So the plot thickens! Billionaire Micheal Lee Chin has announced why he’s leaving NCB – temporarily.

Now for those who don’t know who Michael Lee-Chin is. He’s a Jamaican-Canadian billionaire and Chairman of the Board at Jamaica’s largest bank, NCB Financial Group.  Yeah I know I told Sagicor is now the largest based on market cap, but NCB still brings in the most revenue.

Anyway, just recently, we were talking about how the billionaire might be up to something because he’s been selling off a lot of his assets.

He just sold his mega yacht for US$362 million.  Back in September, he sold CVM Television to Verticast Media Group.

He also sold Reggae Beach in St Mary, a property that was reportedly worth US$50 million.  And he’s reportedly put his mansion in Grand Cayman up for sale for US$35 million.

So there’s been a lot of speculation about what he’s doing. 

Is he hoarding cash for a possible recession? Does he need the money because he’s not getting any dividends from NCB? Or is he gearing up for a big acquisition?

Well, just days after I posted that video, NCB announced that Lee Chin is taking a three-month break, effective immediately, from his role as Board Chairman.

The original announcement on the Jamaica Stock Exchange website was kinda cryptic.  It just said that he was stepping aside to deal with “pressing business and personal matters.”

And of course, a vague message like that is gonna make people panic! A lot of people took “personal matters” to mean that he’s sick. And you know NCB shareholders are already on edge because the stock price has been falling, they haven’t gotten any dividends and the scammers have been hitting the bank really hard.

But NCB and Mr Lee Chin himself have said that everything is fine and he’s just temporarily shifting focus to some of his other projects.

He did an interview with the Jamaica Observer reassuring everyone that he’s fit as a fiddle.  In fact, he said he was just in the gym, leg pressing 300 pounds, which by the way is SUPER impressive at 72.

He explained that he’s stepping aside from NBC temporarily to focus on two projects very important to him. One is research into an alternative cancer treatment.  And the other is clean energy alternatives.

So, two really big and important areas.  The businessman said those projects are at critical stages and need his attention. Plus, the Chief Operating Officer for one of his companies in Canada resigned, so he’s stepping up until he finds a replacement.

So, all valid reasons for a break. In the meantime, Alvin Wint will take over as Interim Chairman of NCB Group and its business as usual.

FYI – Michael Lee Chin has been CONFIRMED as a guest on Taking Stock next week, so set your reminders from now!  And let me know in the comments what you want me to ask him!