National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd. (NCBJ) copped its third consecutive Governor General’s Award for Excellence for the Main Market for 2015, while Honey Bun Jamaica Ltd. won the equivalent for the Junior Market for the second time, having done so in 2011. Grace Kennedy won the coveted JSE/PSOJ Best Practices Award for Corporate Governance for the first time and JMMB Securities Ltd. was crowned top Member Dealer for 2015.
Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest CD, General Manager of the Jamaica Stock Exchange in her welcome, recognized Custos Rotulorum for the parish of St. Andrew, The Hon. Dr. Patricia Dunwell, CD, and JP who was representing the Governor General. Mrs. Street Forrest went on to state that “We are one year shy of being a teenager and like pre-teens we have questioned and challenged ourselves on whether we are achieving our objectives. Also, similar to what we expect that our listed companies and member dealers are doing on a daily basis, we have examined whether we are giving of our best. Like the Exchange itself we are convinced that the Best Practices Awards assist in promoting transparency and best practices by listed companies and member dealers; which are two critical pillars of capital market infrastructure. We continue to have these awards because Best Practices are ever evolving and these awards we believe keep us focused on an important objective, that of giving of our best in these critical areas of business which have been adjudged and for which we eagerly anticipate the results this evening.”
Before closing she highlighted a commitment made at last year’s Awards noted that “In an attempt at continuing our efforts to achieve the best practices, last year we informed you that we would launch the Corporate Governance Index towards the end of the first quarter of 2016; we delivered a soft launch sensitizing our listed companies on the components of the index and the measurement criteria. We are happy to report that we have had positive feedback and constructive comments from our listed companies.”
Professor Neville Ying, the Chairman of the Best Practices Awards, recalled that, “When we started out we saw financial companies doing very well and winning the major prizes. However, the other companies did not sit back on their laurels and allow the financial companies to continue to dominate. Now, we are seeing companies from all sectors of the economy competing aggressively for the different categories of awards. In a few moments you will see for yourselves as the presentation of awards unfolds, where forty-one (41) Awards will be presented to different companies” He went on to state that, “We are pleased to inform the audience tonight that the winners are not separated in most instances by many points and those that did not win a prize tonight, should be heartened by the fact that if you continue to improve, it will be just a matter of time before you will be in the winners’ enclosure. Therefore, we implore companies to continue to innovate and improve your products and services and above all customer satisfaction. This will not only allow you to win a Best Practices Award, but will ensure the longevity of your company as well as its ability to be internationally competitive in the global marketplace.”
Mrs. Therese Turner Jones, General Manager, Country Department Caribbean Group IDB was the guest speaker for the night. In her presentation, she focused on Alternative Funding, specifically Crowd Funding. She cited changes in regulations in Latin America and the UK to facilitate Crowd Funding and encouraged companies that are planning and preparing to go public to seek alternate funding in their preparation. She noted that there are companies in Jamaica that have the expertise to assist and guide them through the process.
Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Francois St. Juste along with Dr. Indiana Minto Coy, Senior Research Fellow, Mona School of Business and Management and member of the Best Practices Awards Committee announced the winners for all Awards.
MEMBER DEALERS AWARDS
In the category of Revenue Generation & Market Activity, the JSE recognizes Member Dealers that during the year, traded the most value on the Exchange and participated in the JSE’s Programmes:
Sagicor Investments Ltd was the winner in this category with Proven Wealth Ltd. and Mayberry Investments Ltd. taking 1st and 2nd Runner up places respectively.
The next category to be announced was that of Investor Relations. This award recognizes the Member Dealer that: “consistently exceeds customers’ expectation by providing excellent customer service.” Barita Investments Ltd. was declared the winner while Sagicor Investments Ltd and JMMB Securities Ltd. were declared 2nd and 1st Runner up respectively.
JSE Member-Dealers Award for Best Website was next. This award is given to encourage member dealers to raise the quality and efficiency of the dissemination of information to the investing public via the website. The winner in this category was Barita Investments Ltd., with a JMMB Securities Ltd. the 2nd Runner and Sagicor Investments the 1st Runner up.
The next category to be announced was the “Expansion of Investors & Listed Companies Base”. This award recognizes the Member Dealer that has “increased the number of clients in the JCSD and has listed the most companies within 2015”. The winner in this category was JMMB Ltd, the 2nd runner up in this category was Proven Wealth Ltd. and Mayberry Investments the 1st runner up.
The Chairman’s Awards for the Overall Winner in the Member Dealers Category went to JMMB Securities Ltd.
LISTED COMPANIES AWARDS
It was now time for the Best Practices Awards 2015 for Listed Companies to be announced.
The first award in this category was the presentation of the Best Practices – Annual Report Award for Junior & Main Markets Listed Companies. This award is given to encourage publicly listed companies to produce clearer, more reader-friendly annual reports and to provide greater insight into the companies’ financial affairs, governance practices and business activities.
Junior Market: In this category the winner was Caribbean Producers Jamaica Ltd., with Honey Bun Ltd. the 1st Runner up.
Main Market: National Commercial Bank Ja. Ltd., was the winner while the 1st and 2nd Runner up positions went to JMMB Securities Ltd. and Scotia Group Jamaica respectively.
Best Performing Company Award seeks to identify and recognize outstanding performance by listed companies in enhancing shareholder value in the areas of capital efficiency, profitability and direct return on shareholdings. Winners in the Junior and Main Market categories were:
- Junior Market– Cargo Handlers emerged the winner while 1st and 2nd Runners up were Paramount Trading Ja. Ltd., and Lasco Financial Services Ltd., respectively.
- Main Market – The winner was Carreras Ltd. for the fourth consecutive year while the 1st and 2nd Runner up positions went to Pan-Jamaica Investments, D&G respectively.
Corporate Disclosure & Investor Relations award serves to recognize companies that maintain good investor relations with the wider investing public and make timely and accurate reports and announcements to the JSE. The winners were:
- Junior Market – Honey Bun Ltd. won for the third consecutive year.
- Main Market – the Winner was National Commercial Bank Jamaica, the 1st and tied 2nd Runner up positions went to GraceKennedy Ltd., and Scotia Group and Scotia Investments, respectively.
The Best Practices Website Award seeks to encourage listed companies to raise the quality and efficiency of the dissemination of information to the investing public via their websites.
- Junior Market: This award went to Caribbean Producers Jamaica Ltd. for the second consecutive year with the 1st and 2nd Runner up positions going to Access Financial Services Ltd. and Honey Bun Ltd. respectively.
- Main Market – Scotia Group was the winner. 1st place Runner up position went to National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd., while 2nd runner up went to Sagicor Group.
The penultimate award was the PSOJ/JSE Corporate Governance Award which seeks to recognize companies that demonstrate and practice outstanding corporate governance.
- Junior Market: Honey Bun Ltd. received a special certificate of recognition
- GraceKennedy was declared the winner and Scotia Group Jamaica Ltd., and Scotia Group were joint 1st Runner up. The 2nd Runner up position went to Scotia Investments Ja. Ltd.
The Governor General’s Award for Excellence for the Overall Best Practices Award went to Honey Bun Limited for the Junior Market and to National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd., for the Main Market category.
