Fijian Holdings Ltd (FHL) has announced the signing of two shareholders’ agreements which will mark the beginning of its impact investment initiatives and partnering with i-Taukei businesses and resource owners.
FHL yesterday signed its first joint venture agreement with CBayview Enterprises Pte Ltd, a i-Taukei company owned by Raibevu Family Trust of Kalabu Village outside Suva.
CBayview leases about 1.3 acres of land at the junction of Princess Road and Khalsa Road in Tacirua and adjacent to the Tacirua Police Post and FHL will invest in the company through its subsidiary FHL Media Pte Ltd.
FHL chief executive officer Jaoji Koroi said this is the first time for FHL to be working alongside landowning units to help them move into business.
“The board has already allocated 10 per cent of our capital to be invested alongside i-Taukei companies for landowners with resources,” Mr Koroi said at the signing ceremony.
“In this case, we are investing for the first time in CBayview. CBayview is now a joint venture between Fijian Holdings and the Raibevu Family Trust and will be developing this land in Tacirua as a commercial development.”
The Raibevu family is one of the three families from Mataqali Nawavatu in Kalabu Village, which owns significant parcels of land in the Nasinu areas, most of which have been given out to families seeking land under the informal vakavanua arrangements.
“CBayview is an initiative that we’ve been working on over the last six years,” said Raibevu family spokesman Josateki Raibevu.
“We have about 1000 acres that have been leased for development to the Housing Authority in Tacirua East, Tacirua Heights and around Sakoca off Khalsa Road. We have about 100 acres left but most of that have been taken up by informal housing – people who come and ask to build their homes. So this is a very small portion of our land that’s left that we have asked the mataqali who has given its consent for us to develop it,” Mr Raibevu said.
There are more than 300 members of the Raibevu family in Fiji and abroad and who will benefit from the partnership, Mr Raibevu said.
“In this partnership, we will own 40 per cent of the joint venture while FHL will own 60 per cent. For a long time, we i-Taukei have always been known as landowners.
“We now want to move from being landowners to landlord and we are thankful to FHL for helping us achieve this dream,” Mr Raibevu said.
FHL also announced its joint venture partnership with Suva businessman Yee Wah Sing through Domaine Pte Ltd, which owns 17.05 acres of land in Naqara, Taveuni.
“FHL, through FHL Media, will partner with Mr Yee through a JV in Domaine to develop the land with the objective to create a commercial and distribution hub which will open up opportunities of Taveuni,” FHL said.
FHL Board chairman Sakiusa Raivoce acknowledged the key contribution of all stakeholders – the iTaukei Land Trust Board (i-TLTB), i-Taukei Trust Fund Board and the overarching support of the Fiji Government through the Ministry of i-Taukei Affairs – in the achievement of what is considered to be a significant milestone in i-Taukei entrepreneurship.
“These two signings are the genesis of a partnership model that FHL intends to adopt, to achieve its core purpose of accelerating the participation of i-Taukei in the commercial purpose and in doing so, enhance their socio-economic standard,” Mr Raivoce said.
