Alliance of the rich

Jamaican-Canadian billionaire Michael Lee Chin has formed an alliance with a group of young Jamaican business people to develop a social out-outreach project as a demonstration of their commitment to good corporate responsibility, sources say.

Spearheaded by Lee Chin, the group - which does not yet have a name - is to develop a charter and design the project.
It is understood that Lee Chin has started meeting with the group once per month at NCB's corporate headquarters on Trafalgar Road. The group includes John Azar, David McConnell, Dwayne Lue Fong, Christopher Powell, Jodi Myrie, Gary Matalon, Peter Bovell, Tina Myers, Roderick Gordon, Kimani Robinson, Ian Moore, Kern Spencer, and Heather Shields.

New treasury bill and other debt

Tender invitations are out on a new $400 million treasury bill, and all applications are due in at the Bank of Jamaica by Wednesday. The last bill, $500 million had a yield of 14.96 per cent.

Meantime, the Finance Ministry's last two offers barely made an impression on the market, earning a slim $1.65 billion in total.

The 67-month variable bond amassed most of the intake, $1.06 billion. Its subscribers will get 15 per cent for the first six months of the issue, and will earn interest thereafter at the six-month weighted average treasury bill rate plus a reset of 1.5 per cent (WATBY+1.5)

The fixed rate instrument got anaemic response, pulling only $583 million from the market. At an offer rate of 16.85 per cent, investors were just not prepared to lock in their funds - even for two years - for the lowest price offered to them recently on a fixed rate bond.

The results indicate that investors remain in a waiting mode, but the better response on the variable instrument indicate that there is some anticipation of rates going back up.
Government now has just under $101 million of debt outstanding on its debentures and bonds, within a total debt stock of $710 billion.

New product

Texaco Caribbean will launch its new ValuCard Tuesday, a combined debit and credit card for the purchase of fuel and other motor related expenses. The card is said to be the first fuel card in Jamaica targeted at individual consumers.

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Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World