Govt wants spot on board

By SHIRLEY MAULUDU
in Parliament
THE Government will seek to be represented on the board of the BSP Financial Group Ltd, says State Enterprises Minister William Duma.
He was responding to a question in Parliament from National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop on why there was no Government representative on the board of a bank which the Government was a major shareholder of. Parkop said there should be a State representative on the BSP board “so that when we have issues to raise at the level, we will have a representative to (take up) our concerns”.
Duma said the concern had been raised before.
“It is an issue that the KCH (Kumul Consolidated Holdings) as the majority shareholder of BSP has been raising numerous times,” Duma said.
“The reason given by the bank was that it was a commercial bank, and that it was in the process of expanding to other countries in the region.
“There was this element of the PNG Government influence or involvement at the board level. So they wanted to ensure that this issue was dealt with at that time.”
Duma said he had raised it with the board chairman.
“I was told that they wanted to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
“And again the issue of Government presence on the share register was felt to be of some hindrance to whoever that wanted to invest. So the idea was shelved.
“But now that the bank has expanded to other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, and listed on the ASX, I feel that the time is now right to raise this issue of our representation on the board.”