Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest; General Manager of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (R) and her Husband, Mr. Franklin Forrest (L), met the Custos of St. Andrew, the Hon. Marigold Harding at the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s Gala banquet held on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel; Looking on is Professor Neville Ying Chairman of the Best Practices Committee.
(KINGSTON, DECEMBER 8, 2010): It was a picture perfect night, with excellent climatic conditions outside and a ballroom full of beautiful people inside. A night when Jamaica’s best attended the Jamaica Pegasus, either to be awarded the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s prizes for being the best in their field, or to cheer on their colleagues and friends. The atmosphere was ideal and the anticipation was palpable, as a record number of persons turned up to participate in the JSE’s 2009 Best Practice Awards. The Guest Speaker of the night was Dr. Henry Lowe, Founder and Chairman of the Biotechnical Institute, while Custos of St. Andrew, the Honourable Marigold Harding, brought greetings on behalf of the Governor General, His Excellency Sir Patrick Allen, under whose patronage the awards are held annually.
Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, General Manager of the Exchange, kicked off the evening by welcoming everyone to the event. She noted that the Exchange was, “… pleased with the continued interest that these Awards stimulate and each year we look forward to celebrating with you the achievements of the companies represented here tonight at this premier event.” She also noted pointedly that not only are the listed companies and stockbrokers interested in these Awards, but so are the investors.
JSE Chairman Mr. Curtis Martin took the opportunity to announce the launch date for the long-awaited Caribbean Stock Exchange Network (CXN). He stated that the CXN, “…will be launched on January 14, 2010. This will provide investors with access to the over 100 stocks that are traded in Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica seamlessly through participating brokers. It will mean the establishment of a truly regional index and may be considered an important if not first true step to the establishment of a truly regional market space”.
Guest Speaker, Dr. Henry Lowe, told the attentive audience that, “[I must] make it absolutely clear that everything we do in business, as in science & technology; must ensure that effective quality and standards are established, maintained and rigorously policed. This is why I support and endorse the work of regulatory organizations such as the Financial Services Commission, as well as the efforts of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, to ensure, that Jamaican listed companies comply with established standards and reporting guidelines, as well as best practice corporate governance policies. These will enable them to provide transparent and timely information to the investment public and the Jamaican populace on a whole. To be sure, accountability and good governance are essential to the long-term sustainability of any enterprise”.
It was then left to the Chairman of the Best Practices Committee Professor Neville Ying, to speak to the 2009 competition and announce the winners. In his address he stated that, “There are four ties for the 2009 awards, for different categories. This is a record and it shows that companies are very serious about ensuring that their companies meet and exceed international standards and can compete in the international arena. Therefore, every year they refine their product, services and organization to ensure that they keep up with international standards. Therefore it is getting more difficult to separate the companies. This is reflected in the scores obtained, as most times companies are separated by very small margins”. He then went on to announce the winners for each category.
The Best Practices Annual Report Award Committee chaired by Mr. Alvaro Casserly, encourages public listed companies to produce comprehensive, more reader-friendly annual reports and to provide greater insight into companies’ financial affairs, governance practices and business activities. In the area of Best Annual Report, third place went to JMMB, the runners up were PanCaribean Financial Services Limited and the company to walk away with the winning award in this category was National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.
The JSE Best Practice Corporate Disclosure and Investor Relations Award serves to recognize companies that make timely and accurate reports and announcements to the JSE. This award also, encourages them to maintain good investor relations with the wider investing public. This Committee was chaired by Mr. Christopher Bovell. The 1st runners up were Scotia Group Jamaica and Sagicor Life Jamaica while the joint winners were National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited and PanCaribbean Financial Services Limited.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange Best Performing Company Award seeks to identify and recognize outstanding performance by listed companies that enhances shareholder value in the areas of return on capital, improved profitability and direct return on shareholdings. The Chairman of this Committee was Dr. Noel Reynolds. In third place was Salada Group Limited, the runner up was Carreras Ltd and the winner was First Jamaica Investments.
The Best Practices Investor Relations (Stockbrokerage) Award, with its committee chaired by Dr. Brian Langrin, recognizes excellence in the services provided by stockbrokerages to investors. The 1st runner up was Mayberry Investments Limited while the joint winners were Barita Investments Limited and PanCaribbean Financial Services Limited.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange Best Practices Website Award is divided into two categories: one being for Brokerages and the other for Listed Companies. This category was designed to encourage listed companies and stockbrokerages to raise the quality and efficiency of the dissemination of information to the investing public via their websites. The Chairman of this committee was Mr. Errol Anderson. The following companies won awards in the Listed Companies category: 1st runners up were Guardian Holdings Limited and Capital & Credit Group and the winner was Trinidad Cement Limited.
In the Brokerages category, third place was awarded to Scotia DB&G Limited, with First Global Investments Limited being adjudicated runner up and the winner, NCB Capital Markets Limited.
The final category prize was the PSOJ/JSE Corporate Governance Award, which recognizes companies that demonstrates and practice outstanding corporate governance. In third place was the Scotia Group Jamaica Limited, the runner up was Sagicor Life of Jamaica Limited and the winner National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.
The evening climaxed with the presentation of the prestigious Governor General’s Award for overall excellence by the Hon. Custos Marigold Harding. This was presented to National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.
A grand time was had by all, with the winners being congratulated and others being encouraged to greater effort in the coming years.
