Cutting Through in the Global Corporate Tax Rate Debate by STAR Publishing

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Cutting Through in the Global Corporate Tax Rate Debate By ED Kennedy, STAR Businessweek Correspondent

While we see daily headlines about the perils of globalisation, in reality much of this debate is occuring at the surface level. For beyond any world leaders going tit for tat with tariffs, there are deeper economic goals being pursued in the public and private sector that illustrate the movement to a truly global economy remains strong. A key example of this is the recent reforms to the corporate tax rate across a number of nations. Continued on page 4

Will Russia keep its $6bn promise to Venezuela? Russian officials have cast doubt on multibillion-dollar pledges to Venezuela touted by its president NicolĂĄs Maduro, whose crisiswracked country has become increasingly dependent on Moscow as its most prominent international supporter Page 3

Bananas grown without soil for first time in effort to curb deadly disease The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first crop of bananas grown without soil is due to be harvested this week, part of an effort to stem the spread of a deadly fungus that threatens the future of the fruit Page 7

Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados

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Sector rails against Scotiabank shake-up

Scotiabank’s surprise exit sends shockwaves through the region’s banking industry By Catherine Morris, STAR Businessweek Correspondent

he Bank of Nova Scotia is consolidating its international operations — good news for Scotiabank but not so good for the Caribbean where it is closing its facilities in nine countries, including Saint Lucia. Scotiabank has a long history in the Caribbean, operating in the region since 1889. This latest move narrows its focus to core Caribbean markets, jettisoning Antigua, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Anguilla, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Maarten and Saint Lucia but retaining operations in a dozen other countries such as the Dominican Republic and The Bahamas. The off-loaded banks will be sold to Trinidad and Tobago-based Republic Financial Holdings Ltd for US$123 million. Scotiabank, which earned US$9.1 billion this year, may be withdrawing from parts of the Caribbean but it is certainly not easing off international markets, with heavy investments in Latin America boosting its balance sheet in 2018. The bank said its international banking unit has grown 17 per cent year on year and contributed US$3.1 billion to overall growth in 2018.

Size and scale

So why are these nine Caribbean countries no longer a part of the bank’s long-term strategy? Scotiabank said it wants to simplify its business model and divesting is merely a matter of size and scale. The bank played down the aspect of risk, with Scotiabank Senior Vice President Stephen Bagnarol telling media: “There are growing compliance and regulatory requirements. That is globally what is happening [but] it is just a question of where you want to focus. It is not about de-risking these markets but focusing on larger scale and size markets.” However, an earlier statement from Scotiabank President and CEO Brian Porter indicates that de-risking, while not the major impetus, was still very much a part of the bank’s decision. He said: “Exiting these non-core operations is consistent with a strategy that began five years ago to sharpen our focus, increase scale in core geographies and businesses, improve earnings quality and reduce risk to the bank.” It’s the latter that has Caribbean bankers on edge. De-risking has long been a problem in the region as global tax watchdogs

Scotiabank CEO Brian Porter: “Exiting these non-core operations is consistent with a strategy that began five years ago…”

clamp down on perceived ‘tax havens’. Ever-escalating waves of regulation have resulted in significant reputational damage and Scotiabank is not the first international provider to decide doing business in the Caribbean is just not worth it.

Condemnation

Unsurprisingly, Scotiabank’s shock pull-out has been widely condemned throughout the region. Not least because many were taken unaware, first learning of the news through the financial press. Government leaders across the region have spoken out, with some claiming Scotiabank did not fulfil their legal requirement to give advance notice. Antigua’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Gaston Browne was outraged, calling the move “unacceptable” and

saying in a statement: “I am deeply concerned that the Bank of Nova Scotia would spring such an important decision on the people of Antigua and Barbuda, particularly its many clients who have displayed great loyalty to the bank for almost 50 years.” In Guyana, the government expressed concern that the move would increase Republic’s market share to 51 per cent, making it ‘too big to fail’. Republic currently has operations in seven Caribbean jurisdictions, but the Scotiabank deal would double its presence region-wide. Reaction from the private sector was also swift and unambiguous with union leaders quick to voice their anger. In Jamaica, the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) accused Scotiabank of

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“job trafficking” with BITU President Senator Kavan Gayle further elaborating: “What we call job trafficking is the act of bullying, selling or transferring employees without clear justification.” The STAR Businessweek reached out to the Caribbean Association of Banks and the St Lucia Bankers Association for their perspective but both declined to comment for this article.

Next steps

In the wake of the backlash Scotiabank defended the move, branding it a “refocus”, rather than an exit. Addressing a press conference in Trinidad and Tobago, Bagnarol said: “These transactions are still Continued on page 5

Venezuela

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Will Russia keep its $6bn promise to Venezuela? Officials cast doubt on Maduro announcement that Moscow promised billions in aid By Henry Foy and Nastassia Astrasheuskaya in Moscow and Gideon Long in Bogotá

ussian officials have cast doubt on multibillion-dollar pledges to Venezuela touted by its president Nicolás Maduro, whose crisis-wracked country has become increasingly dependent on Moscow as its most prominent international supporter. Following a three-day visit to Moscow last week and meetings with dozens of Russia’s top officials, the Venezuelan leader boasted of $6bn worth of investment pledges and a string of other deals designed to help prop up its collapsing economy that has been savaged by hyperinflation, political crisis and US sanctions that have cut it off from the west. The visit underscored Russia’s role as Venezuela’s lender of last resort and president Vladimir Putin as its key foreign backer, but made clear the limits of Moscow’s ability and desire to bankroll Mr Maduro’s regime. Mr Maduro said Moscow had pledged to invest $5bn in joint ventures in the country’s oil sector, $1bn in mining projects and to export 600,000 tonnes of wheat to Venezuela to cover its 2019 needs. He said that Russia had also agreed to modernise Venezuela’s armed forces and to look into potential projects in the country’s diamond industry. But following Mr Maduro’s visit, Russian officials sought to damp expectations of any major financial support. “This hardly sounds real,” said a person close to Rosneft, Russia’s state-controlled oil company that has

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, left, visited Moscow last week which underscored Russian president Vladimir Putin, right, as the Latin American country’s key foreign backer. © AP

investments in Venezuela. “Quite obviously Rosneft would have made a statement and bragged about a deal of that size had it really happened,” the person said. “Besides, the amount of investment in the joint oil projects Maduro named sounds suspiciously close to the amount in the existing deal,” they added. Rosneft has lent $6bn to Venezuela’s oil company PDVSA partly as pre-payment for crude, more than half of which remained outstanding as of the end of September. Mr Maduro met with Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s chief executive, in Moscow. Mr Maduro said that the $5bn investment would aim to increase production by 1m barrels a day, almost doubling the country’s entire output. At current market prices, 1m barrels would be worth about $55bn. “Politically, Mr Maduro wants to show internally and externally that despite the US sanctions, Venezuela still can find allies that can help it to overcome its economic woes and international isolation,” said Dimitris

Pantoulas, a political analyst based in Caracas. “The fact that one member of the UN Security Council is willing to sign multibillion agreements with you is a strong sign of support, even if these agreements will never be fulfilled,” he said. “Mr Maduro tries to protect his regime by signing deals with powerful allies . . . to offer them natural resources at a bargain price and an ally in a crucial geostrategic space.” When asked if Russia had agreed to provide more financial aid to Venezuela, Mr Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday: “I have nothing to add to what has been said.” “A whole range of issues related to bilateral co-operation has been discussed. There is no doubt that Russia will continue supporting Venezuela to one degree or another,” Mr Peskov added. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the resulting sanctions imposed by the US and its allies, Moscow has sought to offset souring western relations with

warmer ties elsewhere. Its support for Caracas, which has drawn the ire of Washington, mirrors similarly friendly relations with Iran — also under US sanctions — and China, whose trade relations with the US have suffered in recent years. In a hastily-arranged meeting between the country’s defence ministers following talks between Mr Maduro and Mr Putin, Russia agreed that its air force and navy would continue using Venezuela’s ports and airports. But while Venezuela’s defence chief used a press conference to suggest Russia could help the South American country modernise its military equipment, his Russian counterpart focused on “exchanging delegations” and joint educational projects. Last November Moscow agreed to restructure $3.15bn worth of debt owed by Venezuela to Russia, days after international rating agencies said the country had defaulted on $60bn worth of obligations. Russia is keen to continue tapping Venezuela’s vast oil reserves — the world’s largest — and sees the country as both a geopolitical foothold in the Americas and a fellow ally against Washington. “The Maduro regime will face worldwide rejection from January 10, when Mr Maduro is again sworn in for another term after fraudulent elections that banned opposition leaders and the opposition party,” said Russ Dallen, head of boutique investment bank Caracas Capital. “This is a chess move by the Russians to get further embedded in Venezuela.”

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Cutting Through in the Global Corporate Tax Rate Debate Continued from page 1

The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley has been following through on a strategy of cross-cutting economic reforms since winning an absolute majority in last May’s general elections

With Barbados having announced last month it would cut the corporate tax rate, many feel the action taken in the nation’s capital of Bridgetown could create a ripple effect throughout the Caribbean, and kickstart a new era of tax reform, for better — or for worse. So, could region-wide corporate tax rate cuts benefit business and the people of the Caribbean as a whole?

The Barbados Plan

November saw the Barbados government announce it would seek to harmonise its domestic and international corporation tax rates. For some companies, this offered a reduction of up to 29% of their annual rate of taxation, as from 2019 Bridgetown will charge companies a tax rate on a scale from 5.5% to 1%. Though this harmonisation

does offer a new clear-cut policy for Barbados’ business sector, the influence of the European Union’s OECD has been criticised as an unwelcome element in Bridgetown’s policy making. While Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley indicated the reforms were pursued with the goal of meeting OECD requirements against Base Erosion and

Profit Shifting (BEPS), there’s worry the OECD’s role isn’t only set to impact Barbados, but could have a knock-on effect for nations around the region — ones who feel their only recourse to sustain the health of their business sectors is to lower the corporate tax rate. Already there has been concern voiced from St Vincent and the Grenadines as its Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, said businesses could “flee”, shifting not just the location they choose to headquarter, but also taking jobs with them from his nation to Barbados. It’s easy to understand in this economic climate why many politicians in charge of their nation’s treasury are tempted to speed towards a lowering of the corporate tax rate, so as to better secure existing business (and hopefully attract more, enticed by a lower rate). Though advocates for such reform may point to the success of nations like the Republic of Ireland and Singapore, who have small populations but have attracted sizeable investment due to their tax reform, new nations only now seeking to reduce their corporate tax rate will not be able to claim the same advantages as the pioneers. While Barbados is the latest to pursue such a reform, with each successive nation taking that route, the risk can grow of diminishing economic returns. Put simply, trying to maintain existing jobs or enticing foreign investment with tax reform may not work in the way it once did. For nations like Saint Lucia that have flagged the idea of harmonising their tax rates, there is a fork in the road upcoming, one that will require consideration not only of national economics, but the region’s relationship with the EU as a whole.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Nations across the region have faced immense political pressure from abroad following the Panama and Paradise Papers leaks, most notably seen by the EU featuring a number of local states in its first ever ‘tax haven blacklist’ in December 2017. Since then a number of local nations have signified their

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readiness to pursue reforms that address issues in their finance industries. But just the same as any EU blacklist that fingers Caribbean nations while failing to name EU tax havens is hypocritical, so too do critics cite the risk of a ‘race to the bottom’ that may come with continual lowering of corporate tax rates. In this area the EU’s shortcomings are well-documented. Accordingly, a disconnect can quickly emerge in this global debate. Certainly, doing away with any crime (and the more odorous elements) of a financial sector can help tackle inequality. But, if there’s a continual reduction of the corporate tax rate globally — alongside the ongoing apparent failure of trickle-down economics to bear fruit — then by many measures, ‘progress’ in this era could amount to one step forward, two steps back.

The US and EU Experience

Earlier this year the U.S. government passed legislation that saw a reduction in its corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. While the pros and cons of this move for the American nation continue to be debated in Washington, it was held to be (in absolute terms) the biggest reduction in U.S. corporate tax history. The impact of this cannot be overlooked. After all, if California separated from the United States, it would be an economic

giant of its own. So much so that early 2018 saw it overtake Britain to become the 5th biggest economy in the world, independent of its membership in the United States. This shows how a vote in Congress and the stroke of a pen in the White House can fundamentally redefine the global playing field. For those who point to the potential profitability of corporate tax reform, there is also the need to recognise the capacity for a nation’s lowered rate to be matched or outpaced in future by a bigger nation. Certainly, a smaller nation can still compete but must look to do so in anticipation of — and not reaction to — bigger economies.

DECEMBER 15, 2018

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Sector rails against Scotiabank shake-up Continued from page 2

Review then Reform

Underwriting this corporate tax debate is the reality of disruption. Just like a boat heading out of harbour and into ocean waters, a nation in today’s global economy must contend with completely differing conditions. Right now, the international business environment is in a period of change that is often inspiring, but at times brutal. Corporate tax rates are being cut today on the presumption of greater profitability and investment tomorrow. This is despite the reality that a multitude of emerging factors such as cryptocurrency, citizenship by investment, and even the potential for online citizenship in nations like Estonia, are fundamentally changing the way business engages with consumers and taxation in the international arena. These trends won’t revolutionise the global tax sector overnight but have already begun to fray the edges of it. For nations that can identify the opportunities of this new era with clear eyes, there is much to look forward to; those that misjudge conditions, place the ship of state at greater risk of a rogue wave. There’s no suggestion that defining a new direction in this environment is easy. Those who maintain that what worked for years should still work in the future, need to recognise that the speed and scale of business evolution globally is unlike anything we’ve ever seen prior, and is only set to speed up. Observing the impact of corporate tax rate reductions in other nations over time is surely ideal for states that seek greater profits without risking the pitfalls.

Scotiabank head office in Costa Rica located in La Sabana. The bank is the largest private bank in the country, employing 1.200 people.

subject to regulatory approval and we will work with all the different governments and regulators to make sure there is a smooth transition. We will make sure we go through all the right channels and processes.” He said closing the deal will take four to six months and highlighted that there would be no job losses, with Republic committed to retaining Scotiabank staff in the affected countries. After the transaction closes, Scotiabank will continue to serve 1.5 million customers in the Caribbean and service 90 per cent of the market. “We’ve made it very clear that we’re committed to the Caribbean,” said Bagnarol. “This is the right thing for Scotiabank, the right thing for Republic, the right thing for our customers and our staff in these markets.” But is it the right thing for the Caribbean? It’s too early to determine the long-term repercussions of Scotiabank’s move but the prognosis is not good. The withdrawal of large, international banks from small Caribbean countries hinders their ability to

deliver on their development agendas and also deters financial inclusion. Addressing the CARICOM Single Market Economy meeting in Trinidad last week, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley said: “[This] tells us that we need to make ourselves more attractive and become more resilient to ensure we have a banking sector that can withstand the conditions for international banking.” For now, regulators are closely watching the Scotiabank deal. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is reviewing Republic’s acquisition application and conferring with domestic central banks. The ECCB said the deal would not “fundamentally change” bank ownership in the region and that consolidation of this kind should be expected, given global developments and increased competition. The CARICOM Competition Commission has also taken note of concerns from governments and customers and said it is “monitoring developments”.

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SVL TO TAKE JAMAICAN HORSE RACING TO GUYANA IN iBET ROLL-OUT

By Avia Collinder

Ann-Dawn Young Sang, President and Chief Executive Officer of Supreme Ventures Limited

amaica’s lottery company, Supreme Ventures Limited, SVL, has converted the Satro building in Georgetown, Guyana, into space for its video-gaming operation, which debuts in that market next week.

The company is licensed to offer sportthemed gaming, and the marquee of the first iBet shop to be operated under two new subsidiaries — Supreme Ventures Guyana Holdings Inc and Supreme Ventures Enterprise Inc — is already emblazoned on the building.

More shops are to be rolled out in 2019 as part of the retail network that SVL aims to build out in Guyana, a market in which SVL is also looking to generate business for its newly acquired horse racing operation, Caymanas Park. “To date, we have invested a little under $100 million in the start-up of the business, including the purchase of the iconic Satro building on Croal Street in Georgetown, which will house a state-of-the-art gaming lounge space,” SVL Chief Executive Officer Ann-Dawn Young Sang told the Financial Gleaner on Tuesday. Satro will house a betting lounge on the first floor, which will host the horse racing punters and a bar; the second floor will be outfitted with “next-generation gaming machines”; while the third floor of the three-storey structure will house the company’s administrative offices. Although Supreme Ventures has partnerships in various Caribbean markets for its Super Lotto game, Guyana is its first operational foray outside Jamaica. Guyana is itself a South American country, but it identifies geopolitically as Caribbean, has membership in Caricom,

and is home to the regional trading bloc’s secretariat. Young Sang says SVL is now “perfectly positioned” to expand beyond its home base, given the status of the Caribbean gaming market and economic developments in the region, particularly Guyana, where large reserves of oil have been discovered. “We looked closely at underserved or underdeveloped gaming markets across the region, and identified those that would provide significant growth opportunities,” said the gaming and lottery boss. “A careful analysis of the Englishspeaking Caribbean showed that Guyana was an excellent prospect, based on their economic indicators such as GDP growth and the imminent start of oil production in the country, which will drive significant economic activity.” Supreme Ventures’ offering in Guyana will include bets on horse racing in Jamaica, where SVL now owns the sole horse racing track, which it acquired less than two years ago, in March 2017, from the Jamaican Government. “We will be bringing Jamaican racing from the historic Caymanas Park to the Guyanese market, as well as American racing from legendary tracks like Belmont Park, Saratoga and others,” said Young Continued on page 8

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Bananas grown without soil for first time in effort to curb deadly disease

University researchers team up with producer Chiquita as fungus threatens dominant variety By Emiko Terazono in London

he world’s first crop of bananas grown without soil is due to be harvested this week, part of an effort to stem the spread of a deadly fungus that threatens the future of the fruit. Scientists and researchers are trying to stop Panama disease, a soildwelling fungus that is devastating plantations around the world and threatening the Cavendish banana, the variety that accounts for 95 per cent of all bananas sold in the $36bn industry. “The core of our strategy is to diversify banana production,” said Gert Kema, a leading banana expert and the head of tropical phytopathology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, which is working with Chiquita Brands International, one of the biggest banana producers. The fungus spreads through soil movement, typically caused by workers and machinery. Growing bananas in a greenhouse on nutrients and rockwool, made from Basalt rock and chalk, will insulate the plants from disease. Prof Kema and his colleagues at Wageningen are also working on banana breeding programmes using varieties of wild bananas that are resistant to disease. Meanwhile, Tropic Biosciences, an agritech start-up based in the UK, is looking to use new gene editing techniques to develop a banana resistant to Panama disease. The Norwich-based company raised $10m earlier this year in early-stage funding from investors to commercialise its new plant varieties. The Cavendish monoculture is based on a single genetic clone, which means that it is vulnerable to epidemics. Before the Cavendish

became the dominant variety, the Gros Michel banana was the most widely eaten banana. However, this was wiped out in the 1950s by the first strain of Panama disease. Identified in Taiwan as early as 1960, the TR4 strain of Panama disease has spread throughout south-east Asia and Australia, reaching the shores of Mozambique as well as the Middle East. The concern is that it will reach Latin

The Cavendish monoculture is based on a single genetic clone, which means that it is vulnerable to epidemics

America and wipe out the farms which provide three-quarters of the world’s banana exports. Researchers are looking for solutions to stop the disease, but at present there is no effective treatment once it has infected a banana plant. The only solution available is to try and prevent the transfer of infested soil, infected plants and contaminated materials to clean areas.

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Alignvest Places Sagicor Regional Heads On Three-Year Contracts

lignvest Acquisition II Corporation, the Canadian entity seeking to acquire Sagicor Financial Corporation, has negotiated initial three-year contracts with the country heads in Barbados, Jamaica and the United States, with an automatic one-year renewal for successive periods. The base pay of the three executives combined will be US$1.58 million per annum, 45 per cent of which will flow to Sagicor Financial’s Group President and CEO Dodrige Miller, but whose compensation will be adjusted after the first year, Alignvest said in market filings. “Overall, the value of Mr Miller’s total compensation is expected to be substantially less for the year ended December 31, 2019, than for the year ended December 31, 2018,” Alignvest said. The other two executives covered in the filings are Christopher Zacca, who oversees the operation in Jamaica, and Bart Catmull, who is in charge of the US market. The compensation package for

SVL TO TAKE JAMAICAN HORSE RACING TO GUYANA IN iBET ROLL-OUT Continued from page 6

Christopher Zacca, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sagicor Group Jamaica Ltd.

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Miller includes stock options; and cash bonus incentives and other benefits for Zacca and Catmull. To incentivise Miller to take the pay cut, Alignvest said the group CEO would be entitled to a seven-figure payout, with “a one-time lump sum cash payment equal to US$1.3 million in consideration”. Alignvest plans to acquire all the shares of Sagicor Financial, delist the company in the three markets in which its trades, that is, Barbados, Trinidad and London, and list New Sagicor on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The transaction is expected to close next year. Neither Sagicor nor Zacca has responded to requests for comment on the contract arrangements. “The term of Mr Zacca’s employment agreement is initially for three years, with automatic renewal for successive one-year periods, unless either of the parties terminates the employment agreement in accordance with its terms,” said Alignvest. The Canadian firm is still to iron out employment details for at least two other executives, Chief Operating Officer Ravi Rambarran and Chief Financial Officer Andre Mousseau, but said it expects to finalise their arrangements prior to the completion of the takeover of Sagicor.

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Sang. British racing will be included early next year. The company has entered into a broadcast agreement with SportsMax that Young Sang expects will “elevate” the broadcast quality of the televised races at Caymanas Park to international standards. Supreme Ventures will also be introducing pool betting to Guyana, which, Young Sang says, provides better payout options for punters who are currently serviced by traditional bookmakers offering fixed odds. “This opens up the market to a much larger pool of betting on races in Jamaica and the US — the bigger the pool, the bigger the payout on winnings,” the CEO said. According to worldcasinosindex. com, gambling in Guyana is a relatively small industry, where there are only two casinos in operation, plus a gaming company called Guyana Lottery Company, which is Canadian owned and offers games such as Lucky 3, Lotto Supa 6, and Daily Millions. Supreme Ventures was formed in 1995 and is the Caribbean’s first provider of a mega-millions multijurisdictional lottery game, called Super Lotto, which is available in eight countries. It is the dominant gaming operation in Jamaica with annual revenues of $56 billion, and Young Sang says the company similarly aims to take pole position in any market it enters, including Guyana. “We will start in Georgetown with the superstore, which we will follow with smaller scale gaming lounge operations. Our intent is to launch these smaller operations in and around Georgetown and its environs in 2019, followed by a more extended foray into the rural areas across the country going into 2020,” she said. Supreme Ventures Guyana and Supreme Ventures Enterprise will both be chaired by Walter Scott, an attorney and former chairman of both Jamaica’s Betting Gaming & Lotteries Commission and the Casino Gaming Commission. The other directors for both companies are Young Sang, Ansell Howell and Dennis Chung, while Dwaine Roger Yearwood will be company secretary. SVL has also selected Stephen Summers as General Manager of Supreme Ventures Enterprise to run the operations in Guyana. Summers has a 20-year track record in sales and marketing, the gaming company said.

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