While Fijian Holdings Ltd (FHL) has set aside $50 million or 10 per cent of its capital base to help fund iTaukei businesses, the businesses must be properly structured in order to be considered for financing, said FHL chief executive officer Jaoji Koroi. “The 10 per cent of our capital base is about $50m which we will invest alongside landowners,” Mr Koroi said.
“There is a big effort required of the landowners to go through a process and this process is under the Solesolevaki Framework with the Government, where we (FHL) and other i-Taukei institutions including the i-Taukei Land trust Board, the i-Taukei Trust Fund, and i-Taukei Affairs, work together to ensure that those landowners who have resources and want to develop it commercially must come through that process.
“It’s important that they set up a proper trustee for the welfare of the landowners and also a company where they put the resources, such as a lease, then have it valued, and then we come in and contribute,” Mr Koroi said.
Last week, the Raibevu family from the landowning unit mataqali Nawavatu in Kalabu Village, outside Suva, became the first group of resource owners to ink a joint venture with FHL under the solesolevaki framework.
Upon the creation of the Raibevu Family Trust, the family established CBayview Enterprises Pte Ltd, its commercial arm that is now 60 per cent owned by FHL.
CBayview leases about 1.3 acres of land registered under mataqali Nawavatu, at the junction of Princes Rd and Khalsa Rd in Tacirua and adjacent to the Tacirua Police Post.
“They will put the lease into the company and then they will value the lease,” said Mr Koroi.
“Once you have a lease, there’s a value to that lease and then we will put in our share. They’ll put in their land, then we’ll put in our cash equity and then we’ll develop the project, whether it’s housing or development or residential.”
The Raibevu family has over 1000 acres leased out to the Housing Authority for real estate, while close to 100 acres are occupied through informal housing arrangements along Khalsa Rd, Cunningham and Sakoca. This is the first time for the family to be equity partners in the development of their land, said family spokesman Josateki Raibevu. FHL is also looking at other potential projects with a survey currently in progress to assess this.
“We’ve also signed one in Taveuni,” Mr Koroi said.
“We’re also trying a model where we go out to the rural areas and develop the distribution and processing centres in the rural areas.
“We’re going through a survey at the moment and it’s going to be some commercial development, some industrial. The idea is to allow the landowners in that area to work with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Rural areas to work together with landowners to provide them with opportunities to go into business.”
In Taveuni, FHL has signed a joint venture with Domaine Pte Ltd, which owns 17.05 acres of land in Naqara, Taveuni.
Domaine is owned by local businessman Wah Sing Yee and the joint venture will, over time, allow iTaukei business/resource owners to buy into the company and have a direct participation in the venture.
