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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022
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Investor wants $3bn damages from Gov’t By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CONTROVERSIAL Austrian developer is demanding an astonishing $3bn-plus in damages and interest from the Government after it blocked his bid to acquire Abaco’s Treasure Cay project. Dr Mirko Kovats, a Lyford Cay homeowner who has permanent resident status in The Bahamas, is alleging that this and his other local real estate deals “have been subject to undue influence by the Government” which he is accusing of “interference in a private commercial transaction”. Legal filings in the US and The Bahamas, which have been obtained by Tribune Business,
• Lyford Cay resident’s deals hit by ‘undue influence’ • Fury over $25m Treasure Cay performance bond • PM told controversial Austrian: ‘Don’t let me down’ disclose the extent of Dr Kovats’ legal battles that have embroiled not only Treasure Cay but also the 384-acre South Ocean development in southwestern New Providence (see other article on Page 1B). And he is also setting his sights on south Long Island, and some 3,200 acres of real estate
Legal battle hits Albany’s South Ocean ambitions • Financier claims rooms shrunk 60% from original 1,600 • But fight with Canadian pension fund owner remains live • Alleges Gov’t holding up Treasure Cay over South Ocean By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CONTROVERSIAL Austrian investor says he has cut 60 percent of planned rooms from his proposed South Ocean redevelopment to “accommodate Albany” even though the property remains entangled in litigation he initiated. Dr Mirko Kovats, a Lyford Cay homeowner and Bahamas permanent resident, is alleging that members of the Davis administration are linking the dispute over South Ocean - the 384-acre tract in southwestern New Providence that is one of the island’s few remaining sites for major resort development - with his efforts to acquire Abaco’s Treasure Cay project (see other article on Page 1B). Asserting that the two projects are not connected, the Austrian implied that the Davis administration had refused to grant him approval for Treasure Cay’s purchase as a means to exert leverage over him with respect to
South Ocean and advance the Albany development’s interests over his. It is unclear how Dr Kovats can be drawing up development plans for South Ocean when he is still embroiled in a Supreme Court legal battle with the current owner over his efforts to acquire it. The Austrian and his Bahamas Island Consortium vehicle initiated action against the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP), and its IF Propco Holdings (Ontario) 39 Ltd vehicle, in 2020 in a bid to force it to close the sale with him. Dr Kovats is understood to be arguing that CCWIPP and its investment vehicle have a binding sales agreement with himself, which they broke in a “breach of contract”, and that they should be forced by the Supreme Court to complete the 384-acre tract’s sale to him. The Canadian pension fund, which took over South Ocean after Ron Kelly defaulted on his loan repayments, has been seeking
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located in close proximity to the newly-unveiled $250m Calypso Cove cruise port. The papers reveal that the Austrian, who lives at McCullough on Clifton Bay Drive, initiated Judicial Review proceedings against
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Cable chief optimistic $2.8m profit is trend By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CABLE Bahamas’ top executive is voicing optimism that $2.8m first quarter profits represent the start of a trend with its fibre network set to cover all New Providence “on a home pass basis” by yearend 2023. Franklyn Butler, the BISX-listed communications provider’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business he anticipates the near-$5m year-over-year positive bottom line reversal for the three months to endSeptember 2022 is a sign of things to come “save and
FRANKYN BUTLER except for extraordinary items”. With no such impediments in sight, he disclosed that Cable Bahamas is mulling whether to employ the extra $50m generated from its $219m capital
A FREEPORT manufacturer last night said just three maintenance staff “withdrew” their labour over a new 12-hour shift system implemented to support the company’s expansion. PharmaChem Technologies, in a statement, confirmed it had provided the trio with their legally-entitled
severance pay and other benefits after they “repudiated” the new system that is intended to support the “start-up phase” of manufacturing further drugs to help combat HIV/ AIDS and other infectious diseases. Asserting its belief that the move has not breached employees’ contracts, or violated Bahamian labour laws, the company explained that the changes were needed after it “recently completed the
raise earlier this year to help Aliv refinance or use it to pay off $26m in Series 13 US dollar preference shares that remain on its own balance sheet. With that raise having locked in long-term capital, Mr Butler told this newspaper that Cable Bahamas is preparing to “accelerate” the roll-out of its $80m-$85m fibre-to-thehome network investment on New Providence with effort presently moving into the heavily-populated Carmichael Road area. “We have already rolled it out in areas like Adelaide as well as Coral Harbour. We’re coming from the south-west moving deeper into the Carmichael area now,” he said. “We are
seeing initial feedback that has been very, very positive. We have just shy of 100 customers on trial, and the feedback has been very positive. “We anticipate that as we roll-out into 2023 we will be launching fibreto-the-home in earnest through this Christmas holiday season into early New Year. We’re doing some testing of back office systems now. We have just shy of 100 customers testing that, and giving feedback on the in-home experience and the like.” Cable Bahamas plans to build-out its fibre-tothe-home infrastructure, in a bid to keep pace with
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Bahamas First ‘could not meet increased demand’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS First has been unable to meet new property insurance demand that “exceeded our expectations” despite securing additional reinsurance capacity for 2022 in a bid to generate growth. Patrick Ward, the BISX-listed property and casualty insurer’s president and chief executive, told shareholders in the company’s 2022 third quarter report that it has been forced to “refocus” on existing homeowner and business clients due to
the lack of additional reinsurance capacity. “Because capacity for catastrophe-related property business is becoming more difficult to secure on the global reinsurance markets, even at significantly higher prices and more restrictive terms, we have not been able to accommodate as much new property business as we would have wished in either jurisdiction (Bahamas and the Cayman Islands),” Mr Ward wrote. “Prior to the start of 2022, we secured some additional capacity in anticipation of organic growth, but the actual demand has exceeded our expectations. The lack of additional capacity has
Manufacturer: 12-hour shift doesn’t break law By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
AERIAL VIEW OF TREASURE CAY TOWN CENTRE
construction of a new multiproduct manufacturing facility” that will produce “the next generation of active pharmaceutical ingredients for products to fight the HIV/AIDS ‘war’ and other infectious diseases”. It added: “The plant is now in the start-up phase of validating two new processes. As with most start-ups, we are experiencing significant technical, equipment and process delays which now
require 24/7, 12-hour shift rotation support from the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation staff to ensure that we have adequate coverage to meet equipment challenges and on-going routine maintenance. “It is not unusual for employees to be placed on 24/7 shift rotation. In fact, more than 50 percent of the present employee complement including production,
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caused us to refocus our priority on existing customers for the remainder of the year as we take steps to manage our exposures and ensure that we are positioned to look after their requirements. “We anticipate that the renewal of our reinsurance programme for 2023 will be
particularly challenging, as more and more reinsurers announce their intent either to withdraw or reduce their exposures within the region. Nevertheless, we are confident that our strong relationships with
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