FIJI will only be required to pay off the principal amount of the $102 million EXIM Bank of India loan, as the Indian Government has agreed to write off all arrears on interest.
This move will save Fiji about $6m of overdue interest, Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad explained.
“One thing I want to state very clearly, which the media needs to understand, the problems surrounding the repair of the mills and how it was done had nothing to do with the Indian Government,” he said.
“It was a mess up by the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) management board and the government people involved in it at the time.
“The mess continued after the 2006 coup. So, let me put that to rest.
The Indian Government, we have now come to an agreement as to how we are going to proceed in paying off that loan to the Exim Bank.”
According to Prof Prasad, FSC, the Ministry of Finance and Exim Bank through the Government of India had agreed to a plan where the Indian government got the Exim Bank to write off the arrears on interest.
Prof Prasad said they had gotten a much better deal now, and they could move ahead with the support of FSC and the Government.
“My view is that we have resolved the matter. The payment is only for the unpaid principal amount in 10, half-yearly instalments every six months over the next five years, until 2028,” he said.
“And this means that the Government of India will waive the overdue interest for FSC amounting to almost $F6m as of September 30, 2023, as well as the interest to be accrued by FSC during the restructuring period.
“So that’s a significant concession and a plan to resolve this mess that was left by the previous government and the previous FSC board and management.”
