business@tribunemedia.net
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2021
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Tourism rides supply chain ‘roller coaster’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net TOURISM’S post-COVID rebound will not be undermined by global supply chain woes, a top hotelier reassured yesterday, despite the industry enduring a logistics “roller coaster”. Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that this nation’s main economic driver was witnessing disruption across “the entire gamut” of product orders with some deliveries now taking three times’ as long to arrive compared to pre-pandemic expectations. With orders that normally arrive in 30 days now taking 90 or more, he added that the resort industry had learnt “to become even more creative” by planning earlier, ordering “long lead” items quicker
• Hotel chief reassures rebound not endangered • But sector sees disruption ‘across entire gamut’ • Orders taking three times’ longer to arrive and switching to alternative supply sources should the need arrive. Voicing optimism that The Bahamas “will not get to that particular point” of the visitor experience being impacted, Mr Sands said the hotel/tourism industry was also being impacted by price increases especially on inputs that are in high demand, but minimal supply. Suggesting that supply chain woes will be present as long as COVID-19 is around, the BHTA chief added that
“working through the problems” had caused the industry ongoing frustration but had yet to impact operations as it targets a return to full prepandemic visitor volumes by the 2022 first quarter. “There’s no question that certainly the supply chain has impacted the timeliness of delivery, and hotels have had to make adjustments in that vein, and also adjust in terms of lack of availability of certain items and brands,” Mr Sands told this newspaper, “but it has not been to
BAHAMIANS wanting to access a $10m interest-free loan facility to finance investing in the Nassau Cruise Port can only do so if their employer “qualifies” for a salary deduction programme. Michael Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive,
explained to Tribune Business that the imminent $25m initial public offering (IPO) will be structured such that those seeking to access the loan facility must demonstrate they have the capacity to repay via salary deductions through their employer. Government employees already meet these requirements, but Mr Maura said the $10m loan facility was accessible to others if satisfactory
salary deduction-related payment terms could be worked out with their employers. “The Government employees are definitely included in the pool of qualified potential investors that could apply for a portion of the $10m interest-free loan,” the cruise port chief explained. “It’s not limited to government employees, and companies that are willing and prepared to provide a
ROBERT SANDS the detriment of being able to deliver the experience to customers.” Asked which products and sectors had been impacted, he replied: “It’s multiple areas. The food chain, supplies for operations, construction materials, which is key for areas where improvements
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salary deduction programme, and satisfy the Bahamas Investment Fund they can honour this commitment, there’s also a possibility they could be included as a qualified employer.” Mr Maura moved to provide clarity after a note sent on Monday by Angelo Butler, senior analyst at CFAL, the cruise port’s financial
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Electricity rate rise ‘extra burden’ for GB revival leaders By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama Power Company’s planned electricity rate increases will impose “an extra burden” on the very businesses the island is relying on to pull it out of recession, it was argued yesterday. Greg Laroda, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business that “the timing just isn’t right” for the electricity monopoly to levy a base rate rise on all companies given the severity of the economic devastation inflicted by COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.
GREG LARODA And, warning that increasing energy costs could deter the job-creating investment that Grand Bahama badly needs, he added that both the utility and the Government need
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‘Next hurricane can wipe us out’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas “must be at the table” in developing a financial compensation mechanism for climate change, a top official said yesterday, adding: “The next hurricane can wipe us out.” Rochelle Newbold, the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) director, argued that The Bahamas’ presence at the upcoming 2021 United Nations Climate Change
conference was vital to try and seek redress for environmental change this nation is not responsible for. With The Bahamas having suffered an estimated $3.4bn in economic losses and damage as a result of Hurricane Dorian, Ms Newbold told a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office that this nation bore no responsibility or influence over the global warming thought to be producing sea level rise and increasingly more
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URCA: Renewable policies not working • Admits pricing formula ‘not attractive’ to investors • Provider: Told you it was ‘non-starter’ from 2019 • Proposal to switch larger systems to net billing
Salary deduction needed for $10m cruise IPO loan By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN energy regulators have conceded their renewable policies are “not attractive” for companies and investors seeking to enter the sector, and are proposing a pricing structure switch. The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), in its just-released consultation on “cost effective tariffs” for the fledgling renewable energy industry, unveiled a move away from the “buy all/sell all” pricing that one provider yesterday described as “a non-starter” from the very outset. The regulator, in a much-criticised compensation proposal for larger grid-tied renewable energy systems, last year mandated that those capable of producing more than 500 kW (kilowatts) were to compensated by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) for selling energy to the grid via a “buy all, sell” method. This required participants with such systems, mainly larger businesses and government facilities, to not consume any electricity generated by their renewable systems. They instead had to export all energy they generated to BPL, and consume all the electricity they need from the state-owned monopoly at the standard retail tariff levied on all its customers. Those who “sell all” under this arrangement have been compensated by the equivalent of BPL’s appropriate monthly fuel charge, which normally accounts for just 50-60 percent of customer bills. Such a mechanism was vehemently opposed by private sector renewable
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