AIC Ltd. has taken a majority stake in a Jamaican bank. According to the Jamaica Observer, Michael Lee-Chin bought the bank for the Jamaican government’s 75% interest in the bank.

By March 18, he will pay the government US$56 million. The balance will be paid over nine years in eight annual installments. “This transaction represents the most significant milestone in the program of financial sector rehabilitation pursued by this government since 1997,” says Jamaican finance minister Omar Davies. “On completion, the government’s dominant ownership role in the banking sector will be a thing of the past.”

“I pledge that AIC will put its weight behind NCB to make sure that it becomes the pre-eminent financial institution in the Caribbean,” says Lee Chin.

The Observer reports that the annual payment obligations can be easily satisfied from the internal resources of the bank, at current levels of profitability. It says that it appears likely that Lee Chin will avoid buying the remaining 25% from minority shareholders on the basis that the bank is being bought to rehabilitate it and to secure its future.

“We will work as diligently as possible to make sure the staff is secure, and confident about the future and provide a fertile environment for their development,” he said. “We will work with passion. We want 80% of the market… We will build a first-class institution that will add maximum value for the shareholders.”