Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Statement by the Premier of Nevis, the Hon. Joseph W. Parry re: Nevis Treasury Bills

Due to the high indebtedness of the Federal Government, a decision was taken by the Federal Cabinet to contract the company White Oak from England to restructure the debts of both St Kitts and Nevis. The objective of the exercise is to reduce the debt burden, improve cash flow and restore fiscal Balance. This debt restructuring is also supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which is implementing a fiscal adjustment programme under its stand-by -arrangement to help the government of St Kitts and Nevis improve fiscal performance and restore growth over a period of three years.

However, the focus of the debt restructuring is on secured and unsecured loans including bonds held by financial institutions.

The secured loans are likely to be swapped with land through a special purpose vehicle, and the unsecured loans and overdrafts are likely to be exchange for a long-dated par bond. Treasury bills have been excluded from the restructuring process. This was made clear by the Prime Minister on his weekly programme.

Based on the foregoing, I wish to inform the general public that the Nevis over-the-counter treasury bills sold at the Treasury Department, and the one-year treasury bills issued on the Regional Government Stock Exchange will not be restructured. The general public could be assured that these bills will be honoured in full when redeemed at maturity.

There is therefore no need for alarm as the Nevis Island Administration will honour its commitments as it has done in the past.