Issuu

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

business@tribunemedia.net

$3.95

$3.98

$4.02

$4.04

port beats Baha Mar buyer: No role Arawak profit forecast 23% for Macau ‘gaming king’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Baha Mar’s intended purchaser yesterday said Macau ‘gaming king’, Stanley Ho, is not involved in its plans for the multi-billion dollar development, and emphasised its “commitment to integrity and good governance”. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), in its replies to Tribune Business questions, moved swiftly to refute claims it was an ‘unsuitable’ investor for the See pg b4

CTFE, principals disassociate from Stanley Ho Dismiss D’Aguilar claims of ‘unsuitability’ Point to Australia casino licence; no US application Flags Crystal Cay, Crystal Palace redevelopment

Baha Mar development site

New PI resort to double GB Power chief: ‘I’ve staff by New Year never seen anything By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The founder of a major international hotel chain yesterday said its new Paradise Island resort is set to double staffing levels to 200 by the New Year, following a near-$50 million renovation programme. Richard Chiu, the Hong Kong-born president and founder of the Warwick Hotels and Resorts Group, said its all-inclusive property should be set for a full opening by Christmas/New Year, while predicting a “reasonably good” holiday period. He told Tribune Business that “just short of $50 million” had been invested in upgrading the 250-room Warwick Paradise Island, formerly the Paradise Island Harbour Resort which was purchased in from Lehman Brothers Holdings and Driftwood Hospitality Management (via Gemwood Paradise Ltd) during a 2012 auction. Mr Chiu, explaining that the property fits perfectly into Warwick’s portfolio, said: “It took a bit more money and time than we thought necessary to get it to this point, but that is not surprising. The total cost is just a bit short of $50 million to get the hotel to this point. “We specialise in renovating buildings with good location and history and heritage. Many of our hotels in North America are buildings with excellent location and certain heritage. This definitely fits into the kind of business model, our portfolio. This is the kind of

Warwick to employ 200 then, after $50m upgrade Founder eyes ‘reasonably good’ holiday season hotel that we look for.” Mr Chiu added: “In North America, most of our properties are city-centred hotels. This is our first resort. We expect this to perform just as good. “We have other resorts in the Pacific. Those are very different hotels. They are bigger and larger. We expect that the performance of this hotel will be comparable to other North American hotels. We loved the location of this hotel. It’s facing the lagoon. It has a beach, the history of the building is interesting, and it’s on Paradise Island, which has an image already.” The Warwick Paradise Island had a soft opening last Friday, which was delayed for some two weeks due to damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. “The resort has recovered. We suffered some landscaping damage and certain water leaks. We addressed those and now we are back on track. We already have 10 rooms with paid guests,” Mr Chiu added. “For the holiday period things look good. That is traditionally the high period. It looks reasonably good. We are hoping to do the kind of forecast that we had been forecasting. “We have, right now, See pg b4

like’ Matthew wrath By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Grand Bahama Power Company’s chief executive, and its majority shareholder, have “never seen anything like” the devastation left by Hurricane Matthew, which has forced the utility to almost rebuild its distribution network from scratch. Sarah McDonald, GB Power’s top executive, told Tribune Business that 50 per cent of the energy provider’s transmission and distribution network (T&D) had been rebuilt by last Friday - some 22 days, or more than three weeks, after the Category Four storm’s passage. “Certainly I’ve never seen anything like it, and the people at Emera [GB Power’s majority shareholder] have never seen anything like it,” Mrs McDonald said of the damage

Major Canadian shareholder also stunned by storm Over 50% of distribution network now rebuilt Rough seas delay shipping of transformers left by Matthew. “I’ve lived through one Category Four and hope it’s my last.” “We’re making good progress and really starting to hit a groove,” she added of the restoration efforts. “It’s always a bit of a grind, but we’ll get it done. “We had over 10,000 customers back as of [Friday], so that’s over the half-way mark. We’ve got 50 per cent of the distribution network See pg b5

The Nassau Container Port’s (NCP) operator has beaten its own profit forecast for the 2016 financial year by 23 per cent, with higher-than-projected auto imports enabling it to mitigate the fall-off in Baha Mar volumes. Arawak Port Development Company (APD), unveiling its results for the 12 months to end-June 2016, closed the year with profits more than $800,000 ahead of what it had originally estimated. Michael Maura, APD’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that a 5,180 year-over-year rise in automobile imports, coupled with a $63 per vehicle rate increase, ensured total revenues finished 3.2 per cent higher than projected. Replying to this newspa-

$300k boost from rate rise, extra 1,905 auto imports Baha Mar woe saw 60% storage revenue drop TEU volumes fell-off 10%, but beat target by 278

per’s e-mailed questions, Mr Maura said the combination of a rate increase, and auto imports finishing 1,905 vehicles above budget, added just over $300,000 extra to APD’s ‘bottom line’. “Overall revenues were $27.08 million or 3.2 per cent over budget, driven primarily by a combination of an increase in bulk auto See pg b4

LOI group ‘not running away’ from Bahamas By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The group at the centre of the Renward Wells Letter of Intent (LOI) controversy yesterday said its opening of a London office did not mean it was “running away from the Bahamas”, but instead seeking to pursue other global opportunities. Jean-Paul ( JP) Michielsen, the Stellar Energy group’s chief operating officer, told Tribune Business that it was either bidding on or negotiating some 10 renewable energy projects in locations such as Africa, the US, Europe and Asia. And, as it sought to “diversify”, Stellar decided to open a UK subsidiary, Stel-

Opening London office to pursue global prospects Still hopeful on Bahamas, despite three-year wait lar Energy International, to facilitate its involvement in international waste-toenergy and other renewable projects. “Not at all. Just the contrary,” Mr Michielsen replied, when asked by Tribune Business whether the London office, based in Mayfair, meant the group was now seeking to exit the Bahamas. See pg b5

www.mybafsolutions.com

Is your family

prepared for the inevitable?

The BAF Final Expense Plan • • • • •

Ease the burden of covering your final expenses No medical exam or lab test required Very affordable monthly payments Coverage up to $50,000* for your final expenses Coverage that will never decrease *Based on eligible plan