IT’S JUST BUSINESS: CCA mum on potential sale of The Pointe as VP says buying and selling projects is “normal”

“I don’t want people to misinterpret this; it is a typical business practice in any type of corporation”

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — China Construction America (CCA) Senior Vice President Daniel Liu could not confirm or deny that the developers of The Pointe were seeking to sell the $200 million project, telling Eyewitness News that with any investment, it is normal to “own, hold, buy [and] sell”.

There has been speculation surrounding the downtown development and whether it was being placed on the market for a potential sale, but government officials and the developers have been tight-lipped on the matter.

When asked about whether the developers of The Pointe were seeking to sell, Liu said: “This is a typical business practice, so I am not going to comment too much.

“It is like any business. People can buy, can sell or hold, so there is nothing to be curious about it.

“I don’t know what the reaction is for.

“It is a typical business practice. That’s all I can tell you and I am not going to be able to comment too much on that.”

Pressed on whether there was interest in selling or testing the market value, Liu said: “I don’t want people to misinterpret this. It is a business practice in any type of business corporation. People own, hold, buy [and] sell. That’s typical.”

Margaritaville Resort at The Pointe officially opened last month, as part of the ongoing redevelopment of Downtown Nassau, which has seen installation of green spaces, a marina, retail space and the shaping of the boardwalk of the Nassau waterfront in recent months.

Liu said the project is an incredible one and will continue to contribute to development of the downtown area.

“It is beautiful and I would like [everyone] to come and visit and experience it yourself,” he said.

He was also asked if the resort was doing as well as expected given the COVID situation in The Bahamas, and around the world, with limitation of and hesitancy surrounding travel and vacationing.

“I think the hotel is going to do better,” he said.

“There is a big expectation of the explosion of tourism, and the hotel occupancy goes with the country.

“When a country is fully opened, when a country is doing well, the hotel is doing well.

“We are very much confident this hotel is going to do great, more than what we expected, and we are very happy to say that.”

Meantime, legal proceedings continued between CCA and Baha Mar former developer Sarkis Izmirlian, who claimed the Chinese state-owned contractor used a $54 million payment pledged to the Baha Mar project to fund the acquisition of the British Colonial Hilton.

CCA acquired the downtown Hilton in October 2014.

It has denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit a vindictive and baseless attempt to redeem Izmirlian’s failures to manage his companies and their investment in Baha Mar, which was sold to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in December 2016.

The New York State Supreme Court will determine the outcome of the ongoing litigation.