GEORGETOWN – Minister of Finance Winston Jordan clarified Wednesday Chairman of the CL Financial Group, Lawrence Duprey has indicated three issues with regards to his relationship with Guyana.
Minister Jordan, who met with the Financier Duprey recently, stated the Trinidadian business entrepreneur wished to first apologise for his past actions, and that of his company CLICO. 
Secondly he wished to understand how much he owes to Guyana, and thirdly he wished to undertake certain investments, if allowed and if these are deemed profitable.
Minister Jordan stated, “We are working on that. Our priority, of course, is to get back our money, and like I said, unless it is a rogue investment, we don’t look down on investments generally, certainly not coming from a CARICOM sister organisation so let’s focus and keep our heads on straight. Our priority is that we want back our money. Once that can happen, we will look at other opportunities.”
According to Minister Jordan, once the potential investor is willing to enter where there is currently very little investment such as clay-brick manufacturing and solar energy, the possibility is there. He added that Guyana once had a thriving clay-brick manufacturing sector and with a housing drive set to take off, once the investment is sound, then there is no objection.
CLICO Insurance Company collapsed across the Caribbean, leaving many clients and investors with billions of dollars in losses.
In a statement issued by CARICOM in 2009, it was noted that, “the experiences relating to the CL Financial Group and the Stanford Group of Companies have demonstrated the need for strengthening the regional regulatory framework, particularly in the non-bank financial sector and more effective cross-border supervision of Pan-Caribbean companies”. (GINA)
