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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2022
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‘Heard it before’ on GB airport By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
• Call for explanation of delays • Chamber wants PM meeting • Questions over hospital plan
THE Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) president has “heard it all before” on the Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) partner being secured and sees the new target date as an extension of the previous date for the end of December, 2022. James Carey, told Tribune Business that the government has forgotten that they promised Grand Bahamian residents that the GBIA partner would be selected before the end of 2022
and promising they will have one by the first quarter of next year is just deflecting from any reference of earlier promises to have it done by the December 2022 date. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Investments and Aviation, told reporters in September that a partner being selected was “weeks away” as the board was making their final selection and an announcement would be made. Mr Carey said, however: “I guess tell us now why it’s delayed?”
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GRAND BAHAMA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (GBIA) AFTER DORIAN
ORG suggests changes to procurement laws By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE ORGANISATION for Responsible Governance (ORG) has given recommendations to the government on amendments to public procurement legislation. Matt Aubry, ORG’s executive director, told Tribune Business that the “foremost and current” piece of legislation for
completion by the Philip Davis, KC, government is the amendment to the Public Procurement Act, because it is something that needed to be made “fair and transparent”. He said: “The bill actually has some interesting elements in it. They’ve added on more specificity so that owners of Family Island businesses and women-owned businesses and youth-owned businesses can now get a special weight so that they
can get greater advantage and opportunity. We recommended that they include folks with disabilities as well. “But the current bill also removes the specific review, appeal commission and tries to blend it in with the tax appeal commission. The reality is that the Procurement Review Commission is going to be critical to build trust and ensure that when contracts are not awarded
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MATT AUBRY
FTX lawyers apply for creditors stay By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net FTX’s Chapter 11 lawyers applied for a motion for the enforcement of an automatic stay from creditors in FTX proceedings due to shuffling of funds days prior to the chapter 11 filing, new court filings state. Adam G Landis, partner at Landis Rath & Cobb LLP and team in Delaware, along with lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, filed documents in the Delaware District Court last week asking for the enforcement of an automatic stay from creditors trying to get their money back from the failed cryptocurrency exchange as a result of its collapse. #While The Bahamas was not mentioned in the motion, the motion asks to block a non-debtor defendant company registered in Antigua and Barbuda, Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd, which is 90 percent owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s former chief executive officer, from receiving 56 million nominal shares held in a separate company, Robinhood Markets. Due to the fact that Emergent Fidelity is essentially owned by Bankman-Fried, the now disgraced former CEO, the motion is asking that this special purpose holding company not be treated like other creditors to
FTX but that the company - FTX substantially owns Emergent now. #Robinhood’s shares are frozen in an account at ED&F Man Capital Markets Inc (EDFM) in New York City. #The court filing also said: “Since the commencement of these chapter 11 cases, three different competing stakeholders of the debtors have filed court actions in different jurisdictions to gain control of the Robinhood Shares to collect on claims against the debtors, including BlockFi Inc, BlockFi Lending LLC, and BlockFi International LLC (together, “BlockFi”) (a prepetition creditor of Alameda seeking to sell the Robinhood Shares to pay BlockFi’s claim), Yonathan Ben Shimon (a prepetition creditor of FTX Trading who
has successfully appointed a receiver in Antigua to obtain control of and sell the Robinhood Shares under the supervision of a court in Antigua), and Mr Bankman-Fried himself (who has repeatedly sought a source of payment for legal expenses). For their part, the debtors instructed EDFM to freeze the shares promptly after commencement of these chapter 11 cases, which EDFM confirmed has been done.” #It added that due to the new management at FTX conducting investigations into the crypto-exchange’s collapse, the investigation has led them to conclude that the Robinhood shares are property of the debtor’s estates and only
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Reformer predicts ‘great year’ for economy By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE New Year is expected to “crystalise the reconsolidation of the economy”, says a governance reformer as 2023 foretells a year of “great performance” for the economy. Hubert Edwards, head of the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) economic development committee, said in a release to the media that despite the headwinds ahead for The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean region predicated on the possibility of a US recession in addition to lower global growth, The
HUBERT EDWARDS Bahamas can still weather the storm if it sticks to the “facilitation of sectorial reforms and institutional strengthening”. Mr Edwards said: “The prediction of global growth in the region of 2.7 percent
is indicative of serious headwinds ahead for the global economy and the Caribbean region, having regard for the expected impact on the US economy. “This means that the country could face headwinds which will negative impact its ability to secure much needed improved growth levels beyond historical averages. “The US economy is expected to decline, performing within a band of 0.5-1 percent for 2023, with mild recession beginning in late 2023 and a longer-term average annual growth rate of 1.8 percent. Despite this expectation of decline the economic reconsolidation in The Bahamas which continues to move at a greater than anticipated
rate will serve to blunt the effect. The current momentum in tourism could mitigate the effect by delaying the generally anticipated reversion to average growth rates. It is predicted that growth in 2023 for the country will be around 1.1 percent. “Should tourism continue at the current pace of performance any such decline could be pushed well towards the latter part of 2023. Caution must be take of the potential impact that developments in the US could have on the market. A recessionary period would create downward pressure on disposable income and
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Kovats ‘not selling’ despite $3bn lawsuit dispute By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A DEVELOPER suing the Bahamas government for $3bn is moving forward with other projects despite the volatility surrounding his interests. Dr Mirko Kovats is not planning on selling any of his Bahamas-based properties amid his $3bn lawsuit against the government - while there have been claims of vendors not being paid. Dr Wolfgang Groeger, speaking on behalf of the Kovats family office, told Tribune Business they would “like to set the records straight” on some of the misunderstandings about their interests in The Bahamas. He said with regard to the Treasure Cay vendors and acquisition of property: “Mr Charles Nafie (the architect for the project) has been paid 100 percent and exactly as per agreement.” Dr Groeger was responding to complaints from a vendor who was employed by Charles J Nafie Architecture and Design he had
DR MIRKO KOVATS not been paid for renderings he did. Dr Groeger added: “You seem to confuse payments due by Mr Nafie to his subcontractor with payments due by Dr Kovats to Mr Nafie which even have been paid weeks before having been due following Mr Nafie’s begging for early prepayment.” However, in emails seen by The Tribune, the architect asserted that the payments had been made. Dr Groeger also said: “The Treasure Cay development is held up by undue government interference
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