Caribbean Investment Holdings Ltd Trading Statement (9193V)
July 26 2018 - 8:43AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMCIHL
RNS Number : 9193V
Caribbean Investment Holdings Ltd
26 July 2018
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
CARIBBEAN INVESTMENT HOLDINGS LIMITED
ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT TURNAROUND IN THE OPERATIONS OF ITS MAIN
SUBSIDIARY, THE BELIZE BANK LIMITED
Belize City, Belize, July 26, 2018 -- Caribbean Investment
Holdings Limited (London - AIM: CIHL; Bermuda - CIHL) (the
"Company" or "CIHL")
The Company announces that for the year ended March 31, 2018,
its main subsidiary, The Belize Bank Limited (the "Belize Bank" or
"Bank"), reported net income of US$30.2 million. This financial
result will have a direct impact on the Company's consolidated
accounts for the year ended March 31, 2018 with an expected
contribution to the Company's net income of US$23.8 million. The
judgment debt derived from the Award, owed by the Government to the
Bank (and further explained below), has contributed significantly
to the increase in the net income of the Bank. The Company expects
to announce its year end results before the end of August 2018.
The Belize Bank's improved net income is also a direct
reflection of the improvement in the quality of the Bank's loan
portfolio as its non-performing loans ratio now remains
consistently below the industry benchmark of 5%. In addition, the
Bank's Interest costs have declined as the average yield on
deposits reduced from 1.46% to 1.36%. Given that the Company's main
subsidiaries are situated in Belize, the state of the Belizean
economy will continue to influence the Company's performance.
Included in the Bank's net income of US$30.2 million is the
exceptional contribution from the judgment debt derived from the
Award of US$25.2 million together with underlying operating income
of US$5.0 million (2017 - net loss of US$2.0 million).
On 22nd November 2017, the Caribbean Court of Justice ("the
CCJ") ordered that the Belize Bank was at liberty to enforce
against the Government of Belize ("the Government"), the London
Court of International Arbitration ("LCIA") Award dated 15th
January, 2013 ("the Award"), in the same manner as a judgment or
order of the Supreme Court of Belize with the same effect.
A certificate for payment for the judgment debt owed by the
Government was issued by the CCJ on 3rd January, 2018 and served on
the Government. Despite demands by the Belize Bank for payment, the
Government has, to date, failed to pay. On 9th July 2018, the Hon.
Chief Justice of Belize granted permission to the Bank to apply for
judicial review of the failure of the Minister of Finance to comply
with his mandatory statutory duty to pay the sum certified as
payable to the Bank, and the failure of the Minister of Finance to
satisfy the judgment debt in the sum of US$41,575,446.72 plus costs
of GBP536,817.71 and net of set offs of business taxes as of 25
July 2018, with court ordered interest accruing at the rate of 6%
per annum.
The Belize Bank seeks a declaration that the Minister of Finance
has failed to comply with his statutory duty and an order directing
the Minister of Finance to pay the sum due under the certificate or
judgment debt within 10 days. The first hearing of the Bank's claim
is scheduled for 17th September 2018, and the Bank expects, based
on established practice, that the case will be heard by the end of
this calendar year.
For further information contact:
Caribbean Investment Holdings Limited
UK +44 (0)207 248 6700
Belize +501 227 7178
Cenkos Securities plc
Nicholas Wells +44 (0)20 739 8920
Note: This and other press releases are available at the
Company's web site: http://www.cihltd.co.
Background Information
Caribbean Investment Holdings Limited ("CIHL") is a parent
holding company with no independent business operations or assets
other than its investments in its subsidiaries, intercompany
balances and holdings of cash and cash equivalents. CIHL's
businesses are conducted through its subsidiaries. The Belize Bank
Limited ("BBL") is incorporated and based in Belize and focuses on
the provision of financial services and lending to domestic
clients. Belize Bank International Limited is incorporated and
based in Belize and focuses on the provision of financial services
and lending to international clients. CIHL also owns an
international corporate services business based in Belize, which
operates as Belize Corporate Services Limited. BBL is a full
service commercial and retail banking operation with a head office
in Belize City and eleven branches extended into each of the six
districts of Belize. The principal operations of BBL are commercial
lending, consumer lending, deposit taking and related banking
activities.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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