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Central Common Cold Store (CCCS) on zone 14 at Ile du Port |11 May 2017

New opportunity for Seychellois investors

 

As the Seychelles government continues to promote the Blue Economy concept, Seychellois now have another opportunity to invest in a project called the Central Common Cold Store.

The Central Common Cold Store (CCCS) will be a 12,600 tons of common cold storage facility on zone 14 located on Ile du Port. The CCCS project will open its share offers to different categories of Seychellois investors (51%) as well as foreign potential partners (25%) that have operational interests and links to the Seychelles tuna industrial sub-sector.

A total of 12,000 shares will be made available for locals to buy at the cost of US $1,000 per share.

Sociéte Seychelloise d’Investissement (SSI) chief executive Rupert Simeon, CCCS chairman Peter Sinon and the general manager of Ile du Port Handling Services Ltd (IPHS), Arthur Bretagne, met the press yesterday morning to give more details about the project.

“CCCS infrastructure is an area that has long been identified and designated as the area for further tuna value-addition processing as well as other essential logistics like efficient and unhindered landing of catches, loadings for transshipment, net repairs, refuelling, ship chandlers for the industry,” said Mr Siméon.

He added: “This is the biggest project that Seychelles has ever undertaken in terms of port development. The IPHS and CCCS are two key complementary logistics platforms for unleashing of Port Victoria’s (zone 14) potential for the further value-addition to the tuna industrial fishing sub-sector. IPHS has been completed with an operational 425 metres of quay, presently the longest quay of Port Victoria. Both projects ‒ IPHS and CCCS ‒ were conceived in 2015 as public private sector partnerships (PPP) between JACCAR Holdings and the government of Seychelles through SSI. Having a cold storage at the port has been a profitable venture for many countries. The critical objectives and the realisation of CCCS have thus been identified as a necessary and profitable addition to the further development of the industrial tuna sub-sector. For its realisation, government has agreed to sign a lease agreement for a total of 23,000 square metres of reclaimed land on Ile du Port (zone 14) strategically located immediately adjacent to the newly built and functioning 425-metre quay (IPHS). CCCS was granted an early entry authorisation as well as planning approval for the project implementation for which the piling works is already completed.”

Mr Sinon noted that this is not the first time Seychellois are being invited to invest in a profitable company.

“One would ask why we should invest in such a project. After a review of the initial phase by government and its partners, all parties agreed and recommended to give Seychellois investors ‒ individuals and companies ‒ the opportunity to acquire substantive shares in the proposed CCCS project. It is a first effort of its kind to extend the opportunity to Seychellois prospective investors in the industrial tuna sub-sector that has hitherto been referred and criticised as a major ‘foreign-owned’ industry,” said Mr Sinon.

The former fisheries minister added that our objective is not the amount of fish that we are bringing in.

“It is about how we are better managing and processing the fish. Businessmen will now have a reliable place to process their fish and gain a better value for importing their fish. We have the natural advantage to be located where the main area of tuna activity happens and we have to maximise our efforts to benefit from that,” he noted.

Detailing the financial aspect of the project, Mr Bretagne said it will cost US $35 million.

“The total project cost is US $35 million and will be financed by a capital share issue of US $12 million and by bank loans for US $23 million. Jaccar Holdings as the main promoter of the project will drive the CCCS share issue to reach the US $12 million contemplated equity. CCCS being the issuer will be led by a steering committee including CCCS existing board chaired by Mr Sinon, SSI chief executive Rupert Simeon and representatives of the government, principal secretaries Rebecca Loustau-Lalanne and Garry Albert. The target shareholding structure has been defined as follows for a total equity of US $12 million: Founders Investors 24%: JACCAR Holdings 20% and IPHS 4%. Seychellois Investors 51%: Individuals 10 to 20% and companies up to 41%. Foreign investors will be 25% of the cost,” said Mr Bretagne.

He also stated that “since its operation in 2016, IPHS has been handling 140 boats and unloaded some 37,000 tonnes of fish and sent 1,200 containers. Daily, IPHS employs some 80 to 120 casual workers.”

The official opening of IPHSS is scheduled to be at the end of June.

Together with IPHS quay, Port Victoria would avail itself of the necessary capabilities and logistic facilities for more efficient fish unloading, traceability, sorting, grading and storage services for efficient transformation to higher valued products and transshipments.

This process alone will raise the value of the raw materials landed. Their processing will meet and satisfy the critical needs of fishing and processing companies lined up for further higher value-addition operations on zone 14.

The CCCS will also allow for more efficient handling of by-catch and its sorting, storage, as well as venture into ice provision for the expanding semi-industrial local fishermen. This shall contribute profoundly to Seychelles’ Blue Economy aspirations with new processing investments planned in close proximity to CCCS. The two projects ‒ IPHS and CCCS ‒ shall substantially increase Port Victoria’s fishing hub efficiency.

Any interested Investors are invited for a public presentation of the CCCS project and capital share investment case on May 17,2017 at 4.30pm at the STC conference room, Latanier Road.

Following the presentation, interested investors will be able to register and request a digital or hard copy of the CCCS share offering prospectus and the by-laws of CCCS shares. After three weeks, the public will be invited to express their interests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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