By Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer
HE IS passionate about Portland because he keeps thinking back to 1902 when Portland had a hotel room stock of 400. Using his tested and proven compounding formula, international businessman Michael Lee-Chin said that if that stock had grown by six per cent every year up to the present, Portland would now have 140,000 hotel rooms. But the opposite is true, there are fewer rooms now, than were there at the turn of the last century, because without a vision, things simply perish.
There are no mysteries, political ambitions or sinister motives behind his many gifts and donations to the education sector, sports, parish council and others in the last two years. Mr. Lee-Chin insists that he just wants to, see the country prosperous, well educated, entrepreneurially sound, debt free and a place where Jamaicans know they have a future.
"Jamaicans historically, have not been good stewards of this blessed country, so instead of being part of the bandwagon of complainers, I am thinking about what I can do to be a part of the turnaround. That's what motivates me to use my influence and reputation to lead by example. We have a fantastic opportunity to make things work.
"I am in a position to do something and that is what I am doing. In 20 years I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that I did something to preserve their heritage and country. I would urge other owners of foreign-owned companies to do the same. Imagine what it would be if these companies reinvested their profits here for a while?" Mr. Lee-Chin said with his characteristic upbeat outlook on life.
In keeping with his promise to reinvest all profits in Jamaica, NCB/AIC Chairman Michael Lee-Chin in now close to inking the deal to purchase the Trident Hotel in the parish of his birth, Portland.
He will also be taking responsibility for the existing courthouse with a view to building a new state-of-the-art facility and refurbishing the old building to its former authenticity so that it can be a showpiece for the parish.
The Jamaican-born Canadian billionaire has also commissioned, at his own expense, the world-famous architect, Daniel Libeskind whose drawings for Freedom Towers, will be the blueprint for the reconstruction of the bombed World Trade Center in New York.
Mr. Libeskind will draft proposals and a master plan for Folly, the Trident property, Navy Island and, Titchfield Hill in Portland. This in attempts to "tidy up the place" and make the parish structurally comparable to several other tourist destinations in the Caribbean that are far less beautiful than Jamaica.
Mr. Lee-Chin's recent acquisition of the Bob Marley Collection will, at a future date, be presented to the country as a way of "repatriating our history and preserving it for future generations.
"It will be used as a centrepiece for Jamaicans to learn about their history," he said in an interview with The Sunday Gleaner last week.
TWO-PRONGED APPROACH
Since his take-over of majority shares in the National Commercial Bank (NCB), three years ago, the affable billionaire has spearheaded a two-pronged approach to putting Jamaica on a path to wealth creation.
The first is to reinvest all of NCB's profits here.
But, he stressed, "I cannot do it alone; I would love to see all foreign-owned businesses doing the same thing for a while and see what happens. The value of their business would grow in the long run. We need to say to ourselves, 'what am I doing when I support foreign businesses that don't put back profits here?' 'How will my decisions affect my beautiful Jamaica?' When we ship out foreign exchange, in the long term, how will that affect us?" Mr. Lee-Chin said.
JAMAICAN EDUCATION
INITIATIVE
"My second approach was the education initiative through which we hope to continue spreading our intellectual capital. I want every Jamaican to have the opportunity to fulfil his entrepreneurial and professional goals here."
He went on to note that more than 90 per cent of the present education budget is spent on wages and what's left is inadequate to take care of the business of educating the nation. To this end, the NCB chairman said, he began looking at ways to help and among the solutions was the one per cent towards education from NCB Keycard purchases. This is why the bank was able to pay for two CXC business subjects and donate 200 scholarships to tertiary students this year.
"We hope we will be in a position to donate 1,000 scholarships next year and that the number will grow, but that can only happen when everyone pulls together. One person cannot do it, I can only be the catalyst that inspires others by my actions. We have an empowerment tool and if we use it, we can provide a platform for future generations to launch their careers and feel proud to be Jamaicans," Mr. Lee-Chin said.
LEE-CHIN'S RECIPE
FOR SUCCESS
Building confidence is key to getting on a path to wealth creation. You can create wealth by compounding your financial assets and savings optimally. Your expenses should not exceed your income and if the latter is properly managed, financial success is guaranteed.
To be wealthy, one should also manage and compound one's intellectual assets. Make sure that knowledge, experience and control of emotions are managed well and at the corporate level, train staff to make better decisions.
Nationally, start thinking more about creating wealth for Jamaica and less about doing it for self. Mr. Lee-Chin feels that not enough people are thinking seriously about prosperity for Jamaica and are failing to realise that if they think nationally, the benefits will also redound to them.
