MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
business@tribunemedia.net
$3.78
$4.19
$4.19
Baha Mar payouts tied to concessions By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Baha Mar’s creditor committee has given “a strong indication” that the Government granted greater-than-normal investment incentives to the Chinese in return for payouts to Bahamians. Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s chairman, agreed that the language employed by the committee appeared to tie the funding of promised creditor payouts directly to the investment incentives granted to the Chinese for completing Baha Mar. The creditors committee, in an expanded ‘question and answer session posted on its website, said: “Priority will be given to Bahamian creditors on the basis
Private sector has ‘no legitimate case’ over labour reform Union chief: Just penalising what should be doing now
Committee gives ‘strong indication’ of link
Sandals ‘first ever’ to ignore industrial deal custom TUC boss hopes grievances resolved this week
Chamber chair urges ‘timeline’ for deal disclosure
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Raises renewed fears of Bahamas taxpayer ‘bail out’ that the fund[s] has been provided in consideration for concessions and consents from the Government, which must benefit the Bahamian people.” Prime Minister Perry Chris-
Gowon Bowe
K P Turnquest
tie previously told the House of Assembly that the Government was restricted, both by Atlantis’s ‘Most Favoured Nation’ style treatment and laws such as the Hotels Encouragement Act, in
terms of the type and value of the incentives it could grant the Chinese. As a result, he and others connected to the Government’s See pg b4
Chinese bank ‘not a fairy godmother’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The China Export-Import Bank is not acting as “a fairy godmother” in agreeing to finance payouts to Baha Mar’s Bahamian creditors, current and former Chamber of Commerce executives said yesterday. Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chairman, said the move by Baha Mar’s $2.45 billion secured creditor was merely “a business decision” designed to ultimately maximise its recovery. Arguing that talk of a “goodwill gesture” should be dropped, Mr Bowe said the China Export-Import Bank was seeking to “get back on side” the Bahamian contractors and vendors it needs to complete Baha Mar’s construction by paying
$3.89
Baha Mar payouts a ‘business deal’, not goodwill Committee to creditors: ‘Take it or leave it’ Its settlement decisions final; no room to negotiate them at least a portion of what they are owed. He was backed by K P Turnquest, the former Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president turned Opposition deputy leader, who also described the bank’s decision as “a See pg b5
Air traffic controllers in tourism ‘black eye’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A senior Bahamian airline executive yesterday warned that the weekend industrial action by air traffic controllers had given the tourism industry “a black eye we cannot afford”. Captain Randy Butler, Sky Bahamas president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that visitors who were inconvenienced and frustrated by delayed/cancelled flights would be unlikely to return to this nation. Explaining that the situation forced Sky Bahamas to incur increased costs, as a result of having to pay overtime to staff who had to work into the evenings as a result of the delays, Captain Butler pleaded for “cooler heads” to
Sky Bahamas chief: ‘We can’t afford this’ Wants ‘mediator’ for today’s meeting TUC reveals overtime pay grievance prevail on all sides. He called for a “mediator” to be present at today’s meeting between the Government and BATCU, the air traffic controllers union, to control the seemingly “hostile environment” between the two sides. Glenys Hanna Martin, See pg b6
The private sector has “no legitimate case” for opposing the Government’s proposal to criminalise a business’s failure to inform it and the relevant trade union of planned redundancies, the Trades Union Congress’s (TUC) president said yesterday. Obie Ferguson told Tribune Business that the proposed amendments to the Employment Act were merely adding the threat of penal punishment should employers fail to do something that was already required. Acknowledging that the proposed criminal sanctions were Obie Ferguson causing concern in the Bahamian business community, Mr Ferguson said it was only “logical” that companies consult both the Government and relevant union ‘bargaining agent’ before significantly downsizing their workforce. “When I look at what the Chamber is saying, they don’t have a case,” Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business. “I don’t see a legitimate case being put forward by the Chamber. What is being proposed is a penalty for not doing what they’re supposed to be doing now. “All the changes that the Government is proposing to make are to preserve the industrial relations system, make it run smoothly and avoid strikes and walk outs. These are the sort of things we’re trying to avoid, and I hope they’d [the Chamber and private sector] come around See pg b5
Central Bank wants reductions in cash based transactions By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Central Bank wants to reduce the traditional Bahamian reliance on cashbased transactions as part of its strategy to combat the threat posed by correspondent bank ‘de-risking’. John Rolle, its governor, in an address to the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce on Friday, said the banking regulator was targeting such transactions because they were “more susceptible” to money laundering and organised crime. He added that the Central Bank was also working to bring the ‘unbanked;’ persons outside the formal banking system, into the mainstream financial services sector to further decrease ‘risk’. Mr Rolle also pledged to work with the Gaming Board to help bridge the divide between the web shop gaming industry and the Bahamian commercial banking sector, which has seen the latter - apart from Bank of the Bahamas - display a marked reluctance to accept the newly-legalised business’s deposits. While acknowledging that the Central Bank could not force its licensees to accept web shop monies, Mr Rolle said better dialogue between the two sides would enable commercial banks to better assess the
Key element of correspondent risk response Regulator to tackle ‘unbanked’ - like web shops Pushing better dialogue between that sector, banks
John Rolle risks, and ensure decisions were based on fact. “We will also have to promote changes in other areas of our society and economy,” Mr Rolle said of how the Bahamas should respond to pressure on its correspondent banking reSee pg b6
FamGuard Corporate Centre, #1 Shirley St., (242) 396-4045 • www.familyguardian.com