SSB Moves to Expand Stake in Hydro Belize

The Social Security Board is moving to deepen its investment in Hydro Belize with a proposed twenty-million-dollar share purchase. The Prime Minister says it is a strong move that can benefit contributors and protect the fund’s future. But the deal is also raising concerns about transparency, risk, and concentration of investments. We asked Hydro Belize Chair Lynn Young for answers.

 

Lynn Young, Chair, Hydro Belize Limited

“It’s going very smoothly. As you know, I’m the chair of the board, which was an interim board. Now we have the new shareholders on board. SSB has given notice of who their directors will be as well. I think  one  big shareholder  and the small shareholders at the next AGM they will have the opportunity to vote for directors. So that’s happening at the government governance level. At the management level, things run as per normal. The company is run by a very competent set of all Belizeans actually and they just continue to run as normal and doing a good job actually.”

 

Paul Lopez

“The SSB’s investment in Hydro Belize, what can you tell us a bit about that?”

 

Lynn Young

“That is a SSB decision, right? I’m not on the SSB board. I’m not on the investment committee, so I cannot say anything about any other shareholder why they invested, you know AlI can tell you from my opinion is that it’s a good investment. I think Hydro Belize Limited is one of the best-run companies in this country, and I think the assets are really solid assets. You know, they have a proven track record and they do a good job. So I think it’s a very good investment. But in terms of SSB’s perspective, I guess they speak with their money, right? But they must have felt the same way.”

 

We reached out to SSB for comment. The board told News Five that every investment proposal faces thorough financial, legal, governance, and risk reviews, along with advance public disclosure to safeguard transparency and protect contributors’ interests.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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