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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
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‘BISX home makes sense’ for Bahamas carbon credits By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
involvement will depend on how The Bahamas’ products are packaged and structured. Mr Davies, though, added that if The Bahamas wanted to use its prospective blue carbon credits “to benefit the home jurisdiction”, and its citizens and investors, then their listing and trading via BISX - either as a primary or secondary market, or both made sense. “I know there’s been some work in that area,” the BISX chief replied, when asked if the exchange was looking to play a role in the
Government’s blue carbon credit plans. “I have talked to the persons involved in that on the private side. I do know we are looking at avenues to engage and involve BISX in what could be quite a number of products coming out of that. “The answer is, yes, we have been exploring it, and hopefully we can play a part. Definitely. We are looking at that. Depending on how we package carbon credits, and how we deliver them to the market, there is a definite need to have transparency
KEITH DAVIES and price discovery and, equally, if we want to benefit the home jurisdiction, The Bahamas and its citizenry and investors, a home on BISX makes sense.” Mr Davies acknowledged that BISX’s role will ultimately “all depend on the products that result from the work being done”. He added: “If it takes the form of a fund, that’s different. If it’s a closedend fund with securities that’s
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FNM chair blames VAT for ‘marina ghost town’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN marinas yesterday warned it was vital the country develop “a unified voice” over the imposition of VAT on yacht charter fees amid suggestions that it has resulted in several boating destinations becoming “a ghost town”.
Marques Williams, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business the industry is working with the Government on the “messaging” surrounding the 10 percent levy’s imposition as Dr Duane Sands, the Free National Movement (FNM) chairman, asserted that the increase had been “a disaster” and resulted “in a crash in market share” for this nation.
The ABM chief, while indicating that the “ghost town” description of Bahamian marinas may be a slight exaggeration, did confirm that members are “seeing a decrease in many areas”. While warning against jumping to conclusions, given that The Bahamas’ winter boating season typically does not start until end-October, he
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DR DUANE SANDS
‘Putting circle in a triangle’: Why developments fail By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN environmental consultant yesterday argued that the main nonfinancial reason that major development projects fail is because their principals “try to put a circle into a triangle”. Carlos Palacious, managing principal with BRON Ltd, told a webinar held to mark World Tourism Day that it was “fascinating” to understand why investment projects failed and understand the reasons why. Besides financing issues, he said the explanation often stemmed from the fact developers selected
locations incompatible with their plans. “Many, rather than financing issues, are because the developer was trying to put a circle in a triangle,” he said, “trying to put a beachfront development somewhere where there is no beach, which costs you so much money to just try and maintain that with coastal structures. “We can engineer it, but at a certain point we just remind them that the opex - the operational expenditure - that it takes just to sustain this. Other developments, they’re building on the rough side of the island, let’s say, and they want to build a big marina. So to
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Cable partners over $5m Exuma cays connectivity By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net CABLE Bahamas has teamed with another provider to develop a $5m sub-sea fibre network that will provide broadband Internet connectivity to hundreds of residents across 34 Exuma cays. Andrew Allen, Global Nexus cofounder and director, yesterday said the network infrastructure will link 34 cays between Norman’s Cay and Great Exuma. “We at Global Nexus are elated that we’re finally at the end of a long road towards the
delivery of service through the communities of the Exuma cays, including three public communities Farmer’s Cay, Staniel Cay and Black Point - which are all have resident Bahamian populations. “We’re grateful for the efforts of our partners, Cable Bahamas who have demonstrated a commitment to doing their part. They’ve now brought fibre all the way to Norman’s Cay from New Providence to the top of the Exuma chain. And we are now taking it to the mainland, covering all of the 34 settlements and private and public cays
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THE BAHAMAS International Securities Exchange (BISX) is “definitely exploring” the listing and trading of the country’s blue carbon credits on its platform, its top executive asserting: “A home on BISX makes sense.” Keith Davies, the stock exchange’s chief executive, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that “we are looking at avenues to engage and involve BISX in what could be a variety of products” following discussions with persons working on the Government’s strategy to monetise the value of this nation’s ocean-based carbon ‘sinks’. Arguing that there is a “definite need to have transparency and price discovery” with carbon credit trading, which only a regulated exchange can provide, he conceded that the extent and nature of BISX’s
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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS Out Island Promotion Board’s president yesterday said his hotel will likely have to increase rates by “another 5 percent” in 2024 to break even with fellow hoteliers revealing that soaring light bills “are just killing us”. Emanuel “Manny” Alexiou, also the Abaco Beach Resort’s proprietor, told Tribune Business his property has already raised rates by 10-15 percent “across the board” to help offset Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) costs that have increased by “roughly 50 percent” for the year-to-date. Optimistic that the resort will survive BPL’s efforts to recoup its “under-recovered” fuel costs, he added that smaller hotels were likely to be facing a much tougher struggle given that they have less ability to plan ahead and/ or raise rates to help compensate for inflation. And the industry’s room for further price rises may be limited given that even high-end visitors are now “starting to question” the frequent increases. Calling for increased airlift to help “counter” higher power bills, Mr Alexiou also told this newspaper that “the biggest way to increase revenue from tourism” is to drive more visitors to the Family Islands as opposed to New Providence. Besides spreading the wealth, he argued that destinations outside New Providence have the room availability to accommodate increased visitor numbers given that they traditionally “suffer from very low occupancies” in the 45-50 percent range. “Based on this year alone, and obviously it was a gradual increase, our increase in cost was roughly 50 percent. From January todate,” Mr Alexiou said of the Abaco Beach Resort’s energy costs. He acknowledged, though, that most - but not all - this increase
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