Government Inc. · draft budget 2027
DraftBefore ParliamentThe government owns all or part of 13 companies. The budget’s memorandum reports on 6 of them: electricity & water (GEBE), telecommunications (TelEm), seaport (Port), airline (Winair), airport (PJIAE) and postal services (PSS).
For each one, this page shows the latest result the budget reports, whether its accounts were checked by an auditor, and the money that moves between the company and the government, loans, guarantees, dividends and concession fees.
2 profitable1 mixed3 at risk
GEBEElectricity & waterCg 23.8M2022At risk
TelEmTelecommunicationsCg −7.6M2024At risk
PortSeaportUS$13.3M2025 (draft)Mixed
WinairAirlineUS$5.6M2025 (draft)Profitable
PJIAEAirportCg 30.1MQ1 2026 (unaudited)Profitable
PSSPostal servicesNo result given At riskCompany by company
The memorandum has a short section on each company. Results are shown as printed , some in Caribbean guilders, some in US dollars, for the latest period the budget gives. Several companies have no audited accounts for recent years.
N.V. GEBE · Electricity & water
TelEm Group · Telecommunications
Port St. Maarten · Seaport
Windward Islands Airways (Winair) · Airline
Princess Juliana International Airport · Airport
Postal Services St. Maarten · Postal services
Who owns what
The numbers book lists 13 shareholdings. The government owns 9 outright and part of the other 4 , from a majority of the airline to small stakes in a development bank and the air-traffic service. Many are holding companies with subsidiaries of their own.
The electricity and water company (N.V. Gemeenschappelijk Elektriciteitsbedrijf Bovenwindse Eilanden, EN 178). No subsidiaries listed. Electricity concession: Cg 7,659,061 received in 2025 and Cg 8,042,014 budgeted for 2026 and for 2027 (NL 106). The English memorandum says annual accounts for 2023-2025 are not yet available, calls GEBE's current situation "worrying", and notes a Cg 75.6 million loan concluded in 2024 on behalf of the government for GEBE's benefit (EN 178).
Name as printed in Dutch; the English name is a translation. Its activity is not described.
Listed as "(inactive)" in the collective-sector overview (NL 104). Its activity is not described.
The post office company. The government lent it 2,000,000 (printed in "Naf"), with 0% in the column "Percentage v/d lening", and the full 2,000,000 still outstanding at 31-12-2025 (NL 108). The English memorandum says it is "still mainly kept afloat by additional operating contributions" (EN 179).
Airport holding company; subsidiary listed: Princess Juliana International Airport Exploitatiemaatschappij N.V. (the airport operating company, PJIAE). The airport concession yields Cg 0 in 2025, 2026 and 2027 (NL 106). The government has lent the holding company (printed "Princess Juliana International Airport Houdstermaatscappij N.V.") 257,230,000 in five loans, printed in "Naf" and all still fully outstanding at 31-12-2025 (NL 108, total computed) and lists a guarantee for "PJIA" on a loan with an original amount of 20,000,000 (NL 110). PJIAE's unaudited Q1 2026 revenue was Cg 61.0 million (EN 179).
Subsidiaries listed: Waterside Development Company N.V.; Hexagon Infrastructural Fund N.V.; Philipsburg DIT Management N.V.
Port holding company. Subsidiaries listed: St. Maarten Harbour Finance N.V.; St. Maarten Ports Authority N.V.; St. Maarten Harbour Cruise Facilities N.V.; St. Maarten Harbour Cargo Facilities N.V.; St. Maarten Harbour Operations N.V.; St. Maarten Harbour Crane Company N.V.; St. Maarten Ports Development N.V.; St. Maarten Harbour Fueling Company N.V.; Simpsonbay Causeway N.V.; St. Maarten Harbour Consulting N.V.; St. Maarten Seashore Development N.V.; Simpsonbay Lagoon Authority Corporation N.V. Harbour concession: Cg 0 received in 2025, Cg 4,000,000 budgeted for 2026 and for 2027 (NL 106). The English memorandum (section on Port Sint Maarten N.V.) reports a draft 2025 profit of USD 13.3 million and says concession-fee arrears are being repaid under a payment arrangement (EN 178).
Government laboratory company; also listed in the collective sector (NL 104). Justice has a Cg 20,000 service agreement with SLS (NL 113).
Telecom holding company. Subsidiaries listed: St. Maarten Telecommunication Operating Company N.V.; St. Maarten Telephone Company N.V.; Telcell N.V.; St. Maarten International Telecommunication Services (SMITCOMS) N.V.; Smitcoms Inc; Smitcoms Dominicana SRL (25.5% through Smitcoms NV and 25.5% through Smitcoms Inc, 51% in total, computed); Smitcoms International SRL (76% through Smitcoms Dominicana SRL); Smitcoms Cellular SRL (22% through Smitcoms Dominicana SRL; printed "throug"); Smitcoms Telnet SRL (52% through Smitcoms Dominicana); Caribbean Televies Services N.V. (as printed); Stichting Telem Derdengelden; StichtingTertie (as printed, without a space). The English memorandum reports an expected 2025 profit of Cg 0.5 million after a Cg 7.6 million loss in 2024, and says Telem has asked for a Cg 5 million government guarantee that "has not yet been provided" (EN 178).
The regional airline; majority stake. The English memorandum reports a draft 2025 profit of USD 5.6 million (EN 178) and an expected 2026 profit of USD 5 million (EN 179).
Minority stake (printed 28.20%). Its activity is not described.
Minority stake in the air-navigation (air traffic control) service provider.
Minority stake. Printed "Ontwikkelings bank van de Nederlandse antillen NV".
Loans and guarantees
The overview of loans the government has issued lists Cg 259.2M lent to its companies (and 1 more loan to other bodies). Most of it went to Princess Juliana International Airport Holding Company N.V. (PJIA): 5 loans, Cg 257.2M in all.
A guarantee is a promise to repay a company’s loan if the company cannot. It costs nothing unless it is called.
| Borrower | What for | Lent | Still owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSS | Not described | Cg 2,000,000 | Cg 2,000,000 |
| PJIA | Not described | Cg 9,100,000 | Cg 9,100,000 |
| PJIA | Bridge loan (printed 'Bridgeloan') | Cg 27,000,000 | Cg 27,000,000 |
| PJIA | EIB loan (EIB Lening): money borrowed from the European Investment Bank and passed on to the airport | Cg 91,000,000 | Cg 91,000,000 |
| PJIA | Trust Fund loan (Trustfund) | Cg 91,000,000 | Cg 91,000,000 |
| PJIA | Trust Fund loan (Trustfund) | Cg 39,130,000 | Cg 39,130,000 |
Amounts as printed in the overview, in guilders; “still owed” is the balance it records at the end of 2025.
The same overview lists 2 other guarantees, for foundations rather than companies. See all of them.
What flows back
Companies can pay the government in two ways. A dividend is a share of the profit paid to the owner. A concession fee is paid for the right to run a public service, such as the power grid or the harbour.
The revenue table has a line for dividends from the state companies alone, and it is zero in all three columns. The dividend the draft does count, Cg 6M, is on a line that combines the state companies and the Central Bank.
| Line | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividends: state companies & Central Bank | Cg 10M | Cg 6M | Cg 6M |
| Dividends: state companies only | Cg 0M | Cg 0M | Cg 0M |
| Concession feesIncludes GEBE's electricity concession, indexed yearly (EN 16). | Cg 8M | Cg 12M | Cg 12M |
2025 is the provisional result; 2026 the approved budget.
Airport concession, granted by national ordinance no. 2031 of 14 October 1997 for an initial 20 years
fee = budgeted receipts 2027 (Begrote ontvangsten 2027). Receipts are 0 in all three columns (2025 actual, 2026 and 2027 budget). The legal-basis column holds a narrative instead of an ordinance title: the concession was extended by national ordinance no. 638 of 27 May 2004 by eight years, up to and including 2 January 2025, and "extended again in 2012 for another 15 years". The same sentence links that 2012 extension to the company's Moody's rating (printed "waardoor het bedrijf hun Moody's waardering verlichtte", literally "whereby the company lightened their Moody's rating"; the effect is not explained). The text does not say from when the 15 years run, so the end date (2027 or 2040) cannot be read from the source.
Concession for the generation and supply of electricity (Landsverordening houdende regels omtrent de verlening van een concessie voor de opwekking en levering van elektriciteit, AB 2010 no. 27)
fee = budgeted receipts 2027. Actual receipts 2025: Cg 7,659,061; budget 2026: Cg 8,042,014 (5.0% above 2025, computed). The 2027 budget is unchanged from 2026, although the English memorandum says the GEBE fee "is indexed annually" (household consumption price index at 1 October of the previous year plus one percentage point) (EN 16).
Harbour concession (Verordening havenconcessies, AB 2007 no. 15)
fee = budgeted receipts 2027. Actual receipts 2025: Cg 0; budget 2026: Cg 4,000,000. The English memorandum's multi-year table shows Harbour 4 (Cg million) already for 2025 (EN 16) and says the port is repaying concession-fee arrears under a payment arrangement (EN 178).
Telecommunication facilities (Landsverordening op de Telecommunicatievoorzieningen 1995, P.B. 1995 no. 196; printed "Landverordening")
fee = budgeted receipts 2027. Actual receipts 2025: Cg 0; budget 2026: Cg 2,500,000. The holder is presumably the Bureau Telecommunicatie en Post (BTP), which is listed in the collective sector (NL 104). The English memorandum rounds to Cg million and shows two different series for 2025-2027: "BTP" 2 / 3 / 3 (EN 16) and "BTP result" 0 / 2 / 2 (EN 162). Cg 2.5 million lies exactly between the two rounded figures (3 on EN 16, 2 on EN 162). For 2025, NL 106 (0) agrees with EN 162 (0), not with EN 16 (2).
The fee shown is what the government budgets to receive in 2027, in guilders.
What the Cft said
The Cft, the Board of Financial Supervision for Curaçao and Sint Maarten, checks the public finances and advises on every draft budget. Its advice of 9 July 2026 (Cft 202600061) was on an earlier draft. Below: what it said about the companies, what it asked for, and what the budget documents show happened next.
What the Cft said, in summary
TELEM (telecom), GEBE (electricity and water) and PSS (post) face serious financial problems; for TELEM and PSS this is a direct risk to public finances because they cannot meet short-term payment obligations. The Cft advised mapping these risks better and including them in the 2027 budget, if needed with a provision (money set aside) or another suitable financial solution; a strategy for the three companies aimed at viability or market solutions, with any financial effects in the budget; and a properly staffed policy on government shareholdings. It estimated central government debt, including short-term debt, at Cg 1,424 million at the end of 2027, or 41% of GDP (NL 333). The final memorandum gives a different total for 2027, about Cg 1,127 million (Cg 982 million long-term plus Cg 145 million short-term debt), or 32.2% of GDP (EN 12); neither document reconciles the two figures.
The Minister replied that no provision is needed for a TelEm guarantee because there are no signs it will be called, and that no support for PSS is budgeted unless the Council of Ministers decides on it, in which case a budget amendment would follow (NL 336). The reply does not mention GEBE. The final memorandum calls GEBE's situation 'worrying' and says that, because recent company reports are lacking, no precise budget-impact analysis can be made (EN 178).
Not addressed in the Minister's reply. The final memorandum describes work with the companies on overdue annual accounts, an ongoing examination of TelEm's request for a Cg 5 million guarantee and a possible government purchase of the TelEm building (EN 178), and says PSS 'is still mainly kept afloat by additional operating contributions' (EN 179).
The status is this site’s reading of the Minister’s reply and the final documents. Everything the watchdogs said.
