Royal Greenland lifeline secured

Royal Greenland lifeline securedGovernment majority enable the proposed financial lifeline to troubled self-rule administration company, Royal Greenland, to pass through parliament's finance committee

Af redaktionen 28-06 2009 - 17:05

A grant of 500 million Danish kroner has been secured for Royal Greenland, the part self-rule administration-owned company that has been dogged by rumours of threatened bankruptcy lately.

The grant has been awarded in two parts, with 250 million kroner as a loan and the remaining 250 million as an enlargement of the administration’s share capital.

Stipulations from the finance committee will see Royal Greenland pay 6.25 million kroner in interest on the loan, although this can be compared to the estimated ten million kroner the government will lose in interest income as a result of reducing its account by 500 million.

The grant was passed by the finance committee through a government majority with IA and Demokraatit, while Siumut voted against.

Explaining the reason for voting against the grant, Siumut explained that they did not agree with the government depleting national funds to prop up a company partly-owned by the national administration, preferring instead that the government stood as a guarantor for any loan obtained by Royal Greenland from a private lender.

The decision was taken by the finance committee on Sunday.