Productive Business Solutions Limited (PBS), today listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, 123,272,727 ordinary shares on the JSE’s US Dollar Equities Market and 25,800,000 preference shares on the JSE’s Main Market. This represents the largest transactions JSE has facilitated in 2017 and one of the largest listing of shares on the Exchange. PBS is the second company to list on the JSE US Dollar Equities Market in 2017, increasing the total companies listed in 2017 to six. The Company, on August 31, 2017, listed its shares to the public at a Listing Ceremony at the JSE Office at 40 Harbour Street, Kingston. PBS provided the second double listing on the JSE in 2017.
NCB Capital Markets Limited was the Lead Broker. The public offer of the Company’s shares saw PBS’ ordinary shares priced at US$0.55 per common share and JA$100.00 per preference share. The offer to partake in both securities opened on July 5, 2017. On July 11, 2017, the Offer for the ordinary shares closed and the Offer for the preference shares also closed successfully on July 26, 2017. There are now 147 and 385 shareholders of the company’s ordinary and preference shares respectively.
“We are pleased that the markets are being used for either a single issue or a combination to pursue the objectives of companies operating within Jamaica and elsewhere,” said JSE’s Managing Director, Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest at PBS’ Listing Ceremony. “We are also encouraged by the level of investor interest in these companies. There is obviously heightened confidence in our local companies and we have no doubt based on the level of subscription and over subscription that this trend will continue. With these listings, It also shows the maturity of the Market to structure complex transaction”.
In his presentation, Mr. Paul B. Scott noted that as an international company, PBS had the option to list on other stock exchanges, such as in Canada or the United Kingdom, but choose Jamaica. “We have a number of companies listed on the Stock Exchange already, therefore we feel very comfortable with the Stock Exchange.” Mr. Scott shared his confidence about the growth of the JSE, “One day I would like to see the Jamaica Stock Exchange name changed to the Caribbean & Central American Stock Exchange as I believe we have a very good product here. We believe that if the Stock Exchange is treated correctly, we will see tremendous liquidity in the system and this will help Jamaica to achieve its full potential. We are not going to grow as a country unless we see capital flow to good ideas. We have to find the brains, that is, the ideas.”
“We are proud to be a part of one of the largest transactions on the Stock Market and to have assisted NCB Capital Markets in this transaction. It shows that we can do great things and we can allow capital to flow to businesses to allow them to develop and grow. We stand ready as an organization to help businesses to be fully capitalized to maximize their full potential”, stated Miss Sarah Cummings, Associate Director of CIBC FCIB and Associate Arranger of PBS offer.
In his remarks, Mr. Herbert Hall, AVP Investments Banking, NCB Capital Markets Limited, stated, “They say history favours the winner and today PBS is the winner and in doing so created history by being the company with the largest transaction on the JSE in 2017. We at NCB Capital Markets are very proud to have being the lead broker in this transaction. PBS has long been a company that has provided business solutions across the Caribbean and a beacon in the businesses community. This transaction shows what working together can do and this is a call to all my colleagues across the region for us to work together through an integrated Stock Market, to provide capital for businesses and very soon I hope the Directors of the Exchange will move to do what PB Scott says, that is, to change the name of the JSE to the Caribbean and Central America Stock Exchange.”
