AIC Group Chairman, Michael Lee Chin. - Contributed
THE BOARD of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved up to US$80 million in financing to support the establishment of a private equity investment fund that could ultimately invest as much as US$250 million in growing businesses throughout the Caribbean.
The OPIC loan will support the AIC Caribbean Fund, which will make investments in businesses located in countries of the Caribbean Community, with an emphasis on Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
The fund will focus on the tourism, telecommunications, health care, energy, and financial services sectors, and has a target capitalisation of US$250 million.
FUND MANAGER
OPIC selected as fund manager AIC International Investment Ltd, a subsidiary of AIC Group, a Canadian mutual fund company with a track record of successful investments in the Caribbean.
OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, comple-ments the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy.
OPIC's political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide.
GENERATED JOBS
Over the agency's 33-year history, OPIC has supported US$164 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate more than 732,000 host-country jobs and $13 billion in host-government revenues.
