STATEMENT BY GOVERNMENT!
The Prime Minister received a copy of a recent letter written by Mr. Sarkis Izmirlian to Vice Chairman and President Liu Liange of the Export-Import Bank of China (“CEXIM”) which he made public in a press release. The letter and the press release contain some extraordinary statements. Normally the Government would not respond to such a letter and statement but so far as it impacts on what the Government has achieved, which is well documented, in ensuring that the Baha Mar development is finished and Bahamian creditors paid, the Government is compelled to give this statement.
The assets of Baha Mar have been acquired by Perfect Luck Holdings Limited (“Perfect Luck”). The sale followed a lengthy marketing process by the Receivers, and that process and the resulting sale of the assets to Perfect Luck were overseen and approved by The Bahamas Supreme Court.
Now that the assets are owned by Perfect Luck, that company may sell the resort to whomever it wishes, subject to the proposed purchaser being acceptable to the Government and other bodies performing their public function.
At each stage of the process (which commenced when Baha Mar’s developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, without any prior notice, arranged for the Baha Mar companies to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States), Mr. Izmirlian has had the opportunity to participate in discussions and the process surrounding the future of the resort.
If, as he states, Mr. Izmirlian is in a position to, and wishes to work with CEXIM to deliver Baha Mar for the Bahamian people, then he should engage seriously with Perfect Luck and its advisors. If he is in a position to make a credible proposal to acquire Baha Mar from Perfect Luck, then he is free to do so.
After much hard work, the project is back on track – re-mobilisation has commenced and through high level good faith negotiations a substantial fund has been established by CEXIM for the payment of creditors’ claims and former Baha Mar Bahamian employees are already being paid. Those were two of the Prime Minister’s three stated primary objectives and they have been achieved. The third objective is to ensure that Baha Mar is sold to a world class hotel and casino operator. The Government of The Bahamas will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that this objective is fulfilled, in the very best interest of the economy and the people of The Bahamas.
Real progress is being made and that progress must continue through to the completion and successful operation of the resort by a world class casino and hotel operator.
