FCJ has 21 properties on ‘immediately for sale’ list
Published:Friday 12:08 AM
After five years, Factories Corporation of Jamaica Limited, FCJ, has had limited success in offloading non-performing assets and properties not seen as good strategic fits.
Of the 58 properties earmarked for sale in 2018, the agency has struck deals for 16, or one-sixth of them, which were sold for a combined $325.7 million.
In an update this week, Factories Corporation said another 21 properties are currently designated as “immediately available for sale”.
Of the 16 properties sold so far, 10 were disposed of in the first three years, while the other six were sold between January 2022 and July 2023.
As of August 2, two additional sales valuing over $60 million were pending. The prospective buyers, who were unidentified, want the properties for commercial and industrial purposes.
Factories Corporation’s current list of properties to be divested mostly includes vacant land for sale, but some are developed properties. The properties span various parishes: Marcus Garvey Drive and Slipe Pen Road in Kingston, several in Culloden, Westmoreland; five lots in Gibraltar Estate, St Mary; one in Glendevon, St James; others in Hague, Trelawny; and land at Haughton Court, Hanover, and May Pen, Clarendon.
The state-owned commercial property developer has a remit to provide commercial and industrial space to facilitate private investments in commerce and industry.
The Government of Jamaica has mandated that the agency sell properties that are non-performing assets to supplement its debt-reduction strategy.
In 2018, FCJ Chairman Lyttleton ‘Tanny’ Shirley said an assessment was done in light of that directive and, at the time, had identified both non-performing assets as well as “undeveloped assets such as land” that didn’t fit the agency’s strategic direction, for disposal.
The properties identified for divestment were valued at around $3.1 billion.
Factories Corporation currently holds more than 100 property assets located near to ports or commercial districts. It manages over 1.6 million square feet of industrial space for small, medium, and large enterprises.
The agency’s estimated rental income at year ending March 2023 was $1.17 billion, while rental income for this fiscal year is projected at $1.36 billion.