The Government will know on Wednesday November 11th, 2009 whether or not it owns the majority shares in the Shangri-La International Development Holdings Ltd. – a company set up by Dominica’s former Ambassador David Hsiu to revitalize the failed Economic Citizenship hotel project at Layou.
The case to rectify the share register of the company to reflect government’s claim to a 51% stake was heard in the Commercial Court of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in July and October, 2009 before Justice Bannister whose decision will be handed down at 2:00 pm on November 11, 2009.
Claimant Sino Union, a 40% shareholder of Shangri-La, filed the action earlier this year in response to moves by Hsiu to liquidate the company behind the back of the Government to which he gifted the majority ownership in February 2006.
Hsiu and share transfer escrow agent Kieron Pinard-Byrne later claimed that conditions for the formal hand over of majority ownership orally communicated to the Prime Minister were never met as a result of which the transfer was cancelled.
The Skerrit Government which was brought into this action as a respondent has supported the Sino Union claim that Dominica owns the majority of the Shangri-La shares. Consequently, both parties shared the claimant’s side of the case leaving the companies of Hsiu – Shangri-La and its parent Rich Victory – as the main respondents.
Both sides are confident of victory based on the success the opposing lawyers claim to have enjoyed with the credibility of key witnesses.
The defense attorney is satisfied he did enough to severely constrain the extent to which the court could believe statements made by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and Head of Sino Union Felix Chen.
For their part, attorneys for the claimants are confident that they placed sufficient evidence before the court to avert serious reliance by the court on the spoken word of Hsiu and Pinard-Byrne.
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Congrats!!!! Rich Victory is ours!!!! now we can develope the land!!!!