Vic: Receivers appointed to Nauru House and other properties

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2004
Vic: Receivers appointed to Nauru House and other properties

By Cath McAloon

MELBOURNE, April 17 AAP - The financial crisis facing Nauru has deepened with receivers
moving into Melbourne's Nauru House and other Australian properties owned by the Pacific
island's administration.

American financial giant General Electric Capital Corporation (GE) is seeking to recover
debts after the tiny republic failed to pay back more than $230 million borrowed in relation
to its offshore properties.

Nauru's Australian spokeswoman Helen Bogden said receivers were appointed to the Nauru
House Property Trust at 4pm yesterday (AEST).

She said the trust included Melbourne's Collins Street high rise Nauru House, Sydney's
Mercure Hotel and Royal Randwick Shopping Centre and the Downtowner and Savoy Park Plaza
hotels in Melbourne.

She said GE had lent money to the trust in relation to the properties and was seeking
to have it recovered.

"There are still negotiations going on between the Nauru government and the receivers;
until Monday we won't have any further details," Ms Bogden said.

She said Nauru's President Rene Harris was in Australia to deal with the issue and
was scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Monday.

She would not say whether Mr Harris would use the meeting to ask the Australian government
for financial assistance.

Australia has an understanding with Nauru which allows asylum seekers to be processed
on the Pacific Island and last month Mr Downer said Australia would provide Nauru with
$22.5 million to help stabilise the country's economy and strengthen law and order.

But a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman yesterday said the GE issue
was a commercial one and not for the Australian government to resolve.

"The Australian government has consistently told Nauru that sound economic management
and good governance is essential," she said.

"Our agreement to provide a finance secretary and Australian officials with a new memorandum
of understanding is geared to addressing precisely these sort of financial management
issues.

"Australia has no role to play in GE's commercial decisions.

"We provide a substantial amount of development assistance through the memorandum of
understanding governing cooperation on the offshore processing centre with $22.5 million
provided up to June 2005."

AAP clm/was/de

KEYWORD: NAURU AUST NIGHTLEAD

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