Technology not part of BIL's future

By DANIEL RIORDAN

New BIL International chief executive Arun Amarsi says the company is continuing to look for new investments, but not in technology - the sector BIL trumpeted as its future when it shifted to Singapore two years ago, but never got involved in.

"We don't intend doing technology transactions - they're high-risk," Amarsi said.

Plenty of deals were on offer, but they were generally overpriced.

"We'd love to be in a business that is cashflow-positive generating, that we haven't had to pay a big sum to get into, that we can hold for a long time," he said.

Amarsi, formerly BIL's operations head, takes over the top job from Greg Terry next month. He promises a continuation of progress of the past couple of years, when BIL - "a company that went wrong during the 90s" - sold assets and cut overheads.

"Good companies have profitability, low debt and good assets, providing good returns for shareholders," he said.

"That's what I'm trying to achieve."

That progress got a fillip this month when Thistle Hotels, BIL's biggest asset, sold about 40 per cent of its hotels.

Meanwhile, BIL continues to cut its corporate costs.

"Our overheads were US$30 million [$75 million] a year; they're down to under US$10 million ($25 million) now - and we're going to halve that. I can tell you we're running it slim and trim."

Amarsi is keen to reduce the company's excessive debt level, but maintains it will not be at the expense of expanding the company, which has 75,000 New Zealand shareholders.

Married with three children, 45-year-old Amarsi moved to Singapore last year after BIL closed its Wellington office.

He had managed New Zealand operations and the company's special projects and investments since July 1999. Before that he was chief financial officer at Electricorp for almost four years, having risen through the ranks at major accountancy firms.

His move overseas meant relinquishing his directorships, of the IHC after 10 years, and of St Mark's Church School.

BIL last week reported a small half-year net profit, and said chief financial officer Andrew Shepherd would leave at the same time as Terry.

This week, the company responded to queries from the Singapore Stock Exchange about aspects of its result.

The company said the 98 per cent decrease in its turnover and its small decline in operating profit followed the sale of subsidiaries' shareholdings in Tasman Agriculture, Sealord, VOX Retail Group and Canterbury.

The company said it had received bank interest on significant cash deposits resulting from the disposal of investments.

Its US$18.1 million ($45 million) foreign exchange gain came largely from realised and unrealised gains on Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and Japanese yen contracts.

The reduction in losses from its property segment was because of better returns from its Fijian and Hawaiian properties as a result of recent capital expenditure, and the reduction in profits from the hotels segment was caused by difficult trading conditions in Britain.