D.F.C. will sell off major assets

It’s no secret that the Development Finance Corporation is not enjoying the best of health. Having quadrupled the size of its portfolio during the previous P.U.P. term of office, the government-owned lending institution is suffering from chronic indigestion caused by questionable loans too freely given. Having recently announced its intention to downsize and clean up its act, it still comes as a bit of a shock to see the D.F.C. cheap sale promoted in the international press. A half page advertisement in a recent issue of The Economist magazine announced the impending sale of a large portion of the institution’s asset base. These assets on the block include certain large construction loans, industrial parks and housing estates, not to mention the D.F.C.’s own headquarters and countrywide offices…which would then be leased back to the corporation by the new owners. According to the advertisement, Government will publish a prospectus by December first and hopes to have the sales to both locals and foreigners completed by the end of the year. The range of discounts on the loans and other assets is not known, but is presumably open to negotiation. Attempts to get more details on the offer proved fruitless as the contact persons named in the ad–Troy Gabb and Louis Lue–were unavailable, as was D.F.C. Executive Chairman, Omar Espejo.