60/40 Exemption: Polaris/Stevedoring To Reapply
Polaris Holding Company Limited said it will reapply for 60/40 relief after being told the “criteria was not satisfied.” Polaris — the parent company of Stevedoring Services Ltd, Mill Reach Holding Ltd., and Equipment Sales & Rentals Ltd — originally applied for 60/40 relief last month.
The Companies Act was recently amended to allow for companies fitting certain criteria to apply for Government’s permission to have over 40% of their shares foreign owned. KeyTech and the Ascendant Group have already applied, and been exempted, from the 60/40 rule.
In a recent filing to the Bermuda Stock Exchange, Polaris said:Â ”…regarding a potential delay in the above Notice, originally to be effective 2nd January, 2013, please be advised that we are in receipt of a notice from the Ministry dated 11th December, 2012, stating that criteria was not satisfied.
“At this juncture, Polaris Holding Company Ltd wishes to formally advise The Bermuda Stock Exchange of its intention to reapply for this relief, by the end of January, 2013.”
and they’ll get it….jeeez wish I could find overseas partners to help me with my 1M dollar mortgage
maybe you need a smaller mortgage
CAUTION
Herein lies the very critical balancing act. Foreign ownership eligibly must be based on a well thought out litmus test that reflects Bermuda’s long-term goals. Is it foreign ownership purely for an exit strategy or really local capital cannot be found?
Why is this important you might ask? In my opinion, foreign ownership will bring a different level of commitment to both the local community and local employment. Those who think otherwise are ignoring the obvious. Secondly, foreign ownership can significantly reduce local business entrepreneurial development; as a result of, amongst other factors, economies of scale they might have access to and the application of same towards foreign investment projects here in Bermuda.
The United States has suffered dearly over the last 3 decades because profits trumped both common sense and social responsibility (moving jobs overseas, etc.). Opening Bermuda’s local economy might have immediate positive consequences, but if done so without suitable checks and balances in the end will lead to job losses and less control of our economy. We only need to look at a few of the foreign investment exemptions provided under the previous government (most led to job losses and little improvements in service).
Given the nature, size, remoteness and current local employment educational skill sets, I hope the OBA thinks carefully about further opening up the local economy. I believe discussion forums should first be held on pros and cons of further opening up the local economy to foreign investment. I’ve heard prominent local businessmen advocate this recently, in my opinion, without any great thought except short term bottom-line effect. We need to be more strategic in our actions…
Like any company, we MUST first develop clear economic and social goals (framework) for Bermuda. What do we want our economy to look like? What opportunities do we want available for our population? How do we see locals engaging economically? Once this is set out as clear goals, we can better determine the correct litmus test for further relaxing the current foreign ownership restriction related to the local economy.
Please lets not relax foreign ownership in the local economy as a knee jerk reaction to create jobs. It’s not just jobs we need; we need good quality jobs for local people to flourish. More importantly, locals need to be engaged in a meaningful way.
Us business folks…we can no longer be totally self-centered. Yes, we need to think about our bottom line, but also the social-economic impacts of our collective decisions on Bermuda, if Bermuda to survive successfully in the long run.
OBA please don’t drop the ball… lets put together a good framework for Bermuda’s future success. Let’s systematically measure all decisions/proposals against this new framework; including the contention issues of further relaxing foreign ownership restrictions in the local economy.
PENSIVE
Smiths
i won’t to thank you very much for your wise comments they are spot on i just hope that the government and the people of bermuda understand.
@ swing voter
Not to worry mate.
There will be plenty coming soon.
OBA promise
Now that they going to relax the Immigration Policy, the flood gates will be open..
@stopcomplainingone sec.—oba will have to get it passed the house of assembly first! the same process is in place and the same people are still operating on the same policies, so until the oba is able to pass legislation successfully everything will not just change overnight.the plp had some excellent promises in 1998 as ,and their platform was second to none: however getting pass civilservants and unions will be the same challenge for the present government who will find that the road is a rocky one if they do not have enough representation in the house and agreement at caucus level,,hmm should be interesting..Bermudians still need inclusion.
I hope this process is thoroughly and very carefully thought through.If not it’s business as usual, Island for sale to the highest bidder.
I agree with concerned local business man. It is a delicate balance.#1 We need to see how much money is left to work with.#2 And what Chris Furbert and the Union goals are for 2013.
no ,NO…NO .