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March 12, 2008 |
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AIR JAMAICA: Gov't Will Privatize Airline by March 2009 The Jamaican government has set a March 2009 deadline for Air Jamaica's privatization, Radio Jamaica reports. Jamaica's Finance Minister Audley Shaw told Radio Jamaica that the government is on track with arrangements for the sale of Air Jamaica. A divestment committee was formed and is being supervised by Minister Without Portfolio in the Finance Ministry Senator Don Wehby, RJR News Center says, citing Minister Shaw. "Among other things he has put together a divestment committee which involves a sub-committee of the board and some other people to work with the international Finance Corporation of the World Bank in the entire divestment program of Air Jamaica. But there are certain features of that divestment that we (desire) to be maintained, for instance, the name Air Jamaica," Minister Shaw commented to Radio Jamaica. Headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, Air Jamaica -- http://www.airjamaica.com/ -- was founded in 1969. It flies passengers and cargo to almost 30 destinations in the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. Air Jamaica offers vacation packages through Air Jamaica Vacations. The company closed its intra- island services unit, Air Jamaica Express, in October 2005. The Jamaican government assumed full ownership of the airline after an investor group turned over its 75% stake in late 2004. The government had owned 25% of the company after it went private in 1994. The Jamaican government does not plan to own Air Jamaica permanently. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on June 12, 2007, Moody's Investors Service assigned a rating of B1 to Air Jamaica Limited's guaranteed senior unsecured notes. On July 21, 2006, Standard & Poor's Rating Services assigned a "B" long-term foreign issuer credit rating on Air Jamaica Ltd., which is equal to the long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on Jamaica, based on the government's unconditional guarantee of both principal and interest payments. |
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