COMPLANT Acquires Former State Owned Sugar Factories

KINGSTON — COMPLANT International, the China-based company which has acquired the state-owned assets of Jamaica's sugar industry, is now set to roll out its investment of some US$156 million to renovate three factories and sugar cane lands over the next four years.

This commitment was reinforced at an elaborate ceremony marking the handing over of the Jamaican Government’s sugar assets to Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company Limited, a subsidiary of the COMPLANT Group, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston on Tuesday, August 16.

The ceremony brought together major stakeholders in the local sugar industry, including Ministers of Government, Opposition representatives, the hierarchy of the major trade unions and representatives of the productive sectors, with the principals of COMPLANT and the Government of the People's Republic of China.

The event was held in the wake of the official handing over by Prime Minister, Hon Bruce Golding, of the remaining state-owned assets in the sugar industry to the China-based company on Monday, signaling what both parties described as “a new era of development for the sugar industry in Jamaica”.

Chief Executive Officer of COMPLANT Group, Tang Jianguo, disclosed that the company has already invested more than US$8 million (approximately J$680 million) in the production of sugar cane since the start of the year.

“We have kept our promise …rehabilitation work is underway including plans to modernize the operations,” he said.

Mr. Tang emphasized that revitalising Jamaica's sugar industry demanded more than capital investment. He advised that, in order for all stakeholders to achieve a “win, win” situation, policies must be implemented in support of the sugar industry, and that an interdependent relationship between workers, growers and the factory must be maintained.

This process he said will ensure the success of the enterprise, and ultimately result in “the sharing of the benefits of a revitalized sugar industry."

Former Minister of Agriculture and current Minister of Industry Investment and Commerce, Hon. Christopher Tufton, who led the divestment charge which began just over a year ago, described the deal as a historic achievement with the twin goals of pumping massive investments into the ailing sugar sector over the next four years, while removing the accumulation of more debt on the public budget.

He observed that the divestment of the state owned enterprise represented the first phase of the process of transformation, while the handing over represented the start of a most critical stage.

"We have all the ingredients to make this a success. The challenge is that all of us work together as stakeholders. The industry has to undergo significant changes in order to survive…transformation is a process and today is the beginning of that process," Dr. Tufton said.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, alluded to the historic ties of the migrant Chinese community to Jamaica’s sugar industry, and envisioned that, “within 10 years", there will be a merger beyond economic expectations, as the Chinese workers build conjugal relationships and adopt Jamaica as home.

However, he sees the next 12 months as a transitional period, critical to the success of the venture. He posited that understanding and appreciating cultural differences and an acceptance that profit in agriculture is not a bad word, are important in the process.

Once these issues are resolved, and with the co-operation and collaboration of all stakeholders, “the best days of sugar are ahead of us," he said.

Mr. Montague also charged the investors to look to other areas of opportunity, such as the divestment of the Wallenford Coffee Company and the island’s potential for rice production.

By ALLAN BROOKS, JIS Senior PR Account Executive