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WEDNESDAY , JULY 2, 2025
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Super Value’s ‘big blow from 29% light bill hike By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SUPER Value’s president yesterday revealed the supermarket group has suffered “a big blow” after its overall light bill increased by 29.3 percent month-onmonth and costs at some locations doubled. Debra Symonette pledged to Tribune Business that the 13-store chain will not increase consumer prices despite sustaining a $74,000 rise in energy costs following the unexpected and unwelcome increase in Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) bills that is hitting the private sector as well as residential consumers.
t 4VQFSNBSLFU DIBJO QMFEHFT OP GPPE QSJDF SJTFT t 8BSFIPVTF IFBE PGmDF DPTUT VQ t FOFSHZ FYQFOTF SJTF UP IVSU QSPmUT While Super Value’s business-wide solar power roll-out has enabled it to contain the impact, she added that such sudden and significant cost hikes worsen the effects of government-imposed price controls that restrict the margins food stores earn and result in some produce being sold at a loss.
“We went over the bills yesterday actually, and we are experiencing a significant increase,” Ms Symonette told this newspaper. “When we calculated, we had an increase of 29 percent overall. Certain stores were up. “Our warehouse was up like 165 percent, a certain portion of it - there ate two sections to it. Our office
Capo’s last shot to get $600m Resorts World lawsuit correct By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net RESORTS World Bimini’s first developer was yesterday granted one final chance to perfect a $600m damages lawsuit against its Genting partner for allegedly turning the project into “a financial wasteland”. Judge Joan Lenard, sitting in the south Florida federal court, ruled that the initial claim launched by Gerardo Capo’s RAV Bahamas “cannot proceed” because it failed to name BB Entertainment, Resorts World Bimini’s immediate holding company, as a party in the action. She found the claim “must be brought on behalf of” BB Entertainment, in which RAV Bahamas has a 22 percent minority equity
RESORTS WORLD BIMINI stake, because all the lawsuit allegations are derived from purported “wrongful conduct” that harmed Resorts World Bimini’s holding company. As a result, Judge Lenard determined that BB Entertainment is “an indispensable party” to the dispute with the Malaysian resort and gaming
conglomerate. Its noninclusion meant RAV Bahamas’ original lawsuit was dismissed, but the judge has now given Mr Capo and his family 21 days in which to file a new lawsuit that addresses the flaws she identified. With the Resorts World Bimini battle kept alive for at least another
went up significantly, 92.7 percent, but the average overall increase was 29.3 percent. In terms of dollars we’re paying $74,000 more. Just think: We have solar at all of the locations now, as well as the warehouse and the office. Imagine the people who don’t have solar.” High electricity costs and unreliable supply have held back economic and business growth, and Bahamian national development, for decades. The Davis administration has initiated a series of reforms designed to overhaul BPL and the energy sector, both on the generation and transmission and distribution sides, but all these elements and three weeks, Judge Lenard wrote: “This case concerns a business relationship gone wrong. RAV partnered with Genting to develop and operate a casino resort in The Bahamas. “Genting, a Delaware corporation and worldwide resort operator with its Resorts World branded properties, ‘convinced RAV that, together, they could build a world class resort and casino in Bimini, which would yield significant returns for RAV’. RAV, a Bahamian corporation and large landowner on Bimini, sought Genting’s resources and expertise and contributed the 20 acres on which the resort sits.” BB Entertainment, a Bahamian-domiciled company, was incorporated to develop, own and operate Resorts World Bimini, the island’s largest investment and so-called ‘anchor project’, which employs hundreds of Bahamians. It was initially owned 50/50 by Genting and RAV Bahamas, with the
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Shipyard ‘business boost’ from MSC as shareholder By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama Shipyard will likely enjoy “more business” through the involvement of three cruise lines after Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) “partnership” was confirmed yesterday. Dillon Knowles, the Grand Bahama Chamber
of Commerce’s president, told Tribune Business that MSC Cruises’ addition as a shareholder - first revealed by this newspaper in April - “bodes well” for both the ship repair facility and the island’s wider expansion. It also coincides with the Shipyard’s $600m investment in two new docks and the continued expansion of cruise tourism in The Bahamas and globally.
“I think that it bodes well for Grand Bahama that, one, MSC is taking an interest in the Shipyard, and two, the cruise industry has come together on something as important as the Shipyard. The fact we have multiple cruise lines engaged in the Shipyard is, I think, a good thing,” the Chamber president said. “The Shipyard is going to benefit from all three cruise lines having a vested interest in bringing their vessels there for repair and refurbishment. More boats means more business than it would have had previously, and with global tourism trending in favour of the cruise industry, there’s going to be a further expansion of the cruise lines going forward.
“I think it all bodes well for Grand Bahama. There will be more business for the Shipyard, which means more people working in the Shipyard and more money spent on Grand Bahama. I don’t see any downside.” MSC Cruises thus joins Carnival and Royal Caribbean, who each held a 40 percent ownership interest in the Shipyard prior to its involvement. The nature of MSC Cruises’ partnership, whether this involves it directly investing in the Shipyard and how much, and if the respective shareholdings will change as a result was not disclosed in yesterday’s release. It did, though, confirm that MSC is now a shareholder.
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their full impact will take some time to be felt. Speaking to the latest BPL bill increase, Ms Symonette said: “That’s going to increase our expenses, so that’s going to cut into our profits. Right now, we’re not considering any price increases. We’re holding on with hope that they go back down on the rates like they say, and we see a decrease soon. “Considering that we have refrigeration and air conditioning in all the stores, that’s really expensive to keep them running. It’s really a significant blow to us, and then we were also looking at the fact they want to have price controls, and we can only add 10 percent on eggs which we have
to keep refrigerated with electricity.” The Super Value president, noting that the sudden and extensive light bill increases are “all around” impacting both households and businesses, said of the promised BPL and energy price improvements: “We ‘re still looking for that. I don’t know how long it’s going to take but we hope it will not be too long. “We were really enjoying a significant benefit from it. I know we had seen a significant decrease in our bills. Suddenly this came along. This was like a significant blow to us because we thought we were going to enjoy that decrease for
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CFAL unveils $50m target for new private equity fund t 4USVDUVSF BJNT BU JOEJWJEVBM #BIBNJBO JOWFTUPST t 4FFLJOH UP SBJTF JOJUJBM N GPS FOFSHZ QSPKFDUT t 1SJODJQBM QMFEHFT JOGSBTUSVDUVSF BOE 111 GPDVT By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN investment house is seeking to grow its new private equity fund to $50m within five years of launching to local investors on July 21. Anthony Ferguson, president of CFAL, told Tribune Business via messaged replies to its questions that CFAL’s private equity fund is primarily targeting retail investors - individual Bahamians - by keeping the minimum investment threshold relatively low at $1,000. Presently travelling in Europe, he added that the Fund will focus primarily on infrastructure and public-private partnerships (PPP) with its first investments aimed at separate elements of the Bahamian energy reforms initiated by the Davis administration. “The Fund is targeting private equity investments with a focus on all things infrastructure for the retail investors, hence the reason for $1,000. After the success of the [Nassau] cruise port investment for the average person we felt it necessary to provide retail investors the same opportunity as the institutional investors,” Mr Ferguson, who is presently travelling in Europe, told this newspaper. The first two investment targets are EA Energy and Island Power Producers (IPP). The former won the bid to build, own and operate solar and natural
ANTHONY FERGUSON gas-fuelled plants supplying Abaco and Eleuthera’s power needs, while the latter has secured the deal to supply cruise ships docked at Nassau Cruise Port with ‘shore power’ again produced by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Fund is aiming to raise a collective $20m from Bahamian investors when its offering launches from July 21-29. Some $10m worth of class A and class B shares will be made available, with the proceeds used to acquire separate 10 percent equity ownership interests in EA Energy and Island Power Producers, respectively. “The reason for EA and IPP at this time is because these are the only two available to the public,” Mr Ferguson said of the investment selection. “Should some of the other PPPs go public, the Fund would seek to invest in those provided they meet our due diligence
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Family Island marinas voice boating fee fears By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net AN ABACO marina yesterday voiced fears that visiting boaters are “not going to clear Customs and check in” now that the Budget’s new and increased temporary cruising permit fees have taken effect. Casey Collins, who manages the marina at Harbour View Marina and Blue Wave Boat Rentals, told
Tribune Business that he has received warnings guests will not return due to the new fees put in place. While the season is “technically dwindling down”, he voiced concerns that the boats which have recently left will either not return or not clear Customs the next time they visit The Bahamas. “In theory, they’re going to collect less, because people, if they come, they’re just not going to check in,” Mr Collins said.
“I mean, we are the boating capital of The Bahamas here. That’s not a question. If you had to see the amount of boats that travel from the US over to hear on a daily basis, it would absolutely blow your mind. And now they’re just not going to stop. “Well, what they’re going to do is they’re going to come down in their centre consoles without five and six engines on it, where they can make this a day-trip and never clear Customs. A
lot of people have said that they’re not going to come back simply just because it doesn’t make sense to pay the fees. They can go to other locations. “I would venture to tell you, the BVI is probably going to be very popular after this decision because they can pass through here. They don’t have to clear Customs. They can pass through. They can grab fuel. They can stop
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