Chief Executive Officer of the Belize Social Security Board (SSB), Merlene Bailey-Martinez, told Amandala on Tuesday that the SSB has earned $1,066,666.70 in dividends from its shares in Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), after dividends were declared late 2011 at 32 cents per share.
As we have reported, back in 2010, SSB had spent $50 million to purchase a 20% stake in BTL. The shares were transferred on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, pursuant to a share purchase agreement dated November 23, 2010.
Meanwhile, the Government of Belize has received $13 million in dividends from BTL. Prime Minister Dean Barrow confirmed this to our newspaper this morning, Wednesday. He also told the KREM WUB Morning Vibes show that the $1.2 million apportioned to area representatives, $40,000 per division, for distribution over the holidays, came from GOB’s proceeds in dividends from its BTL shares.
For its part, the Central Bank, which purchased shares after the close of the last financial year, did not receive any dividends for its shares, according to Central Bank Governor, Glenford Ysaguirre.
He told us that the Central Bank had previously owned shares, about $5 million worth of shares, which would be valued about $15 million today, but it had divested itself of those shares.
As we have previously reported, the Central Bank of Belize had purchased $20 million worth of shares in 2011, not enough to get a seat on the board, since it is less than 10% of the company.
Ysaguirre told us that the Central Bank has no interest in getting a seat on BTL’s board, as this is one area where the Bank needs to preserve distance between itself, a financial regulator, and the management of a private sector entity. He also told us that the Central Bank will not exercise any voting right on those shares.
The Central Bank is expecting to collect dividends from its $20 million in BTL after this financial year closes.