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That effort was launched today and as the government launched the public offering of the BTL shares. The first thing we wanted to know was, how much per share? Jules Vasquez has answers.

Jules Vasquez, Reporting
Five dollars per share - that's the price the government is offering the Belizean public to purchase 44.5% of BTL. That was the big announcement at today's launch of the prospectus in BTL - an offer for shares that the Prime Minister hopes will be seized upon by the Belizean public:

PM Dean Barrow
"The whole idea behind giving this company back to Belizeans is that all across the board, across the Belizean spectrum, people should have a chance to participate, people should be able to find the sale of the shares affordable. People should be able to feel encouraged to make an investment in this now quite essentially Belizean company."

As an incentive, the government will reduce the business tax on BTL from 24.5 to 19% and will eliminate the 15% tax on dividends.

PM Dean Barrow
"Ladies and gentlemen we are determined to make this thing work for Belizeans. This is why Telemedia was nationalized, this has remained our constant objective throughout, and this continues to be the end game. Belizeans must own this company and Belizeans must profit in a measurable way from their ownership of this company."

And both PM Barrow and Executive Chairman Net Vasquez made a strong pitch to interest a public perhaps wary of an unstable climate:

Nestor Vasquez, Executive Chairman
"The company is now in a very stable position. The company has a history of being the most profitable in the country and has never made a loss. We are financially sound with very encouraging projections as shown in the offer for sale."

And while strategic investors like a guaranteed rate of return, BTL is restoring its guaranteed dividend of at least 45% of the company's profits.

Net Vasquez, Chairman
"That means that what you see in the offer for sale is the very minimum that investors will get. In the history of this company it has always paid over 50% sometimes even 60% of its profits. Why? Because the cash was always there. These are real profits; these are not paper profits. I encourage everyone to give serious consideration to purchasing shares in Telemedia as it would be nothing less than a high quality and profitable investment."

And even though the public acquisition has been beset by myriad legal entanglements, Barrow says that's government's, not Telemedia's problem:

PM Dean Barrow
"These challenges are all against the government of Belize and the public needs to understand that. Telemedia is not on the hook at all, and so no matter what happens regarding the legal issues and the court cases, Telemedia and people's investment in Telemedia would be insulated."

The message seemed to have been well received by a less than full house at the Bliss Center, with key representation from Bankers, union leaders, regulators, senior government functionaries, and senior BTL managers.

But how will the public in general feel? The PM made his best patriotic pitch:

PM Dean Barrow
"But most important of all I want the Belizean people to feel confident about this investment to understand that all that has been done has been done for them not just in their name, but for them in a tangible way so that they might benefit. And I want to encourage the Belizean people big and small, even if you are only able to invest a widows mite, the signal that you send and the fact that that confers on you some ownership in what will be, in my view, the flagship Belizean enterprise, I think is very much to be encouraged."

And while Belizeanism is highlighted, Government has also invited interest from foreign strategic investors:

PM Dean Barrow
"We are going to pursue the possibility of some strategic partner. You know that there have been talks with Digicel out of Jamaica, we have also in fact received a very firm expression of interest out of Taiwan, and there's been a third signal from a company in Mexico. We will see which of these in any works out."

And if he doesn't sound too eager, it's because he wants it to be all Beliziean.

PM Dean Barrow
"Nobody, no foreign company will ever be able to own the majority of the shares in Telemedia. We do welcome these expressions of interest and while if all the circumstances are right we would have absolutely no difficulty, and might even be enthusiastic or would be enthusiastic about a partnership with those that can provide a inflow of capital and technology, it cannot ever be in a way that would dilute this concept of majority Belizean ownership the company."

And if the share offering is undersubscribed - Barrow says he is just fine with that too:

PM Dean Barrow
"Your question as to under subscription, government can't lose because we are absolutely positive that Telemedia is a winner so if the Belizean public for any reason is unable to purchase shares in the amount that we would like, then government continues to collect these fat dividends which we will use to fund all kinds of wonderful projects for the Belizean people naturally."

And while that is the spin that would be expected, the truth is that this term of the Barrow administration will for good or bad be defined by the bold nationalization of BTL - and for Barrow it has to work:

PM Dean Barrow
"Today marks if not the completion certainly an important way station with respect to an exercise that in my view was always dedicated to assert and maintain Belizean sovereignty."

Whether the nationalist sentiment will resonate with potential Belizean investors will be known by the time the share offering closes on December 31st .

The prospectus is available at all BTL offices countrywide and it is also posted online. You can find a link to that at http://www.belizetelemedia.net The application to purchase the shares is inside the prospectus and those should be turned in to the Central Bank of Belize. As noted in the story, the offer will close at the end of the year. The offering in the prospectus is for 44.5% of the company and it is being offered to Belizean Citizens and Belizean companies. The minimum investment is for 100 shares at 5 dollars. 900 Belizeans already own another 5.4% - and the other 50% is reserved for a strategic investor.