for staff and consultants, many of these items were removed by CCA from the

project before substantial completion and sent to CCA’s Hilton project in Nassau. The same is true regarding computer work stations, including software - many of these items were removed by CCA from the project before substantial completion, and to Baha Mar Ltd’s information and belief were delivered by CCA to CCA’s Hilton project in Nassau. CCA diverted heavy equipment as well.

“By March 2015, long before CCA expected (undisclosed to BML Properties) to be finished at the project, CCA had ordered its sub-contractor responsible for construction fencing to move all eight foot high fencing (hundreds of yards of it) to the Hilton development......... “In these

and numerous other ways, CCA improperly diverted the time and resources of its senior staff, and diverted equipment and ‘general conditions’ still needed for the project from the project and to CCA’s competitive project at the Hilton, and misrepresented its present plans to do so to BML Properties and Baha Mar.” Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties pointed out that just 11 days before Baha Mar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and at a time when the $4.2 billion development was stalled and mired in dispute, the former Christie administration signed the Heads of Agreement for The Pointe with CCA.

PUBLIC AUCTION HOUSE FOR SALE Single family dwelling house located at Number 49 Oxford Street, South Beach, New Providence.

The house has nine (9) rooms; Four (4) bedrooms, Two (2) full bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room and a family room.

The Auction will be held on Friday the 19th day of January, A.D. 2018 at 12:00 p.m. Place: Bank Lane in front of the main Supreme Court Building.

The winning bidder must present half of the purchase price at the time of winning the auction. The balance is to be paid within twenty-one (21) days.

MANGRA & CO.

CLIENT NOTICE Hurricane Irma Claims Bahamas First General Insurance Limited wishes to advise is Policyholders that all claims related to Hurricane Irma must be submitted by January 15, 2018.

The Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA) wishes to advise the general public of its opening hours during the holiday season. URCA will be operating under normal business hours until 22 December 2017. URCA’s offices will then be closed as follows: • Monday 25 December 2017 to Monday 1 January 2018.

URC URCA will resume its normal operating hours on Tuesday 2 January 2018.

URCA extends best wishes for the holiday season and 2018!

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority Frederick House, Frederick Street, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas info@urcabahamas.bs www.urcabahamas.bs Tel.: 242.392.0234

Claims may be submitted by completing a claim form with: F Your authorized Bahamas First Agent or Broker F Bahamas First General Insurance Limited G New Providence Office, 32 Collins Avenue G G rand Bahama Office, Suite 8, West Mall Drive & Adventurer’s Way Bahamas First General Insurance Company thanks you for your cooperation in this regard.

For further information, please email askus@bahamasfirst.com

PAGE 4, Wednesday, December 27, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Taxpayers ‘dodge bullet’ on $65m Lucayan deal FROM PAGE 1 Group deal as “a band aid fix” to Grand Bahama’s wider economic problems, and urged the Minnis administration to focus on holding both the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and Hutchison Whampoa to account for their developmental obligations.

Mr Smith was speaking out after the Prime Minister last week revealed that the Toronto-based Wynn Group has signed a new Letter of Intent (LoI) to purchase the Grand Lucayan from its current owner, Cheung Kong (CK) Property Holdings.

CK Property Holdings is the entity into which Hutchison Whampoa spun-off all its real estate assets, and Dr Hubert Minnis expressed hope that the resort’s acquisition could be completed within the next one to two months.

This places the deal’s closing near end-February 2018, with Wynn Group required to negotiate a

Heads of Agreement and investment incentives with the Government in that time period.

Tribune Business sources close to developments revealed that the Heads of Agreement will be “conditioned” upon Wynn hiring recognised resort brands and operators to ensure the Grand Lucayan’s sustained profitability under its ownership.

These contacts, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was vital for these brands have the necessary links and clout to attract sufficient airlift to Grand Bahama. And several suggested that, based on their previous success, the Memories/Sunwing combination was top of the Government’s list for potential Wynn partners.

Mr Smith, meanwhile, expressed relief that the potential Wynn Group purchase likely prevents a return to the ‘bygone era’ of the 1980s, when the Pindling administration managed and owned numerous resort properties via the Hotel Corporation.

“I am overjoyed as a taxpayer, a licensee and a property owner in Freeport that the Government has found a private purchaser instead of it having to buy that hotel,” the QC told Tribune Business. “History has shown that whenever the Government is involved in private enterprise it discombobulates the economy to the detriment of everyone concerned. It breeds corruption, it takes away the profit motive, and it embeds bureaucratic slackness; all features that are anathema to a free market, prosperous economy.”

The Prime Minister announced in late July that the Government planned to take an ownership stake in a bid to purchase the Grand Lucayan. This was justified on the basis of Grand Bahama’s deepening economic plight, with the resort’s re-opening a matter of urgency given the resulting business closures (especially in the Port Lucaya Marketplace) and job losses.

The Grand Lucayan’s closure has cost Grand

Bahama some 59 per cent of its total hotel room inventory and over 1,000 jobs, with declines in visitor arrivals and related spend mirroring almost exactly the percentage fall in available accommodation.

Many observers, though, feared any government equity involvement meant a return to the Hotel Corporation days, when taxpayers consistently incurred annual multi-million dollar losses from government ownership and management of numerous resorts.

“If the Wynn Group does indeed close in a couple of months, Grand Bahamians and taxpayers throughout the rest of the Bahamas will have dodged an economic silver bullet,” Mr Smith added.

“But the purchase by the Wynn Group is a band-aid fix to the Grand Bahama economic body politic, which is bleeding from every pore.

“So I urge the Government to take a far more drastic investment incentive paradigm.”

Mr Smith told Tribune Business it was especially sad to walk around the Port Lucaya Marketplace and “see the remnants of a bygone era”, with some Tribune Business sources suggesting stores there are closing at the rate of one per week.

Expressing optimism that it could yet be revived under the right Grand Lucayan owner, he added: “It is a public amenity feature which has the greatest potential in Grand Bahama and must be capitalised upon.”

K P Turnquest, the Deputy Prime Minister, told Tribune Business that the Grand Lucayan LOI signalled to residents and business owners that there was “light at the end of the tunnel” over the hotel’s near-15 month closure.

He cautioned, though, that the Government and wider Bahamas now needed to learn the Wynn Group’s plans and strategy for renovating, then re-opening, the island’s ‘anchor property’.

“I think it obviously signals good news,” Mr Turnquest said, “and it gives some hope to the residents as well as those business owners in the Port Lucaya area. It suggests that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“We still have to understand the details and timing of when the purchaser will start renovations and re-open. It’s [the LOI] a positive forward, and we look forward to having this property re-open as soon as possible.”

Mr Turnquest, also the east Grand Bahama MP, added that it was “in the best interests of all parties” that the Grand Lucayan be purchased and operated by private sector

investors, rather than the Government.

Tribune Business sources familiar with developments confirmed that the purchase price is $65 million. While this represents a significant reduction on the $110 million that Wynn and CK Property Holdings agreed in their first, failed deal, the difference this time is that the former’s offer is ‘all cash’.

This means that CK Property Holdings will receive its entire purchase price upfront, which represents an improvement on the $110 million ‘paper’ deal previously on the table.

The LOI, which only represents an ‘agreement in principle’, effectively returns negotiations between the two sides to where they were eightnine months previously under the former Christie administration.

Wynn was then unable to both ‘seal the deal’ with CK Property Holdings and convince the Government that it was the right purchaser, with the latter understood to have been deterred by the multi-million dollar taxpayer subsidies it was seeking.

But the Toronto-based group, headed by Paul Wynn, submitted a revised offer that appears - for the moment at least - to have won both parties over.

Tribune Business sources also revealed that among the last issues to be settled by both parties was who will take responsibility for paying severance and associated benefits to the Grand Lucayan’s staff, which is the normal practice whenever a hotel’s ownership changes hands.

They added, though, that the Government would tie approval of the Wynn Group’s purchase to it bringing back the Memories/Sunwing consortium, which had enjoyed previous success in revitalising the property and Freeport’s wider tourism product.

“All this is conditional on that arrangement with Sunwing and other players,” one source said. “The Heads of Agreement is going to be conditioned on all of that. There’s no point in recycling that property three to four years down the road. “It has to be tied to an agency deal, with players in the resort and hospitality industry attached to that agreement. It is a tied hospitality agency arrangement.

That will be spelled out in the Heads of Agreement.”

Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort’s managing director, yesterday told Tribune Business that Wynn’s choice of hotel operating partners could make the difference between success and failure.

He said a Memories-type operator, which was part of a vertically-integrated group that encompassed

airlift and tour operators, would be the ‘best fit’ for the Grand Lucayan.

“That would be a very wise decision,” Mr Alnebeck responded, when informed the Government was looking towards a Memories/Sunwing return. “That would be very encouraging if that’s the case.

“The most important thing is an operator who knows what they’re doing, and is part of a verticallyintegrated group with airlift and tour operators. It cannot just be any brand. If it is someone like Sunwing and Memories, maybe they are able to open in threefive months. That would be fantastic.

“The question most of us have is who is Wynn going to choose to operate these hotels. He’s not going to operate them himself; he’s going to be the landlord.

We need an operator who knows what they’re doing, can build a sustainable model and can get it off the ground as soon as possible.”

Mr Alnebeck added that there “needs to be a pretty quick deal” between Wynn and CK Property Holdings if Freeport’s tourism product is to revive. “It’s very tough at the moment, but at least there’s positive news,” he said.

“We have to be ready for a tough winter season, and maybe they can get some of the property open for late Spring and early summer.”

Another source close to Grand Lucayan developments, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Memories/ Sunwing were the leading contenders to brand the Grand Lucayan under the ownership of Wynn Group, whose speciality is in redeveloping distressed properties.

“Memories is the leading candidate because they have recent experience up there,” the source said.

“That will be the first place up and running. “The good news is that there are a number of possibilities, a number of companies that are quite eager to come in once the deal is done. We have choices, and are able to cherry pick the best ones who have familiarity with operating in island destinations, which are very peculiar.”

The source expressed hope that Wynn’s previous due diligence on the Grand Lucayan, conducted in relation to the aborted first deal, would help to shorten the typical three-month closing period associated with major resort purchases this time around.

“The period for closing is going to come quite rapidly, as a lot of the heavy lifting has been done,” they added.

“We don’t want to wait too much longer, as we want to get the New Year off to a good start for the Grand Bahama economy.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 27, 2017, PAGE 5

SARKIS: CCA’S ‘UP FRONT’ FAILURE COST OVER $50M FROM PAGE 1 not providing the development with a sufficient Chinese workforce despite receiving $83.172 million to do so.

The lawsuit also cited numerous safety issues with the scaffolding CCA had to provide, resulting in problems with Baha Mar’s insurers, and alleged that the Chinese state-owned contractor failed to provide project progress and monitoring reports as required.

“CCA was credited substantial up-front money (early in 2011) against the entire amount of the General Conditions Work Package (GCWP) - some $199 million (plus amendments increasing the GCWP to $210 million),” Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties alleged.

“The GCWP was awarded so that CCA could provide those services necessary for the forward-progress, safety, and ultimate completion of the project, such as timely and properly installed roads and flagmen for those roads as traffic moved around the site; sanitation services; materials and equipment storage; scaffolding; trash chutes and removal; site security and the like.

“Progress on the project was dependent in substantial part on the proper provision of these general conditions, since each separately and all collectively allowed the work to continue in as efficient a manner as possible with a minimum of disruption and a maximum of safety.”

Mr Izmirlian alleged that CCA and its ultimate parent, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCES), used the GCWP money as a ‘credit’ to pay for their $150 million preference share stake in the Baha Mar project.

“While CCA itself also had an investment in the project, namely certain preferred shares in Baha Mar

Ltd, those shares were not purchased with cash but via an accounting book entry that ‘credited’ CCA with certain to-be-performed ‘General Conditions’ obligations, most of which CCA never performed,” the project’s original developer claimed.

“It was CCA’s larger intent, and in its financial interest, to establish this project as a beachhead in the Caribbean, use its workers and more senior staff to obtain and then construct other projects throughout the Americas and Caribbean, and to be paid hundreds of millions of dollars for its purported work as the contractor and construction manager of the project.”

Mr Izmirlian alleged that CCA had pledged to provide construction staff and labour worth $83.172 million, but failed to do so. Baha Mar was also “forced” to assist its contractor in obtaining the necessary work permits, which revealed in late 2014 that the latter had more than 1,800 workers “it claimed were on site” but for whom permits were not renewed.

The lawsuit also detailed numerous alleged safety breaches regarding the project’s scaffolding, and how CCA was paid the full $3 million for this despite failing to purportedly live up to the GCWP package.

“These and other general conditions that CCA did not supply cost Baha Mar Ltd over $50 million by March 2015,” Mr Izmirlian alleged, while slamming CCA’s “hotly-contested and fraudulently inflated” $110 million claim for compensation stemming from construction change directives (CCDs).

The former developer’s legal action reveals how trust between Baha Mar and CCA broke down almost immediately with the former’s president, Tom Dunlap, believing in mid2012 that the contractor

and its top executives “were in over their collective heads, incapable of correcting their pattern of work and poor to non-existent reporting”.

A key flashpoint was the size of CCA’s construction workforce, which Mr Izmirlian and Baha Mar claiming their estimates were frequently “50 per cent” below the contractor’s own counts.

“On June 18, 2014, during [a] full-site evacuation drill, BML Properties for the first time was able to conduct a complete, simultaneous count of all CCA and sub-contractor workers onsite,” the lawsuit alleged.

“CCA’s on-site staff totalled 2,402 personnel, of whom 330 were identified as management or support staff, leaving a manual workforce of only 2,072 workers, 26.7 per cent below CCA’s own projected/schedule required workforce of 2,827 for June.

“Notably, the CCA manpower report for the week ending June 20, 2014, claimed 3,036 workers on site, or 31.76 per cent above the number observed

by Baha Mar Properties during the evacuation drill.

Simply put, the fire drill proved that CCA failed to hire and maintain the necessary amount of manpower, then lied to falsely inflate the manpower numbers in its reports to BML Properties.”

An independent Disputes Resolution Board ruling confirmed that inadequate manpower was responsible for CCA missing the deadline to complete Baha Mar’s convention centre, and that these problems also afflicted the wider project.

This, Mr Izmirlian alleged, ultimately resulted in a “a mismanaged, delayed, over-budget project” that was ultimately forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, then receivership and liquidation, resulting in his loss of ownership and control of Baha Mar.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, December 27, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Sarkis alleges multiple construction defects FROM PAGE 1 Mr Izmirlian’s lawsuit, with “several substantial intrusions” occurring just prior to the project’s ill-fated Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. “For instance, on May 1, 2015, the project suffered water intrusion at the following areas: the Podium, casino hotel, and the Rosewood hotel,” Baha Mar’s original developer alleged.

“There were additional water intrusions on the project on June 3, 4 and 9 in the following areas: The Podium, SLS hotel, casino hotel, Rosewood hotel, and the spa. These intrusions resulted in substantial damage to the project. In one instance, the water damage was so bad that it caused a ceiling to collapse in the SLS hotel. In another instance, the mechanical rooms in the Rosewood hotel were completely flooded.” * Mr Izmirlian alleged that CCA “caused, neglected and/or failed to remediate” water damage and mould throughout the project, and never reported the issues to Baha Mar. “Beyond pervasive microbial growth and

water-impacted materials, including in guest rooms and kitchen areas, AMRC (American Management Resources Corporation) observed major health hazards, including rodent infestations, mosquito larvae, and urine and human faeces that was then, in many instances, built over/closed in with finished work,” he claimed in his lawsuit.

“The AMRC reports completed between March 21, 2014, and May 21, 2015 - all of which were distributed to CCA in an effort to compel CCA to develop an effective monitoring and remediation programme - revealed sitewide failures unreported by CCA, and concerning which Baha Mar Ltd was forced to incur enormous investigation and remediation burdens, incur extensive costs to simply investigate what CCA was not to have created in the first instance, and which all could have been avoided or mitigated.” * Mr Izmirlian also accused CCA of failing to “successfully implement” an air conditioning system at Baha Mar. “The air conditioning system was defective in numerous

respects, but primarily it was defective (as of July 1, 2015) because it was not controlling the humidity or temperature,” he alleged.

“By way of example only, due to defects in the air conditioning system, the humidity in various areas - including the SLS lobby and the casino - was over 60 per cent. This level of humidity is in excess of the recommended guidelines of the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc. “In addition to not complying with these guidelines, the high humidity caused the floorboards in the SLS’s lobby to warp. Further, the high humidity also caused condensation to form on the casino’s ceiling, which resulted in various areas of microbial growth and regular leaks,” Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties continued.

“In addition to not controlling the humidity, the air conditioning system was not controlling the temperature. For example, the thermostat in room 721 of the SLS was set for 74 degrees Fahrenheit, but the temperature was actually

80 degrees Fahrenheit. This happened in many rooms throughout the various hotels and reflected that there were inherent defects in CCA’s installation of the air conditioning.” * There was a “lack of bonding” between the concrete and applied tile on SLS hotel room balconies “created a serious safety risk to anyone and anything in the vicinity below the balconies”, Mr Izmirlian alleged.

However, he claimed that CCA continued to use “the same faulty method of construction” even after it was discovered by representatives for Baha Mar and BML Properties. The latter had to incur “substantial costs and expenses” to remedy the defects. * Hotel rooms allegedly suffered from “defective” sliding glass doors due to faulty rollers, and the contractor’s failure to properly seal the sliders and attach anchoring hardware.

“That these defects posed serious health and safety risks cannot be overemphasised,” Mr Izmirlian’a lawsuit alleged. “By way of example only, if any of the anchors failed, the sliding glass doors could be

ripped from their frames and hurled on to the resort below.

“In addition to showering the property with glass, the flying doors could cause substantial injuries to guests and workers at the project, and damage surrounding property.

Accordingly, all of these anchors, over three million, needed to be replaced and such was not complete as of July 1, 2015, even though CCA had already been paid for this installation, unsafe and defective as it was, many months before.”

Mr Izmirlian alleged that these defects “resulted in tens of millions, (if not hundreds of millions)” of dollars being paid to CCA that it should never have earned. This, he added, ate up the shrinking $2.45 billion construction loan from the China Export-Import Bank at a time when Baha Mar needed every available cent to it to complete the project.

Revealing that the Government was aware of the construction defects, the original developer added: “On March 26, 2014, the Ministry of Works sent a letter to the project Architect of Record (Brent

Creary), conveying from its deputy inspectors at Reiss Engineering something that CCA had entirely failed to report to BML Properties - that there was ‘an alarming level of Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) deficiencies onsite. “‘[These] are being repeated at other locations onsite, despite having been previously identified as code violations’.”

This letter, showing that the former Christie administration was well aware of CCA’s alleged construction inadequacies, again raises questions as to why it sided so readily with the Chinese against Mr Izmirlian.

While Baha Mar now has its full occupancy certificate (CO), and all defects alleged by Mr Izmirlian presumably cured, his lawsuit could not have come at a worse time for the development and its new owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), as they seek to drive occupancies and ramp up visitor numbers.

Given that it is CCA which was responsible for completing the resort, some potential visitors are likely to question whether the deficiencies have been truly remedied.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that EDNEL JOSEPH of 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 20th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that FRANTZ JUNIOR REMY of Derby Road House # 44, P.O. Box N-1130, 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 December 27, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

MARKET REPORT FRIDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2017

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 2,061.27 | CHG 5.18 | %CHG 0.25 | YTD 123.06 | YTD% 6.35 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 19.17 9.09 3.76 1.77 0.16 5.60 8.70 6.30 5.30 12.00 2.59 1.56 6.01 10.55 11.00 4.50 7.25 12.51 11.00

52WK LOW 4.06 17.43 8.19 3.32 0.95 0.12 3.50 8.40 5.83 3.15 9.00 2.18 1.40 5.82 8.78 5.67 3.35 6.61 12.01 10.00

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

1050.00 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 Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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

E J K L M N

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

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

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

SYMBOL FBB18 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 2.11 4.13 1.98 176.30 149.66 1.52 1.69 1.61 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.46 1.62 1.56 1.04 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.06 17.43 9.09 3.34 0.95 0.16 3.70 8.60 6.10 4.88 9.00 2.55 1.50 6.00 10.45 6.00 4.48 7.01 12.51 10.00

CLOSE 4.06 17.43 9.09 3.34 0.95 0.16 3.70 8.70 6.10 4.88 9.00 2.52 1.50 6.00 10.45 6.00 4.48 7.01 12.51 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

109.94 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.03 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

109.91 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund 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

VOLUME 62,000

1,000

9,000

VOLUME

NAV 2.11 4.13 1.98 176.30 149.66 1.52 1.69 1.61 1.09 6.97 8.00 6.25 10.96 11.60 10.08

EPS$ 0.444 0.932 -0.508 0.540 -1.220 0.000 -1.462 0.611 0.583 0.192 0.631 0.102 0.392 1.129 0.729 0.484 0.298 -0.668 0.543 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.130 0.000 0.230 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.300 0.220 0.160 0.690 0.060 0.050 0.290 0.500 0.000 0.120 0.140 0.580 0.000

P/E 9.1 18.7 N/M 6.2 N/M N/M -2.5 14.2 10.5 25.4 14.3 24.7 3.8 5.3 14.3 12.4 15.0 -10.5 23.0 0.0

YIELD 1.97% 6.48% 0.00% 6.89% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 3.45% 3.61% 3.28% 7.67% 2.38% 3.33% 4.83% 4.78% 0.00% 2.68% 2.00% 4.64% 0.00%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 31-May-2018 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% 4.00% 4.39% 5.57% 5.69% 2.14% 2.44% 4.66% 3.89% 5.58% 6.65% 3.57% 4.29% 1.59% 2.22% 2.65% 3.25% 3.83% -1.09% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69%

NAV Date 30-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017 24-Nov-2017 30-Sep-2017 30-Sep-2017 31-Oct-2017 31-Oct-2017 31-Oct-2017 31-Oct-2017 30-Sep-2017 30-Sep-2017 30-Sep-2017 30-Sep-2017 30-Sep-2017 30-Sep-2017

MARKET TERMS BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

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

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

NOTICE is hereby given that ABRAHAM ST. PHAR of #23 Trianna Drive, Freeport, Grand Bahama, 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 20th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DIENIE JEAN-LOUIS of Golden Gates #2, P.O. Box N-9426, 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 19th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that McKenzie Louis of Sunrise Road, Gamble Heights Subdivision, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 19th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that James Faustin of Hope Town, Abaco, 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 19th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

TO ADVERTISE TODAY, CALL 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 27, 2017, PAGE 7

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CLAIRE HEUREUSE JEANLOUIS of Golden Gates #2, P.O. Box N-9426, 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 19th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that MONIQUE LATOYA ANDRE ANDERSON of Guana Cay, Fox Hill, P.O Box CB-11022, New Providence, 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 27th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that Leonard Lordimus of Gamble Heights, 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 18th day of December, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

Warehouse Manager

NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

Must have 10 years experience in complete warehousing, which includes such as oversee the efficient receipt, storage and dispatch of a range of goods. Responsible for a vital part of the supply chain process, manages people, processes and systems, in order to ensure goods are received and dispatched appropriately and productivity targets are met. Maintains warehouse staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting, discipling and training employees.

Will oversee 8 – 10 staff.

If you have what it takes, send us your resume for our review to: candyman242@gmail.com NOTICE MELEKEOK LIMITED NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) MELEKEOK LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 22nd day of December, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

The Liquidator of the said Company is Ms. Claire Cooke of Stanley Street, Auckland Central 1010, New Zealand as sole Liquidator.

H & J CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

Octopus Garden Ltd.

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 Notice is here by given that COLVILLE TRADING LIMITED is in dissolution and the date of commencement of the dissolution is the 15th November 2017. The Liquidator of said company is ELCO CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. Located at Loyalist Plaza, Don Mackay Blvd. P.O .Box AB 20377 Marsh Harbour Abaco Bahamas

NOTICE is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the dissolution of Belsize Management Ltd. has been completed; a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has been struck off the Register.

Dated this 20th day of December 2017 ______________________ Liquidator Petaluma Limited