ISP Finance Services Limited Twenty-eighty Junior Market Listing
ISP Finance Services Limited on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 became the twenty-eighth company to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Junior Market which now has thirty-one (31) securities listed in total.
ISP Finance Services Limited is also the fifth listing for 2016 and has added 116 new shareholders in their successful effort that saw them raising just under $98M.
Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, General Manager, JSE, in her welcome told the audience that “Data suggested that most of the companies listed on the Junior Market have grown, have served their investors well and have sparked growth in the economy. I believe it is for these compelling reasons that the Minister of Finance, the Hon. Audley Shaw signaled at a recently held PSOJ forum that the government intends to extend the Corporate Tax Incentive that was scheduled to expire on March 31.”
Mrs. Street Forrest went on to state that “We have seen that through the Junior market, a new breed of Jamaican entrepreneurs is emerging, one which is striving to build new and profitable companies in varying sectors of the economy and which we believe will open doors for young people who are graduating from one tertiary institution or another, thereby providing hope and reducing brain drain; something we hardly speak about nowadays but which is still very real.”
Mrs. Street Forrest shared the following data, “in 2010 our first full year of the Junior Market, the number of transactions was 1,192 and now only after three months into this year the number of transaction is 5,145. Since the inception of the Junior Market three (3) billion shares have been trading valued at over $18 billion”.
Mr. Dennis Smith, Chief Executive Officer, ISP Finance Services Limited in his remarks stated, “Since starting business in February 2007 our Loan Portfolio has grown from J$2.5 million to J$304 Million at the end of 2015. At ISP we recognize that the market for short-term personal and micro loans holds tremendous growth opportunities. So with the right capital structure, a superior service philosophy, a highly motivated and well-trained workforce, together with a savvy leadership team, we are poised to take advantage of the prevailing opportunities in the market place. Going forward, we intend to build on our core competencies and leverage our key strengths to greatly increase our loan portfolio by expanding our reach to Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Mandeville, Spanish Town, Portmore, and May Pen”.
Lead Broker VM Wealth Management, General Manager, Mr. Devon Barrett, congratulated the ISP Finance Services Ltd. on being the second micro-lender to list on the Exchange. He further stated, “I noticed that the trend in the sector, where, though still self-regulated, the institutions in the sector have progressed to observing industry lending best practices and standards. When the legislation to formally regulate the industry comes on streams, its players, generally should be ready to comply. In fact, if several other players follow in ISP’s footsteps, the discipline instilled by the JSE’s requirements of listed companies should put them in good stead”.
