business@tribunemedia.net
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023
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$50m Arawak Cay project targets ‘Tesla-like’ impact By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN former professional basketball player is investing $50m in an Arawak Cay manufacturing facility he hopes will enable this nation to become “a leader in the field” of climate-resilient construction. Rick Fox, the ex-Los Angeles Laker, told Tribune Business that Partanna Bahamas, his carbon-negative concrete innovator, has already outgrown its initial facility at the former Bacardi factory and hopes to start construction this year on a new plant that will provide the foundation for up to to 300 jobs at full operation. Speaking as Partanna signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Caribbean ClimateSmart Accelerator (CCSA), which will help to promote the impact of its work to a global market, he added that the company will “move as fast as the Ministry of Housing can move” on a product he believes can have a disruptive effect on the construction industry similar to the
• Ex-NBA star: Bahamas can be ‘leader in the field’ • Set to ramp up carbon-negative concrete supply • Targets cut to Bahamas yearly 3,000 home deficit
RICK FOX
impact that Tesla has had on the auto market. Suggesting that The Bahamas faces a 3,000-strong annual home deficit, with the supply of quality affordable housing outstripped by demand, Mr Fox told this newspaper that his company aimed to help the Government narrow this gap with home construction and materials that are both resilient to, and help to counter, climate change’s growing impact from ever more frequent and powerful storms. “Our first laboratory, and development of our first prototype, sit out at Bacardi. We’ve outgrown it. We’re moving to our second facility. We have equipment on the ground and are setting up to go commercial. It will be right there on the port at Arawak Cay. It will allow us to move around the islands. It’s really a supporting anchor to build, not just those 30 homes, but an industry around sustainable housing in The Bahamas.” Partanna, in its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with
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Cruise port’s $138m refinance eyes millions in cost savings By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU Cruise Port yesterday disclosed it is aiming to slash annual debt servicing costs by several million dollars through refinancing the $138m bond debt that kickstarted its transformation at COVID’s peak. Michael Maura, its chief executive, told Tribune Business that the Prince George Wharf operator is seeking “realign the cost of capital with the level of risk” now that the $300m redevelopment of its facilities is nearing construction completion.
MICHAEL MAURA Voicing optimism that most, if not all, investors will elect to rollover their bonds and exchange them for new securities, he added that the reduced risk associated with the project was
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GBPA must ‘get out of the way’ if can’t fulfil mandate By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A 50-year Freeport licensee today calls on the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) owners and Hutchison Whampoa to either finally live up to their development obligations or “get out of the way”. Stephen Crane, the luxury goods and jewellery retail entrepreneur long associated with Freeport’s Colombian Emeralds operation, is joining the call for the St George and Hayward families to “either sell” the city’s quasi-governmental authority or partner with an entity able to fulfill the
GBPA’s responsibilities and attract fresh investment. Echoing the thoughts of many observers, he argues in a letter sent to Tribune Business (see Page 2B) that both the GBPA and Hutchison Whampoa “abdicated their obligations” by effectively “dumping” Grand Bahama International Airport and its multimillion dollar repair costs on the Government postHurricane Dorian rather than tackling the task themselves. “Grand Bahama enjoys unparalleled tax, stability and locational advantages, giving it extraordinary potential for sustainable
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Gov’t and insurers battling over VAT medical cost rise By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government and insurance industry last night traded blows over fears that Bahamian healthcare costs will further increase due to a new VAT treatment set to take effect from April 1, 2023. The row erupted after the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) issued a late Friday statement warning that medical bills and treatment costs for thousands of Bahamians will increase due to the Ministry of Finance’s decision to stop insurers recovering the 10 percent VAT paid on health insurance claims payments from the Government. Such a move, the industry’s trade body warned, will likely make private healthcare less accessible - and increasingly unaffordable - for more Bahamians
SIMON WILSON as they will now be responsible for paying VAT on top of their actual medical bill. However, this was disputed by the Ministry of Finance, which argued that the change’s impact on individual and group (employer) health insurance policies will be “insignificant”. The ministry, in last night’s response to the BIA, said it was “clearly against the VAT Act” for insurers to claim back the 10 percent
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