NEW DATE FOR CABLE AND WIRELESS SHARES

ST GEORGE, March 17, 2008, CMC – The Grenada government says it has been forced to change the date for the sale of its 20per cent shares in the telecommunications company, Cable and Wireless Grenada Limited.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Timothy Antoine said the date had to be changed from March 15th to the 25th because of problems associated with finalizing certain terms and conditions with the company.

“We experienced a slight delay but now we have everything resolved and we are ready to launch,” he said. “Government is keen on making sure that Grenadians obtain shares in the company and that view is reflected in the finalized legal document.”

The government said it will make one million of the eight million shares available to Grenadians at the price of EC$20 (US$7.40) per share. Investors will have to purchase a minimum of 50 shares. “I can confirm to you that at the launch a major announcement will be made regarding this investment to the public in terms of the sale,” Antoine said, indicating that the Keith Mitchell administration would soon make an announcement on the matter.  It was earlier this year that the government announced plans to sell its shares in the telecommunications company.

“The divestment is part of the government’s fiscal reform strategy developed more than two years ago and supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. The government will retain four million (4,000,000) shares or 10 per cent of the issued shares of Cable & Wireless Grenada Ltd.,” it noted.

The government said the shares represent 20 per cent of its 30 per cent shareholding in the company, whose majority shareholder is the British telecom giant, Cable & Wireless.

It added that the sale of shares in one of the largest industrial companies in Grenada “provides an excellent opportunity to the Grenadian public to hedge their savings against inflation”.

“Grenadian investors should also experience a rise in income, as the dividends paid by Cable & Wireless Grenada have been consistently higher than interest paid on savings and time deposits. Government expects this trend to continue,” the Mitchell administration said.

The sale has been welcomed by the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), but criticised by veteran trade unionist and President General of the Technical and Allied Workers Union Chester Humphrey.

He described the sale as a “mechanism which is an instrument for the unfair redistribution of wealth”.  “It will only benefit a minority of individuals; it will not work in the best interest of the majority of workers who are presently faced with so many financial challenges. Therefore, as an instrument for the fair distribution of wealth this is a backward social step,” he argued.