Tahiti Pearl Consortium (TPC) Waiting for Private Shareholders: A Project on Hold
By Sandrine, Saturday 20 April 2013 at 12:07 :: Legislation
The Tahiti Pearl Consortium (TPC), the country’s semi-public company (SEM), created on February 8 by a resolution of the Assembly of French Polynesia, is facing major obstacles in its formation process.
The main challenge lies in attracting private shareholders, whose participation of 15% of the capital — a total contribution of 90 million XPF — is essential for the creation of this entity intended to organize the pearl sector.
As of now, the situation remains unchanged, leaving the TPC in a phase of uncertainty. Although the SEM is still in the process of being established, the public administrators designated to sit on its board have already been appointed. By ministerial council decree on April 10, 2013, Ministers Antony Geros, Temaurii Foster, and Daniel Herlemme, along with Assembly representative Victor Maamaatuaiahutapu, were named members of the TPC board of directors. According to the Ministry of Marine Resources, this is considered a “normal process.”
The responsibility for advancing the creation of this semi-public company will fall to the next government of French Polynesia, which will need to resolve the current difficulties in attracting private shareholders — or decide the future of the project altogether.