Banco Atlantida ready for buyout of B.S.I. factory and holdings
Honduras’ Banco Atlántida’s interest in a buyout of Belize Sugar Industries was revealed earlier this year. In January representatives of the Honduran bank visited the factory at Tower Hill in Orange Walk along with experts in factory and field work. With millions of dollars in loans owed to I.N.G. and First Caribbean Bank, a buyout could possibly prevent a shutdown of the factory, since millions more are needed to inject capital into the mill. The Prime Minister said today that he thinks a deal can be worked out with the Honduran bank. He has been meeting with cane farmers to get their viewpoint but the majority shareholdings in the factory are held by the Employees Trust. According to the PM, a deal could be tabled at the end of the week as Banco Atlántida and stakeholders are expected to meet with him immediately following Friday’s House Meeting in the Capital.
Dean Barrow
“The current management at B.S.I. has met with the employees trust and I am told that those discussions have been going well in terms of an acceptance of the need for Banco Atlantida to come in. I have concentrated on talking to the farmers because while they don’t own B.S.I., they are the ones who are the other principal stake holders. And Banco Atlantida won’t put in their ninety million U.S. unless they get certain legislative changes and I have to be sure that the farmers are prepared to accept those legislative changes. We had a meeting a week and a half ago and we agreed that I should invite Banco Atlantida to come down and talk to farmers directly in my presence. That meeting has been fixed for two o’clock. I expect to get through with the House business by then on Friday. That meeting is fixed for two o’clock in the cabinet room in Belmopan. We clearly need B.S.I. on its own. Forget for a minute the thirty million U.S. dollars that’s owed; that ING has called in. Even if you leave that aside, going forward B.S.I. needs capital injection by way of operating capital. They need to make certain repairs to the factory. Let me just summarize it in that way. B.S.I. needs operating capital. If you both have to repay a thirty million U.S. dollars loan and get additional funds to take you forward, clearly this Banco Atlantida interest is something that in my view must be looked at in every seriousness and if there is any way that we can come to an agreement so that that ninety million U.S. dollars can be invested in the sugar industry, then we ought to come to that. What are we going to do if the employees say we don’t want to see Banco Atlantida take a majority stake in the factory, how are we going to move forward? We came up with ten million dollars last year, but to come up with not just sixty million more to pay off ING, but sixty million plus another thirty that Banco Atlantida is talking about—maybe even forty—now we can’t find a hundred million dollars. Much as we would like to, we don’t have it all. So I think that all of us must recognize what the reality of the situation is and try to deal with Banco Atlantida. I don’t have the sense that they are trying to drive a ridiculous bargain.”
pm take the money from SSB and keep the company going.You already took 70 millions for BTl.why let HONDURAS take over the factory?or you are setting them up to chinger them?YOU ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED.YOU SAY THAT GOB WILL HAVE CONTROL OF ALL MAJOR COMPANY IN BELIZE.GUESS YOU ARE ONLY GOOD WITH WORDS.THE FARMERS SHOULD START TO PLANT WEED AND GET SOME OF THE DRUG LORD TO INVEST.THEY WILL LIVE BETTER .YOU DESTROY EVERYTHING IN THE COUNTRY.GO AFTER THE OIL.CHANGE THE LAWS SO WE CAN HELP OUR PEOPLE. MOYA SAID YOU DON’T HAVE B—S BUT FROM WHAT YOU ARE DOING I SEE THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF POLITICAL BALLS YOU ARE KICKING AROUND IN THE COUNTRY,WAKE UP MY PEOPLE.
What happened with your “nationalization” for the people’s interest.?!!! Isn’t the interest of our hardworking canefarmers worth your nationalizing of same?! Course it doesn’t Mr. Barrow hates hispanic people so whatever happens to the canefarmers does not affect him in any way!!! Sad but true and I hope the canefarmers along with all other Belizean stands up for our rights as Bob Marley sings in the UDP’s favourite Bob song. Stand up for your rights!!
revolution is in the air que viva la revolucion.
I WONDER WHAT HIS CUT WILL BE, ALONG WITH THE ‘PREFFERED’ LAWYERS THAT WILL WORK ON THIS DEAL.
LIKE BTL AND BEL, WHO BY YOUR ASSERTIONS , WERENT PERFORMING IN THE NATIONS INTEREST. WHY DONT YOU NATIONALIZE THE SUGAR FACTORY TOO.
Can BSI and the cane farmers only produce sugar? What about bi products besides rum of course. I had pancakes and maple syrup in Orange Walk: no cane syrup, no cane juice, no fresh cane to chew on, no celotex from the fibres, no animal feed with the exception of molasses, no filter press as we import potting mix. what else can we do with cane. A question for all the agronomists, engineers, etc. We talk diversification but what do we do? WHINE and wine!!!
@ marco. first, diversification costs an injection of capital that BSI does not have at the moment. if they were to diversify there are other more lucrative options. the reason cane syrup, cane juice and fresh cane is not sold is because it all used up for the production of sugar which is more profitable than the latter.
i have to admit that i had never though of using the fibres for celotex production but i am sure that has been tabled before but electricity production was found to be more profitable.
molasses is produced and sold but on a small to foreigners and for the local market (rum distilleries) because again, sugar is the most profitable product.
all the filter press is taken straight back to the BSI’s cane fields.