Tonight, there's a gathering storm of opposition to the BTL acquisition of SMART and three cable companies. We told you about the mega purchase, valued at over 150 million dollars - which will create a national telecoms monopoly. Well, our sources say the BTL board will meet to consider and likely approve it tomorrow.
But, not so fast: the Chamber of Commerce has issued a statement saying the deal has to stop, while reports say the independent senators and the NTUCB are about to also form positions on the deal that will reshape the national Telecom landscape.
The Chamber's release says it has a serious and substantive concern with the proposed acquisition and they say thats support for this transaction would be premature and potentially harmful to the national interest.
They cite a "Transparency Deficit" and say, quote, "a lack of disclosed beneficial ownership, prevents the public and its representatives from assessing the fairness, valuation, and true motivations behind this transaction.an acquisition of this magnitude should only proceed after proper consultation with shareholders and stakeholders, including civil society."
They also point to Perceived Conflicts of Interest which,quote, "create an unacceptable appearance of conflict, undermining trust in the process and raising legitimate questions about whether this transaction serves the public good or private interests." End quote.
They also warn that public funds could be put at risk, quote, "particularly from the Social Security Board, could be exposed to support this acquisition without sufficient independent valuation, transparency, or parliamentary oversight the risk associated with the acquisition will have a direct impact on the social security fund, which may affect its ability to provide benefits to contributors."
For all these reasons the release says, quote "the BCCI cannot in good conscience support any move toward (telecom) consolidation at this time."
They call for full, verified disclosure of the beneficial ownership of all parties involved, an independent, third-party valuation of the transaction by international experts, and public consultation among other things.
