Clico restructuring "well underway"

BBC Caribbean News in Brief

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning has given a relatively upbeat assessment of the fortunes of the local operations of the Clico financial group, which his administration stepped in to rescue in January last year.

The government had pledged as much as TT$5 billion, almost US$800 million, to cover Clico's liabilities.

In what was billed as a state of the nation address ahead of the 24 May general election, Mr Manning said the restructuring of the company was well underway.

He said a strategic plan was in place for a proper governance system as well as properly managed assets and liabilities, a practice, he added that was previously non-existent and which provoked the present crisis