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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
$3.28 Auto insurance: âStop talking and letâs get it doneâ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A LEADING Bahamian insurer says the industry and government must âstop talking and do itâ over plans for vehicle insurance polices to be electronically uploaded into Road Trafficâs system. Anton Saunders, RoyalStar Assuranceâs managing director, told Tribune Business that both sides needed to finally bring discussions on a much talked-about matter to a âconclusionâ that all were happy with. Responding after Renward Wells, minister of transport, told the House of Assembly on Monday that the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) had again agreed to meet with officials to discuss information sharing, Mr Saunders warned against âputting the cart before the horseâ. He pointed out that reforms to the Road Traffic Act were required to give legal effect to the electronic transmission of motor insurance policies from the broker/agent to the Road Traffic Departmentâs TMS system in a bid to help the authorities more easily identify drivers who lack the necessary coverage. And, acknowledging that the COVID-19 crisis has forced the Government to look at ways of doing business more efficiently, Mr Saunders questioned whether it had truly embraced the digital age in recalling how RoyalStarâs efforts to place insurance certificates on a debit/ credit sized card had been rejected two years ago. âI know there was an initial meeting a year ago, but there was no follow-up on either side,â the RoyalStar chief said of the proposed information sharing with Road Traffic. âIâd be happy to start meeting again, but if we start it, conclude it. âThe BIA and Road Traffic can get together, agree the parameters and move forward with specific details and say: âThis is the outcome we wantâ. Because we have this [COVID-19] situation, everyone understands there are things we can do a little differently, and weâd be happy to continue discussions with the government to the benefit of all concerned. âBut there has to be a commitment by both sides. It cannot be a speech from Parliament,â Mr Saunders added. âIâm happy theyâre [the government and Road Traffic] on this road, but there are certain things in the Act that they have to change. Donât put the cart before the horse. âLetâs sit down, change the things we need to change, and RoyalStar and the BIA will be a willing partner to make sure we do things more efficiently and more effectively in this country.â Mr Wells, in his House of Assembly address, said the Road Traffic Departmentâs system will be able to receive vehicle insurance certificates and other information from Bahamian motor coverage underwriters by May 1. He added that the digital sharing of insurance policies would enable the industry to advise the Road Traffic Department and police as to motorists âwhose insurance has lapsed automaticallyâ, thereby enabling the authorities to crack down on drivers who are either not insured or improperly insured. Mr Saunders, though, said he and RoyalStar had
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Fear virus may derail cruise port investors By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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CABINET minister is voicing fears that the COVID-19 pandemic may have derailed ambitions to give 20,000plus Bahamians an ownership stake in the new $250m Nassau Cruise Port. Dionisio DâAguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business he was concerned that the small retail investors targeted by the cruise portâs ownership structure are all now âin economic survival modeâ and may lack the necessary disposable income/savings when the time comes to invest. And he also agreed with Mehmet Kutman, chairman of Global Ports Holding, the cruise port developerâs parent company, that passenger volumes may not
DIONISIO DâAGUILAR return to 2019 levels for two to three years. Describing the COVID19 fall-out as âa big rut in the road, rather than a bump in the roadâ for Bahamian tourism in all its forms, Mr DâAguilar nevertheless said Nassau Cruise
SUPER Valueâs president yesterday said its March VAT return was the âhighest everâ after COVID-19 shoppers drove a 36 percent increase in store sales and even greater warehouse output. Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business that the 13-store supermarket chain had â$1m less in the warehouse than we did a year agoâ at monthâs end after consumer demand caused a 70 percent jump in that facilityâs output. To cope with this outflow Super Value has to âincrease the intensity of its buyingâ, he explained, but this requires the speedy processing of entries by Bahamas Customs and the co-operation of the Price Control Department. Mr Roberts revealed he had asked the Prime
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⢠Retailer sees 70% warehouse output jump ⢠Seeks price control relaxation on ânew brandsâ ⢠Optimistic govt âwoken upâ to producer value
RUPERT ROBERTS Ministerâs Office to remove price controls on a range of ânew brandsâ Super Value is sourcing as it expands its supply chain reach throughout the world. While no formal government response has been received, he said the removal of such controls was necessary if
these products are to sell given that they are unfamiliar to Bahamian consumers. And the Super Value chief also voiced optimism that the governmentâs longstanding âwishy washyâ approach to Bahamian manufacturers may now be a thing of the past, with the economic fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic bringing home the value of a domestic production base. Expressing hope that âsomebody wakes up nowâ, Mr Roberts suggested that this nation could take the ten percent sales benchmark for local produce during âBuy Bahamianâ month and âup that by 25-30 percent overnight if we get seriousâ. Besides COVID-19 stocking up, he added that Super
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Valueâs sales were also likely benefiting from hotel and restaurant closures as these were forcing Bahamians and residents to cook at home rather than eating out or consuming take-aways. âOur sales last month were up 36 percent, but our warehouse output was 70 percent more than last year,â Mr Roberts told Tribune Business. âMovement of product through the warehouse went up because we were really importing. Now we realise we have to get serious. We didnât realise we were selling as fast as we were buying. We have to buy, buy, buy. âIf we had a 36 percent increase in sales, that will be
Mr DâAguilar told this newspaper. âI donât know if that is going to pan out now because everyone is in economic survival mode, and it is uncertain whether they will have enough dollars to invest. The way we structured it, Bahamians have an opportunity to invest in it. That was preCOVID -19, and this is now post-COVID-19.â The minister, though, pointed out that âall infrastructure projects in The Bahamas have turned out to be good investmentsâ, pointing to the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) and Nassau
Super Value: March VAT âhighest everâ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Insurer issues profits warning over COVID-19 COLINA Holdings (Bahamas) has become the first BISX-listed company to issue a 2020 profits warning due to the COVID-19 pandemicâs impact. The parent of Colina Insurance Company, the life and health underwriter, told shareholders in footnotes to its 2019 annual financial statements that it faced âa significant decrease in its original projected net incomeâ due to the health and economic fall-out from the virus. While no figures were disclosed, Colina Holdings (Bahamas) said the main impacts would be felt from reduced premium income as growing numbers of policyholders were likely to be unable to meet payment. It did not mention the government order that prevents terminated workers suffering policy lapses for the duration of the lockdown plus a 60-day period afterwards. The insurance parent also warned that the value of some investment assets may be impaired and result in losses, but added that it had a sufficiently strong capital base and liquidity to meet all its obligations âeven under significant stressâ. âManagement has prepared an assessment of the potential impact on the group,â Colina Holdings (Bahamas) said, âand, after adjusting their projections from a very conservative viewpoint, determined that the group could experience a significant decrease in its original projected net income for 2020 as a direct result of the pandemic primarily due to possible decreases in premium income and potential impairment losses on certain assets. âHowever, the directors and management believe that the group has a very strong capital base, sufficient liquidity and the ability to meet its obligations even under significant stress..... Management continues to monitor developments relating to the coronavirus pandemic and is co-ordinating its
⢠Minister: Bahamians in âeconomic survival modeâ ⢠âAgreesâ visitor volumes may not revive till 2023 ⢠Renward puts brake in Paradise Cruiseâs plans Port Ltdâs decision to press ahead with Prince George Wharfâs transformation will generate jobs and foreign currency inflows at a time when they are desperately needed. He added that it would also âsecure the viabilityâ of Nassauâs cruise port for when passenger volumes rebound, and provide a new and refreshed destination to attract the industry and its vessels during their recovery phase. âIn the absence of tourism dollars coming in, weâre going to need as many construction projects bringing in foreign direct investment, and this project brings in some of that while allowing Bahamians to invest,â
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Retailer hits out on lockdown âinequityâ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN shoe retailer yesterday warned the governmentâs lockdown is creating âunfairness and inequityâ in the sector by enabling âessentialâ firms to sell the same products closed rivals cannot. Egan Kemp, president of Eunison Company, the Shoe Depot parent, told Tribune Business that multi-product retailers deemed to be âessential servicesâ will have a âhuge competitive advantageâ over specialist distributors such as himself when the economy re-opens because they have continued operating while he has been âbleeding cashâ through being closed. Arguing that the governmentâs COVID-19 shutdown was creating an âunlevel playing fieldâ between those retailers that were still open and those that are not, Mr Kemp said the likes of Super Value and Solomonâs Super Centre were besides food also able to sell footwear, clothing, electronic appliances and a range of goods
⢠âEssentialâ rivals selling same product he cannot ⢠Fears they will have âhuge advantageâ on re-open ⢠âWeâre bleeding cash while theyâre swimming in itâ offered by other merchants who have been forced to shutter for over a month. Disclosing that the situation was sparking outrage among other retailers in a similar predicament to Shoe Depot, he told this newspaper: âThis is a huge issue for businesses out there that cannot operate. Huge. Super Value sells slippers and shoes, but I canât.â Asked whether this will give âessentialâ retailers a competitive advantage once the Bahamian economy is re-opened in the pandemicâs wake, Mr Kemp replied: âThe problem is how many small businesses will fail in this process. Thereâs a lot of those out there that are not going to be able to weather the financial storm associated with this. âTheyâre going to have a huge advantage going into an economy opening situation because the rest of us have been bleeding cash
while theyâre swimming in cash. Itâs certainly unfair. I know the government is reacting to something theyâve not seen before, but now the dust has settled a bit they will know what are essential items and nonessential items. âIâm fuming mad. I think the government has to be a bit more responsible about how theyâre letting this happen. Itâs about all of us - Mom and Pop stores, family-owned. How can these stores sell the same products we do while we cannot operate?â Mr Kemp said the impact would be âabsolutely catastrophicâ, and added: âEvery day that goes by it becomes compounded. We have already experienced significant negative effects in several areas. Obviously, zero sales means zero money incoming. Yet, there are the weekly expenses that continue to build in
the background. We have to contend with those expenses, and that quickly depletes our available cash.â Disclosing that he had raised his concerns with the government yesterday, the Shoe Depot chief continued: âI am pounding the sand in multiple areas to bring more awareness to this issue, because I am not sure how much longer our society will hold itâs cool under such unfair conditions. âEach day that passes people will have more and more time to ponder on these things, and they will begin to see the unfairness every time they go out to shop and see items they may sell in their own business and ask: âWhy?ââ Mr Kemp said the longterm impact on his business, which has been operating in The Bahamas for 36 years, was presently unknown, but added: âI do know that to allow one person/business
to profit while at the same time closing others that sell the same type of merchandise is not equitable and in the spirit of a free society. âIn every country this is a major unlevel playing field, and even worse in countries where multinational corporations have a presence as they are getting all the benefits in multiple ways. More buying power, in-house legal teams, public stock funding, more lucrative lease deals, tax breaks from local and state governments, first in line at the government bailout packages (to big to fail) and most recently, the biggest and most immediate beneficiary of all the âfreeâ government stimulus monies going directly to citizens in the US being spent in the only stores open - big multinational corporations. âIf Wal-Mart can operate with customers why canât the âmom and popâ store? Nothing wrong with competition but it must be fair and equitable to all. In the future I will make sure we sell bread, milk and eggs so we are essential also.â