Editor,
Well then, I must have been in Antarctica to miss the floating of this company on the Stock Exchange. When was it floated again? The record I found only showed that the King (then Crown Prince Tupouto...a) and Mr Joseph Ramanlal took over the company in 1998. Do you know how much the Government sold the old TEPB for? I am only curious because if Shoreline was floated on the Stock Exchange, we would end up with thousands of shareholders, not two, unless of course a deal was struck between the two shareholders and the Government. So, please Mr Holiday, if you do have more information on how the King and Joseph Ramnalal managed to buy the old TEPB, let us know.
If you have a moment as well, Mr Holiday, please read the Tongan Government Budget for 2006/2007, it will give you a fair idea of the financial situation in Tonga right now. $60 million may not be a disaster to you but it is a disaster for the economy. In actual fact, it is daylight robbery!
Thousands of Tongans from abroad right now are looking for ways to help re-generate the economy in Tonga. We can see how desperate the economic situation is at home. One way to raise funds is for the Government to sell shares etc. on the open market. This is a great opportunity for us from abroad to pour money into the Government...s coffers, aiding the process of re-building Tonga. I have scrutinised the Stock Market looking to see if anything is listed under Tonga Ownership. Well, there is nothing, unless someone out there can tell me different. In my last letter, I said that thousands of Tongans from abroad will buy shares if Shoreline is floated on the Stock Exchange... Believe me, Mr Holiday, buying Shoreline's shares is not viewed as investment for us Tongans abroad. No, we see it as a way of helping the Tongan economy to recover.
I don't know about Joe Smith, but personally, I have never met 'Akilisi Pohiva or any of his associates in my life. In that respect, I am not sure why the acrimony. But never mind, Mr Holiday, you can have Shoreline back. I promise that we won't touch it from now on. By the way, so far, no one seems to be interested in buying Shoreline, I wonder why?
'Ofa atu
Senolita Swan
senolita_swan_3 [at] msn [dot] com
