Aurora fund hard to figure
Hard numbers hard to come by

by Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 02/97) - One-sixth of the shares in the territorial government's $30-million Aurora Immigrant Fund have been bought and paid for.

But how many of them were bought during a recent promotional tour of Asia is anybody's guess.

Premier Don Morin reported Asians showed "overwhelming" interest in the fund during his 14-day visit to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea last month.

The Aurora fund was developed to generate borrowing capital for Northern businesses. For an investment of $250,000 a share, potential immigrants get both a piece of the fund (and any gains or losses it incurs) and a fast track to Canadian citizenship.

The day after his return, Morin said 90 "subscription agreements" have been signed, 40 backed by full or partial payment.

But more than half of those came before the Asian tour. By then, 50 subscription agreements had already been signed, 20 backed by full or partial payment, according to Val Mellesmoen, the premier's press secretary.

Mellesmoen explained that no deposit is required for subscription agreements, so partial payment is anything between nothing and the full $250,000.

Of the 40 shares backed by cash, 21 are paid in full, said Mellesmoen. She could not say how many of those were bought since the start of the Asian tour.

Neither could the fund's manager, Roland C. Bailey.

"I can't tell you we closed out and everybody gave us a cheque for $250,000," said Bailey.

"It's a long drawn-out process. They sign a subscription, they will or will not give a deposit, usually the deposit comes to fruition, and then when the rest of the package comes together the whole amount of money flows in."

Bailey added that the main purpose of the tour was to promote interest in the fund and recruit agents to handle sales.

Though only a third of the commitments to buy shares are backed by cash, Mellesmoen said she's confident the full 120 will be sold by the June 30 deadline.

The territorial government is expected to introduce a new fund the following year, when units will sell for $350,000.

The GNWT will start lending the cash -- as much as $30 million if the fund is sold out -- to qualifying businesses following the deadline.