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BTL Small Shareholders: No Dividend, No Problem
posted (October 1, 2012)
On Friday we gave you the news that BTL's Annual meeting would end in anti-climax, without the declaration of a dividend.

So how did the small shareholders react?

We were at the meeting and here's how it went:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
The directors were there - so was the management looking spiffy in what we take to be 4g red the small shareholders were there too - in good numbers - but there were empty seats they got to see a high tech video - and bask in BTL's largesse.

Everything in its right place in the biggest conference room in the country - everything that is except a dividend

Executive Chairman, Nestor Vasquez
"Agenda item #2 which deals with a declaration on dividends has to be changed to report the reasons for adjourning the declaration of dividends. This means that that agenda item is postponed in accordance with the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice."

"The special shareholder who is the government decided to act on the ruling to comply with the ruling of Caribbean Court of Justice the issue of the declaration of dividends must therefore be adjourned to a date not before the 14 day of December in compliance with foresaid order of the CCJ. Therefore we have to comply with the instructions that are given to us by the special shareholder because they do have the authority under Article 128B to exercise this authority."

The crowd - which almost filled up the room, did not rebel or throw a fit - and the Executive Chairman stressed that contrary to claims by the Ashcroft Alliance - claims that the CCJ agreed with - there was nothing irregular about convening a September AGM:

Executive Chairman, Nestor Vasquez
"They said that the company was calling the meeting just to pay dividends to please the government. I think they used the word "for a bankrupt government." That is not true at all - we were merely complying with the articles because we have to do so - that's the correct thing to do. It had nothing to do with the government. I say that because we want the general public to know that what they said on the airwaves in particular what Mr. Courtenay said totally untrue, totally wrong."

Only a few questions were asked - one of them was whether since government's portion of the dividend payment was under challenge could the small shareholders could get their dividends?:

Sir Manuel Esquivel, Director
"This judgment did not distinguish between the so called small shareholders and the government as the largest shareholder. It covered everybody - you perhaps have a point that that is unfair but that is what they did. They did not distinguish and say well you can pay the small shareholders but not the government - they just said that you can't pay anybody."

That is until December 15th and the assurance was given that the check if not in the mail will be there as soon as possible.

Executive Chairman, Nestor Vasquez
"I don't anticipate any problems later on after the middle of December that the payment and declaration then of the dividends."

The meeting was adjourned with the final item - the dividend declaration to be concluded at a later date.

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