business@tribunemedia.net
TUESDAY, MAY9, 2023
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‘Just one spark’ could take Bahamas captive • Nation can be the ‘Mom and Pop’ jurisdiction • But needs minister to ‘get up on his soap box’ • Making inroads can ‘stabilise the middle class’
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS needs “just one spark” to re-establish itself as a major player in the multi-billion captive insurance industry and help “stabilise the middle class”, a local operator is asserting. Guilden Gilbert, a principal with Chandler Gilbert Captive Managers, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that his firm is already speaking to one sizeable entity - which he declined to name - that could drive this nation’s “resurgence” in
the sector if they can entice it to domicile in The Bahamas. To aid this push, he said the minister responsible for financial services would greatly assist the effort by “getting up on his soap box and saying The Bahamas is open for business as a captive domicile” as this would provide a significant credibility boost and message that resonates around international markets. With attendees at recent international conferences showing “renewed interest” in The Bahamas as a captive jurisdiction, and no sign of any reputational fall-out from FTX’s collapse, Mr Gilbert said the country
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needed to capitalise on this momentum and the “substantial spin-off” earning and employment opportunities it provides for multiple financial services professionals - attorneys, accountants, investment managers, custodial services and compliance officers. While Bermuda, the world’s leading captive insurance jurisdiction, earned $25bn in gross written premiums in 2019, he added that The Bahamas needed to set its sights a little lower. With insurance markets hardening, and premium costs rising, Mr Gilbert said this nation can become “the Mom and Pop” captive domicile by carving out a niche catering to companies earning $100m-$200m in annual revenues through a multi-year, sustained promotional effort. “It went well,” he told Tribune Business of recent conferences. “There seemed to be a bit more attention on The Bahamas this year. Nobody seemed to be overly concerned with FTX’s fall-out, and that’s a good thing. As a company, we had some very good meetings with prospects and are looking to forge new relationships to bring business to The Bahamas. We’ll continue those discussions and hopefully bring them to fruition.”
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‘Put money where mouth is’ on Abaco’s port woes By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government was yesterday urged to “put your money where your mouth is” and finally address Abaco’s port woes, with frustrated residents asserting: “They need to quit promising and start doing.” Daphne Degregory-Miaoulis, Abaco’s Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business that present conditions at the Marsh Harbour port - the island’s main commercial shipping gateway - are “stifling commerce” following three-and-a-half years of failure to repair the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.
• Gov’t urged: ‘Quit promising, start doing’ • Make Marsh Harbour ‘well-oiled machine’ • Fears port would fail security inspection Speaking after Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of transport and housing, said bid documents for both the Marsh Harbour and North Abaco ports are in the final stages of being readied, she argued that “every day that passes it becomes more critical” to address the former facility’s deficiencies if Abaco’s import economy is to truly flourish
and rebound from Dorian’s impact. Mrs Degregory-Miaoulis was backed by Roscoe Thompson, head of the Marsh Harbour/Spring City Township, who told this newspaper that the island needs the Marsh Habour port to operate as “a well-oiled machine” if it is to achieve its growth potential. With Customs
DAPHNE DEGREGORY-MIAOULIS DEXTER ADDERLEY, President & CEO of FOCOL Holdings; Nikita Mullings, COO of the Grand Bahama Power Company; Ian Rolle, President of the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
GB Power grows solar to 10% of energy mix ROSCOE THOMPSON and many shipping companies operating out of trailers, he added that there was still insufficient warehouse and storage space, and “major issues need to be addressed” when it comes to security.
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Fidelity targets $5 with stock split by end-July By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
GOWON BOWE
FIDELITY Bank (Bahamas) top executive has pledged that its longawaited stock split will occur before its end-July 2023 annual general meeting (AGM) as it targets a share price in the $5 range. Gowon Bowe, the BISX-listed lender’s chief executive, joked to
Tribune Business that he dare not face the bank’s shareholders without this happening as he confirmed that it is targeting either a three-for-one or four-forone stock split. Given that the stock closed at $18 per share yesterday, the latter appears the most likely option. That would mean Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) shareholders will receive three shares for each
current one that they own. Mr Bowe, while affirming the stock split is “still in progress”, revealed that it had been delayed due to the need to reform and “modernise” the bank’s memorandum and articles of association - its founding documents - so that the split can be effected. Likening the situation to redeveloping a home, he
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BTC suffers modest Q1 revenue, subscriber fall By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS Telecommunications Company (BTC) was yesterday revealed to have suffered modest year-over-year declines in both revenues and subscribers, with both largely flat for the 2023 first quarter.
The Bahamian carrier’s ultimate parent, Liberty Latin America, unveiling its results for the three months to end-March 2023 disclosed that BTC’s revenues fell by $600,000 or just 1.3 percent yearover-year, declining from $47.7m in 2022 to $47.1m this time around. It was a similar outcome for subscriber numbers. BTC saw mobile
subscribers drop by a total 2,100 during the 2023 first quarter, losing 2,000 prepaid customers but only 100 of the more lucrative postpaid number, to finish at 168,300 at end-March 2023. That represented a 1.2 percent drop compared to the year-end 2022 figures, with BTC closing the first quarter with 144,400 pre-paid subscribers and 23,900 post-paid.
Elsewhere, BTC saw fixed-line customer numbers fall by 1,100 during the 2023 first quarter, but this was offset by gains elsewhere. Broadband Internet subscribers rose by 1,600, while TV and phone customers rose by 700 and 200, respectively. The carrier closed the period with 6,300 TV
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By FAY SIMMONS jsimmons@ tribunemedia.net Tribune Business Reporter GRAND Bahama Power Company yesterday signed a deal with a FOCOL Holdings subsidiary that will expand renewable energy to 10 percent of its generation mix once initiated. The 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Bahamas Solar and Renewables will see GB Power buy electricity at an
average rate of nine cents per kilowatt hour (kWH) from the former’s 5 Mega Watt (MW) solar facility. Nikita Mullings, GB Power’s chief operating officer, said the deal represented the latest step in efforts to stabilise electricity costs for its estimated 19,000 consumers and help The Bahamas reach its goal of generating 30 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030.
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