Samoa's government-backed investment trust is looking to expand its investments abroad with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with a Fiji company.
Unit Trust of Samoa CEO, Sa'u Justina Sa'u Photo: UTOS
The Unit Trust of Samoa, which holds 25 percent of the telecommunications company Bluesky Samoa, signed the memorandum with Fiji's Amalgamated Telecom Holdings.
The memorandum comes days after the trust announced a record dividend payout of of just over US$1.56 million.
The trust's chief executive, Sa'u Justina Sa'u, said the deal will open the door for the trust to expand its investments to Bluesky in the Cook islands.
"The government of Cook Islands owns 40 percent of Telecom Cook Islands and Bluesky owns 60. We understand the government of Cook Islands is looking at divesting its 40 percent, so it also provides an opportunity for UToS and ATH to go invest in terms of acquisition of that 40 percent."
Sa'u Justina Sa'u said there were also opportunities to invest in Vanuatu.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of Amalgamated Telecom Holdings, Ivan Fong, said Samoa's regulator it was currently considering its application to buy the company that runs Bluesky.