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A faster network. n Find out m more inside. week of april 14-20, 2016 | Vol. 2 Edition 14 | WEEKLY $2.00 | © 2016 Latin Media House, LLC | caribbeanbusiness.pr
Prepa Pushes Transition Rate Case
Could a Baby Superbond be in the Works?
In a New York State of Mind
The Bishop Measure Prepares for Markup
Ball in Energy Commission’s Court page 7
Commonwealth Open to Dialogue page 12
Dem & GOP Primaries Loom Large page 24
Senate to Stonewall Control Board page 26
COVER STORY
TOP STORY
Commonwealth Audited Statements Delayed Again KPMG Wants to Take a Crack at Fiscal 2015 Statements Two months ago, Alejandro García Padilla administration officials anticipated that Puerto Rico’s audited financial statements for fiscal year 2014 would finally be delivered by the beginning of April. There is yet another setback, as this will no longer be the case. As of presstime Tuesday, La Fortaleza still did not know when the long-awaited Commonwealth Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the year ended June 30, 2014, would be released.
Drone Alone
The Changing Face of Retail in Puerto Rico In one of the biggest shopping centers in Puerto Rico, at a side hallway that serves as one of the mall’s main entryways, all the retail spaces, except for a bank’s, are closed. At various other parts of the mall, one sees even more stores shuttered. A visual inspection through the mall revealed 39 vacant spaces out of about 300. Not too far away in Río Piedras, an urban center with a once-thriving commercial segment nowadays looks more like a ghost town.
In both instances, as in many others, the store facades only feature white panels or brown paper stuck to glass fronts, with no advertisements boasting of upcoming shops or restaurants slated to take their place. Instead, they stare out blankly at passers-by, serving as reminders of not only Puerto Rico’s dismal economic climate, but also of seismic changes taking place in the retail industry worldwide. When it comes to Puerto Rico, the decade-long
recession—which economists say kicked off in May 2006 with a two-week government shutdown brought on by a budget impasse, and coincided with the phase-out of Section 936 tax incentives—has affected the retail segment to a lesser degree than other economic segments such as construction and real estate, which have seen their business slashed by about half. BY DENNIS COSTA pages 14-18
tasked with the process, said it would take the firm another eight to nine weeks to complete the audit once they receive all pending information. Weekly meetings between all sides have been held for months to discuss the matter, led by La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Grace Santana. Since early this year, administration officials have stated the government has handed in everything on their end. But they have also acknowledged that some commonwealth com-
Treasury Secretary Juan Zaragoza and La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Grace Santana lead government efforts to release the long-overdue audited financial report.
The CAFR was due nearly a year ago, in May 2015. Progress has been made since first putting together information that shows most central government entities cannot guarantee business-as-usual operations throughout the year, as they continue to struggle to honor all their obligations. KPMG, the independent auditors
ponents have yet to finish certain processes related to the external audit, including the cash-strapped Government Development Bank (GDB) and two of the commonwealth’s retirement systems. At this writing, these pending processes had yet to be completed. BY LUIS J. VALENTÍN continues on page 6