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Portland Barbados Limited, part of billionaire Michael Lee-Chin’s Portland group of companies, is seeking to raise up to US$4 million, or nearly J$600 million, in a bond offer. Some shares in NCB Financial Group Limited, NCBFG, and the Lee-Chi- owned swanky Trident Castle villas in the parish of Portland in Jamaica – the parish of Lee-Chin’s birth – are being put up as security for the bond.
The amount of NCBFG shares being used as collateral is equivalent to 60 per cent the value of the bond debt being sought, but with a 40 per cent margin. The prospectus for the bond offer notes that AIC Barbados, the gurantor of the senior secured notes placement, will secure the offer with the first mortgage over Trident Castle, as well as “execution of Jamaica Central Securities Depository pledge form by the guarantor in relation to NCBFG ordinary shares with market value equivalent to 0.6 (times) the principal amount; subject to a maintenance margin of 0.4 (times)”.
In a rush to get older cars off the lots before the year comes to an end, auto dealers have been rolling out payment holiday and discounts, to woo potential buyers.
The month of November usually marks the beginning of a busy Christmas season for car dealers who cut discount deals on older vehicles to get inventory moving. But now,a at the second week in December, car sales are down 70 per cent compared to 2019 levels, largely as a result of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The changes in the market are forcing car dealers to get more creative in how they attract buyers, and have sparked new partnerships with banks and other lenders.
In a move to make buying local easier for shoppers this Christmas, and consequently drive sales for small and micro ventures, businesswoman Angelie Spencer has partnered with the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited, NCB, and video company M-One Productions, to create a single platform that links buyers to the business page of hundreds of local entrepreneurs.
Typically, users of social media platforms would individually select business pages that match their lifestyle to follow. But Spencer’s online platform, called Shop Local JA, will instead expose users to micro and small businesses across several industries, at the click of a button.