(Trinidad Express) The Government intends to seek another six-month extension from CL Financial (CLF) shareholders when the agreement expires on December 12.
The Sunday Express understands that it is the only option being seriously considered by the Government as it has not yet recouped its TT$20 billion investment into what was former CLF chairman Lawrence Duprey’s cash-starved empire.
If the request is approved by CLF shareholders, it will be the second six-month extension given to the government after the three-year Shareholders Agreement expired in June.
The Shareholders Agreement which was signed on June 12, 2009, followed the Memorandum of Understanding of January 30, 2009 signed between the government and CLF.
The Shareholders Agreement allows Government to have controlling interest on the CL Financial board.
The Sunday Express also understands that no CLF assets are up for sale at the moment as such a proposal would have to be brought before the Cabinet to be approved.
In June, CLF director Steve Castagne had said he did not expect the Government’s intervention in the collapsed CL Financial conglomerate (CLF) to end anytime soon.
“This thing is not going to end where the Government will not be involved in this group. They will always have to be. We have Methanol (Holdings) and Republic Bank shares. We have too many entities that are of national interest for the Government to leave alone. That’s my opinion,” Castagne told the Sunday Express.
Earlier this month Finance Minister Larry Howai launched the CLICO Investment Fund (CIF) as he sought to bring closure to the Government’s bailout of the company. The TT$5.1 billion fund (known as NEL 2) is an initiative of the Government to settle, through the issue of units in the fund, amounts due to STIP policyholders.
