General Accident Listed on the Junior Market
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September 30, 2011

General Accident Listed on the Junior Market

The Jamaica Stock Exchange’s General Manager, Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, put the listing of General Accident into perspective. According to Mrs. Street Forrest, “General Accident has raised $416.6 million which is the second largest amount to be raised on the Junior Market to date. While this is a great accomplishment and it demonstrates the level of confidence investors are having in the companies that are coming to market; we want to encourage more companies to come. General Accident’s Offer was over-whelmingly oversubscribed and closed minutes after the offer was opened. Investors are saying we are willing to invest in Jamaican companies that have potential. The level of interest in the market is also demonstrated by the fact that all 12 companies have been oversubscribed by a combined total of $5.2 Billion”.

She went on to tell the audience that “The market has also made many investors happy as investors who would have bought shares in the 11 previously listed companies would have seen returns of over 400%. We anticipated then, as we anticipate now that small and medium sized companies will see the tremendous benefits that can be derived from listing on this Market. The raising of relatively inexpensive capital to retire expensive debt, the ten year tax holiday aimed at assisting companies during their growth phase and the improvement in corporate governance that usually accompanies listing on the Exchange, are just a few real reasons for companies to come to the Junior Market.

Mr. Paul Scott, Chairman of General Accident, after thanking all who participated in the process to make the listing possible, went on to thank his staff members for participating in the IPO. He stated that the level of staff participation shows the confidence and the commitment they have to the Company. Mr. Scott said he was happy to be on the Junior Market and was anticipating that more companies would be coming on the market as the Stock Exchange has provided such an excellent avenue to raise inexpensive capital for business financing.

Mr. Gary Peart, CEO of Mayberry Investments Limited, commended the regulators for working with Mayberry and General Accident to have the listing done in such a short time. He also stated that the level of service that they had gotten from the Companies Office of Jamaica, the Financial Services Commission and the Jamaica Stock Exchange was excellent and he expects that this will continue as it made the listing process much shorter and more cost effective.