CHINESE company, BaiShanLin, owes the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) in excess of $80M and the commission aims to recover the outstanding debt in collaboration with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

This is according to Chairperson of the GFC’s Board of Directors, Jocelyn Dow, at a press briefing on Monday, at the GFC multiplex building, Kingston Georgetown.
In September of 2016, the GFC had repossessed concessions held by BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc. (BIFDI), since the company failed to deliver on agreed actions to introduce investors to the Commission.

The company was also given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately GY$80 million debt.
Earlier that same year, it was reported that the Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, a Chinese state-owned company, had acquired 55 per cent of the shares in BaiShanLin and had intended to fully take over the company in 2016.
According to the GFC, in an effort to conclude the matter representatives of BaiShanLin were invited to a meeting on April 8, 2016 to provide an update on its plans to clear the debt.

When the company started its operations locally in 2007, it had also committed under its investment agreement, to establish a US$100 million wood processing plant in order to engage in value added exports – this too was never built.
The GFC said that during the meeting the company representatives had indicated that BaiShanLin suffered financial constraints, which affected the establishing of the wood processing facility, and that the company was engaging a new partner that would contribute significantly to its investment in Guyana.

The GFC Board said it was, at the time, assured of the financial strength of the new partner, who had committed to pay off the debt owed by the company to the Commission. After the prolonged delay, the GFC in keeping with the Forest Governance Practices, formally repossessed the concessions owned by the company and accelerated efforts to recover the debt owed.

The GRA in April of 2016 had seized a Lexus SUV, PRR 2888, and a Nissan minivan, PRR 3888, from the Chinese logging company after it had failed to pay the import taxes for the two luxury vehicles.