Lee-Chin signs nuclear energy pact in Turkey

Jamaican-Canadian businessman Michael Lee-Chin is pushing into nuclear energy, with his Portland Holdings group signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Turkish nuclear technology company to help develop Turkey’s atomic power sector.
“We see this cooperation as an opportunity to bring together credible partners, trusted expertise and international nuclear innovation,” Lee-Chin said in a statement.
The MOU, signed at the Nuclear Power Plants and Energy Summit in Istanbul on July 9, establishes a framework for cooperation between Portland Holdings Investco Limited, a Canadian entity within the Portland group, and Nuclean Temiz Enerji, a Turkish company that connects technology providers, investors and engineering firms working on small modular reactors. The Nuclear Industry Association of Turkey signed on as a supporting institution.
“Countries around the world are looking for access to specialised human capital and reliable, low-carbon energy solutions that can strengthen energy security, industrial competitiveness and long-term economic resilience,” Lee-Chin stated. 
The agreement covers four areas: training, technology engagement, supply chain participation and potential investment opportunities. It is a framework agreement, not a binding transaction, and any resulting project would require separate agreements and regulatory approvals.
For Lee-Chin, the pact reflects a nuclear energy thesis he has been building publicly. In June, the Port Antonio-born investor delivered a talk at the Canada Investors Retreat in Québec City titled ‘Strategic Investing in the Nuclear Era’, arguing that shifts in dominant energy sources historically produce shifts in economic power.
Portland Holdings, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is Lee-Chin’s privately held investment vehicle spanning financial services, clean energy, life sciences and tourism. His most prominent Caribbean holding is a controlling stake in NCB Financial Group Limited, Jamaica’s largest financial conglomerate.
Canada is among the global leaders in nuclear technology, with its CANDU reactor design deployed in seven countries.
Lee-Chin, 75, has a net worth estimated by Forbes at over US$1.1 billion. 
business@gleanerjm.com