Guysuco gets $250M from NICIL syndicated bond

Jul 02, 2020 News

– to receive another $750M if companies
“engage in solutions-driven discussions”

Following several calls for assistance to the
The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has released $250M to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
A press release issued by NICIL stated that “this sum represents a partial response from NICIL to GuySuCo’s request to government for a ‘bailout,’ and brings the total disbursements to GuySuCo from July 2018 to date to $9,970,759,568; in addition to the close to 40 billion it has received from the government.”
Over the past weeks GuySuCo and the Guyana Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), has been calling on NICIL to release monies collected in bonds for the struggling sugar corporation.
In a recent press release GAWU stated that through several sources it had learnt that the sugar company did not have funds to pay salaried workers.
It added that “when we asked about the promised release of resources from the Government-holding company, NICIL, our sources confirmed that, so far, none of the touted monies have been released to the sugar company. Persons in the GuySuCo, we have learnt, are very anxious, at this time, considering production has halted and income from the sales of sugar and molasses have ceased. One source indicated that if NICIL does not release any monies soon, the Company will be forced to close its doors.”
Additionally, “GAWU was informed that with several more weeks before the second crop commences, the industry requires about $1B to meet wage and salary expenditures while additional monies are required to meet other operational expenses.”
In response, NICIL stated that GuySuCo “should seek to resolve its financial challenges through professional engagements with NICIL and by extension the Government, rather than resort to petty disclosures and half-truths in the press, none of which is providing the solutions to its myriad of problems. We strongly advise the Directors of GuySuCo to obey the terms and conditions of the bond and to seek to ensure compliance with same. In particular, we urge that it honours the reporting of its expenditure schedule to NICIL and the bond holders.”
NICIL added that it will in the very near future make available a further G$750 M. However, this disbursement can only be possible when NICIL and GuySuCo can engage in solutions-driven discussions about making GuySuCo a commercially viable entity.
However, it is unclear whether this money credited to the sugar company’s bank account is for the purpose of paying salaries. Efforts by this newspaper to contact Mr. Colvin Heath-London NICIL’s, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for clarification, proved futile.

NICIL has approximately $21B outstanding for GuySuCo after it raised $30B in bonds but only gave the company approximately $10B. This is in addition to $30M recently raised from the sale of prime lands, which was said to be used for GuySuCo.

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