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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023
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Judge bids to protect $2.3m for City Markets pensioners
• But 75% already paid out to ‘third parties’ • ‘Prejudice apparent’ By NEIL HARTNELL supermarket chain’s long-suffering The $2.288m represents the net mean pensioners and former City for Tribune Business Editor pension beneficiaries to recover sales price paid by BISX-listed Markets workers are no nearer to nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AML Foods, the Solomon’s Superreceiving what is due to them folsome of their retirement savretirees, ings more than a decade after its Centre and Cost Right operator, lowing the company’s 2012 failure. THE SUPREME Court has collapse. to acquire the pension fund’s most And it suggests there may not be AML Foods upheld an injunction seeking to However, her decision revealed valuable asset - the former City much left for them to collect as preserve $2.288m for the benefit that a significant amount - some Markets headquarters building on much of the AML Foods purchase of City Markets pensioners even East-West Highway. That transac- payment already seems to have • Hundreds $1.706m of the $2.288m received by though 75 percent of this sum may tion, agreed more than six years ago been disbursed. already have been paid out to the pension fund - may have already on September 21, 2016, has become waiting The disclosures came as Justice been “dissipated” and paid out to embroiled in a furious legal battle “third parties”. Stewart rejected the bid by Dennis Justice Diane Stewart, in a unnamed third parties by the trus- stemming from disputes between Williams and Rosalie McKenover March 27 verdict, ruled there were tees for the Bahamas Supermarkets parties associated with the pension zie, the pension plan’s trustees, to strong reasons to maintain such Employee Retirement Fund, as the fund. decade for “discharge” or vary the injunction protection because this is the best City Markets employee pension The latest developments, as outsource for hundreds of the defunct plan was known. lined by Justice Stewart’s judgment, SEE PAGE B5 recovery CHESTER COOPER, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, on Monday met with Royal Caribbean International chief executive, Michael Bayley, at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott. He was accompanied by John Pinder, parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation; Senator Randy Rolle, the ministry’s global relations consultant; and Dr Kenneth Romer, the ministry’s deputy director-general and director of aviation. Also at the meeting was Nassau Cruise Port chief executive and director, Mike Maura. Photo:Kemuel Stubbs/BIS
Cruise port targets $3m annual refinance saving By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU Cruise Port will save close to $3m per year from refinancing the existing $138m bond debt that kickstarted its redevelopment, with its top executive yesterday saying: “We’re so much more than just a cruise port.” Michael Maura, the Prince George Wharf operator, told Tribune Business
that the $300m transformation that is scheduled to be completed by endMay 2023 will enhance “the value proposition of the destination” by both adding amenities such as a Junkanoo Museum and serving as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of downtown Nassau. He spoke as its controlling shareholder, Global Ports Holding, hailed the project “as a global blueprint for future cruise port
investment”. And it was also confirmed yesterday that Nassau Cruise Port is aiming to refinance its existing bonds at an interest rate that is some two percentage points lower than when it was placed at the height of the COVID19 pandemic in May-June 2020. A note issued to the Bahamian capital markets by CFAL, the investment house/broker charged with placing the refinancing, confirmed that investors will be offered a 6 percent interest coupon as opposed to the existing 8 percent rate. Based on $138m in debt principal being refinanced, Tribune Business calculations show annual interest (debt servicing) payments will fall from $11.04m to $8.28m - generating a $2.76m saving.
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Top executive: ‘We’re so much more than just a cruise port’
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$138m debt to be refinanced 200 basis points lower at 6%
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Hailed as ‘global blueprint for future cruise port projects’
“In the conversations I’ve been party to everything looks good for the refinancing,” Mr Maura told this newspaper, voicing optimism it will be fully subscribed. “Obviously the business is bouncing back; our numbers are great. We would also have had
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Chamber chief: ‘Spare no effort’ on Ginn resolution By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama’s Chamber of Commerce president yesterday urged that “no effort be spared” to find the right buyer for the former Ginn project whose progress has stalled for more than a decade. James Carey told Tribune Business it was “critical” that the correct investor be found to fulfill the original development vision for the 2,012-acre West End site after this newspaper revealed earlier this week that Kingwood
International Resorts; bid to obtain the necessary government approvals had again been rejected by the Davis administration. “Ginn started with a bang in West End, Grand Bahama, many years ago, and it was intended to really be the economic catalyst for west Grand Bahama,” he said. “Nothing much has happened in the west since then apart from Old Bahama Bay, which although open appears not to be doing too much else. “It’s critical for west Grand Bahama, and ultimately all Grand Bahama,
because it would provide employment for a number of people in the Freeport area looking for jobs. Obviously it’s critical, and effort should not be spared to locate and find the right buyer for that project and get it all done.” Mr Carey said Grand Bahama had something of an unfortunate track record with major resort projects and investments, as the Royal Oasis, Ginn and now the Grand Lucayan have all lain dormant for years and, in the case of the former two, well over a decade after developers foundered, failed to
deliver on their promises and ambitions, and exited in various ways leaving the island, its residents and the private sector to pick up the pieces. “It’s just very unfortunate,” he added of the island’s history in resort operations. “We’ve taken baby steps forward but taken giant steps back from time to time. One of the things that’s really encouraging is the resilience of the people in Grand Bahama. They’re still very determined to make it and work through it. The importance of
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Apprenticeship Act overhaul for school leaver skills boost By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
PETER GOUDIE
EFFORTS are underway to overhaul The Bahamas’ apprenticeship legislation by modernising it for the 21st century and ensuring school leavers graduate with employable skills that are properly certified.
Peter Goudie, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) labour division head, told Tribune Business that the National Tripartite Council is working on reforms to the Apprenticeship Act - passed some 40 years ago in 1983 - to not only boost job prospects for young Bahamians but also improve workforce
productivity and overall economic growth. A vice-chairman of the Council, the body that deals with all labourrelated matters in The Bahamas, he said: “We’re amending the Apprenticeship Act right now. It’s very old; it’s not 2023. I can’t remember when it was put in but it’s old,
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Cable Beach developer urged: ‘Pay homage’ to Viking Court By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABLE Beach developer is being urged to “pay homage” to the existing building on a site it wishes to rezone for a mixed-use retail and condominium project immediately west of Quality Supermarket. Shavanna Dean, senior assistant preservation architect with the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation, called on Friendly Pharmacy and its principals to incorporate “significant features” into their plans that will allow the original architectural style of Viking Court to “live on” even though it is not listed as an “historic resource”. Documents filed with the Department of Physical Planning show she made her plea in a March 7, 2023, report on a site visit that was conducted by AMMC representatives accompanied by Friendly Pharmacy executives, Ms Flowers and Ms Newbold, as well as the latter’s architects, Marcus Laing and Kenyon Osborne of TDG Architects. The visit, held on February 14, 2023, was intended to “verify the historical, architectural and cultural significance of this property” even though it was not listed on the National Register of Historic Resources because the development plans call for its demolition.
“After assessment it is believed that the building was built circa 1956 with additions circa 1984,” Ms Dean’s report said. “Though the building is over 60 years it does not have strong (enough) architectural or historical significance to make the case that it is not demolished. Artifacts such as drawings, letters, posters etc were found on site and are now in AMMC’s possession. “We understand that a newly-constructed plaza will now reside on this site. It is, however, recommended that new plans pay homage to the existing building in some way by adopting significant features that will allow the architectural style to live on. “In the Cable Beach area, older buildings such as Vikings Court are being demolished or otherwise lost. New modern building styles completely alter the overall appearance of what makes our country architecturally unique. It helps to be able to maintain some appreciation/appearance of our architectural and cultural identity when constructing new buildings.” However, the present plans for the proposed Viking Court Plaza - as filed with the Department of Physical Planning - give no indication that the design or layout will incorporate such
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