Today marks a very special day in the history of Fijian Holdings Ltd.

We’ve released a market announcement in terms of this special and historical occasion.

FHL Energy Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Fijian Holdings Ltd has successfully won the bid to acquire the oil company BP SWP Ltd. The Sale and Purchase agreement between FHL and BP SWP was executed this morning.

This acquisition which amounts to around $190m is the largest investment that Fijian Holdings Ltd has ever done in its 24 years of existence. This new investment may be small for British Petroleum worldwide but a giant step for Fijian Holdings and Fiji as a nation.

The investment is in line with FHL’s strategic plan to continue to grow and diversify its portfolio both in Fiji and the Pacific region. The newly acquired BP SWP business includes 67 retail outlets and related operations in Fiji, Tonga, American Samoa, Cooks, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The strategic investment will make FHL one of the largest corporate entities with a total staff strength exceeding 1,500 and a consolidated revenue exceeding $600m from 2010 onwards.

Fijian Holdings Ltd has engaged Hindustan Petroleum Co Ltd to manage and operate the new oil company. Hindustan Petroleum is a publicly listed “Fortune 500” company, the second largest oil company in India, majority owned by Government, generates an annual revenue of US$27 billion and operates more than 8,000 retail outlets all over India.

It is acknowledged that given the magnitude of the investment, it was necessary for Fijian Holdings to engage a world renowned oil company with a globally recognised brand particularly in aviation.

We believe that the acquisition is a quantum leap for FHL and will go a long way in the achievement of FHL’s underlying objective which is the creation of sustainable wealth for all shareholders of Fijian Holdings Ltd.