WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016
business@tribunemedia.net
Super Value off target âno matter what we doâ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Missing 5% sales growth by 2-2.5% pts
SUPER Valueâs owner yesterday blamed the struggling Bahamian economy for its failure to hit a 5 per cent sales growth target âno matter how hard we tryâ. Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business that the supermarket chain was ânot realising our projected goalsâ, and was around 2-2.5 percentage points behind target year-to-date. Anticipating the traditional summer slowdown, as residents went on vacation and stopover tourist arrivals reduced, Mr Roberts said the 10-store chain, and its three Quality Supermarkets stores, had benefited from a 37 per cent drop in energy
Blames economy, but aided by 37% energy cost fall Roberts brands new BPL manager âPower Unsureâ costs. This, though, was now being offset by Bahamas Power & Lightâs (BPL) supply reliability issues, which were knocking out and burning through electrical equipment in the companyâs
RUPERT ROBERTS warehouse and stores. Branding BPLâs new manager as âPower Unsureâ, a play on PowerSecure, Mr Roberts expressed disappointment in its performance to-date, adding that he thought load shedding
was âa thing of the past.â âThe economyâs slow and itâs going to probably be a slow summer,â the Super Value president told Tribune Business. âWe donât see anything on the horizon to hang our hats on to say there may be some better days ahead. âI think the economy will slow more and more as we get into the summer. Thatâs an annual thing. Weâre not realising our projected goals, and are falling a little behind.â Mr Roberts said that Super Value was fortunate in that food and drink, its core business, was an essential or ânecessityâ commodity, adding that smaller food stores were feeling the moribund economyâs impact more. See PG B2
Opposition slams $20m BPL to raise $100m mortgage relief âfarceâ in fiscal 2017-2018 By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION politicians yesterday slammed the latest Mortgage Relief Plan (MRP)as âa farceâ, and questioned why the Bahamian people were giving the banks a $20 million subsidy for activities they already financed themselves. K P Turnquest, the FNMâs deputy leader, told Tribune Business that the second version of the scheme appeared designed to enable the Christie administration to âtake credit for what the banks already doâ. Questioning why the Government was giving Bahamas-based commercial banks, some of the wealthiest businesses in this nation, a $20 million âasset recoveryâ subsidy from the taxpayer, Mr Turnquest said the ânew MRPâ failed to address the âroot causesâ of the mortgage crisis. Mr Turnquestâs assessment was backed by Branville McCartney, the Democratic National Allianceâs (DNA) leader, who said the $20 million allocated by the Government was tantamount to a subsidy of commercial bank credit collections departments. See PG B4
Say taxpayer subsidising banksâ existing activities Not all commercial banks signed up to plan But RBC appoints Mortgage Relief Plan manager
KP TURNQUEST
Mortgage plan failing to tackle âroot causeâ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Governmentâs revised Mortgage Relief Plan (MRP) fails to âaddress the underlying structural causesâ of the crisis, Opposition politicians charged yesterday, urging it to instead focus on âbig ideasâ. K P Turnquest, the FNMâs deputy leader, told Tribune Business that the Christie administration needed to direct its energies to examining interest rate spreads and the Bahamian Prime Rate, plus consumer protection legislation. He argued that the moribund economy and a near15 per cent unemployment rate, coupled with high borrowing (interest rate) costs, lay at the heart of problem that has resulted in $670 million worth of Bahamian mortgages falling into arrears. Mr Turnquest was backed by Branville McCartney, the Democratic National Allianceâs (DNA) leader, who also implied that the Governmentâs revived MRP was a âband aidâ solution at best. He called on the Government to introduce legislation requiring commercial banks and other lenders to permit borrowers, who had been current for many years, to use the equity built up in their homes to refinance and retain their properties. The Governmentâs new MRP version has allocated $20 million, over a four-year period, to fund âfinancial inSee PG B2
Govât urged to focus on âsustainable big ideasâ FNM deputy calls for interest spread examination DNA chief wants home equity solution legislated
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By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light (BPL) plans to raise $100 million in new debt financing during the 2017-2018 fiscal year, it was revealed yesterday, and is working on a new tariff structure and customer debt forgiveness. Philip Davis, the Deputy Prime Minister, used his contribution to the Budget debate to hold out the prospect that much-needed improvements to BPLâs supply reliability and costs is on the way. He said 80 Mega Watts (MW) of rental generation capacity was set to be installed at BPLâs Blue Hills power station, in a bid to deal with the power outages and load shedding caused chiefly by the inability of its existing turbines to meet New Providenceâs demand. And, reiterating that BPL planned to roll-out prepaid electricity meters, Mr Davis also suggested that the âarrears forgivenessâ initiative would result in customers having their power restored. However, without actually
Utilityâs hands tied until $600m bond placed DPM pledges new tariff structure, arrears forgiven 80MW of rental generation to counter outages saying so, Mr Davisâs presentation confirmed that BPL, and its manager, PowerSecure International, effectively have their hands tied financially - and are unable to effect real improvements - until the Government refinances the $600 million in legacy debts and liabilities left behind by the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC). A âRate Reduction Bondâ (RRB) will be placed with a mixture of international and Bahamas-based investors to See PG B4
Govt is warned: âKeep hands outâ of private firms Businesses against forcing post-duty end price cuts Urge Christie Govât: âLet market forces prevailâ Competition, not intervention, the true answer By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government was yesterday urged to âlet market forces prevailâ and âkeep its hands outâ of private businesses, amid suggestions that Price Control is seeking greater powers of intervention. Rupert Roberts, SuperValueâs president, and Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederationâs (BCCEC) chief executive, said competition was the best method for keeping conCEO of Chamber of sumer prices keen Commerce Edison and affordable. Sumner. The duo were speaking out after Price Control Commission chairman, E. J. Bowe, suggested the Price Control Act will be amended to force companies to reduce product prices in line with import duty reductions and exemptions. Such a measure appears designed to ensure businesses pass reduced/eliminated taxation on to Bahamian consumers in the form of reduced prices, but many in the private sector will likely view the proposal as a further example of Government overreach. They are likely to perceive it as tantamount to unwarranted interference and intrusion into the affairs of private companies, and their freedom to determine their prices, margins, revenue and profitability. Mr Roberts told Tribune Business that his supermarket chain automatically reduced prices on products where import duties were reduced or eliminated, adding that he preferred âcompetitionâ over government action to drive adjustments. âThe only thing is that it should be competition, not government action,â he said. âIf somebody is selling something for 50 See PG B5