Public Trustee Makes $500,000 Payment To Govt

The Fiji Public Trustee Corporation Limited (FPTCL) has made a dividend payment of $500,000 to Government.

The cheque handover took place at the FTPCL building in Toorak, Suva, yesterday.

Since 2006, this is the third dividend payout by the organisation.

The Permanent Secretary for Public Enterprises, Jitendra Singh, said FTPCL’s ability to pay dividend was due to hard work, commitment, sound management and good governance by the team which had improved the financial performance of the entity.

“For the 2017 financial period in particular, FPTCL reported a NET Profit after Tax (NPAT) of $456,000 which is an almost 18 per cent increase from the NPAT of $386,000 achieved in 2016,” Mr Singh said.

“Despite operating in a strongly competitive market, it is indeed a remarkable performance for FPTCL to continue operating sustainably and profitably.

“Moreover, FPTCL is a self-sustaining entity and does not rely on Government support to fund it’s operational and capital expenditure.”

The FPTCL chairman, Sunil Sharma, said they had paid out $5 million to their shareholders in the past 12 years since their inception.

“Our business, which essentially comprises providing estate administration services to the people of Fiji is set to become more focused on our efficiency and performance as an organisation,” Mr Sharma said.

“In the coming year, we will further refine our modernisation trends such as digitisation of records maintenance and our workflow management systems.”

The services provided by FPTCL are preparation of wills, trustee and legal services. They now have branched out into real estate planning, financial administration and management as well as advisory services on wealth transfer requirements for Fijians.