Jamaican billionaire Lee-Chin weighs sale of NCB Financial stake as $94 million bond due

Jamaican Canadian billionaire Michael Lee Chin says he is weighing a sale of his controlling stake in NCB Financial Group as he tries to settle a US$94 million bond payment that is now due, with total bond obligations put at about US$297 million.

Lee Chin said he has triggered a 45 day window starting Dec. 31 to work out repayment terms for principal and interest owed by AIC (Barbados) Ltd., under an agreement reached with noteholders. He described the review as a rush to land a solution without jolting markets or shortchanging creditors.

“I’m doing a structural review of all the alternatives,” Lee Chin told Observer Online by phone. “I’m considering all the options, including paying off everything, and I have 45 days to do it.”

A statement from his office said the menu includes full repayment of the bonds, settling the amount currently due, or reducing his shareholding in NCB Financial Group, where he is chairman. Any divestment would likely be large enough to move the market.

The scale is clear in the filings. NCB Financial Group’s quarterly report for the period ended Sept. 30, 2025, shows AIC (Barbados), one of Lee Chin’s companies, held 46.24% of the group’s issued shares. Separate regulatory filings dated March 31, 2025, put Lee Chin and affiliates at 52.15%, with AIC at 46.74% at that point.

Lee Chin said he is working with advisers and other stakeholders on what he called the most appropriate and sustainable path. He said he expects to settle on a preferred option within two weeks, well before the 45 day period runs out.

Investors have already been jittery. NCB Financial Group shares closed at 39.05 Jamaican dollars on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday after 3.35 million shares changed hands. At that price, Lee Chin’s 52.15% position, based on 2.58 billion issued shares, would be worth roughly 52.6 billion Jamaican dollars, about US$335 million, far above the combined bond debt.

Even so, the stock has been sliding. It is down 23.16% for the year and remains far below its 2019 highs, when it touched 249 Jamaican dollars intraday and closed at 219 in July that year.

He has long been one of Jamaica’s most influential corporate players. Lee Chin built his fortune through Portland Holdings, his investment company, and his stewardship of NCB Financial Group has anchored his profile across Caribbean banking, insurance and wealth management.