THE Department of Finance was recently awarded $363,736 by the U.S. Department of the Interior-Office of Insular Affairs to come up with a CNMI valuation report.
Secretary of Finance David DLG Atalig on Friday said the last bond that the CNMI issued used an evaluation based on a 2000 Census report for real value. He said it valued the Commonwealth at $1.2 billion.
“As we all know, the Commonwealth is worth more than $1.2 billion,” he added.
Prior to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the Commonwealth was looking into floating a pension obligation bond, which, Atalig said, is one of the factors that triggered the need for an updated evaluation of the value of CNMI government properties, as well as the value of the Commonwealth in general.
“During that time, we did not have anything on record that gave us a true evaluation,” he said.
Atalig said there is a need to show investors that the Commonwealth is much more valuable today than it was over two decades ago.
“Our debt-to-value ratio is a lot better,” he added.
The Department of Finance is now seeking out proposals from companies and consultants who can conduct a study and prepare a report on the true value of the Commonwealth.
Atalig said it will take about two years for this study to be completed, given the amount of data that will have to be collected.
He said the study will, among other things, determine the value of real estate transactions as well as the appraised value of government property, buildings, and assets.
It will also include an evaluation of economic values, the islands’ natural resources, including the Northern Islands and the lands leased to the U.S. military, Atalig said.
“It’s going to be comprehensive,” he added.
Once the current true value of the Commonwealth is determined, it will be updated every few years, Atalig said.
