Marubeni keeps full control of Jamaica Public Service after Mideast firm pulls out

Marubeni Caribbean Power Holdings, Inc is set to retain full control of the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS) while it hunts for a new investment partner after Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) announced its decision to withdraw from the Marubeni TAQA Caribbean (MTC) joint venture.

The partnership, which began in March 2009 when the Japanese owned Marubeni entered into an agreement to transfer a portion of its equity stake in its Caribbean portfolio to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based firm, will come to an end by the first quarter of 2011.

"TAQA's departure will not affect the operations of JPS, as TAQA was not directly involved in the day-to-day affairs of the organisation. JPS has a competent management team, which will continue unchanged," Tomofumi Fukuda, chairman of JPS and Marubeni TAQA Caribbean, said in a release.

"Marubeni remains committed to the continued growth and improvement of the company, and to making a contribution to the development of Jamaica," he added, "We are therefore looking for a new partner that shares our long-term vision for JPS and Jamaica."

TAQA, which declared its intention in its recently published third-quarter financial statement, also reclassified the MTC investment and associated loan which, as at September 2010, had a carrying value amounting to AED 1,658 million (J$38.6 trillion), as assets held for sale.

No response

TAQA did not respond to questions sent to its office in the UAE, and JPS Corporate Communications Manager Winsome Callum would not comment on the reasons behind the withdrawal, instead referring The Gleaner to the local electricity distributor's website, which said: "TAQA has indicated that its decision to end the partnership with Marubeni in the Caribbean is due to a change in its corporate strategy. The sustained global financial instability is among the factors that prompted the change in strategy. TAQA has signalled its intention to focus primarily on the power sector in the Middle East and North Africa region. Consequently, TAQA has decided to close down its US operations by the end of this year and to subsequently withdraw from the Caribbean."

Efforts to get the reaction of the Government were unsuccessful, as Energy and Mining Minister James Robertson could not be reached for comment.

The Jamaican Government controls 19 per cent, an unnamed individual one per cent, while the MTC partnership has equal ownership of the remaining 80 per cent stake in the power company.

MTC also has joint ownership of utilities in Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao and The Bahamas.