-CEO
Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited (GT&T) CEO Major General (rtd) Joseph Singh said the arrangements for the sale of government’s 20 per cent share in the company were completed without the company’s involvement and he could not say what changes may come as a result of the new ownership.
Stabroek News approached Singh on Friday while at the launch of GT&T’s Smartphone internet service for Apple iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets.
“I am not qualified to speak on that. That is a matter for Dr Luncheon. We have not been involved in that. We have not been part of any discussion on the purchase,” he said when asked how the company will evolve as a result of the sale of the shares.
Asked whether there would be any change to the governance structure of the corporation, he said, “I don’t know. That is for the Government to decide. Government sold its shares, we were advised but we were not party to that transaction therefore this question could be better answered by the Minister responsible for telecoms or Dr Luncheon,” he said.
“I assume that when the government is ready they will indicate to us,” he said, when quizzed on whether the changes will affect the future in terms of the company’s investment plans.
A member of the Cabinet back in April confirmed that Chinese tech giant Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Group was the company that bought government’s 20 percent shares in GT&T.
It was said that the sale of those shares had garnered US$30 million or $6 billion, which the government may dedicate to the development of the IT sector in Guyana.
The Cabinet Secretary had announced the sale in April following a Cabinet decision on the matter.
At that time he was tight-lipped about the name of the company that had made the acquisition.
According to sources, the Datang Group’s offer reportedly included a proposed initial payment of US$20 million, with the remaining US$10 million being paid over ten years.
A second offer reportedly involved a down payment of US$25 million and the remaining US$5 million being paid in instalments over seven years.
Reports suggested that the government went with the latter option albeit with modifications and will receive US$25 million up front and the remaining US$5 million will be paid over the next five years.
Datang is one of China’s showpiece hi-tech companies, which specialises in the development, production and sale of electronic information systems and equipment.
Founded in 1999, the company is reportedly managed by the state-run Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
Datang’s product and service portfolio ranges from wireless mobile telecommunications, integrated circuit design and manufacturing, to information security.
The company’s overall assets are nearly 50 billion RMB.
When he was asked what motivated government dispose of the shares, Dr Luncheon said US$30 million is a lot of money even though the government was receiving a little over US$2 million a year from the telephone company. Government had retained 20 of the shares when it sold 80% to GT&T’s parent company ATN in 1991.
Since 1999 too, the Government of Guyana has received more than $35 billion in consumption, corporation and value-added taxes and sector analysts have said that these payments make GT&T one of the more profitable investments ever undertaken by the Government of Guyana.
