Jamaican billionaire Michael Lee-Chin's Portland fund posts record $9.4 million loss

Portland JSX Ltd., the Jamaica-listed private equity fund managed by Jamaican-Canadian tycoon Michael Lee-Chin's Portland Private Equity, posted a net loss of $9.4 million for its latest financial year, the largest in its history, as the value of its investments fell by more than half.

The loss for the 12 months to Feb. 28, 2026, compared with a loss of $4.23 million a year earlier, according to audited results the company filed this month, more than five months after the Jamaica Stock Exchange deadline. Fair value losses on its investments widened to $8.32 million from $3.16 million. Interest income was flat at about $227,000, and operating expenses slipped 1% to $1 million.

The fourth quarter did most of the damage. Portland JSX lost about $5.69 million in the three months to February, up from $3.49 million a year earlier. The loss per share for the year was 3 U.S. cents, against 1.4 cents in the previous year.

Assets cut by more than a third

The fund's investments were valued at $8.59 million at the end of February, down from $18.51 million a year earlier. The drop reflects the fair value losses and $1.6 million of cash distributions it received during the year. Total assets fell 37% to $15.48 million, and shareholders' equity nearly halved to $10.4 million from $19.79 million.

That leaves book value at about 3.4 U.S. cents a share, or J$5.27. The fund's net assets peaked at about $32 million in 2022.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange suspended trading in the shares on July 30 after the company missed the April 29 deadline for its audited accounts by 91 days. The stock last changed hands at J$6.65 (4 U.S. cents), down about 40% from the J$11 price at which the company sold shares to the public in 2016. At that price, Portland JSX is valued at about J$2.06 billion ($13 million).

A fund near the end of its life

Portland JSX was set up in 2015 to give Jamaican pension funds and smaller investors a way into private companies across the Caribbean and Latin America. Most of its money went into Portland Caribbean Fund II, a regional private equity fund chaired by Lee-Chin and managed by Portland Private Equity, where Portland JSX invested as a limited partner.

That fund was due to close in July 2024 after a 10-year life. It was extended twice, most recently to July 2026, and has been selling its remaining holdings. Portland JSX's own portfolio has included Productive Business Solutions, Chukka Caribbean Adventures, Clarien Group and a vehicle holding shares of Liberty Latin America.

Several bets went badly. Portland JSX wrote its stakes in Colombian online grocer Merqueo and Jamaican outsourcing company itel down to almost nothing in 2024, and Merqueo has since closed after running short of capital. A planned third Caribbean fund, in which Portland JSX was expected to invest, was cancelled after raising about $100 million, a third of its target.

In 2025, the company said it would move away from investing through funds and make direct investments in local and regional companies instead. It pays Portland Private Equity Canada, a related company, a 2% investment consulting fee plus 0.33% for corporate services, both based on assets under management.

The company's largest shareholders are pension funds. The GraceKennedy pension scheme owns 12.9%, and Sagicor Group Jamaica holds 9%.

Who is Michael Lee-Chin

Lee-Chin, 75, was born in Jamaica and moved to Canada to study civil engineering at McMaster University. In 1987 he bought AIC, a small Canadian mutual fund company, and built it into a firm managing more than $10 billion by 2002 before selling it to Manulife in 2009. He founded Portland Holdings, his family investment company, and is the largest shareholder in NCB Financial Group, one of Jamaica's biggest financial groups.

Three companies he controls were pressed by bondholders late last year to pay $94.1 million in overdue interest and principal on debt secured by about 41% of NCB's shares. An affiliated company made a payment to bondholders in January.