The American Samoa Telecommuncations Authority will be paying 8% interest on its loan of $4.2 million from the American Samoa Government Employees Retirement Fund Board of Trustees.
The Retirement Fund Board Chairman Vaanatiu Toafala Iafeta informed his counterpart on the Board of ASTCA Roy Hall of the loan terms in a June 7th letter.
He said the trustees of the Fund had approved the full amount as requested and the loan will be fully disbursed upon execution of all the required loan documents.
The loan will be amortized for 5 years at 8% interest. In addition to the pledged collateral buildings and as a condition of approval, the scheduled loan payments are to be approved by a bill passed by the Fono and signed by the governor.
The assigned revenue source for the proposed legislation would be at the discretion of the ASTCA board and must be concurred to by the Retirement Fund board after reviewing ASTCA’s financial statements.
Vaanatiu said the board is waiving the requirement that appraisals be done on the pledged collateral, as they are confident that the value ASTCA had specified in their request was sufficient as current appraised values of the assigned pledged properties.
However he said documents will be executed and recorded in the Territorial Registrar’s Office to place liens on the pledged buildings in favor of the Retirement Fund.
KHJ News understands that the pledged facilities include the new ASTCA building in Tafuna.
The Retirement Fund Board has been informed that the ASTCA board has accepted the loan terms.
The loan will go towards the phone company’s initial payment of its share of the Hawaiki Cable.
ASTCA is applying for a loan from the Rural Utilities Service of the US Department of Agriculture to fund the $28 million its investing in the new undersea fiber optic cable.
Hall has told the Fono ASTCA will pay back the Retirement Fund loan once its loan with RUS is granted.
