Jamaican/Canadian billionaire investor and NCB Financial Group Chairman Michael Lee-Chin has strengthened his alliance with Dubai-based conglomerate, MBM Holding.

This comes after his private investment firm, Portland Holdings Limited, in April this year signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on healthcare and clean energy sectors with MBM Holding. This strengthened alliance is aimed at facilitating the United Arab Emirates in achieving their stated goal of economic diversification and environmental sustainability.

MBM is a major Emirati holding company focused on implementing the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, and is responsible for ensuring that Dubai is future-proofed. Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Wealth Professionals newsletter, Lee-Chin explained why he entered into this cooperation with the Emirates, noting that Canadian expertise can bring to the UAE’s long-term vision.

He is encouraging advisors in the Kingdom to pay close attention to climate change and the potential solutions to what he sees as an existential threat to humankind. While the alliance is wide-ranging, Lee-Chin emphasises two areas of key collaboration: treating cancer and addressing climate change, which are urgent challenges facing humanity.

This collaboration, he says, will allow Portland to provide MBM better access to key technologies and intellectual property in health sciences as well as nuclear and clean energy.

Combating climate change

Lee-Chin believes that in combating climate change, fossil fuels must be replaced with nuclear power, which is clean, scalable, carbon-free, and comes with high density energy. In addition, it is always on and never turns off.

The Jamaican/Canadian billionaire argues that Canada is well-positioned to provide access to groundbreaking advancements in nuclear technology: small modular reactors (SMRs). He discloses that his companies are setting up two funds to capture this trend.

The first is a publicly traded fund focused on replacements for fossil fuels, while the second is a Luxemburg based alternative investment fund set up for institutional investors to invest in private businesses in the clean and nuclear energy space. The lesson for advisors, Lee-Chin says, is for them to lift their eyes and widen what they think of an opportunity for themselves and their clients.

Canada’s technological leadership in SMRs through collaborative frameworks make a significant difference in achieving the UAE’s sustainability goal. Lee-Chin believes Canadian investors should take a similar view as his new Emirati associates.