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THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2023
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‘Total package’: Downtown arrives on new political look By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
t %/1 DP DIBJS $JUZ PQUJNJTN BU ZFBS IJHI THE DOWNTOWN Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) co-chair yesterday said opti- t (PW U OP MPOHFS BEPQUJOH mism about the city’s future has hit a 30-year high with A8IJUF ,OJHIU WJFX “White Knight” politics eliminated and the cruise lines no t %BZT PG DSVJTF MJOFT longer “calling the shots”. Charles Klonaris told ADBMMJOH UIF TIPUT PWFS Tribune Business that successive administrations now have “a different look” at Bay Street and the surrounding area where they recognise its “economic value” and no longer treat it as “a separate entity” from the rest of The Bahamas. Asserting that almost three decades’ worth of work to “lay the foundations” for the city’s revival is now starting to pay off, he added that the improving product coupled with Nassau Cruise Port’s $322.5m transformation and The Bahamas’ US proximity means this country can now offer “the total package”
and better “bargain” with the cruise industry for improved economic terms. Mr Klonaris told this newspaper it was now vital to lock-in these gains, and develop the basis for further progress, by working out a viable management structure for downtown Nassau to ensure the city functions properly. The Government has said it is drafting the Downtown City Management Bill to do precisely that, but the DNP co-chair said it will be critical that whatever
authority emerges has the necessary legal power to raise revenues necessary to finance its operations. “The atmosphere has changed dramatically from even 10 years ago, 20 years ago,” Mr Klonaris said of downtown Nassau today. “The focus is on the city, which I think is very important not just for the merchants downtown but the entire Bahamian economy. It’s like an engine in and of itself. “Today, one of the big differences is that the
CHARLES KLONARIS Government is not looking at it totally in a political view. They are now past that stage where they realise and understand the importance of the city, its economic value in creating jobs and that it’s part of the total Bahamas. It’s not a separate entity. “One time it was looked at as the ‘White Knights’ controlled the city. It’s now a different look and a different feel. The politics that were
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Electric car dealer eyes eventual IPO By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN electric car dealer will likely seek to go public within the next five to seven years if planned expansion targets are hit, its new 35 percent minority shareholder revealed yesterday. Michael Anderson, RF Bank & Trust’s president, told
Tribune Business that Easy Car Sales, the company that represents the first equity investment for its Strat Equity Fund, is aiming to grow its market share to “somewhere between” 15-20 percent of all vehicle sales in The Bahamas within the next several years. Voicing optimism that the private equity-style fund’s first investment will “surpass expectations”, he explained
that Easy Car Sales “ticked a number of boxes” for RF as a growing company with the prospect of generating increased profits in a sector the investment bank has long sought to become involved in sustainable development. The RF chief told this newspaper that market trends, such as the reduced cost of electric
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MICHAEL ANDERSON
‘Serious predicament’ with low lobster price By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net FAMILY Island fishermen were yesterday said to be facing a “serious predicament” with margins squeezed by low lobster prices and high fuel costs Darin Bethel, the North Andros Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business that with crawfish season now entering just its third day - the starting $7 per pound price for lobster is creating a “major challenge” for fishermen. This price is barely higher than the island’s $6.60 per gallon diesel price, meaning fishermen will spend between
$264 to $330 on fuel per trip alone. “I did some rounds and spoke with some of the fishermen, and the challenge this year is not the catch. They have been catching relatively normal numbers for this time, for opening of the season, but the major challenge that they’re facing is the price and lack of buyers,” he explained. “Right now, gas is at about $6.60, near $7, and the buyers are paying $7 a pound. On average, each boat uses about 40 to 50 gallons of fuel. And so that leaves the fishermen in a serious predicament.” Mr Bethel said fishermen have been left “stunned”
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Health premiums drop $15m on COVID travel cover end By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN health insurers suffered a near$15m year-over-year decline in group premiums last year due to the Government ending COVID-19 protection plan for visitors. The Insurance Commission of The Bahamas (ICB), in its just-released 2022 annual report, disclosed that life and health insurers collectively saw a modest $3.2m increase in their net income last year to $36.7m despite the fall-off in group health premiums. “Group health premiums decreased by $14.8m
(6.1 percent) to $227.9m. This reduction is largely due to the elimination of the Government’s COVID19 Travel Protection Policy in June 2022. Individual health insurance premiums written increased by $18.5 million (34.6 percent) during the year to $71.7m,” the regulator disclosed. “Individual life premiums totalled $134.1m, reflecting minimal growth of less than 1 percent, while group life premiums grew by $1.1m (7.1 percent) to $16.2m at the end of the year. Net income for the year amounted to $36.7m (2021: $33.5m), a moderate growth of $3.2m
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BTC: No Bahamian jobs outsourced to Pakistan t 4BZT ANPSF MPDBM UBMFOU GPS DPOUBDU DFOUSF t 6OJPOT QMFEHFùUP AmHIU JG QPTUT HP PWFSTFBT t 8PSLFST AUSBJOJOH 1BLJTUBOJT UP SFQMBDF UIFN By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday asserted it “has not outsourced any Bahamian jobs” from its customer service contact centre amid staff and union fears these posts are being lost to Pakistan. The communications provider, which is 49 percent owned by the Bahamian government, responded to Tribune Business inquiries by stating it plans to expand the contact centre locally through the recruitment of “more Bahamian talent” having already increased the unit’s workforce last year. However, the presidents of both BTC trade unions yesterday told this newspaper they have been informed by their members and other employees that Bahamians are being asked to train the Pakistani workers who will take over their jobs. Describing themselves as “very concerned” by the situation, each
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