By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A government minister yesterday slammed Moody’s for being “uninformed” on the Government’s policy for regaining majority ownership of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), adding that the administration would “lay all of the cards on the table” with the Wall Street credit rating agency next week.

Michael Halkitis, minister of state for finance, said he was disturbed by Moody’s recent assessments of the Government’s campaign to regain majority control of BTC, adding that it had not spoken to the Government to understand its policy approach before expressing its opinions.

The ratings agency has criticised the Christie administration’s plans to regain majority control of BTC as “negative” for this nation’s sovereign credit rating, and slammed the Government’s “policy approach as “erratic” and undermining this nation’s investment climate.

“It’s unfortunate that we have an opinion on the Government’s mortgage relief plan and the Government attempt to reacquire the majority shares in BTC without having the opportunity to speak with the analyst and let them know what our position is,” Mr Halkitis said.

“We have reached out to them since they didn’t come to us before they wrote their opinion. We are arranging a teleconference with them early next week to just put the facts on the table. It has come to our attention that this analyst writing these opinions is a new analyst. This person is new on the scene, recently joined Moody’s, and so there has not been that communication.”

Mr Halkitis said he was disturbed by the fact that the opinions being expressed by Moody’s were not informed by facts, and contrasted its approach to fellow Wall Street ratings agency Standard & Poor’s(S&P).

“It creates some apprehension with the public and we just want an opportunity to put the facts on the table and answer any questions the analyst might have,” he added.

“That’s the way all the other rating agencies do things. Last week, Standard & Poor’s were here. They met with leading members of the business community, they met with the opposition and they met with us. We told told them what our economic policies are and they are going to go away now and write their report.

“We don’t expect for an agency of the reputation of Moody’s to be in a situation where uniformed opinions are being published. It’s not that we are not willing to have the information out there, but if you want to comment on government policy it would be nice to get a report from the Government on their policies and what they intend to do. We want to be able put our cards on the table, so to speak.”

Mr Halkitis said it would be “premature” to put a figure on how much it would cost the Government to reacquire 2 per cent of BTC’s equity to take it to 51 per cent.

Regarding concerns over the cost, Mr Halkitis said he found it interesting that in a recent article Moody’s was reported as saying that the Government would be using scarce resources to gain a controlling interest in BTC, yet the rating agency also noted it should not cost the Gvernment too much.

“What is it?” he asked. “Are we going to be using scarce resources or is it going to cost us too much, which is it?

“Yesterday in the papers he was saying he doesn’t understand why we want to acquire it because it’s a money making entity. Well I would think you would want to acquire something that is a money making issue.

“We want to solve the issue of opinions being expressed in the absence of the Government being given an opportunity to to explain its policy and what it is we intend to do. If having done that the author maintains his opinion, then fine but we just think the process was flawed.”