The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A key Sarkis Izmirlian ally yesterday conceded that his attempts to regain Baha Mar’s ownership will likely prove futile, given that both the Government and Chinese were telling the original developer to “go to hell”.

Dionisio D’Aguilar told Tribune Business that the stony silence from Beijing showed the China Export-Import Bank had no intention of “engaging at all” with Mr Izmirlian, despite the latter’s pledge to beat any rival Baha Mar bidder’s price.

The former Baha Mar director added that last week’s statement from Prime Minister Perry Christie’s office, calling on Mr Izmirlian to ‘engage’ with the bank and its Perfect Luck Holdings vehicle, “rang hollow” because the Government knew the Chinese wanted to freeze the original developer out.

Mr Izmirlian’s camp yesterday released another letter to the China Export-Import Bank, imploring it to engage “in a serious discussion” over his latest offer and promise to trump any other Baha Mar purchase offers (see other article Page 1B).

Yet this letter, too, acknowledged that Baha Mar’s secure creditor, together with its Deloitte & Touche receivers and the bank’s Perfect Luck Holdings special purpose vehicle (SPV), had not even given Mr Izmirlian the courtesy of a reply or receipt acknowledgement.

Mr D’Aguilar yesterday described this treatment of Mr Izmirlian as “reprehensible” and “despicable”, adding that both the Government and the Chinese were showing him “great disrespect”.

And, seemingly alluding to the possibility of running as an FNM candidate in the upcoming general election, Mr D’Aguilar warned the Christie administration that it “better” have acted properly in handling Baha Mar, otherwise there will be “hell to pay’.

“The Chinese and the Government have met in the penthouse suite at Baha Mar and put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door,” Mr D’Aguilar said of the current situation.

“As much as Sarkis attempts to kick in the door, the ‘do not disturb’ sign is still clearly on it.”

Conceding that Baha Mar’s original developer is being ‘left out in the cold’, Mr D’Aguilar added: “That’s not what I think; that’s what’s clearly apparent.

“The constant refrain of the Government is: Go speak to the Chinese. Those are hollow words that have no grounding in the hope of a positive outcome.

“The Government has been complicit in the shafting of Sarkis Izmirlian. They [the Chinese] are not engaging with him at all, and the Government is complicit in the take down of one of the single largest foreign investors in the country. This will send a clear message to everyone else,” he continued.

“It’s mind boggling. They are just ignoring him, and showing him great disrespect by not engaging with him at all.”

Mr D’Aguilar’s interpretation of events is likely to be rejected by both the Government and the Chinese, plus their advisers, who have long harboured scepticism over whether Mr Izmirlian has the financing to do what he promises.

They will probably see Mr Izmirlian’s latest letter to the China Export-Import Bank, which is dated Monday, October 24, as merely the latest step in a PR campaign designed to discredit their actions over Baha Mar.

However, many observers are likely to wonder why the China Export-Import Bank appears not to be taking Mr Izmirlian seriously, given that he is offering to beat all-comers on price plus make all Bahamian and foreign creditors whole.

Given that both the bank, which is owned by the Beijing government, and the Deloitte & Touche receivers would appear to have the goal and responsibility of maximising the Baha Mar sale price, it would appear in their interests to at least test whether Mr Izmirlian is serious.

“Even his last offer, to pay more than anyone else, didn’t pique their interest,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.

“Clearly, he’s [Mr Izmirlian] a wealthy man, clearly he doesn’t fly economy class, and he’s managed to bring about a $3.4 billion investment project which is 97 per cent done. They’re just not engaging him, and are telling him to go to hell. It’s unfortunate. It’s reprehensible. It’s despicable.”

Mr D’Aguilar said it was obvious “some deal has been struck between the Government and the Chinese for there to be such a deep love affair”, although the ‘sealing’ of all details surrounding the agreement for Baha Mar’s construction completion meant this had not been fully disclosed to the Bahamian public.

“Hopefully, the Government will change, and when the Government changes we’ll see what the deal is,” Mr D’Aguilar said. “They’d better have done it properly, because if not, we’ll see it, and there will be hell to pay.”

The outspoken businessman told Tribune Business he remained “steadfast in my belief” that it was in the Bahamas’ best long-term interests for Mr Izmirlian to hold Baha Mar’s ownership, rather than a Chinese consortium.

He based this on Mr Izmirlian’s commitment to Bahamians, which included contacting those living abroad to come back and work on the project, and giving persons who had been written-off a chance at employment.

“He was the only investor to say to the Government: Give me 1,000 Bahamians who have fallen on hard times, bad luck and have had no success in living in the Bahamas, and give them an opportunity through the Leadership Development Institute,” Mr D’Aguilar said.

He also lauded Mr Izmirlian’s commitment to providing a platform for Bahamian artists, and his “fight to remove large portions” of construction work from China Construction America (CCA), the project’s general contractor, and hand it to Bahamians.