Mr. Anthony Chang, Managing Director Consolidated Bakeries giving his remarks at his company listing ceremony at the JSE on December 3, 2012; Looking on are L-R: Mr. Mark Crockery, President & CEO SSL, Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, General Manager JSE; Mr. Wentworth Graham, Chief Regulatory Officer JSE and Mr. Keith Collister, Director Consolidated Bakeries Ltd.
(KINGSTON December 3, 2012): The Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market welcomed its fifteenth listing, when Consolidated Bakeries (Ja) Limited listed its shares on the market. Over 475 investors responded to the offer to be shareholders. The offer was oversubscribed, as investors responded to the invitation to subscribe to the 55,113,000 shares at a price of $1.88, which allowed the Company to raise the $103.6 million. With the listing of Consolidated Bakeries (Ja) Limited, the Junior Market capitalization now stands at $22 billion up from $21.5 billion with the listing of KLE Group in October of this year.
In her welcome at the listing ceremony, Mrs. Street Forrest, General Manager of the JSE told the audience that, she was encouraged that a major plank in Consolidated Bakeries plan was to “improve internal processes and to fund expansion as it improve competitiveness within the local and international markets”. Mrs. Street Forrest went on to say, “I am comforted to know that a company which now provides jobs for over 120 staff members has positioned itself to allow it to thrive for fifty more years and beyond”. She went on to state that, “given that there are over 82,000 companies registered at the Companies Office of Jamaica there could be a few hundred who will contemplate listing on either the Main or the Junior Market and we are eager to assist”.
Mr. Anthony Chang, Managing Director of Consolidated Bakeries (Ja.) Limited, informed the audience that “with the difficulty in the economy we are very pleased to have the capital market to be able to raise fund and we hope that more small and medium sized companies will look to the stock market to raise capital for their business”. He also spoke to future plans of the Group. Mr. Chang went on to state that, “we at Consolidated Bakeries knows where we are now, where we are going and we have the formula to get there. We will get there through handwork, dedication and commitment to our staff. We will pay special attention to our product formulations which we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future”.
Mr. Mark Croskery, Director of the JSE and President and CEO of Stocks and Securities – the lead broker –told the audience that, the Board and Management of the Stock Exchange should be pleased as there are now fifteen companies on the Junior Market almost half the number of that on the Main Market and based on the trend of the Junior Market we are expecting that quite a number of companies will be coming to market in 2013 and beyond.
Mr. Vincent Chang, Chairman of Consolidated Bakeries (Ja.) Limited, said that it was the founding members commitment to the company and their tireless work over the last 50 years which brought the Company to the stage where it could be listed on the Junior Market. He hailed their efforts in the past and spoke to the fact that the Company has been passed down to persons who will ensure that the legacy continues for the next 50 years and beyond.
