Today, Transjamaican Highway Limited (TJH) lists its shares on both the Main and USD markets of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). The Company raised JA$14.1 billion, the largest amount raised from an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the JSE. The prospectus of Transjamaican Highway Limited was published on February 4, 2020, with an Offer open date of February 17, 2020. The Offer opened on February 17, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. and closed on March 2, 2020, oversubscribed by 130%. A total of 36,062 applications, totalling JA$25.12 billion were received.
Transjamaican Highway Limited was successful in its application to list its ordinary shares on the JSE’s Main Market and cross-list on USD Equities Market at the invitation price of JA$1.41 and US$0.01 per share, effective March 24, 2020. The Company will trade under the name TJH on both markets. TJH is the first road network company, which represents an integral part of Jamaica’s infrastructure, to list on the JSE. The Company now has a total of 31,624 shareholders.
Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of the JSE, commenting on TJH’s listing stated, “The listing of Transjamaican Highway Limited is an important listing, as the Government has been true to its word about utilizing the market to divest Government’s assets, thereby, ensuring not only the transparency of the process but the deep commitment to democratizing equity investments, allowing ordinary Jamaicans to own a piece of Jamaican asset. This listing has come at the cusp of world events, particularly COVID-19, which has triggered economies large and small to react by selling at reduced prices securities listed on many stock exchanges. We have been affected, especially because many relatively new investors to the market are extremely cautious. We ask you to be calm as investing in stocks is a long-term activity and prices do rebound. Transjamaican Highway Ltd and the highway were here before COVID-19 and will be here after the virus goes. Commerce will resume.
“Between the period of one week before the Offer opened and the close of the Offer, just over 12,000 new accounts were opened, and we can safely say this was in keeping with the Transjamaican offer. This was an increase over the 11,772 new accounts that registered for the Wigton Windfarm transaction. The gender mix was also quite interesting, as following the pattern with the Wigton’s transaction, more females applied for shares within this IPO, that is, 55%:45% female to male ratio”, Mrs Street Forrest disclosed.
“Two years ago we went to PWC with an idea, how do we do a deal with the Shareholders of TJH to allow TJH to be owned by the people of Jamaica and listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Today this dream became a reality with TJH being listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Over 36,000 persons applied to participate in the largest ever IPO in Jamaica’s history. The result of 2 years of tough, complex negotiations, and focussed work has meant that one of the most significant and recognizable infrastructure assets in Jamaica is owned by Jamaicans,” stated Mr Ivan Anderson, Managing Director of the National Road Operating & Construction Company.
Commenting on TJH’s listing, Mr. Herbert Hall, Vice President, Investment Banking at NCB Capital Markets Limited said, “We are extremely happy to have lead this landmark transaction which has resulted in the company raising over $14 billion in our local market. In the past, this was unheard off and it demonstrates that our local market is indeed developing and our investment public is craving solid investment opportunities. We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders so that more companies use the markets to finance their businesses and grow the Jamaican economy. We are also pleased to see technology at work, as our GoIPO platform was once again used successfully in the process, to allow persons from across the world to partake in this IPO. We wish Transjamaican Highway all the best in their journey as a listed company. We at NCB Capital Markets Limited thank the Government for their confidence in us and look forward to working with them on future listings. We would also like to thank our co-broker JMMB, our attorneys PMH, NROCC and their advisor PWC, as well as, the thousands of investors who participated in this IPO.”
