FOR the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2019, the assets of Marianas Public Land Trust increased by $2,398,647 compared to the previous fiscal year, according to a single audit conducted by Burger Comer Magliari.
The increase was due primarily to a rise in the fair market value of the investments, the audit report stated.
From $93,194,136 in FY 2018, MPLT’s total assets grew to $95,284,986 in 2019. These included MPLT’s current assets, capital and other assets as well as notes receivable.
The audit report said the total liabilities for 2019 decreased mainly due to net changes to amounts obligated to brokers, accounts payable and accrued expenses.
These changes, the report said, resulted in an increase of $2,398,716 in total fund balance for 2019.
Total revenues of MPLT are a combination of gains or losses attributable to the valuation of investments plus income earned on such investments and distributions received from the Department of Public Lands.
Economic outlook
In 2019, MPLT continued to add value to its portfolio, the report stated, noting that for 2020, the outlook initially appeared to be strong, “but the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has set economic progress back, causing many uncertainties and high volatility.”
Even with these major issues, however, MPLT’s return on investment last year exceeded those in 2019, the report stated.
MPLT is continuously reviewing options to its current investment allocation in order to manage its risk-adjusted yields, the report stated.
MPLT may make changes to its asset allocation, but the basic investment approach will remain the same, the report added.
MPLT has a constitutional mandate to make prudent and reasonable investments derived from public land leases. It transfers interest earned — minus reasonable expenses of administration — to the general revenues of the Commonwealth for appropriation by the Legislature.
In 2020, to help pay for the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Yutu, the CNMI government borrowed $15 million from MPLT. Loan payments come from the public land interest income that MPLT is required to remit to the general fund.
