WOOL grower-owned Graziers Investment Company Ltd expects to receive $A690,000 of its funds held by the Reserve Bank of India by June 30 as it prepares to distribute an estimated $20 million in assets to GIC shareholders this year.
GIC chairman Barry Walker has advised shareholders that following protracted discussions and processes, the RBI has approved repatriation of about A$690,000 of GIC funds held in India.
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Mr Walker said GIC expected to receive the RBI money by the end of this financial year after bank approval was obtained by GIC managing director Elaine Beever in meetings with RBI officials in India this month. The GIC has signed RBI documents approving the transfer of A$690,000 and had asked the bank when this would happen, he said.
About A$807,000 in GIC funds is held by the RBI, but Mr Walker said some of those funds would be used to meet legal and bank costs of the repatriation.
“Once the Indian cash is repatriated, the dissolution of International Wool Secretariat, which includes both the French and Indian branch offices, remains to be completed.
“Once these two steps are concluded, this will bring all inherited legacies to an end,” he said in the shareholder letter.
“We have come a long way since 2007 in resolving many legacies, each with their own unique issues, but they are nearing the end,” Mr Walker said.
“We have put in place the dissolution of the IWS in India and in France, and this is in the hands of our lawyers,” he told Sheep Central.
Graziers’ Investment Company Limited was previously known as Australian Wool Services Limited, the successor to the Australian Wool Research and Promotion Organisation, which once had The Woolmark Company Pty Ltd and Australian Wool Innovation Limited as subsidiaries. AWI was de-merged from AWS in 2002 and The Woolmark Company was sold to AWI in 2007.
GIC Ltd is responsible for concluding the legacy issues inherited from its predecessors and managing the wind-down of its remaining interests. There are 36,594 wool grower shareholders in GIC, mostly in New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria, who holding 2,093,586 issued shares.
Most shareholders (30,877) hold up to 100 shares, but major shareholders include Twynam Pastoral Co (4463), John Swire and Sons (4215), Lynoch Pty Ltd (3890), NM Rural Enterprises (3225) and Emanuel Exports (3213). A list of the 20 largest GIC shareholders is in the 2016 annual report.
GIC board meeting planned for next month
Australian Wool Growers Association president Robert McBride and WoolProducers Australia have called for GIC to be wound up this year.
“I believe all issues now settled and a letter should go out to shareholders next week.
“There is no point in dragging this out,” Mr McBride said.
But Mr Walker said the GIC board is expected to meet in the first half of next month to pull together all the factors having a bearing on the wind-up of the company and on the setting of a date for a shareholders meeting this year.
“As soon as it is possible to set a date, we are committed to setting the date (for a shareholder meeting).
“Once the shareholder meeting is held, if all of the ducks are in line, we will liquidate from that point.”
Mr Walker said the divestment of the engineering service company Andar Tool & Press has been completed, including receipt of consideration for the sale of its shares held in the company, “in line with the value in our books.”
In the letter to GIC shareholders Mr Walker said the board is still on track to making a recommendation to shareholders on the future direction of the company, “which will become the basis of a shareholder vote, and remain committed, as undertaken at last year’s annual general meeting, to notifying you in due course this calendar year.”
Mr Walker told Sheep Central that he believed the shareholder vote will occur this year, but this would still depend on finalisation of the IWS dissolution.
Click here to see a copy of the 2016 GIC annual report.
Click here for a link to the Graziers Investment Company website.
What is now happening with these shares? I have heard nothing since 2017 and would like to dispose of my shares, thank you. Joyce
Well done Rob McBride for leading on this issue.