Govt. sells shareholding in Leiola Group

The process of privatising government enterprises in Tonga made two steps forward and one step backward in July. The government sold its remaining 75 per cent shareholding in the Leiola Group Ltd., Tonga's sole Duty Free enterprise, to the Pacific Retail Ltd. for $6.06 million pa'anga; and its 40 per cent shares in the Westpac Bank of Tonga to Westpac for $25 million pa'anga. Then government bought back the national power generation unit from Shoreline Power for $US17.7 million and handed it over to its own company Tonga Power Ltd.