*larinJ transSarenF\ and aFFoXntabilit\ issXes oYer *X\6X&o¶s bond deal

There is need for the Coalition Government to explain several issues, which have emerged in relation to the 0M syndicated bond secured for the four sugar estates which were closed last year.

This is the view of Opposition Leader, Bharrat -agdeo, who raised several Tuestions about the deal, in a statement. According to a statement from -agdeo, the Government has failed to provide the Parliament or the public, with details on how the monies will be used. The state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited NICIL received roughly US M, which was disbursed on May ,

0 , with the residual tranche to be issued to NICIL as is needed. NICIL is expected to raise US 6 M through a combination of local and regional investors, including those in Trinidad and -amaica. NICIL’s team lead by Colvin Health-London, the head of the Special Purpose Unit SPU , structured the bond to recapitali]e GuySuCo’s operations. “Government has a duty to explain why it did not borrow the money itself if a sovereign guarantee was being issued. Government typically borrows at interest rates below and repayment terms over 0- 0 years. Why is the NICIL-GuySuCo SPU borrowing at . and repaying this over five years, with a full Government guarantee"” -agdeo Tuestioned. According to the Opposition Leader, there is no information as to what assets were used to secure the bonds. He said that there is extreme concern about the risk of the Treasury having to pay back the investors and have serious concerns on whether investors are simply relying on this guarantee when there are glaring transparency and accountability issues. He reminded that the Parliament recently raised the debt ceiling to guarantee debt to the amount of 0B. Apart from a mere reference to a 0B GuySuCo bond, -agdeo stated that not a single detail was provided. In the past, -agdeo noted that funding for projects like the Berbice Bridge or the Marriott Hotel, were accompanied by considerable documentation and studies. “Where are the documents and details for this huge US 0 million bond" Why is it a secret when a public guarantee is being issued" The Berbice Bridge and Marriott did not have sovereign guarantees,” -agdeo stated.

Republic Bank was reportedly able to tap successfully the local investor market to raise mutually beneficial financing for the Guyana Government and investing subscribers. Reports indicated that the bond was oversubscribed by the local investor market shortly after its announcement. GuySuCo has struggled to raise the funds needed to revamp its operations and has relied heavily on Government bailouts to stay afloat.

(Kaieteur News)