Local News

St. George’s, September 3, 2010 (GIS) – Government has shut the door on any imminent signing of a partnership agreement with Sewang One
World which had offered to invest millions of dollars into projects across Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Finance Minister Hon. Nazim Burke affirmed government’s position as he addressed local reporters on the latest development with Sewang, which
is in legal trouble in Taiwan. Two of its directors were recently arrested on bank fraud charges.

Grenadian representatives of Sewang first approached officials of government in late 2008, expressing investment interest. The original
range of the proposed investment was between $100 million and $200 million, Finance Minister Burke said.

“We could not ignore it; we had to explore it,’’ he said referring to the proposal.

While exploring – which included the signing of a Memorandum of  Understanding (MOU) in May – government was also exercising caution by
following the due diligence process and carrying out background checks on Sewang One World.

Hon. Burke, who is also Minister responsible for Planning, Economy, Energy and Cooperatives, has defended government’s approach, which
included sending a two-member delegation to Taiwan for a recent follow up meeting to further assess Sewang’s investment offer. He said
government had refused to sign a proposed partnership agreement, despite Sewang’s apparent attempts to rush a deal.

“We stand by our position. We will not sign any documents unless Grenada is satisfied that the documents it signs would not bind the
people of this country, and are in the people’s best interest,’’ Mr. Burke emphasised. “I feel absolutely vindicated that I did the right
thing.’’

The Finance Minister described the MOU as simply a “statement of mutual intent of the parties.’’ He explained that “it is not intended
to bind anybody. It does not contain legal obligations that are enforceable in law.’’

The only regret, Hon. Burke added, is that in hindsight, “it was a mistake to have the Prime Minister of the country sign an MOU with a
private company.’’

“We should have ensured that the Prime Minister was not the one whos igned the MOU. It is not the practice and it should not be done,’’
said Minister Burke. “We must admit and accept responsibility for that. But we will say to you that in signing the MOU, we were quite
confident that we were not going to put Grenada into any trap.’’

Mr. Burke said seeking investment and jobs, and succeeding in business, are a balancing act that requires giving the nod to some things and rejecting others. However, he stressed that “we must engage in due diligence. Desperation is the worst companion of desperate people.’’

If Sewang’s money was legitimate and “there was two billion to be invested and we turned our back on these investors and they went to
another country in the Caribbean and they invested this two billion in legitimate money, I would have been crucified,’’ Minister Burke said.
“On the other side, if I had signed the document, closing my eyes and ignoring the due diligence and signed a document like this, we could
have had another First International Bank of Grenada.’’

During a sitting of the Upper House of Parliament on September 2, Senators Franka Alexis-Bernardine and Arley Gill rebuffed opposition
attacks on government over the Sewang affair.

“While there are issues we can learn from our experiences, I want to commend the government for its prudence in not committing to
anything,’’ said Sen. Alexis Bernardine, Minister of Education and Human Resource Development. She said she is “perpetually amazed’’ at
criticism from the opposition politicians who brought to Grenada “a steady stream of questionable investors.’’

Sen. Gill, Minister of State for Information and Culture, said government made an enquiry on the feasibility of the Sewang proposal,
but there was no binding agreement between the two sides.

Nothing that transpired requires government “to give away any of the people’s resources,’’ Sen. Gill said.

Documents have surfaced showing the opposition NNP, now criticising the government for its exploratory talks with Sewang, had been in
contact with some members of the group more than five years ago, discussing doing business with them.

The documents include 2004 letters signed by now Senator Gregory Bowen, who was then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture
and Public Utilities.

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