Pressure mounts on Lee Chin
IN a stormy meeting held yesterday, local bondholders railed against the lead principal of Canadian mutual fund company, AIC and chairman of NCB, Michael Lee Chin’s inability to honour his commitments to them.
AIC issued a number of bonds to finance Lee Chin’s rapid expansion across the Caribbean.
Interest on the bonds to November was set at 13.25 per cent with around US$109 million in AIC bonds at stake with US$60 million maturing this year. Lee Chin has missed a number of deadlines with the latest November 27, 2009 severely testing the patience of bondholders.
Back in September Lee Chin told Caribbean Business Report: “I closed the sale of AIC’s Canadian mutual fund business to Manulife. That was my plan B. November will come and I will be in a position to honour all the bondholders. I always have a plan B and I always honour my commitments.”
Unable to meet that deadline, Lee Chin proposed paying 30 per cent of the principal in cash and issuing a new note for 70 per cent of the face value at an attractive interest rate of 12 per cent a year.
Bondholders had three options to consider, the first, to accept Lee Chin’s offer, the second, to take shares in NCB and the third is to give instructions for the shares in NCB to be sold.
“Things are tight and Lee Chin has his back to the wall. He has been unable to divest assets and that has put untold pressure on him. He is a sweet talker and it will be interesting to see how he deals with this one. It makes sense to acccept the offer and monitor the situation. Putting pressure on the main performing asset makes no sense. He needs more time and may well have to settle for a fire sale, still there weren’t too many happy people here today,” said an attendant at yesterday’s meeting.
Another said: “Promises, promises and none have been kept. Lee Chin’s reputation is taking a battering because he cannot be taken at his word.
June came and went so to did November. He said he had a Plan B, well where is it? It has been said that he is overleveraged, overexposed and too diversified. It makes one wonder as the lustre is beginning to fall off”.
