The Rewa Cooperative Dairy Company will now be called the Fiji Dairy Company Limited and its current business structure will be terminated.
This has been revealed by Cabinet today which has approved the restructure of Rewa dairy.
The new corporate entity, called the Fiji Dairy Company Limited will be registered, and the assets and business operations of RCDC will be transferred into the FDCL.
The farmers/milk suppliers will be organized into a co-operative known as Fiji Dairy Co-operative Company Limited (FDCCL).
Shares would be issued to the farmers through the Cooperative Company up to the level of paid up capital in RCDC, and the shareholding percentage of the farmers= co-operative FDCCL will be based on the existing paid up capital in RCDC.
The balance of the shares in FDCL will be offered to private and institutional investors. Cabinet based its decision on a submission by the Attorney-General and Minister Public Enterprises Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Sayed Khiayum said the shareholders of RCDC are 234 farmers and Government owns less than 1% of shares through the Koronivia Agricultural Station.
He said Rewa dairy=s recent corporate history and operations has been replete with allegations of mismanagement, corruption, inefficiencies, lagging in modern infrastructure and technology.
Sayed Khiayum said a workshop of various stakeholders in October 2009 concluded that a restructure was essential for the greater good of the RCDC and the Dairy Industry as a whole.
The Attorney-General said after the restructure is achieved, the financial dependency on Government will end.
