By STACEY RUSSELL

in Trinidad

PORT-OF-SPAIN - THE GOVERNMENT OF Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) will soon control the board of directors of financially distressed CL Financial (CLF), and the company may be forced to go public in the future.

Yesterday, governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Ewart Williams told the DAILY NATION during the opening session of the Commonwealth Caribbean Business Media Workshop in Port-of- Spain, the government here will soon take up four seats on CLF's seven-member board.

The governor could not say whether Lawrence Duprey, current chairman of the CLF empire that comprises 65 companies over 32 countries, will retain his position.

Neither could he pinpoint the potential government appointees, but stated that none would come from within the Central Bank.

He said the move was prompted guarantee the government's power over CLF's assets that are being used to back a state-funded bailout of the cash-strapped pan Caribbean financial company.

"The management and control of these resources rest with CL Financial's board. CL Financial cannot meet their obligations, so creditors are coming to them, saying 'pay me', and they cannot.

"Creditors want somebody with credibility, with whom they can talk, hence the reconstitution of the board. If the creditors move in then there are certain legal options that can confuse the resolution strategy," explained Williams.

He said the list of creditors included "all the local banks and large American banks".

"The idea is you are going to end up with a CL Financial board in which the government representatives are in the majority. The CL Financial board remains, except that four of the seven members of the board are government appointed," he added.

The new board structure, he said, could take effect by next week, if not by this week-end.

Prior to the interview Williams outlined a grim perspective of the region's economy for media representatives from throughout the Caribbean attending the workshop at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port-of-Spain.