New CEO at the helm of stricken CLICO.

Barbados Advocate

It is expected that in the near future that there will be a resurgence of American insurance

companies operating in the Caribean. Read more….

IT is expected that in the near future that there will be a
resurgence of American insurance companies operating in the
Caribbean region.

However, officials of the Sagicor Group of Companies (Sagicor) are
highly confident of maintaining their healthy market share.

A few weeks ago Winston Williams, Branch Manager of Sagicor Life,
told the media at the “Blast Off 2010” conference held by the
Barbados Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (BARAIFA),
that there is a great likelihood that major international players in
the industry will be entering into the regional market in the near
future, thereby providing competition for Caribbean based companies.

He indicated that this is likely to start in Trinidad and Tobago,
with American firm, MetLife, having bought out the portfolio of AIG,
which held control of American Life Insurance Company (ALICO).

He also argued that if the firm makes an entry into Trinidad, that
they are not going to come by and just exist there, and the question
that would have to be asked is “who’s going to be next and where are
they going to go next?”

Last week during a teleconference with the media to discuss their
performance for the financial year ended December 31st, 2009,
President and CEO of Sagicor, Dodridge Miller, stated that this is a
potential development that they are not that worried about.

“I would say that foreign companies are not new, they’ve been here
before, and for various reasons they’ve left”, he said. “We’ve
competed against them for a number of years, remember Sagicor has
been around since 1840, so we’re not overly concerned about
international companies coming into the market.”

He made the point that because Sagicor is now an international
company with operations in the United States and the United Kingdom,
they have already proven that they can compete against the world’s
larger companies.

“We are in their market and competing against them; we have a
reasonably solid market share in most of the geographies that we
operate in, and I think that is a pretty good way to defend yourself
against foreign competition”, he stated.

Miller also made the point that customers must be aware of the fact
that bigger and foreign does not necessarily mean better, and that
they must look carefully at the products and services that are being
provided.

“We are aware that some of our people think that because sometimes
they are coming from a foreign market that they are better, but we
believe that our products and services are sufficiently strong to
withstand those types of engagements from foreign competition”, he
said.

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has failed to grant a desperate request from

Air Jamaica….Read more in the Jamaican Observer….

THE United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has failed to grant a
desperate request from Air Jamaica by April 5, 2010, that would have allowed the
airline an easier transition to ownership by Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines
Limited (CAL).
At the same time, the Government has dispatched a team to Washington to try to
convince the Department to renegotiate Jamaica’s current Open Skies Agreement,
giving Caribbean Airlines the right to operate on routes the Jamaican airline
currently flies.
N
The technical team is also seeking to press the US to grant Air Jamaica’s March
24 request to continue to operate on the terms of its existing authority during
the six to 12 month transition period expected under the divestment with CAL.
The Jamaicans had asked the US to respond by April 5.
Failing that permission, the airline is asking the Americans for an urgent
waiver of the DOT’s standard ownership and control policy in order for it to
maintain services for the one-year period, under its Transitional Services
Agreement (TSA) with Caribbean Airlines.
Apparently running well behind schedule now, Air Jamaica yesterday announced it
was pushing back its previously publicised April 12, 2010 deadline for the TSA
to April 30.
Last week, chief executive officer (CEO) of Air Jamaica Bruce Nobles confirmed
contents of a letter from the airline’s lawyer saying that Caribbean Airlines
could not operate under Jamaica’s current bilateral Open Skies Agreement without
permission from the US and Canadian departments of transportation.
“Clearly, for Caribbean Airlines to take over the Air Jamaica routes they would
have to have the authority from the countries we fly to be able to do so and
Jamaica has an Open Skies Agreement that will have to be renegotiated,” Nobles
told the Observer.
That was not something the airline would get involved in because it was the
purview of the Ministry of Transport and the air policy committee, he added.
Nobles explained that this would be part of the transition agreement and as such
approval for Caribbean Airlines to operate the Jamaican routes would not happen
in the initial stage.
“That is a political discussion that is going to transpire over a period of
time,” he said, noting that discussions about bilateral and legal authorities
would be between the governments of Jamaica, Trinidad, US and Canada.
“That is way above my pay grade and it is really inappropriate and premature to
speculate on these things,” Nobles said when pressed as to whether there was
anything that could prevent the granting of such permission.
Speculation was rife that with the extradition dispute over Jamaica’s refusal to
hand over Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke — to face charges
of gun and drug trafficking — the US would use the occasion to tighten the
screws.
But yesterday, an upbeat Information Minister Daryl Vaz, while admitting that
the April 5 deadline was not met, said the team currently in Washington was
reporting that the negotiations were going well.
“Based on the report that came to Cabinet yesterday by Minister Henry, those
discussions are going very well and we don’t see any problems in terms of the
transition between Caribbean Airlines and Air Jamaica,” Vaz told journalists at
yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House in Kingston.
Meanwhile, Vaz explained that Cabinet had approved an Open Skies policy for
negotiation of future and renegotiation of the current air service agreement
between Jamaica and other states.
“The Open Skies policy will allow for unfettered seven freedom traffic rights in
relation to cargo. Seven freedom rights allow airlines to carry passengers or
cargo between foreign countries without any continuing service to one’s own
country,” he explained.
With respect to the route schedule, Vaz said there would be no restriction in
regard to route and traffic rights, frequency of service or capacity.

PM Patrick Manning...no bailout for Air Jamaica

What’s the situation with the beleagured AirJamaica which has racked up hundreds of millions of

dollars in losses? Well, the Trinidad and Tobago Government which was approached by the Jamaica Government to

possibly buy the airline has signed a letter of intent with that Government and has made it quite

clear that it would not be putting good money after bad. The plan is to have Caribbeamn Airlines service Air Jamiaca’s well established routes and act as

the airline of Jamaica. It could be a tricky proposition and theTHE Jamaican Airline Pilots’ Association (JALPA) wants

none of this. Jalpa stated in the Jamaica Observer that said “it will consider starting its own airline if it fails to acquire Air Jamaica.” The Jamaica Observer article added: “But that option would not be exercised until all avenues have been exhausted to take over the national airline, which Government said it would be taking off its books by the end of March. Captain John Eyre (left), manager of training and standards at Air Jamaica; Captain Russell Capleton, spokesman for the Air Jamaica Staff Acquisition Team and immediate past president of the Jamaican Airline Pilots’ Association (JALPA); as well as Captain Maria Ziadie-Haddad, secretary of JALPA, field questions during yesterday’s press conference at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston. JALPA said the starting of a new airline could, however, be a lengthy process as it would have to satisfy all the criteria required by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority. Establishing its own airline, added the pilots, could also be further grounded if the Trinidad and Tobago-owned Caribbean Airlines, now in negotiation to acquire Air Jamaica, receives national carrier status. According to Captain John Eyre, manager of training and standards at Air Jamaica, granting Caribbean Airlines national carrier status would prohibit any Jamaican from owning and operating an airline which would compete on the routes Caribbean Airlines is proposing to operate. Captain Eyre was speaking at a press conference yesterday at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston. “…They are seeking exclusive national carrier status which is a no no… (under the open skies agreement) and so they would somehow have to negotiate that with the US,” Eyre said. Describing the proposed sale as one of the biggest mistakes ever made by the Jamaican Government, Eyre said Caribbean Airlines was seeking to operate in and out of Jamaica and not operate for Jamaica. JALPA, he told journalists, was ready with a business plan which would, among other things, identify airlines in the United States with which to partner. “By tomorrow when we go to talk with one of our major investors we will have a plan which will ensure a number of things, keeping in mind that we are talking about an investment of over US$60 million, and any investor who is investing that amount of money would want to ensure growth because that is where he generates his money,” he said. Captain Russell Capleton, immediate past president of JALPA and spokesman for the Air Jamaica Staff Acquisition Team, said the association has a number of investors who were ready to pump money into the airline. He maintained that firm offers were made to the Government, through its equity partner, indicating that the necessary funding was available to operate the airline. JALPA’s business plan, he said, was not based on sentiments as its investors were interested in operating a viable operation. Among the plans put forward by JALPA is for an Employee Share Ownership Programme (ESOP) and an Initial Public Offering to be put in place within a year or two of acquisition. Captain Maria Ziadie-Haddad, secretary of JALPA, said the association had already received thousands of signed applications from employees who are willing to participate in the ESOP.

Guardian Holdings, which suffered hefty losses in its last financial year, last week sold two foreign loss making European motor insurance companies, Zenith Insurance and GHL Insurance Services UK Ltd.

GHL Group CEO Jeffrey Mack revealed that the two companies are being sold to MarkerStudy Holdings, a Gibraltar-based insurance company.

“This move is part of the group’s overall strategy to shed non-performing businesses and reduce operating costs so as to deliver sustainable, quality earnings to its shareholders”,

Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira says there is no recession

Expert gives tips to businesses walloped by recession.

In this economic downturn, it is easy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to find themselves in difficulty, especially newer SMEs and those that did not prepare for the unexpected leaner times.

However, there is hope: Spence M Finlayson, Bahamas-born and world renowned motivational speaker and corporate trainer is the President & CEO of the Phoenix Institute for Positive Development & Empowerment, based in Nassau, Bahamas, has some solutions.

Finlayson, who is also the creator and Host of the ‘Dare To Be Great’ TV Show, offers a clear set of guidelines that give entrepreneurs an all-encompassing approach to business problems, and even explains how one’s spiritual grounding could be of value in these difficult times.

According to Finlayson, acceptance, and the realisation that the hand of a higher power is at work are the keys to getting through financial and other business difficulties: “Accept what is happening, remember that God is a God of order and everything is in perfect divine order. “If you are not able to make the right decisions anymore, just wait and trust. “Ask your Higher Power to set you back on the right path,” he wrote, and also gave these tips to help on how to get “unstuck” in business:

1. Take a Different Course of Action

When you are mentally in a rut, you should take a break

and try something totally different. If you regularly

lift weights for your exercise routine, then switch to

the aerobics class or take up yoga. Vigorous exercise is

good for venting frustration.

The endorphins that are released through vigorous

exercise helps to change your mood and outlook.

2. Have An Attitude of Gratitude

An attitude of gratitude for all of the things on your

gratitude list helps you to see your situation from a

thankful perspective. As we look at our lives from this

angle we then realise that we are not really stuck, we are

just regrouping for our next business level. Success

brings success!

3. Know that this too shall pass

No matter what are you going through in your business

life; trials and tribulations, there is an innocuous

phrase in the Holy Bible that says “and it came to

pass!” It did not come to stay, it came to pass.

Remember that this too shall pass. Yes, the sun will

come out tomorrow.

4. Take a trip somewhere

I recently was invited to Barbados to speak at a

luncheon and I thoroughly enjoyed the island. This trip

rejuvenated me to no end. I felt totally energised and

the words from “Aquarius” by the Fifth Dimension ,

really hit home to me: “When the moon is in the seventh

house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will

guide the Planets and love will steer the stars. Harmony

and understanding , sympathy and trust abounds, no more

falsehoods or derisions, Golden living dreams of

visions, mystical Crystal Revelation and the mind’s true

liberation.”

5. Talk to a Confidant

Have a personal chat with someone who is very close to

you but who is also very objective. Talking about your

situation with your confidant can work wonders in moving

forward from your “stuck” position. Usually an outsider

or somebody without a vested interest in your business

can shed new light on the issues affecting you and your

company.

6. Take a pit stop

You know life lets us know when its time to take a pit

stop, where like at the Indianapolis 500, the drivers

pull into “gasoline alley” for an oil change, change

tyres and to refuel. Being stuck is a signal that you

need to take a break and pull into your own “gasoline

alley” for your pit stop. Most importantly progress in

our business or personal lives comes in stages. It takes

a real determined and focused individual to make it

through a seemingly non-productive stage, the stage of

being stuck.

7. If your horse dies, get off!

In the recovery movement, a popular saying is “insanity

is doing the same things over and over again but

expecting different results.” A good illustration of

’staying stuck’ is found in the following story called

“What To Do When Your Horse Dies.” If the horse you’ve

been riding has died, then get off the horse! But

instead of getting off, we try: Buying a stronger whip,

switching riders, trying a new bit or bridle, moving the

horse to a new location, saying “this is the way we’ve

always ridden this horse,” form a commission to study

the horse, visit other places where they ride dead

horses more efficiently, blame the horse’s parents or

complain about the state of horses these days. So

finally, just remain positive, and you will rise again from

the ashes like the phoenix!

Tending to bananas in St Vincent

The Windward Island governments which produce bananas-St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St Lucia and Dominica- have certainly not benifited from the much-vaunted Summit of the Americas here or the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which they were , literally, bullied into signing this time last year. These banana producing territories, which account for a mere one per cent of the European Union’s banana imports, are in danger of going out of business because of a recent agreement between the EU and the Latin American producers, which are in reality American multinationals. There are implications for Patrick Manning’s grandiose plans for political union with these islands.Combined with this country’s deteriorating economic circumstances such lofty dreams may just skid on a banana skin. An editorial from the Vincentian newspaper comments on the situation:

Bananas, it is said, are the world’s favourite fruit.  Bananas is also said to be the fourth most important crop in the world, following wheat, rice and maize.

So it is, believe it or not, that St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as miniscule as it might appear, is a player in the worldwide game in which banana is the game’s focus.

Most of the world’s bananas come from the Africa- Pacific- Caribbean (ACP) countries on the one hand, and Latin American (USA-owned) operations on the other.

The supply matrix is such because in the (banana) world market, dominated by consumption in Europe, a battle has been waging between the ACP and Latin American producers; it is , in fact, a battle between former European colonies and recently acquired interests of American multi-national corporations in South and Central America, themselves former appendages of the Spanish ‘new world’ empire.

As it is today, prices paid to producers are one-third lower than what they were seven years ago.  Little surprise therefore, that it is said that close to eighty percent of producers in the Windward Islands have gone out of business since 1992.

The salvation (?) for the ACP banana producers has been that window of opportunity (albeit diminishing in size) of some degree of preferential treatment by the European Union (EU) – by the UK in terms of the Caribbean producers. A most-favoured-nation tariff on Latin American bananas entering Europe made for some continuing ‘protection’ for the ACP fruit. Now, what do we hear?

Reports are that the EU and the Latin American banana producers have struck a new deal: the EU will cut its current most-favoured-nation tariff from 176 Euros (US$262) to 148 Euros per tonne, and, over the next seven years, the tariff would be further reduced to 114 Euros (US$ 170) per tonne. In exchange, the Latin American producers will drop all outstanding World Trade Organisation (WTO) arbitrations on the matter.

Needless to say, this new deal puts pressure on ACP bananas.  And because of their size, that pressure is amplified when exerted on small producers like the Windward Islands, where it (pressure) can be expected to have a trickle down adverse impact on wages of already hard-to-get workers.

And as if to appease their guilty consciences, the Europeans have offered all ACP banana producing countries, 190 million Euros (US$283.6 million) for restructuring and adjustment. The ACP countries are arguing for 250 million Euros (US$373.2 million) to ensure that there is adequate compensation to each of the banana producing countries.  Is this the least they can do in the circumstances?

This recent action by the EU brings into focus the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between Europe and the Caribbean.  It would appear after finding that it, the Caribbean, had no or very little choice other than to sign on to the EPA, that its partner, Europe, is after all, not as sincere, not as honest, as it purports to be.

But worse for the Caribbean, is the forked tongue of the Latinos. They cry out for a new age of relationship with the Caribbean; some tout a Bolivarian type reform for the region with a common history they say; under one political philosophy, one currency (if they could); but when it comes down to the bread and butter issues affecting the people, bi-lateral, multi-lateral understandings, get thrown down the drain.

This is borne out by CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington who has said openly that the Latinos are ‘pushing the Caribbean out of the EU market even as they are attesting to desire for a closer relationship with the Caribbean’.

So the Caribbean finds itself between the proverbial rock and a hard place:  it cannot trust Europe to be an ‘equal’ partner, and neither can it now put any hope in  this ‘new’ relationship with our Spanish and Portuguese speaking hemispheric neighbours.

So where does that leave small island states, vulnerable economies like SVG?

Out of sheer necessity, there must be a lobby at the highest trade levels (WTO) for preferential consideration.  Our economies are small, microscopic in relation to the world; our human resource base small comparatively speaking,; our economies  are susceptible to natural disasters and to the smallest of ripples in the fiscal and financial systems in developed countries – we have to be strong and consistent in our appeals to the likes of the WTO for preferred treatment.

And what of appealing to that new President of the USA, one with a perceived different mindset, is that far-fetched?

Or can Venezuela help us out of this tangled web which we share with new ‘friends’?

People are not reading the Guardian but it pulls in the advertising. The Guardian’s sister companies are also making money. They all happen to be part of the Ansa McAl business empire.

The Trinidad Publishing Company made not be doing well in the media stakes but it keeps making money- some $26.7 million, before tax, for the first nine months of 2009. Last year, for the corresponding period, the figure was $35.5 million.

The company, of course, is part of the Ansa McAl conglomerate.

Therefore, the Guardian being way down in the daily newspaper circulation stakes- a mere 13 per cent- and CNC 3 and the radio stations also not doing that well are not major issues when it comes to advertising support, the media’s life blood.

Chairman Dennis Gurley keeps complaining about investment in new press and television equipment resulting in increased operating cost. That is only one side of the story: he should find out why fewer and fewer people are buying or reading the Guardian; the reason for the radio stations being walloped by its competitors and CNC3 being miles behind TV6 in the ratings.

It’s very expensive to travel throughout the Caribbean by air. A new ferry offers fares which are half that offered by Liat or Caribean Airlines.

In the old days, people travelled throughout the Caribbean by windjammers, small boats with sails, sometimes engines. There were no airlines then and BWIA’s service was very restricted when they began operations almost 70 years ago.

In the 1940s, The MV Silver Arrow was a popular way to travel to Grenada, St Vincent or Barbados, with buckets available for the many who got seasick.

A decade later when the West Indies Federation came into being, there were two boats, the Federal Palm and the Federal Maple, available for inter-island travel. When these boats went out of service, Liat expanded and offered relatively cheap fares.

In the 1990s, a Vincentian company provided an alternative to air travel with the weekly service of a modern vessel, The Windward, which also carried cargo and took Trinidadians and Tobagonians to St Vincent as well as to Margarita. This came to an end seven years ago when the Windward collided with a Coast Guard cutter.

Less than two months after it was announced the launching of a new ferry service to provide sea travel to the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, a Puerto Rico-based ferry company has expressed an interest in expanding to the North-Eastern Caribbean, linking those islands and Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic.

The company has successfully operated a ferry service between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic for the past 10 years. The service transports 1,150 passengers and 365 vehicles per trip.

President of Caribbean Ferries, Nestor Gonzalez met with St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Current Chairman of the Authority of the OECS, Denzil Douglas during a recent visit to the Municipality of Caguas, a town in Puerto Rico.

Douglas pointed out that inter-island transportation continues to be a major challenge to development in the Caribbean region, and praised the introduction of such a service as a boost for economic activity in the sub-region: “This will increase commercial business between St Kitts and Nevis, the OECS and Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic,” said Douglas, who informed Gonzalez of a similar “inter-Federation service” by the Nevisian Company “Sea Bridge” between Nevis and St Kitts.

Douglas asked the Puerto-Rico-based company to submit the proposal to the OECS Secretariat through the OECS Promotion and Investment Office in Puerto Rico.

This new proposal comes on the heels of a new ferry service to be operated by BEDY Oceanlines which is expected to make its maiden voyage on Tuesday.

BEDY told the media that one ferry will be based in St Vincent and will service the St Vincent to Barbados and St Lucia routes while another ferry will be based in Grenada and will service the Grenada to Trinidad and Barbados route.

The company also plans to expand their operations to other neighbouring Caribbean countries. The proposed launch of the ferry service is being hailed by many as a much-needed boost to the region’s integration process.

With air travel no longer being inexpensive-:it can cost some $2,000 to travel to Barbados and it is cheaper to travel to New York than to Grenada for Christmas- the new ferry service is offering fares that are half the price than what can be obtained from Liat or Caribbean Airlines.

MTS has three successive profitable years. The chairman ascribes this to prudent management

The stereotype of a state enterprise is that of a bumbling, loss-making company.

Whether this is true or not, the National Maintenance and Security Company Ltd (MTS) surely does not fit this description.

MTS is, in fact, one of many Government-owned or controlled companies that does not cause the taxpayer grief but which has been profitable.

Its latest financial statements show accumulated after tax profits of over $78 million for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Turnover has also increased –from some $273 million in 2006 to $349 million in 2008 while its expenses have gone up significantly and its work force has grown 3 per cent to the present figure of 4, 459.

Last after tax profits were some $21.95. million up slightly higher than the 2007 figure of $21.9 million.

Chairman Peter Forde said that the company’s performance was achieved “through prudent management, notwithstanding the global economic downturn….”

MTS, which was formed over 30 years ago, provides facilities maintenance, agribusiness and project management services to several Government ministries, statutory authorities and state enterprises.

]]> http://www.tntinsider.com/business/02056/mts-has-another-big-year/feed/ 0 http://www.tntinsider.com/business/01972/lj-williams-racks-up-4million-losses/ http://www.tntinsider.com/business/01972/lj-williams-racks-up-4million-losses/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:26:55 +0000 Bill D'Argent http://www.tntinsider.com/?p=1972

The outlook for the company remains gloomy. Things may turn around this time next year..

L.J.Williams Ltd is singing the blues.

Things are slow. Its financial statements now represent a 15-month period (“due to the change in our year end”) and this could not prevent the company from having a before tax loss of $422,000.

How did this happen?

According to Dr Krishna Bahadoorsingh, chairman, in his review, January to March was the slowest quarter and there were two such quarters.

He pointed out that the group “has not been immune from the economic downturn that has affected most businesses and this was especially so with our subsidiary the Home Store” which opened last November.

The Home Store lost a staggering $8.5 million. Group sales amounted to some $207.5 million and some companies in the group actually made a profit.

What is the outlook?

“We expect Financial Year 2010 to be a difficult year, and should the economy remain depressed, do not see any major improvement until the second half of 2010”,