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Is Sagicor the investor in Government paper who has recently changed their investment pattern to short term notes/bonds?
The sale of Sagicor Europe Ltd provided cash proceeds of US$139 M.
and the GOB wants it as part of the international reserves.
If the disclosures on this thread are accurate it would appear that Sinckler is on the ball here. Hope that his nemesis doesn’t act as a spoiler here.
are-we-there-yet?
You sure you understand what’s being attempted? You understand it is rooted in a desire to have remain a producer of bulk sugar ONLY, leave Tate & Lyle and their bajan partners to make all the money in the UK where the refining is done?
@ Triangle
The divestment begins, foreign reserves for govt assets, what next?
you must admit a win win for all: a sustainable export sector
Triangle Bangle @ 10.01 am
It looks as if I didn’t understand as what you are saying there is new information to me. I only comment on the information that is in the public domain or provided by posters on BU or elsewhere on the internet.
Grateful if you would spell out your scenario of continued Tate and Lyle control of our sugar industry.
Sounds very interesting.
This from Advocate article – CAIPO bringing new IT system on board
“…We will be offering the facility where you can sit in your office in Hong Kong and you can go through procedures of having your business incorporated. So once we are able to offer that … it will increase our competitiveness,”
Interesting choice of source of companies wanting to incorporate in Barbados.
are-we-there-yet
Can someone advise what is the selling price of bulk sugar from Barbados to the UK and what is the selling price of the refined sugar in the UK?
If i am an guess the real money is made on the refining process by Tate & Lyle in the UK and the re-export of the Barbadian sugar (now refined) back to Barbados at heavily inflated prices.
If Sagicor and the independent farmers don’t want to grow cane to support the restructuring of the sugar industry project then the Minister should stop the annual stipend to BSIL and the voluntary subsides provided to farmers (Agri Develop Fund) some of which are members of BSIL.
The Chairman of BSIL has already resigned cause he knows its going to be showdown between the independent sugar growers and the Minister’s policy of restructuring the industry.
The Barbadian Economy | Challenges and Opportunities Agro-Processing
Moving Toward a “Sugar Cane Industry”
The proposed multi-purpose sugar factory (Andrews Factory) will:
Be completed by January 2016 at a cost of $500 million
Produce high quality sugar (brown and white) and B-molasses (save $20 million annually)
Benefit the rum industry by lowering the amount of imports molasses ($40 million)
Facilitate the use of bagasse to generate electricity (25MW electricity plant) for sale to the national grid with an estimated saving of about $40 million a year in fuel imports
August-2013 Central Bank of Barbados
Back in Time Jack | January 16, 2014 at 10:08 PM |
Pool, Wakefield, Todd’s and Henley
Those lands sound very similar to government’s $5 per sq ft programme. Any idea what money, if any at all, was paid to CLICO for these lots?
That sugar factory is a pipe dream–land, competition, crop science and more all coalesce to confirm its fantasy.
Enuff;
Actually, that project is one of very few which I think has some hope of taking us properly into the 21st century in combination with some other joint public-private sector renewable energy projects. Of course it appears visionary now but if means can be found to improve the ROI and diversify the uses of sugar cane products, it could, with other projects yet to come, be very important in the future economy of Barbados. The project, as far as I understand, builds on earlier concepts, studies and proposals going as far back as the mid 1990’s. It would have taken a long time to reach this stage and probably still needs a few rough edges to be sanded off but It shouldn’t be allowed to become a casualty of current economic woes.
aaaaam the volume of cane required will be grown where? In the air or on the sea?
Enuff
We could grow cane inside your head, there surely seems to be the room.
Enuff;
Wasn’t the river tamarind idea supposed to reduce the need for bagasse as a WTE energy feedstock in the project?
Btw, is there a document on the project in the public domain on the net? I haven’t seen it but it seems to me that some details of the numbers and projections and strategies are necessary for us to sensibly argue, one way or the other, on this project.
How about someone posting the project or other detailed info on it?
Back in Time jack
Fertile “soil” too but like the others with space I am not convinced your cane idea will give me the best return on my property and you can’t force me to join.
are-we-there
But river tamarind can’t give yuh specialty sugars.
Enuff
If you don’t want to grow cane on your property then your prerogative. Grow cucumbers and watermelons for all I care, you just wont be one of the beneficiaries of the increased profits from the scheme.
Enuff;
My understanding was that it was an integrated project designed to transform the face of barbados,. It would produce cane sugar for local consumption by relevant industries and individuals, produce special sugars for local and export use, produce stocks for fine chemicals, molasses for alcohol that could be used in various industrial processes and bagasse for energy purposes. The integrated WTE plant would use bagasse as a feedstock if feasible and would also use river tamarind, collected from the wild around the island as well as specially cultivated on suitable rab land.
A lot of hot air, you might say. But I think worth a trial and proper feasibility studies.
I don’t know what is actually in the project and how legitimate concerns re. Implementation has been addressed in the final development of the project, but I do know that some good local and regional and international brains were involved in the project since one of the consultants from overseas gave me a brief rundown of what they were working on.
I think the project has great potential, especially since the alternative is to do nothing and let the land revert to weeds, wild river tamarind, etc.
@ Back in Time
Increased profits don’t mean best return papa.Anyhow good luck to you and the Minister.
Enuff;
Re. Your 5.17 post yesterday. It would be very surprising where the authorities will get the land from when this country is recognized to have hit rock bottom and marginal farmers have to find some easy enterprise to ensure their survival if circumstances do not allow them to be able to profitably plant vegetables etc. Sugar cane is still the easiest of crops to grow, while river tamarind requires no expertise. If the island continues on its current trajectory the expansion of sugar and planting of river tamarind might become quite attractive to large landholders like you.
are-we-there-yet
Do mind Enuff, he wants ‘highest and best use’ for his land so leave him let him get on with carving up the agricultural land into lots for residential and commercial use.
Interesting dialog, but our country will be bankrupted by this project. When a project is being influenced by the greed of a London lawyer and a dirty local politician, the outcome will be disastrous. You only have to look at the new BWA building, the Belle R/O and this Andrews scam – look at the players involved in these and you will understand what’s really happening. These projects are not being driven by water or sugar issues, just greed, and at the country’s expense. Ask yourself why a London lawyer (Marsden) with a St. Lucian offshore company, a local construction company (Innotech) and a minister (Estwick) tend to propose wildly expensive projects together.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.