STAR Businessweek - 23 December 2017 by STAR Publishing

THE STAR BUSINESSWEEK DECEMBER 23, 2017

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The spread of our island nations over the sea means a maritime challenge is posed to internet connectivity. The same difficulty does not exist for regional connectivity on a big land mass like Africa or Latin America

World Bank plans to name and shame countries on health spending The World Bank plans to name and shame countries that are failing to invest in health and education for their citizens, following a new analysis showing that less than half of the world’s population has access to essential health services. Page 3

MAKING A REAL CONNECTION: Internet speeds an important issue for the Caribbean in 2018 BY ED KENNEDY, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT

As with every holiday season, the end of 2017 will see many people across the Caribbean shopping - to mark the holidays and to share goods with family and friends. This tradition is carried out in the Caribbean and around the world. Unlike many other areas of the world though, the Caribbean and its business community continues to face some unique challenges. Our region is blessed with diverse cultures, great businesses and friendly people. There is so much to be said for making a home in the region, starting a business and building relationships among the Caribbean community. These virtues are not only longstanding and enduring, but growing. While the politics of CIPs in our globalised economy are complex, the fact that more and more citizens of the world seek to make the Carribean their home, affirms that our region is special. Continued on page 4

Honduran farmers accuse World Bank arm of ‘profiting from murder’

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CARIBBEAN TO BE AN EPICENTRE OF CHINA-TAIWAN GEOPOLITICS IN 2018 BY ED KENNEDY, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT

THE COLD WAR IT IS NOT

The STAR Businessweek BY CHRISTIAN WAYNE – EDITOR AT LARGE

Public shaming is nothing new to our society. Politicians publicly shame other politicians (when they aren’t busy shaming one another, you can catch them publicly shaming themselves!), teachers publicly shame difficult students, contemporary ‘cultural’ music blatantly shames women, enshrined legislation publicly shames the LGBTQ community, and the list goes. Like it or not, though, Saint Lucia is about to start receiving some of its own medicine. The EU noncooperative tax jurisdictions list, otherwise known as the EU Tax Blacklist, is just the beginning of what will be more frequent and more consequential public Naming-andShaming campaigns designed to force poor countries—for the most part— into behaving as rich countries want them to. Intrusive and colonial as it may sound, not many people will disagree that a country that chooses to spend six times more on ALMPs like STEP (Short Term Employment Programme) and NICE (National Initiative to Create Employment) than it does on social protection programmes for children may need to reprioritize its development agenda. Read World Bank Plans to Name and Shame Countries on Health Spending on page 3 and visit the World Health Organisation website for the full datasets on Saint Lucia’s health sector indicators such as the number of hospital beds per capita. The Minister of Commerce and Enterprise Development has returned from the WTO Ministerial Conference in Argentina where, according to a government communique, “a number of ministerial decisions were made”. Specifically, the Minister noted that Saint Lucia has chosen to prolong the implementation of duties on eCommerce transactions for another two years in a bid to “assist with the competitiveness of Saint Lucian firms engaging in eCommerce”. Sounds petty, if you ask me, especially when one takes into consideration that Saint Lucia has some of the slowest and most expensive broadband internet rates in the region, according to a new report. Check out Making a Real Connection on pages 1 and 4. The STAR Businessweek Nothing Personal. It’s Just Business. Stay connected with us at: Web: www.stluciastar.com Social: www.facebook.com/stluciastar Email: starbusinessweek@stluciastar.com

When considering the state of great power relations within the Caribbean in 2017, it can sound familiar: Washington intent on maintaining its strategic influence and advantage in the Americas, and an Eastern nation led by a ruling Communist party intent on diminishing US influence locally. While some parallels exist, ultimately China’s rise does not amount to another Cold War. This is because at present the competition is not equal, and it is unclear if it ever will be. Make no mistake, China is indeed a rising power in global affairs. It is also projected to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy - in fact by some measures it already has - and, as it grows more powerful, a greater assertiveness in the foreign policy arena can be expected. But a powerful economy doesn’t necessarily translate into power elsewhere, and vice versa. Japan and Germany may be among the world’s biggest economies but their ‘hard power’ in foreign policy power is limited. Similarly, while the British and French economies may trail their Japanese and German counterparts, each holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (in tandem with a nuclear capability) that ensures each ranks in the first order as a diplomatic power. As with other regions of the world, Washington seeks to sell the (relative) peace and stability the world has seen under its leadership since the end of the Cold War, and its commitment to a Rules-Based Global Order. In turn, though the US hasn’t always perfectly applied this, its support of democracy and human rights remains an important aspect of its leadership. The Communist Party of China, by contrast, seeks to offer economic incentives, and a ‘you need not choose’ narrative. As opposed to the US government’s need to link economic agreements to political freedoms, the CPC readily trades with nations whether they’re democratic, authoritarian or otherwise. While there is economic competition here, the absence of a strong military component illustrates that this is not Cold War 2.

ASIAN AMBITIONS

It is in Asia that the signs of the CPC’s potential ambitions have been most visible. A deeper look behind the scenes of the CPC’s motivations make this a more complex picture.

In an era when many Chinese citizens are increasingly affluent, engaged in the global economy, and have travelled overseas, many Chinese no longer accept the old CPC narrative that greater political freedoms are a danger to Chinese society. The odds are strong that President Xi Jinping knows this himself on an intuitive level, with his daughter being a graduate of Harvard University. This notwithstanding, the painful events that the Chinese people endured at the hands of foreign powers before the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 means many do remain wary of change. Xi and the CPC recognise that their capacity to retain power will depend on keeping the Chinese people fearful of change, and fearful of foreign influence. This helps explain, in part, China’s incursions in the South China Sea. While the CPC’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea is linked to an historic territorial claim that China has to the waters, it’s also good politics for the CPC. The United States and numerous Asian nations signified that they would not recognise China’s new claim and, instead, undertake freedom of navigation exercises. To these nations, these exercises are about sending a message that they intend the South China Sea to remain international waters. For the CPC, this dispute has given it a great new piece of fodder for the nightly news about how yang guiz AKA ‘Western devils’ are once again seeking to seize China’s territory. Ultimately, while Beijing has despatched warships to shadow the US navy and vessels from other nations, so far it has not shown the readiness to assert its claim in the same way it did over Hong Kong, or even the Senkaku Islands, presently disputed with Japan. For now, the South China Sea remains a testing ground for the CPC in its ambitions in Asia. It also remains good politics domestically and, for a Xi-led CPC that knows all of its future ambitions depend on China’s economy continuing to grow, that is enough for the party. While China may ultimately seek to challenge the US leadership in Asia at some point in the future, right now it recognises it is simply unable to do so. What’s more, the ongoing theatrics of Kim Jong Un in North Korea, alongside the increase of military capability in Japan, India, Australia and other countries, affirm it is certainly not the right time for the CPC to challenge. And the CPC

knows it. There is one issue, however, that is the exception to this rule; a strategic tinderbox for Asia that remains a global flashpoint, and one with particularly unique implications for the Caribbean region: the question of Taiwanese sovereignty.

TAIWAN

As opposed to being an outlier, it is within the Caribbean that the ultimate future of Taiwan as the Republic of China, and as a recognised government separate from CPC rule, could be decided. At the time of writing, 20 nations maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, recognising it as the rightful government of China. A sizeable number of these nations reside in the Caribbean and Central America: Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haití, Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines. The CPC maintains that there can be only one China, and any nation that officially recognises Taipei will not enjoy the benefits of a relationship with China. In 1969 Taiwan had full relations with 67 countries. In 1970, when China’s GDP trailed that of Iceland and Luxembourg, economic exclusion of the CPC was more manageable. Today, to not have access to China’s market is to miss out on its booming economic growth, in a nation of 1.3 billion that between 1989 and 2017 averaged 9.69 percent growth. The power of this bargaining chip is something that the CPC recognises, and looks to leverage in the region accordingly. Previous years have seen something of a back and forth: our own Saint Lucia switched recognition from the ROC to the CPC in 1997 and then back to the ROC in 2007- in so doing, aggrieving the CPC and delighting Taiwan. Beyond the merits of each government’s argument, chequebook diplomacy is a factor. It was held to be so in Panama’s switch this year, recognizing the CPC and cutting formal ties with the ROC. It’s also likely to be a factor in the future as our neighbouring nations of Nicaragua and Paraguay, as well as Saint Lucia, are again highlighted as candidates to switch from the ROC to CPC.

CHEQUEBOOK DIPLOMACY AND CARIBBEAN VALUES

While chequebook diplomacy does play a Continued on page 5

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WORLD BANK PLANS TO NAME AND SHAME COUNTRIES ON HEALTH SPENDING BY FT CORRESPONDENT

St. Jude’s Hospital ablaze in 2009. The main healthcare provider in the south of Saint Lucia is still closed for ‘reconstruction’ some eight years later. There are fresh concerns over insufficient action by countries to reach UN sustainable development goals.

The World Bank plans to name and shame countries that are failing to invest in health and education for their citizens, following a new analysis showing that less than half of the world’s population has access to essential health services. The institution will oversee a ranking next year of investments by every nation in the “human capital” of its own people, which it argues is linked to higher economic growth and prosperity. Jim Kim, head of the World Bank, said: “There is overwhelming evidence that health and education outcomes have had a huge impact on economic growth . . . I hope heads of state will begin very actively looking around the world for ways to improve outcomes.” The initiative is likely to trigger

FOOD & RUM

SAINT LUCIA

resistance by countries, after a previous ranking of health systems by the World Health Organisation at the start of the millennium sparked anger from some of those that performed relatively poorly, including Brazil and the US. However, it comes at a time of fresh concern over insufficient action by countries to reach the UN’s sustainable development goals, including renewed efforts to promote “universal health coverage”. Mr Kim said there was now much greater data on health outcomes and a willingness to share the information. The World Bank would also develop new financial instruments for investing in infrastructure in lower income countries, he said. That would create “fiscal space” for them to channel tax receipts into health and education.

FOOD & RUM SAINT LUCIA

JANUARY 12 – 14, 2018

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A study released at a health forum in Tokyo showed that 800m people spend more than 10 per cent of their household budget on healthcare, and that out-of-pocket expenses push 100m into extreme poverty each year.

Research into new ways to provide a basic package of health services to individuals was a signature issue in the campaign earlier this year by Tedros Adhanom to become head of the World Health Organisation. A study released at a health forum in Tokyo showed that 800m people spend more than 10 per cent of their household budget on healthcare, and that out-of-pocket expenses push 100m into extreme poverty each year. Despite strong progress in tackling infections such as malaria and HIV in lower income countries in recent years, there is growing concern that many non-communicable diseases have been neglected. More than 1bn people live with uncontrolled hypertension.

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EXCITING MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT Photo courtesy of: Big Chef Steakhouse

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MAKING A REAL CONNECTION:

Internet speeds an important issue for the Caribbean in 2018 Continued from page 1

These virtues notwithstanding, it’s a reality that logistics and red tape continue to be a challenge to local business. This is especially so in the field of eCommerce, and the holiday period offers a particularly vivid example of this with so many people of the Caribbean looking to buy gifts and treats from near and far. Results can vary widely depending on where you live, where you buy and how your goods are transported. The first step to this is, of course, access to the internet. In recent years the Caribbean has seen much attention placed on the greater growth and promotion of eCommerce. Some good inroads have been made here but, as eCommerce will always depend on the internet for its operation, slower internet limits its growth. An upgrade of internet speeds could boost economic productivity throughout the region. For anyone in the wider Caribbean reading this online, your internet speed could vary widely depending on location. Though Trinidad and Tobago (43), Bermuda (46), and Panama (50) rank in the global top 50 for broadband internet speeds - ahead of nations like Mexico, India, Brazil, and Turkey - the rankings belie a deeper story about speed. At 34.10 download mbps, Trinidad and Tobago’s speed is decent but still below the global average of 40.11. It is also significantly outpaced by the top three nations of Singapore at a whopping 153.85, Iceland at 147.51 and Hong Kong at 133.94. Closer to home, the United States at 75.94 and Canada at 67.49 represent the premium offerings in neighbouring nations. Within this internet data, there are some qualifications that need to be considered.

The massive population of the US market, the close commercial links between US and Canadian business, and the heavy population density in major cities across both nations, can all play a big role in driving down internet prices. Expecting the city of Hamilton, Bermuda, with a population of 65,000 on the island nation, to have the same internet market as New York City with a population of 8.5 million, would be unreasonable. As a general rule, the smaller a population, and more dispersed its people, the more expensive internet will be. Nonetheless, dismissing progress here simply by pointing to Singapore or Hong Kong’s advantages as small but dense locales won’t do. The rapid speeds possessed in Iceland, with a population of just 334,000, and Lithuania (ranked 11 with a speed of 75.94), with a population of 2.87 million, show internet speed isn’t just a question of size and urban sprawl. Sure, the Caribbean has some special challenges in this regard. The spread of our island nations over the sea means a maritime challenge is posed to internet connectivity. The same difficulty does not exist for regional connectivity on a big land mass like Africa or Latin America. This notwithstanding, the geography of the region doesn’t let governments off the hook. As stated in the February 2017 report by the Internet Society into Carribean access: “Caribbean governments have been largely responsive rather than proactive in nurturing the development of the Internet to meet their countries’ needs.” The stats of Caribbean internet access are more confronting when it comes to mobile speeds. While nations like Singapore and

Iceland once again feature near the top, at 62nd, Guatemala is the fastest mobile nation in the Caribbean with a download speed of 18.45mbps. Again, there is some qualification necessary here, as mobile speeds are presently half that of broadband speeds, with the average global speed around 20.28mbps versus the aforementioned average of 40.11mbps for broadband. Nonetheless, mobile internet use (whether smartphone or tablet) is predicted to overtake desktop computer use. In fact, stats suggest it already has. Any nation seeking the opportunities of the disruption era in our global economy will need to plan for an internet age that is fast, universal, and agile. This applies to whatever device the online world is accessed on. While the reasons for delaying greater progress on internet connectivity may be complex, the consequences of further delay are simple: it could fundamentally endanger the regional economy in the long term. The Caribbean faces some real challenges as a region; failing to seize on this opportunity would be detrimental. Our two key industries of tourism and finance are robust, but also not invulnerable. The recent hurricane season tragically showed this with the former; recent leaks

Within the Caribbean exist the business acumen, skilled professionals and cultural traditions to engage globally

MERRY

CHRISTMAS TO YOU

( 7 5 8 )

4 5 0

7 8 2 7

e m a i l :

of the Paradise Papers and news of an EU blacklist have placed new pressure on the latter. Other regions will continue to speed up their internet access and, over time, compete more widely in tourism and finance. In this context, it is no surprise that regional governments are looking for new avenues for profit, and the prominence of CIPs in this strategy has proven controversial. While CIPs will remain widely debated, it’s undoubted that greater advancement in internet access across the region would be widely supported. This, coupled with the pursuit of other areas such as cryptocurrency and blockchain development, could, in time, be a profitable area for the Caribbean. Missing this opportunity would also be regrettable as the issue has been brewing for a while now, with the OECD last year citing the Caribbean and Latin America as key regions in need of greater advancement in this field, and access and affordability cited as key issues. Expecting uniform access and pricing throughout the region would be unrealistic right now but the considerable difference in affordability and internet speed could be a greater regional priority. By many measures, the Caribbean region is already a leader in the global economy - as a leading region for tourism and global finance

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HERE'S TO HEALTH! HERE'S TO FAMILY! HERE'S TO PROSPERITY! Wishing you a Joyous Holiday Season and a New Year filled with Peace and Happiness.

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(some of the controversies surrounding the second, notwithstanding). The tools the region possesses here means that, over time, the potential to leverage this into new areas of profit could be significant, just as Singapore has carved out a new identity for itself as a financial powerhouse of Asia, and how the tiny nation of Estonia has emerged as a leading nation for blockchain technology, not only in Eastern Europe, but across the whole world. It is true that these transformations take time and resources. It is also far better to work ahead of the curve, than try to play catch up once behind it. Though the exact shape and scope of eCommerce in the years ahead may remain unclear, one need only look at the growth and expansion of the ‘big five’ - Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook - across eCommerce to know it will be an area of growth, now and into the future. This becomes an even more pressing issue in a world that is seeing a growing debate in the United States and around the world surrounding net neutrality. Whatever your view on that debate, it is undoubted that should new reforms be brought about, it could bring the capacity for service providers to vary rates of speed and access. The net neutrality debate is presently focused in the US but it could have knock-on effect for internet providers and access globally. While the Caribbean may be more limited in land mass, infrastructure and population compared to other regions of the world, the digital economy could provide for an online marketplace that is universal, and borderless, and that increasingly sells digital assets. This could not only negate the existing challenges with economies of scale, logistics and personnel that have traditionally made it harder for the people of our region to compete, but also play to our local strengths. Within the Caribbean exist the business acumen, skilled professionals and cultural traditions to engage globally. The strength of existing industries shows this. In tandem with the potential offered by CIPs, and cryptocurrency and blockchain, eCommerce is a promising area for growth when built on these foundations. But it will require fast internet speeds to really support it. Even for nations like the Bahamas that have made solid inroads in eCommerce, more could yet be done. After all, if Saint Lucia and its business community has so wonderfully shown its

capacity to build a digital identity while ranked 122nd in the world on internet speed, just imagine what it could do if ranked 1st or 2nd. OK, even if obtaining the hyper speeds of Singapore or Hong Kong remains difficult, what about being ranked 12th then? Or even 22nd? The people of the Caribbean require progress within tech and infrastructure to help them best use these advantages in the digital economy. With good longterm planning and policy, the region could emerge as a leader of its own in the online age. This is a regional issue but will be most visible firstly on a local level. A few areas will be very important to watch in the year ahead: • Watching for any key discussion of internet speeds in upcoming elections • Watching for economic growth as islands like Montserrat receive internet upgrades. • Watching for entrepreneurs in the Caribbean business community who drive innovation. • Watching for this in the commercial sector as Cisco and Digicel begin the rollout of their Caribbean Countries Digitization policy. As the Internet Society indicated, “Government support structures, such as investment incentives to improve coverage, are limited”, and “development of relevant content, services and applications (particularly e-government) would drive demand”. Governments must be leaders in this field. They can develop in conjunction with private innovation, but they must lead and not follow; be at least an equal partner, and not simply an observer. As 2017 draws to a close, and we reflect on the year of business, the people of the Caribbean will consider what the local economy will look like next Christmas in 2018. And in 2019? And in 2020? The speed at which nations like Estonia drove digital growth, affirms that a new national identity can quickly be created. But it does require government investment and infrastructure. If Caribbean governments equip the people of our region with the tools to innovate online, it is assured that those future results would inspire, just as the people of the Caribbean have inspired us across so many areas in 2017.

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CARIBBEAN TO BE AN EPICENTRE OF CHINA-TAIWAN GEOPOLITICS IN 2018 Continued from page 2

role here, the unique history of Caribbean nations, and our region as a whole, also play a factor. Further, it is something that has evolved over time. The economic advantages of a relationship with the CPC over the ROC have long been made clear. Yet, the ROC cause is one with which many people of the Caribbean identify. The story of a smaller nation seeking to win independence from a larger power, and resentful of hearing it’s not really a nation at all but instead just a rogue territory that should know its place, is one that resonates here. The face of the Caribbean today also looks remarkably different from 1949 when Mao first came to power in China. Not only have many Caribbean nations won their independence, they have demonstrated their commitment to democracy and human rights; also a total unwillingness to be pushed around by a larger foreign power, whether from Europe, North America or, now, Asia. Even though the CPC’s growth far outpaces Taiwan’s, this factor is a cultural consideration. If the CPC truly aspires to a peaceful rise on the global stage, Caribbean governments will work with it, in mutual self-interest, and also in the knowledge that economic growth by itself can alleviate many social ills such as poverty.

How will Xi Jinping shake up the CPC?

But regional nations will not accept domination or derision. Any efforts by the CPC to not only diminish Taiwan’s influence in the region, but any little nation’s voice in the face of great power politics, would not be well-received.

THE FUTURE

As the status quo is maintained, the Caribbean, as much as Asia, will remain at the epicentre of the ROC and CPC’s rivalry in 2018. In doing so, this region now looks upon a relationship with Washington and Europe that inverts the historical power balance. As the decisions of nations like Saint Lucia and Nicaragua to stay with Taipei or switch to Beijing could have a substantial influence on Taiwan’s global influence

as a whole, the nations of the Caribbean could have a potentially decisive say on this issue; and, in so doing, provide the world with a decisive illustration of how regional nations can capably and effectively work towards economic advancement, while also ensuring political freedoms and human rights are observed. Given that our people have a rich history of pursuing and defending their own independence, whatever the decisions ultimately made in time ahead, it’s undoubted that the voices of our region will be heard and listened to with interest across the world. The capacity of the Caribbean to contribute meaningfully here is something to which everyone in the Caribbean family could speak.

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DECEMBER 23, 2017

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HANDS

RUBIS ST LUCIA DELIVERS CHRISTMAS HAMPERS AND CHRISTMAS CAKES TO THE LESS FORTUNATE IN OUR COMMUNITIES AROUND THE ISLAND This year the RUBiS family decided to share the Christmas spirit throughout Saint Lucia. The team asked its employees to nominate one or two less fortunate persons from each of their communities who would be best deserving of a Christmas gift. The response was heartening and employees readily submitted names of people who they had observed or knew. On Wednesday December 20th, the RUBiS’s Country Manager, Gary Gustave, and members of his Sales & Marketing and Operations team piled into their respective vehicles with a long list in hand, of people from the north to the south of the island, to visit these nominated individuals and to bring some Christmas cheer. The RUBiS team met with children whose eyes lit up with joy and excitement, the elderly, the incapacitated, the critically ill and the less fortunate who welcomed them into their homes to celebrate for a few precious moments the joy of giving and receiving at this wonderful time of the year. The RUBiS team thanks the recipients for what they also gave: their genuine smiles, tears and wishes for happiness. It was an exhilarating and heart-warming experience for the entire team. The unabated joy which emanated from the delivery of the Christmas hampers and Christmas cakes has inspired the team to make this is a yearly endeavour. RUBiS thanks the recipients for allowing its staff into their homes, and its employees for doing such a wonderful job of selecting well-deserving individuals throughout Saint Lucia. RUBis is grateful to the entire team who worked well into the evening to ensure that all the gifts were delivered. THANK YOU ALL AND A MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM RUBiS ST. LUCIA.

HOUSE & LAND FOR SALE

Fond Cacao Development S O U F R I E R E - S T. L U C I A

The RUBis team spreading Christmas cheer

The Saint Lucia Government Gazette Trademarks Mark name: Laufeen G FIT Applicant: Hankook Tire Worldwide Co., Ltd. Mark name: MOTO Applicant: Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC Filing date: 23/08/2017 Agent: Nicholas John & Co. Class: machines, data processing equipment; mobile phones;

Filing date: 23/08/2017 Agent: Nicholas John & Co. Class: 12 Automobile tires; Bicycle tires; Casings for pneumatic tires; Covers for tires; Motorcycle tires; Adhesive rubber patches for repairing inner tubes

cell phones; smart phones; cordless telephones; smart watches; wireless communication devices; computers; tablet computers; laptop computers

Lot Area/Size Building Area Open Area Bedrooms

11,335 sqft 1,726.66 sqft 9,608.34 sqft 13.8 sqft

The house is located in the south-western section of Saint Lucia in Fond Cacao Development (part of the Debuolay Estate), in the Quarter of Soufriere. The property (which was built and designed by Consolidated Designs), is in an upmarket private residential development & commercial area and is ideally situated with easy access off a paved road, leading to the Diamond Falls. The house comprises 2 master bedrooms with en-suite, a spacious open plan lounge / dining area and kitchen. The property has ceramic tiled floors and jalousie windows throughout with exposed timber frame ‘high’ ceilings (with a varnish finish). The property and land has open space for future expansion and is ideal for residence and as a weekend country home.

Pearl Moore

For further information Contact: Mobile: +44 (0)790 181 4140 Email: pearl.moore@sonymusic.com

Mark name: Laufeen

Fiscal Incentives

Applicant: Hankook Tire Worldwide Co., Ltd. Filing date: 23/08/2017

Approved Enterprise: (Hotel Chocolat Estates Ltd)

Agent: Nicholas John & Co. Class: 12 Automobile tires; Bicycle tires; Casings for pneumatic

Approved Product: Dried cocoa beans,

tires; Covers for tires; Motorcycle tires; Adhesive rubber patches

chocolate couvertures, chocolate and cocoa based products

for repairing inner tubes Production day: The production day of Hotel Chocolat Estate Ltd. is the 25th day of May, 2005. Mark name: Laufeen S FIT

Benefit to Income Tax: (A) 100% waiver of Income

Applicant: Hankook Tire Worldwide Co., Ltd.

Tax for a period of 5 years. The declared benefits

Filing date: 23/08/2017

terminate on September 30, 2022.

Agent: Nicholas John & Co. Class: 12 Automobile tires; Bicycle tires; Casings for pneumatic

Benefit to Import Duty: (A) 100% waiver of Import

tires; Covers for tires; Motorcycle tires; Adhesive rubber patches

Duty for a period of 5 years. The declared benefits

for repairing inner tubes

terminate on September 30, 2022.

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DECEMBER 23, 2017

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HONDURAN FARMERS ACCUSE WORLD BANK ARM OF ‘PROFITING FROM MURDER’ BY FT CORRESPONDENT

But the case brought by victims of violence in Honduras’s Aguan Valley also represents a new test of the longstanding immunity from lawsuits that international institutions like the World Bank and subsidiaries like the IFC have enjoyed

Dinant Corporation responded stating that EarthRights International is right to draw attention to the tragic land conflicts of the Bajo Aguán region of Honduras but it is quite mistaken to allege that Corporación Dinant has been waging a campaign against farmers’ co-operatives. [- Roger Pineda Pinel, Corporación Dinant]

A group of Honduran farmers embroiled in a long-running land rights dispute has accused the World Bank’s private sector arm of “knowingly profiting from the financing of murder” as it extended millions of dollars in loans to one of the country’s largest landowners. In a class-action lawsuit filed on Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, lawyers for the farmers accuse the International Finance Corporation and a subsidiary of wilfully turning a blind eye to the murder of more than 100 people since 2009 in the Bajo Aguan region of Honduras. The killings and other attacks, they claim, were part of a campaign waged against farmers’ co-operatives by palm oil producer Dinant and its late owner Miguel Facussé even as the IFC approved a controversial loan to the company and continued to finance it via a bank it invested in. The filing of the case marks an escalation in what has been one of the World Bank’s ugliest human rights debacles in recent years. In a 2013 report, the bank’s internal watchdog raised questions about the approval of

a US$30m loan by the IFC to Dinant while it faced allegations of backing violence against local farmers. Since then the IFC has also faced scrutiny over its 2011 US$70m investment in Honduras’s Banco Ficohsa, one of Dinant’s largest creditors. In court documents the plaintiffs, identified only by pseudonym, said they had brought the suit, which seeks damages “over $75,000”, out of fear and frustration at the continuing violence and their exhaustion of avenues of complaint with the IFC. “We are poor families, trying to survive without husbands. We want justice for what they did to us,” one plaintiff, identified as Juana Doe II and the widow of a man killed by Dinant guards, said in a statement. The case was brought on behalf of two overlapping classes — residents of the village of Panama, which is hemmed in on three sides by Dinant plantations, and the participants in farm co-operatives dismantled in the 1990s as part of reforms pushed by the World Bank. It accuses the IFC of being linked to a range of crimes by Dinant from wrongful death to assault and alleges the international institution reaped “unjust enrichment”. In court documents, lawyers lay out a

build-up of violence before and after the IFC, which had a history of financing businesses owned by Facussé, began lending to the company. Among the incidents it documents are the 2010 murder of five farmers and the 2012 killing of a local lawyer who represented people fighting Dinant. The most recent incident documented is the killing in October last year of two farmers as they left a meeting of activists, allegedly by members of a paramilitary death squad. The youngest of the plaintiffs, identified as Juana Doe VIII, is just eight years old. But the case brought by victims of violence in Honduras’s Aguan Valley also represents a new test of the longstanding immunity from lawsuits that international institutions like the World Bank and subsidiaries like the IFC have enjoyed. A US judge last year rejected a lawsuit brought on behalf of affected people by campaign group EarthRights against the IFC over a $450m loan to a coal-fired power plant owned by a subsidiary of India’s Tata Group on the grounds that the IFC is covered by the US’s International Organisations Immunities Act. EarthRights, which is also representing the Dinant farmers in the new case, has

appealed against that ruling. But the new case also includes an IFC subsidiary — the IFC Asset Management Company — that lawyers argue is a commercial entity and therefore would not be covered by the act. An IFC spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing a policy not to address ongoing litigation. But the spokesman added: “IFC is saddened by the history of violence in the Aguan Valley. IFC is a development institution that promotes the growth of the private sector, focused on clients who commit to adopt internationally recognised environmental and social practices in the most challenging of environments.” Dinant said on Wednesday: “All allegations that Dinant is — or ever has been — engaged in systematic violence against members of the community are without foundation. “It is absurd for EarthRights International to connect Dinant with high levels of insecurity in the Aguan Valley on the grounds that several tragic deaths have occurred in the same region in which we own land.” Dinant said it had operated in the Bajo Aguan for many years in a “just and lawful manner”. “We invite all interested parties, including EarthRights International, to visit our African Palm plantations in the Bajo Aguan region, as well as the rest of our operations sites, to see the results of the extensive resources that Dinant is investing in creating sustainable, well-paid jobs,” it said.

THE STAR BUSINESSWEEK

DECEMBER 23, 2017

MAKING

WWW.STLUCIASTAR.COM

MOVES

LORRAINE SIDONIE, A REGIONAL MARKETING POWERHOUSE

BY KERYN NELSON, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT

ccording to Tony Robbins, “People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a

you want to be treated; and the second is the technique of praising persons in public but reprimanding them in private.

TELL US ABOUT THE COURTS BLACK FRIDAY SALE. LORRAINE: The planning for the Courts

way to succeed.” The 57-year-old mogul could have been referring to Mrs Lorraine Sidonie’s success story– a tale packed with grit and willpower. Currently working as Courts’ (Unicomer) OECS Commercial Director and overseer to teams across six Caribbean islands, this powerhouse knows firsthand the rewards of stepping up to challenges. Mrs Sidonie, who shows no signs of slowing down, was gracious enough to share with the STAR Businessweek the details of her 22-year journey with one of the region’s most successful retail companies.

Black Friday promotion actually incorporated all aspects of the business. There is the consideration of what stock will feature and this has to be planned very early in the year. Of course, our planning and execution is not limited to Saint Lucia but also includes the five other OECS countries. The planning for this event was totally all-encompassing to ensure that we were bringing to consumers the best Black Friday deals in the market in an interactive, fun-filled manner. Throughout the OECS we believe that about 10,000 customers visited our stores on ‘Black Friday’ and we estimate that to be about 20% more than the previous year, so the event has grown year on year.

HOW DID YOUR CAREER WITH COURTS (UNICOMER) BEGIN? LORRAINE: I moved to Saint Lucia in 1995 when I got married to a Saint Lucian – Cornelius Sidonie – whom I met at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus. I initially worked for Cimpex, Courts’ biggest competitor at the time, for a short period before I decamped in 1996 and joined the Courts family as the Electrical Range Manager. That inaugural role with Courts saw me managing the company’s electrical and appliance goods which included the purchasing, marketing and branch distribution of these items.

TELL US ABOUT COURTS’ HISTORY. LORRAINE: Courts was first established

in England during 1850. The first Caribbean Courts store was opened in Jamaica in 1959 by the then owners – the Cohen family – and a business anecdote that we’ve heard repeatedly is that Courts Jamaica was established as it gave the owners a business reason to frequently visit the beautiful Caribbean region. The Caribbean Courts business became a success and is now present in 11 Caribbean countries: Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. The company was acquired by Regal Forest Holdings under the Unicomer Group in December 2006, when Courts Plc unfortunately went into administration. The Courts brand has now expanded to North America with two stores, in Brooklyn and Queens, New York.

HOW HAS THE COMPANY EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS? LORRAINE: The company has evolved

tremendously over the years, to the extent that when persons ask me how I could work for one company for 22 years my easy reply is that I haven’t. Over those years I’ve worked for Courts Plc, which had Courts companies throughout the world including Saint Lucia. When Courts Plc went into administration

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT EVOLUTION IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR? LORRAINE: Definitely the migration to

Sidonie has honed her skills in people management during her two-decade career with Courts, Her secret? Treat others with respect and dignity.

The first is the simple golden rule that you treat people the way you want to be treated; and the second is the technique of praising persons in public but reprimanding them in private and we were bought by our present owners , Regal Forest Holdings, based in El Salvador; that change then represented another evolution, created another company with a new culture. The evolution continues; under the Unicomer Group brand diversification is a focus so, in addition to the Courts brand, we also have Courts Optical, Ready Finance, Ashley and Radio Shack brands. The company is extremely dynamic and continues to engage in a very focused and determined growth evolution.

WHAT TYPE OF TEAMS DO YOU MANAGE? LORRAINE: I manage an extremely

diverse team, especially since the job is

OECS Commercial Director and hence some of my team members and colleagues are based in Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and of course Saint Lucia. The diversity then comes from not only the vagaries that are brought about by personality differences, but too by the cultural differences that our geographical spread automatically creates. My direct reports comprise five OECS Commercial Managers and an OECS Senior Marketing supervisor. They are all very talented, determined, competent, loyal persons and, though by no means pre-designed, they are all females.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES? LORRAINE: I really don’t think that

the challenges are any different to the challenges that are faced in other similarly diverse organizations. So the challenges of keeping team members engaged, time management, having to manage the overwhelming and sometimes conflicting workload demands that are dealt out, and getting the communication right, especially in this matrix structure, are all very real but very common trials. The crux of these though is all about people management and I therefore try to live by two mantras that my dad passed on to me: the first is the simple golden rule that you treat people the way

online shopping and the use of digital and social media in the communication mix. These two phenomena have created a new set of competitors whilst also creating a new type of consumer behaviour that has to be carefully understood and catered to. Consumers – because of online shopping and digital media – are now ultimate researchers as they have access to a great deal of information regarding products, companies and services; consumer loyalty takes on a new definition and ‘word of mouth’ advertising is even more prevalent given how instantaneous it has become. These are factors we can’t escape and have to be positioned to deal with.

ARE GRADUATES ADEQUATELY EQUIPPED FOR THE WORLD OF WORK? LORRAINE: Yes, definitely. Formal

education gets your ‘foot into the employment door’ but the success that ensues has everything to do with what you make of that opportunity and how you position yourself.

WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR BUSINESS IN SAINT LUCIA? LORRAINE: Given that Saint Lucia

has recently dropped in its ranking in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ World Bank index from position 86 in 2016 to 91 in 2017 then this obviously presents an area where improvement is needed. Our parent company has made recent and significant investments in Saint Lucia and I am sure they would like to continue to do so. This, however, has to be facilitated by a regulatory environment that is conducive to business investment. I can say that Unicomer is committed to doing all that we can do to continue to produce a successful business so that the longterm outlook and the well-being for all our stakeholders remain positive.

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