The Tahiti Pearl Consortium (TPC) public-private partnership, approved by French Polynesia’s assembly on February 8, now faces significant hurdles in its search for private investors to complete its 590 million FCFP capital structure (85% already held by the government).
Key Challenges Emerge:
- The “Hands Off My Pearl” collective has called for a boycott, citing lack of transparency
- No clear business plan has been presented to potential investors
- Even participating pearl farmers expressed reservations about the TPC’s operational framework
Industry Demands:
Influential producer Franck Tehaamatai outlined strict conditions for his support:
✔ Greater private shareholder representation on the Board
✔ Conversion from SEM (public-private partnership) to SAS (simplified joint-stock company) structure with majority professional ownership
✔ Simplified corporate purpose statement
✔ More prominent role for industry professionals in operations
Critical Financing Gap:
The remaining 15% private investment (90 million FCFP) remains unsecured, with:
- No clear fundraising timeline established
- Concerns about government’s project management experience
- Farmers awaiting concrete next steps
“This top-down approach ignores decades of industry expertise,” Tehaamatai noted, capturing the sector’s growing frustration. With trust eroding before launch, the TPC’s viability appears increasingly uncertain unless fundamental changes are made.
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