Retirement Fund Board Approves ASTCA Loan

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The Board of Directors of the ASG Employees Retirement Fund has approved the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority’s loan request to help fund its share of the Hawaiki Cable.

ASTCA had sought a $4.7 million loan from the pension fund for government employees,

The chairman of the Board of Directors of the Retirement Fund, Vaanatiu Toafala Iafeta, said the board has approved ASTCA’s loan with conditions.

Vaanatiu said he had conveyed the board’s decision, in a letter to the chairman of the ASCTA Board, Roy Hall Jr., earlier this week.

He stressed that the approval was with conditions and unless the ASTCA board agreed to those conditions the loan cannot be executed.

He did not disclose the conditions but referred us to the Retirement Fund Office for a copy of the letter which sets out the conditions.

Executive Director of the Retirement Fund Office, Iaulualo Faafetai Talia, explained that since the ASTCA board has yet to respond to the conditions, therefore they’re still in the negotiation stage, it would be pre mature to release the letter at this stage.

He said once the ASTCA Board accepts the conditions then KHJ News can get a copy of the letter,

In early February ASTCA chairman of the Board, Roy JD Hall Jr. wrote to the Retirement Fund Board saying ASTCA was applying for a loan of $4.7 million from the pension fund.

According to testimony by the ASTCA Board Chairman at Fono hearings ASTCA needs the money for its share of the Hawaiki Cable.

The total commitment by ASTCA for this cable according to Hall was $28 million but he said Hawaiki would result in lower internet rates,

He said ASTCA was also applying to the Rural Utilities Service of the US Department of Agriculture and the Retirement Fund loan would be repaid if RUS approves its loan application.

Last month ASTCA announced it has signed a deal with the Hawaiki submarine cable, a new Trans Pacific cable which will link Australia and New Zealand to the mainland United States, as well as Hawai’i, by mid-2018.

 

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