8. November 2009 by admin.

Juhel Browne jbrowne@trinidadexpress.com

The Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s administration has expressed its ’profound apology’ to the people and government of Saudi Arabia for the search and questioning of one of their diplomats by local law enforcement on Monday. The Sunday Express understands the apology was sent in writing by way of a diplomat note issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon had told the Express in an article published on Thursday that she had been told of ’some discontent’ being expressed by the government of Saudi Arabia, over the questioning of diplomat Dr Fawaz Abdul Rahaman Al Shabili by the police who searched his hotel room at the Hyatt Regency hotel, in Port of Spain. An official apology was sent to the Saudi Arabian Government yesterday, four days after Deputy Police Commissioner Raymond Craig, who is in charge of the Special Branch and Crime Intelligence, expressed his apologies over the incident. Craig had said on Tuesday the police were acting on information that raised concerns about a security risk that was proven to be unfounded and stressed that none of the officers who questioned Al Shabili searched his person. ’The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conveyed an expression of profound apology in respect of the incident to the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,’ the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a media release issued yesterday. In its media release, the Ministry mentions the phrase ’profound apology’ twice with regard to its communication with the Saudi Arabian government over the issue. Gopee-Scoon had explained last week that not all diplomats are afforded immunity from search by the police and as far as she was aware on Monday when she was interviewed on the matter, Al Shabili ’is not a diplomat who is afforded special rights or privileges under the Vienna Convention, which gives him immunity from search.’ The Ministry confirmed that ’Al Shabili was deployed by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to travel to Trinidad and Tobago for the express purpose of issuing Hajj visas for the 2009 season.’ Al Shabili had been staying at the Hyatt Regency hotel and was issuing visas to local Muslims who wished to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. ’In this regard, the Ministry has conveyed an expression of profound apology in respect of the incident to the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Muslims view the journey to the Holy City of Mecca to participate in Hajj as a lifelong desire. The facility which continues to be provided by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the people of Trinidad and Tobago is highly valued,’ the Ministry stated. Normally, Muslims wishing to attend the Hajj have to travel to Venezuela to get a visa to visit Saudi Arabia, even though the Ministry stated yesterday that this country ’established formal diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on July 5, 1974.

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8. November 2009 by admin.

Trinidad Express Aretha Welch awelch@trinidadexpress.com

Production down: Sugar cane farmers. As the Christmas season approaches, sugar and sugar-based products are becoming more expensive. Two weeks ago, the Central Bank released data which indicated that ’food price inflation, the main contributor to headline inflation measured 6.8 per cent… to September compared with 5.2 per cent in August.’ The Bank further stated, ’Increases in the food sub-index came mainly from fruits and sugar and confectionery products.’ This means that goods which, for a very long time, have carried relatively small price tags, would now see consumers digging deeper into their pockets to get these products even as manufacturers seek ways to manage the price increases. Imran Khan, CEO of KC Confectionary, one of the country’s biggest producers of confectionary, said in an interview that though the price of sugar has been on the increase, the company has so far managed to keep prices steady. Khan said this was possible because of a fixed price contract with the company’s current sugar supplier, the Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd at Usine Ste Madeleine. This contract expires in two months however, and Khan said new sugar prices to increase by at least 60 percent. Meanwhile, at various groceries in downtown Port of Spain, shoppers said they have taken note of the increase in the price of sugar in the last few weeks. ’It has increased by about 50 cents on each pound,’ said a mother of two on Independence Square. But the increase in the price of sugar is anything but sudden. Khan explained that India, the world’s largest consumer of sugar, has experienced a significant fall in the amount being produced in that country because of drought. Production level and the size of the canes grown by Indian farmers have been cut in half because of dry weather conditions and therefore India is now a major importer of sugar. ’The key thing is India is the second largest producer but largest consumer. But India hasn’t had a monsoon to really bring in the crops, ’ explained economist Jwala Rambaran. Rambaran also pointed to slowing sugar production in Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugar. ’Brazil is diverting some of its (sugar) production into ethanol, so there is a significant short fall from Brazil,’ he said. Both Khan and Rambaran also agreed that speculation was also driving the price increase as producers and buyers anticipate a further fall in production by next year. Prices are likely to shoot up again before they go down, said Rambaran, adding that the ’markets’ predict that by next March, sugar prices will reach a 30-year high and ’shoot through the roof.’ ’This will set us back and affect us back in Trinidad,’ he said.

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8. November 2009 by admin.

Trinidad Express By Omatie Lyder, who visited China from October 23 to November 4, on the invitation of the Chinese government.

Mega project: A front view of the National Academy for the Performing Arts on thePrinces Building Grounds in Port of Spain. -Photo:Stephen Doobay Is the new National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain like Godzilla trampling over the city or a beautiful gazelle poised gracefully above us? The views of citizens are mixed. Some stand in awe of it, while others dismiss it as a ghastly building, unfit for the architectural ambience of the capital city. What we are told, however, is that Prime Minister Patrick Manning thinks it is more beautiful than the Sydney opera house in Australia. Director and president of Overseas Business of the Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) Tong Ji Sheng, in an interview at his Shanghai headquarters last Wednesday, said Manning told him this. Manning is apparently not the only one who is so enamoured. Someone else described the Academy ’like a pearl in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean area’, Sheng said. This ’pearl’’ is apparently so precious to the Shanghai Construction Group that Sheng is visiting Trinidad and Tobago this weekend to inspect the Academy, which he described as a ’complicated project… using the most advanced technology’. More Chinese workers were brought in by the SCG to finish the Academy on time for tomorrow’s handing over ceremony by the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (UDeCOTT). The grand opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is also set to take place at the Academy on November 27. Sheng said work was being done on the electrical and gas supply as well as the plaza last week, and the mega project was nearing an end. The construction period was shortened by six months and Sheng said he was confident the end cost would be quite low in the context of the local construction market. A cost of $358 million was given by former culture minister Joan Yuille-Williams in response to a question by Opposition MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh in Parliament in 2007, but the final figure is not yet revealed. The Academy is not the only building outside China built by the SCG that is causing a stir. Sheng boasted that the SCG recently completed the Chinese Embassy in the United States, which is being marvelled at by many senior US officials. This too was done at a low cost in a short time, he said. In Shanghai, the SCG logo is plastered everywhere. The group is now building the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in the world, in China at 630 metres; it just constructed the riveting red China pavilion for Expo 2010 in Shanghai; has built bridges over rivers and the sea and airport terminals. Trinidad and Tobago’s relationship with the SCG started ten years ago-the first five an exploratory period of getting to know and understand the local construc- tion market. It is, however, undeniably a somewhat strained relationship, with local contractors crying unfairness and lack of transparency in the awarding of contracts, an outcry so audible that an enquiry is taking place into UDeCOTT and the construction sector. This has not fazed the SCG and it has no plans to exit the Trinidad and Tobago market. Sheng has described the SCG as the most influential construction company in Trinidad and Tobago today. ’With our good quality, quick speed and low cost, we are competitive. Our success may contribute to the good image of China construction companies in Trinidad and Tobago,’ he added. There are at least two more Chinese construction companies that are in charge of building projects in Trinidad and Tobago. According to Sheng, the SCG has observed that Trinidad and Tobago has two 20-year development plans and since this country has a big influence in the Caribbean area, ’we hope to explore the neighbouring construction market’ and to ’turn our company into a local company based in Trinidad and Tobago’. The company also plans to include local labourers and overcome the big problem of how to better employ local resources, such as engineers, in their projects here as well as offer contracts to good construction companies. In the last five years, SCG has also built the Prime Minister’s residence and diplomatic centre, refurbished the old Piarco airport terminal in time for the Fifth Summit of the Americas last April, and is currently building the Ministry of Education Tower. Asked whether he can guarantee the safety of all these buildings, Sheng said confidently that if a problem occurs ’you can put me in jail in Trinidad and Tobago’. He cautioned, though, that the buildings should be maintained every three to five years, ’just as we should wash and iron our clothes’. If there is no maintenance, he said the buildings won’t collapse, but would look ’miserable’. Sheng hopes the SCG’s efforts in Trinidad and Tobago will better contribute to the country’s economic and social development and that citizens will not only see the bad side but the good image set by the Chinese group. Features The 429,093-square-foot Academy features the following: - A 1,500-seat performance hall; - Two practice halls; - Teaching rooms; - State-of-the-art lighting and sound features; - Stages designed to showcase pannists and other artistes; - A hotel; - Landscaped surroundings, including seating areas, water features and greenery; - Parking facilities.

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8. November 2009 by admin.

Trinidad Express Rohandra John

TIGHT SQUEEZE: People jostle each other to get through the gates at the western entrance of the Culture Ministry’s head office at Jerningham Avenue, Bemont, where free tickets were being distributed yesterday, on a first-come, first-served basis for a cultural presentation entitled: “Dance Me Lover” to be staged by the National Theatre Arts Company of Trinidad and Tobago. The show will be held at the auditorium of the newly-built National Academy for the Performing Arts on the Princes Building Grounds, Port of Spain, on Saturday and Sunday.-Photo: JERMAINE CRUICKSHANK Droves of people yesterday crowded the pavements at the Ministry of Community Development and Culture’s head office on Jerningham Avenue, Belmont, in a mad rush for free tickets to the first cultural presentation that will be hosted at the multi-million-dollar National Academy for the Performing Arts next weekend. Outside the Naparima Bowl in San Fernando, people also lined up for tickets for the command performance of Dance Me, Lover by the National Theatre Arts Company of T&T at the Academy. Members of the public were invited to collect free tickets-two per person-for the event at the Academy, which will be officially opened tomorrow. Several people who waited patiently in line yesterday in Port of Spain, braving the scorching mid-morning heat to get tickets, said they were more interested in going to see the ’great Academy’ than they were in the cultural presentation. A number of them told the Sunday Express they ’were dying to see what the inside’ of the massive structure looks like, having only been able to see its exterior for the past several months. Others said they would be looking to see whether their tax dollars had been ’well spent’. ’I not so much interested in the shows. I want to see what inside the Academy is like. From outside, it looks beautiful, and it is a great building, but I want to see what the ambience is like. I think that is why a lot of people may be going to the shows,’ St James resident Simone Chin Choy said after she exited with her tickets yesterday. She said she was surprised at the number of people she saw waiting in line for tickets when she arrived at the Ministry’s office around 9.45 p.m. In advertisements published in the press last week, the Ministry said tickets were to be distributed to the public from 10 a.m., but yesterday, people showed up at its office on Jerningham Avenue from as early as 8 a.m. By 9.45 a.m., there was a long line of people, some with umbrellas, standing at the gate at the western end of the building’s car park entrance, where they were required to wait. That line soon stretched past the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (TSTT) building, also located on Jerningham Avenue, as the morning progressed, and the pavements became crowded. The lone security guard and a Ministry of Health employee, Clarence Baptiste, who said he was asked to assist with manning the gate at the western entrance, had their hands full as they struggled to keep the crowd under control. Baptiste was often heard pleading with the crowd to act responsibly and to exercise more discipline. Some people knocked the Ministry for not putting a better ticketing system in place. One member of the public, who did not wish to be identified, said it was unfair that after waiting for ’so long outside the gate’, people were required to join another line once inside the compound, before they got to the area where the tickets were being distributed. Others questioned why a numbering system had not been put in place. Efforts to contact the Ministry’s communications manager, Aleem Khan, for comment yesterday proved futile.

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8. November 2009 by admin.

St. Lucia Star

WASCO workers want answers and they want them now. Not even the leaders of their unions can persuade them to be more patient. In fact, one union general secretary was reportedly lifted up and forcibly carried out of the compound to his vehicle when he tried to coax the staff to postpone strike action which started yesterday.

David Demacque of the Civil Service Association joked on Wednesday morning that he quite enjoyed the ride but confirmed to the STAR that the union imagined that it would be to the workers benefit not to take strike action until after the government was ready to divulge the findings of a consultant’s review of the company and the possibility of privatization.

Unfortunately for Demacque, and other union leaders, WASCO management and the government, WASCO workers have heard it all before and they don’t want to discuss any more postponements until the prime minister himself addresses their concerns directly. They say they are at the end of their rope and they are willing to flex their muscles if they have to.

“We have the entire tourism industry in our hands,” one striking worker said. “They think they are dealing with a bunch of illiterates and they can just ignore us and disrespect us. But if we want we can shut St Lucia down. We are trying to be patient, but these fellas are taking us for maji. They have to respect us and they have to come down here and tell us the truth.”

Yesterday, Wednesday 4th November they finally took strike action after months of extending the deadline by which they promised to take action. Although water still came through the taps, operations of the Water and Sewerage Company were practically shut down as dozens of workers in Castries and hundreds of workers all over the island protested what they say is the disrespect shown to them by the government.

Although tensions seemed high, WASCO management was loathe to involve police and risk an escalation.
Management of the water company may not agree with the workers methods, their intensity or their haste but they do agree that workers have a fair amount of reason to be grumpy.

“It is a legitimate strike,” WASCO manager John Joseph conceded. “They gave 30 days notice and a further 15 days extension. They want a decision about whether the company is going to be privatized or not.”
Where did it all start? Depends on who you ask.

For as long as John Joseph has been manager at WASCO, talk of privatization has been causing WASCO workers frustration—and that was ten years ago.

Many workers have found it impossible to access loans because banks and other financial institutions see WASCO as a company in transition and expect that at any moment, many workers could lose their jobs, due to privatization.

In May of this year, while teachers and civil servants were protesting against government’s postponement of their increases, WASCO were already on edge. Prime Minister Stephenson King responded directly to their demands for a final decision about privatization to be made and publicized by asking them for a 30 days more in which to make the decision. By the end of the 30 days, King had asked for 90 days more.

In October, the workers issued a notice of intent to take strike action if government did not keep its promise to make a final decision about WASCO. That would at least have the effect of ending uncertainty about the future of the company – if not persuade banks that WASCO workers were an acceptable risk.

Labour minister Edmund Estephane pulled the short straw and was assigned to go to workers to address their plight.

“The man was there as though he didn’t even know what was going on,” one former shop steward told the STAR of Estephane. “He couldn’t answer any of our questions, he couldn’t tell us anything new. The only thing he could do was ask for another extension of 30 days for the government.”

With their patience already worn thin, the workers granted Estephane and the government 15 days more. This past Tuesday was the 15th day. Yesterday, workers wanted no more excuses, no more talk of patience or time for the consultants to do their work. They wanted answers and they wanted them now.

On Wednesday afternoon, leaders of the Civil Service Association and the National Workers Union met with managers of WASCO and found out that they were on the same page, supporting the workers in principle, while urging for workers to dial back tensions and exercise more patience. But workers had already made up their minds and there was nothing that their own union representatives could do to persuade them to back down.

“The members are the ultimate decision-makers,” Demacque told the STAR, even while admitting, “although we in the union might imagine that there could be a better way of going about this.”
Why is the government delaying giving WASCO workers the answers they need?

Perhaps because while they were on the election campaign trail they had promised never to privatize WASCO, but once they were in power, they moved, even faster than the previous Labour government to sell the water company off. The privatization of WASCO is considered by many to be one of the ruling party’s broken election promises. The process of privatizing the company has been further complicated by problems in the bidding process and doubts within the ruling party about whether to go ahead with the process of divesting the government of WASCO. But many workers seem to be fed up of the vacillation of the government about whether or not they will privatization the company. They are not impressed by the government’s problems as much as they are by their own.

The government has now promised that it will be ready to give WASCO workers the answers they need, but there is always a but. The government wants one more 15-day extension. A government review of the possibility of privatizing WASCO is said to be complete and the cabinet wants to buy a little time to study the contents before they make any more breakable promises to WASCO’s workers.

But WASCO workers say that if the report is already available to government, then the government should already be in a position to send a representative to the workers to tell them where they stand and explain once and for all whether or not water will be privatized.

WASCO shop stewards were scheduled to have a meeting at the labour department with the minister, the unions and WASCO management, but at the time of writing shop stewards were insisting there would be no meeting if the government did not show them respect by sending someone to communicate with the strikers directly.

“The government’s presence is important,” one shop steward said. “The more this is prolonged the worse it will get.”

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8. November 2009 by admin.

RICE AND PEAS; MACARONI PIE

SWEET POTATO PIE; STEAMED PUDDING

PORK PELAU; CURRIED CHICKEN

BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK

BBQ SPARERIBS; FRIED POT FISH

FRIED STEAK FISH; GRILLED STEAK FISH

PORK STEW; FISH GRAVY

STEAMED VEGETABLES; COLE SLAW

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8. November 2009 by admin.

 Stabroek News (Guyana)

Tragedy visited a Guyanese family yesterday when one of its young members fell over Kaieteur Falls, traumatizing the tour group she was with.

Aliya Bulkan

Twenty-three-year-old Aliya Bulkan, of New Providence, East Bank Demerara, daughter of businessman Rustum Bulkan and his wife Kamini went over the waterfall some time around 11 am yesterday, while on a visit to the area. The second of three daughters, Bulkan had only recently returned from the United States where she had been studying. A female relative said yesterday that the family was in deep shock over the incident.

Bulkan and eight other passengers, including one of her close friends, left the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on board a Roraima Airways aircraft for the Kaieteur National Park. The group was booked to have a structured tour.

Proprietor of Roraima Airways Gerry Gouveia said the plane took off at 8.20 am and landed at 9.10 am. According to him, the two-hour tour through the national park and then to the waterfall, was nearing completion when the incident occurred.

He said the group was small and so there was only one tour guide. He said the information reaching him was that the tourists were walking in “the usual single file” returning to the aircraft when the young woman turned back towards the falls, screamed and then disappeared.

Gouveia was communicating with his staff at Timehri who recounted that two Koreans who were on the tour recounted that the young woman had been the last person in the line. According to him, his staff had spoken to the Koreans, in particular a woman, who said she saw Bulkan go over the falls. The woman was up to late yesterday very traumatized as was Bulkan’s friend.

“We deem her missing,” Gouveia said. “… Teams out there, including the police, are searching the area and the army is standing by and they have been very helpful.”

Gouveia explained that the fall at this time is at its peak. Kaieteur Falls, easily one of the most powerful falls on the planet, has the rare combination of great height and great volume. Located in the Kaieteur National Park, the approximately 113 metres (370 ft) wide Potaro River plunges 226 metres (741 ft) over a sandstone cliff – Kaieteur’s first break. It then flows over a series of steep cascades which when included in the measurements, bring the total height to 251 metres (822 ft).

Rails?

Describing the incident as extremely unfortunate, Gouveia said there was need for a re-examination of safety features at the tourist site.

There are no safety rails at Kaieteur Falls, unlike several other waterfalls around the world which are tourist sites.

Contacted for a comment in this regard, Tourism Minister Manniram Prashad said he had heard of the incident but was still awaiting details. He said he would not speak with this newspaper at the time. When probed about the safety issues which may result, he said he would need the full details to comment and recommended that this newspaper contact him on Monday.

Immediate past president of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) Renata Chuck-A-Sang said the incident was extremely unfortunate and ought not to have happened.

Asked whether the issue of better safety mechanisms at the Kaieteur Falls had been raised during her tenure, she replied in the affirmative stating that this was why the tour guides who worked there were the best trained.

“We, as an industry, spent a lot of time to ensure that they were trained well, because Kaieteur is one of the most accessible falls and that’s what makes it one of the most dangerous,” she said.

Chuck-A-Sang said there had been a rush to influence the construction of barriers in some quarters, while some environmentalists had argued for the area to remain untouched because of its delicate eco-system.

“So the challenge has always been how do we handle this concern and still make folks happy,” she said.

She insisted that safety was of paramount concern to the tourism industry but stressed that many had maintained that the fall was pristine and its natural state made it beautiful.

The current THAG president is in the interior and could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

Up to last evening the police had made no progress in the recovery efforts and according to Gouveia the army would pitch in. “It is going to be a very hard recovery effort,” he said.

In 1998 Bulkan was the top student in the Secondary School’s Entrance Examination (SSEE). Back then, the former St Margaret’s Primary School student in an interview with Stabroek News was passionate about becoming an astronomer. Her success did not end there as she was again highlighted in the news when she became one of Queen’s College and the country’s top students in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams where she gained eight grade ones and two grade twos.

She attended the University of Guyana and went on to further studies in the United States at Stony Brook University in New York, this newspaper understands.

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8. November 2009 by admin.

Warner LONDON (AP):

FIFA vice-president Jack Warner returned a luxury handbag provided for his wife by England’s World Cup bid team because of the “embarrassment” caused by the subsequent fallout.

Warner, one of 24 FIFA executive members who will vote next year on the World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022, received the $380 Mulberry bag during a visit to London last month and originally thought it was to mark his wife’s birthday.

England, who are primarily targeting the 2018 tournament, now has no plans to distribute the other 23 bags to the FIFA voters.

gifts to officials

FIFA guidelines tell bidding countries that gifts can only be provided to FIFA officials that have “symbolic or incidental value” and Warner accepts this was the case.

“I believe this was a very innocuous gift given by the FA to my wife for her birthday that led to her being embarrassed by the English media,” Warner said. “It was just a symbolic gift and was completely unsolicited- it didn’t matter if it cost two or 200 pounds.

“As far as I am concerned, my wife is sacrosanct and I want no part of anything that affects her, so we decided to return the bag and she did so yesterday morning.”

The British media and opposition Conservative Party had questioned the wisdom of providing the handbag last month.

“We have always sought to act within the laws laid down by FIFA during the bidding process and we will continue doing so,” the bid team said.

During Warner’s visit to London for the Leaders in Football Conference he described England’s bid as “lightweight”.

England will discover in December next year whether it will host the World Cup for the first time since 1966.

Also, the United States, England, Australia, Russia and Japan plus joint proposals from Belgium-Netherlands and Spain-Portugal are bidding for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

Qatar and South Korea have applied for only the 2022 tournament.

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8. November 2009 by admin.

Jamaica Gleaner
Avia Collinder, Business Reporter

Internet usage has increased significantly in Jamaica since 2003 and, with that has come a surge in the numbers shopping for goods online, reflected in the membership growth of courier company memberships.

“Business is very good even considering the whole recession,” says Christopher Barrett, chief executive of the seven-year-old Global Courier Services Limited.

“I would say we have grown about 20 per cent January to October 2009 over the same period last year. We now have 7,000 members.”

Barrett believes his business and others like it have taken off because Jamaicans love to shop, they want more variety than they are currently getting from local retailers, “and also, the prices are much better. Even when tax is added, it is less expensive,” he said.

Among his own membership he notes that women appear to favour Victoria’s Secret and JC Penny, while everyone goes to NewEgg.com for computers.

Amazon.com also sees high usage.

a third branch

In Kingston, Colleen Phillips, managing director of the 11-year-old MailPac - a subfranchise of Aeropost International Services Inc - has opened a third branch in Ocho Rios on the back of this kind of growth.

MailPac, she states, now has 10,000 accounts.

Those operating in the sector estimate that when the smaller service providers are factored in, Jamaica’s eshoppers may number as many as 50,000.

At MailPac, items frequently purchased online include computers, computer accessories, electronics, clothes, shoes and books.

Ronald Stevenson, CEO of the one-year-old website hosting VirtualMalljamaica.com, which will, in December, launch its own online mall and an electronic payment card, says there is a big enough market out there.

“The only thing is for Jamaican stores to position themselves to take advantage of this,” Stevenson said.

A poll by Bill Johnson released in April 2009 indicates that 16.2 per cent of those who go online locally use the Internet for shopping quite often, and that 37 per cent have actually made an Internet purchase at some point.

frequent shoppers

Those who shop the most fall within the age range of 18 to 44.

The Information Economy Report 2009 published last month by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), states as well that 47.65 per cent of Jamaicans now use the Internet, a 22.13 percentage rise over 2003 levels of 25.5 per cent.

For the pleasure of shopping throughout the year, Jamaicans pay membership fees ranging from J$1,500 to US$40 (J$3,560). Shoppers also pay the cost of freight and customs duties for the goods they buy.

At Global Couriers, the annual membership fee is J$1,500. To send a one-pound package, the cost is US$5.38; for two pounds, it is US$8.74.

Non-members cannot use the service.

Discounts are gained through a seven-rewards programme where, after the seventh package, five pounds are credited towards the next purchase.

At MailPac Services, which is located in Kingston and Montego Bay, as well as Ocho Rios, the annual membership fee for opening an account is J$3,630, which allows users access to two overseas addresses - one for mail, magazines and catalogues, and the other to receive packages.

Walk-in clients pay no membership fees, but for them, freight charges are higher and they have no access to the mail, magazine and catalogue service.

For regulars, the charge for one pound of freight is US$6 per pound and US$9 for two pounds. For walk-in clients, the charge is US$8 for one pound and U$$11 for two pounds.

There are no limits on weight, but customers are asked to bear in mind that air freight is used, and this is costly. Once in the island, the object will attract local tax charges and insurance billed at a rate of US50 cents for every US$100 of freight.

total duties

Christopher Barrett of Global Couriers states that total duties depend on the nature of the object purchased, but, in general, these can amount to 45 per cent of the cost of the item.

“A radio, for example, attracts 20 per cent duty, plus GCT of 16.5 per cent and a 5.0 per cent cess on top of that,” he said.

“There is also an environmental levy, which is two per cent.”

Even then, he says, “90 per cent of the time, it is still a better price than what can be had in Jamaica”.

Popular items purchased at Global Courier include computers, computer parts, clothing, household items, bedroom items, televisions, auto parts and health supplies, mostly from the United States.

According to Barrett, since mid-October, his clients have been able to bring in very large items as the service has struck up a partnership with a shipping company to carry ocean freight.

“If you want to ship anything from anywhere in the world, we can do it.”

To shop at Global, members can use a personal in-house credit card or MasterCard debit card on which the maximum obtainable is US$2,500. Membership entitles clients to one other card as well.

Damian Harris of VirtuallMallJamaica.com, which hosts 55 ’stores’, up from eight, after its 2008 start-up - including some which are being prepared for a pre-Christmas launch - says the sites are currently more effective as information portals than for shopping.

Stores featured include Boss Furniture, Home Choice, which sells Jamaican food including pepper shrimp and Solomongunde, Creative Framing, Oh Baby, which sells baby products, and others, which sell metal art, security devices, including cameras, alarm systems and pet supplies.

Websites are constructed for $15,000 and then hosted for $5,000 on a monthly basis.

“Traffic for most stores has been good. We are getting a lot of browsing,” said Stevenson.

The VirtuallMallJamaica.com CEO says he will be launching the shopping portal shopvmj.com on November 25, which will showcase products form all 55 merchants and that shoppers will be able to buy directly with an electronic payment card, starting in December.

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8. November 2009 by admin.

Jamaica Gleaner

NCB’s Atrium headquarters in New Kingston. National Commercial Bank of Jamaica (NCB) became the first home-based listed company to report profit above $10 billion, announcing the big number Friday, even as some of its customers struggle to service their loans in the ongoing recession.

The bank reported loan losses of $1 billion for its financial year ending September 30, 2009, more than double last year’s losses of $468 million, saying borrowers were challenged by the economy and that steps were being taken to help them cope with their liabilities.

But even with the write-off, NCB still made a billion dollars more in the July to September fourth quarter - $2.9 billion compared to $1.94 billion in the 2008 period.

net profit

The number that really stands out, however, is the bank’s net profit for the year - $10.248 billion - off revenues of $35.46 billion, reflecting a $1.5 billion or 18 per cent growth at the bottom line.

On Friday, the bank’s boss, group managing director Patrick Hylton, said he could have made even more money, but opted to play it safe.

“We in a real sense could have made more money, but we deliberately decided that in this environment, we must maintain high levels of liquidity because there was a great deal of uncertainty as to development and how it would take place,” Hylton said at a briefing of investors held at the bank’s corporate headquarters, The Atrium, in New Kingston.

“So in that sense, we have had some trade-off with liquidity on one hand, and earnings on the other hand. We just thought it was the prudent thing to do.”

The bank will share $2.19 billion of earnings with shareholders, having declared dividend of 89 cents per share payable December 3. Roughly two-thirds of the payout will go to majority owner Michael Lee Chin’s companies.

NCB was able to grow profit by growing revenue. Interest from loans brought in an extra $2.6 billion, to reach $13 billion of income at year end, and the bank’s investment portfolio proved even more lucrative, with income from interest on securities growing by more than $3 billion to $22 billion.

But Hylton was also able to maximise income by keeping a stranglehold on expenses.

scored a victory

The group managing director scored a victory by spending $106 million less, reporting expenses of $13.97 billion compared to last year’s $14.08 billion.

Operating profit also grew by $2.5 billion to $13.2 billion. Wealth management subsidiary NCB Capital Markets Limited contributed $2.5 billion to that result, and the insurance segment $1.8 billion.

Treasury remained the most lucrative function, contributing $3.8 billion to operating profit, but underperforming relative to its $4.3 billion contribution in 2008, while retail banking profits were flat at $3.4 billion.

Other metrics to measure progress and profitability were positive for the Michael Lee Chin-owned bank.

Hylton cut NCB’s cost-to-income ratio from 50.1 per cent to 47.7 per cent; grew earnings per share 18 per cent, to $4.16; added 10 per cent to operating revenue, grew loans seven per cent, to $88 billion, and deposits three per cent to $130 billion.

non-performing loans

But non-performing loans also climbed in the period to $2.3 billion and was 2.61 per cent of the loan portfolio, compared to 2.34 per cent a year ago.

NCB also ended the year as a bigger bank, with assets of $315 billion, up from $291 billion, and an improved net worth of $41 billion, reflecting a 30 per cent growth in its capital base.

Its loan portfolio also rose from $82 billion to $88 billion, but the commercial bank’s balance sheet is still more timidly skewed to investment securities, a portfolio that still doubles loan at $167 billion. The investment portfolio also grew by $13 billion, which was more than twice the $6 billion growth in loans.

In the year ahead, the focus, said Hylton, will be “on ensuring that the institution is strong, robust and that it is able to perform in a very difficult environment”.

business@gleanerjm.com

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