Angostura Ltd., one of Trinidad & Tobago’s largest public-traded companies, has expressed an interest in buying one of six sugar estates to be sold off by the Jamaican Government.

Angostura Ltd is one of five companies shortlisted by the Jamaica government to bid for six sugar estates which the Government plans to divest as it seeks to exit an industry that has continually drained millions of dollars of public funds.

The Jamaican Government’s desire to divest the sugar estates has apparently sharpened in the wake of heavy public criticism over the poor performance of the state-run sugar companies. The state-owned Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) lost $200 million in revenue after a dismal 2005-06 sugar crop in which overall production plunged 30,000 tonnes below forecast output.

Angostura has expressed concern about its continued supply of molasses following the announcement by the T&T Government that it plans to shut down the local sugar industry following the end of the 2007 sugarcane crop. But Angostura’s group company secretary Michael Carballo said while Angostura is interested in the production of molasses through the Hampden distillery, he doesn’t think that it will produce enough to import to Trinidad.

Jamaica’s Agriculture and Lands minister Roger Clarke,  said last August that the Government had decided to “fast-track” the divestment of the six sugar estates after eight business entities had indicated “serious interest” in them.

Meanwhile, a French company, Compagnie Industrielle de la Matiere Vegetale, has expressed interest in acquiring the assets of T&T’s Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd (SMCL), but Carballo said Angostura was not interested in SMCL.

“We did not submit any bid. We did submit a bid for Rum Distillers of T&T. We have had no formal response yet from the Divestment Secretariat,” Carballo said.