Eppley Caribbean Property Fund Limited SCC (CPFV) is the 4th new company to list its shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Main Market in 2019, increasing the total listed companies on that market to 44. Including the CPFV, the total number of securities listed on the Main Market amount to 57. The total number of companies listed on the JSE has increased to 84 and the total number of securities listed to 119.
Mrs. Suzette Whyte, Chief Financial Controller of the JSE, at the listing ceremony stated “As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, the JSE has had tremendous achievements, chief among which is to be named the No. 1 Stock Exchange in the World by Bloomberg for 2015 and 2018. I wish to point out however, that these achievements would not have been possible without the confidence that you our investors have placed in the stocks listed on the markets, which has resulted in listings such as what we are having this morning. This shows that Jamaican companies are on the move, especially those that are listed on the Stock Exchange. Therefore, let me take this opportunity to invite those companies that are not yet listed on the market to do so and if you are listed, please use this vehicle to raise more funds to continue your expansion.”
Chairman of Eppley Caribbean Property Fund Limited Mr. Nicholas Scott stated, “Being a listed company on the JSE has allowed us to fund the expansion of our business … Since our IPO, we have grown our asset base and profits ten-fold. We have compounded investors’ capital at an average rate of over 35%. If you would have invested $100 in our IPO, we would have had returned your original investments in dividends alone and your share would now be worth over $700. We capped this performance off by graduating to the Main Market of the JSE last year, the first Junior Market company to do so. With this strong association with the JSE, it is no surprise that when we took control of Eppley Caribbean Property Fund in Barbados in 2018, a central part of our strategy was to cross-list the fund on the Jamaica Stock Exchange – the most liquid and deepest capital market in the region.”
Mr. Herbert Hall, Vice President Investment Banking at NCB Capital Markets Limited told the audience that NCB was quite excited about this particular listing, especially the fact that investors were able to use their newly developed platform, GoIPO Portal, to invest in Eppley Carribbean Property Limited’s share offer. He made the call for all brokerages to collaborate with NCB to use this electronic platform for all IPOs as this is the future of investment.
