Tel Aviv District Court Judge Varda Alshech today terminated the stay of proceedings against Agrexco, officially sending the government-owned agricultural produce exporter into liquidation. Agrexco trustee Adv. Shlomo Nass has begun the procedures.
Nass is nevertheless still pursuing effects to sell the company as a going concern, and he is in talks about various offers. Six weeks ago, a week after he was appointed trustee, he told "Globes" that the liquidation of Agrexco would seriously hurt thousands of farmers, to the point of destroying their livelihoods, because they would not be paid for their produce delivered.
On Tuesday, the Knesset Finance Committee will hold a special meeting on Agrexco. MK Shai Hermesh (Kadima), chairman of the agricultural lobby, called for the meeting. He said, "The government is abandoning its responsibilities to Agrexco's bondholders."
Hermesh called on Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz to take responsibility for the government's liabilities to Agrexco's bondholders. "At a time when the public is in an uproar against the haircuts offered by tycoons, the Israeli government is setting a particularly bad example. Accepting this proposal is a direct blow to the public's long-term savings and personal pensions and is an unprecedented blow to the Israeli government's reputation as a trustworthy borrower. This will have repercussions on other government companies, such as Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) and Mekorot National Water Company. The state should accept it responsibilities and meet its commitments."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 11, 2011
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