Bula reports progres on debt

The chief executive of Bula Resources, Viscount Torrington, has said some progress has been made in retrieving the $1.5 million (€1.53 million) owed to Bula by a company in Bahrain.

Viscount Torrington said he had sent a letter to the Bahrain company, Al Thamer, threatening legal action and this had caused "some reaction. Up to then it had been all one-way traffic".

The Bahrain company is required to repay a $1.5 million refundable deposit given to it as part of a deal negotiated by the former Bula chairman, Mr Albert Reynolds. Viscount Torrington said Mr Reynolds had written to the Bahrain company in August but received no reply so he himself had then sent a letter "written in a stronger tone".

Al Thamer is the private property of an individual in Bahrain with whom Mr Reynolds did the deal, Viscount Torrington said. He would not name the man. "I don't want to annoy him if he is being cooperative so I cannot say any more on that for the moment."

He said there had been an interchange of correspondence with Mr Reynolds.

The company issued a statement yesterday clarifying a note contained in its interim results for the six months to June 30th, 2002. The statement was issued at the urging of the stock exchange, which delisted the company's shares six months ago because of uncertainty over its financial position.

The note in the results read: "On the basis of this information, the directors believe that adequate financial resources to meet the current working capital requirements is dependent on the lifting of the suspension of the company's shares."

Yesterday the company said that, "for the avoidance of doubt", having adequate financial resources was dependent upon the completion of a shares deal with One Nine Investment International and O&M Management Ltd, two Libyan-connected entities. The companies were to to pay $1.5 million as part of the deal for Bula shares. This deal is entirely separate from the Bahrain transaction.

"It is the completion of the subscription which will enable the company to apply to have the listing of its ordinary shares restored on the London and Irish Stock Exchanges," the company said. The effect of the statement is to shift the responsibility for Bula's position from the actions of the stock exchange to the company itself.

The exchange has a policy of reviewing the position of suspended companies at the of six months. The end of the period comes this Friday for Bula, but it is not certain that a statement on its fate will be issued then.

A company cannot be delisted without due process. The procedure is initiated prior to the end of the period but cannot be subjected to a deadline. The other options available are relisting and continued suspension.

Viscount Torrington said the company's executives were working as hard as they could to satisfy the stock exchange. "We clearly haven't satisfied them yet."

Asked what was his view on the chances of getting the $1.5 million from Libya, he said: "These are Arab countries. My answer is Insha'Allah [God willing]".