Businessuite markets june 2016

1 Businessuite Markets March 2016


ContentBUSINESSUITE EVENTS CALENDAR

EDITORIALWhat Will Zik V Cost Us In Productivity

COMMENTARYHolding Marketers Accountable

COVER FEATURE An Invitation to Co-Invest With Michael Lee Chin and Portland JSX

TECHNOLOGYJPS Partners With CONEC Mobile Wallet For Mobile Money

COMPANY REPORTSBig Plans Ahead For Lasco Trio For 2016 Financial Year

STOCK MARKET FOCUSGetting Your Business Stock Exchange Ready (Part 2)

TOURISM AND TRADE RELATIONSJamaica and Ethiopia Look to Improve Trade Relations with Introduction of Long Haul Flights between Both Countries

REGIONALBarbados Based Sagicor Financial Shareholders To Vote On Bermuda Move This Week

Trinidad and Tobago’s Communications Minister Wants Region to Make Better Attempt to Address Cyber Security and Information Security

3

4

5

6

7

9

10

10

11

Content DirectorKayla [email protected] Businessuite News Centre BNC

Publisher and Editor in ChiefAldo [email protected]

Subscription and [email protected]

Advertising [email protected]

Graphic Design and Layout Bonito [email protected]

Photo credits Sourced from the internet and contributed

Social MediaCLICK Digital Agency

Businessuite MarketsBusinessuite Markets provides both the inexperienced and seasoned investor with a central point for information and intelligence on where, what and how to find the best investment opportunities and ways to invest to achieve their financial goals. It’s current and forward looking, informative and incisive. A must read especially for inexperienced investors.

Businessuite Online, Businessuite Digital, Businessuite Magazine, Businessuite Today, Businessuite Minute and Businessuite News Channel are owned and operated by Blackslate Media Group.Info: 876-631-4505 (o) or 876-280-9192 (m) 876-458-3253 (Mobile)

PUBLISHERSBusinessuite News Centre BNC A division of the Blackslate Media Group“Silicon Mountain” Mandeville JamaicaFor all information 876-630-2216 (Kingston Office)876- 342-9332 (Mobile)876-630-2216 (Mandeville Office)876-542-3719 (Mobile)[email protected]@blackslateholdings.comOR email [email protected]

Corporate InformationBlackslate Media Group Ltd, “Silicon Mountain” Mandeville Jamaica876-631-5418 (Kingston Office)876-458-3253 (Mobile)876-631-4505 (Mandeville Office)876-280-9192 (Mobile)To learn more about Blackslate go [email protected]

ISBN NumberISSN 0799-4427

CREDITS


June 7 Realtors Association of Jamaica - 50th Anniversary SymposiumVenue: Knutsford Court Hotel

June 13 Sagicor Real Estate X Fund Limited (XFund) – Annual General Meeting Venue: Offices of McNamara Corporate Services Inc.,, Gros Islet Saint Lucia

June 14 Jamaica Teas AGMMake Your Mark Consultants Workshop - Interviewing TechniquesVenue: Alhambra Inn

The Jamaica institute of Financial Services (JIFS) Credit Assessment TechniqueVenue: The Jamaica Institute of Financial Services VM Building, 53 Knutsford Boulevard

June 15 K.L.E. Group Limited (KLE) – Annual General Meeting Venue: Marketplace, Kingston 10

June 22 Accelerate Caribbean in Jamaica: Next Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development WorkshopVenue: : Spanish Court Hotel - 1 Saint Lucia Avenue Kingston

Montego Bay Ice Company Limited (MBICE) – Annual General MeetingVenue: Montego Bay Ice Company Limited – Company Office, Montego Bay

June 22-23 Creating Winning Social Media StrategiesVenue: CARIMAC UWI Mona

June 23 Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL) – Annual General Meeting Venue: The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Kingston 5

Jamaica Stock Exchange Limited (JSE) – Annual General Meeting Venue: Jamaica Stock

June 24 Annual General Meeting - Jamaica Producers GroupVenue: The Knutsford Court Hotel 16 Chelsea Avenue Kingston 5

June 27 General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited (GENAC) – Erratum to Annual General MeetingVenue: General Accident Insurance Company Limited Office, Kingston 10

Dolphin Cove Limited – (DCOVE) – Annual General MeetingVenue: The Courtleigh Hotel and Suites, Kingston 5

June 29 General Meeting - Advertising Agencies Association of JamaicaVenue: PSOJ 39 Hope Road

Businessuite Events CalendarJune 2016


According to the World Bank, the Zika Virus will cost the world approximately US$3.5 billion in 2016 and specifically, it will cost the Jamaican

population $112 million

EDITORIAL

What Will Zik V Cost Us In Productivity

For the past several months, the thought of the Zika Virus and speculation regarding how and when it would affect Jamaica have been rampant in both the traditional media and social media.

This was even further heightened by the first confirmed case in the island and once again earlier this week when Minister of Health, Dr Christopher Tufton, held a press conference updating the nation on the current level of preparedness against the virus. At that press briefing, he indicated that there were currently 15 confirmed cases of the virus across the island. He also said that his ministry believes there are more cases of the Zika virus that haven’t been confirmed.

Meanwhile, head of the Association of General Practitioners told the Gleaner in an article posted on Thursday June 2, 2016 that the 15 cases of Zika that Tufton has confirmed do not give a “true representation” of how the Zika epidemic is unravelling. He says medical practitioners are seeing an upsurge in the number of cases, and a number of doctors are seeing large numbers of cases every day. “Personally, I’m seeing like about seven cases each day, and this has been going on for the past couple of weeks,” he said.

The chikungunya like movement the Zika Virus is taking in its early stages has therefore left me with several questions, the first of which is ‘how much will the Zika Virus affect Jamaica’s economy and productivity’?

By Kayla Wright

According to the World Bank, the Zika Virus will cost the world approximately US$3.5 billion in 2016 and specifically, it will cost the Jamaican population $112 million (In January, the Jamaican government budgeted over half-a-billion dollars to combat the Zika Virus). In general, these figures identified by the World Bank, are generated by adding together estimates of four categories of spending: direct outlays, lost productivity, loss from death and the impact of avoidance.

Additionally, the World Bank indicated that the virus will result in time, labor and productivity losses due to time off from work based on 1 week absence for one in 5 of the 4 million projected by PAHO to be infected in the course of 2016.

Secondly, how much different will the impact of Zika be than that of Chik V on worker productivity?

In October of 2014, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) estimated that about 13 million man hours were lost to the chikungunya epidemic, potentially resulting in economic losses of more than $6 billion as workers stay off the job while recovering. PSOJ Chief Executive Officer Dennis Chung had said that feedback provided to the trade group indicates that some business places were seeing up to 60 per cent of staff affected. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association showed infected workers absent from work for an average of four days at 81 companies, representing 35,072 of lost man hours.

What then will be the cost on productivity levels of Zik V? Is the Jamaican society and economy ready for that impact?

$ $$


Ask most CEOs in Jamaica, “if you had $5 million dollars to spend, would you add another sales person or would you put the money into marketing”. I am confident that most would do the former. This is true for whether a startup or growth stage business. CEOs tend to place greater confidence and attach more importance to sales than they do for marketing. The question is why, in an era when businesses proudly claim to be marketing oriented rather than the old fashioned sales orientation?

The tendency by CEOs to favour sales to marketing is pretty straightforward. This lies in the fact that sales, as an organizational function is accountable. Quotas and revenue goals set expectations, and based on sales performance, one knows where the business stands. To these CEOs a marketing stigma still exist, that suggests that marketers are creatives, writers, event planners and publicists. In other words, marketers are right-brained folks with little to no contribution to real business outcomes.

Today’s CEOs and CFOs operate under the impression that marketers refuse to use both sides of their brain. They seek to hold marketers accountable for every hour used and every dollar spent. CEOs and CFOs want marketers to demonstrate how the expended resources contribute to the goals of the business. Additionally, CEOs and CFOs would be happy with marketers who set out to achieve agreed goals and who are able to identify when objectives are not being met and are able to take corrective actions.

In the main, that is not the experience of a typical local CEO and CFO. They have come accustomed to hearing their marketing leaders saying in response to declining sales; let us take to the streets, let us give some things away, let us put on an event, in essence let us make some noise. The success or failure of these initiatives is assessed purely on the evidence of participation at the events. Very little attempt is made to link and assess their impact on the targeted goals. As a consequence, CEOs and CFOs are becoming increasingly frustrated with the general absence of analysis by local marketers and demanding that marketing leaders be subjected to a higher degree of accountability.

Marketing as a function is now coming under increased pressure to develop and implement business-oriented methods and measures to improve not just marketing, but also overall effectiveness of the business. Many companies are correctly coming to the view that their marketing operations need regular reviews and overhauls, but do not know how to proceed. Some of these companies simply make many small changes that are economically and politically feasible, but fail to get to the heart of the matter. Other companies develop annual marketing plans, but management normally does not take a deep and objective look at the marketing strategies, policies, organizations and operations on a regular basis.

Marketing accountability demands that marketers be able to effectively measure and report on the performance of their marketing department. It is also essential to assist the CEO and Board in decision-making and thus provide direction in shaping future strategy. It can no longer be acceptable for marketers acting in a knee jerk response, go off on a frolic to devise and execute exciting events that most times bear no relation to set goal. This approach will require discipline on the part of marketers, working to a plan and regularly reviewing to ensure that performance is in line with projections.

This article first appeared in Businessuite Magazine issue 8 published in October of last year.

COMMENTARYHoldingMarketersAccountableBy Ronald Sutherland


Cover FEATURE

For many, the thought of knowing what the richest man in your country is investing in is exciting. It’s even more exciting to be given the opportunity to join him in his ventures.

With the decision to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market, Portland JSX Limited (PJX), is set to provide Jamaican investors with access to new investments targeted by Michael Lee-Chin in the Caribbean and Latin America.

IPO Launch

PJX will launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO), on Thursday, June 8. It will run until June 22 with a total of 111,818,182 ordinary shares being offered at $ 11.00 each. The company intends to raise $1.23 billion from the IPO which, if successful, will see the company listing on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Proceeds from the IPO will be invested in Portland Caribbean Fund II. This is a private equity fund, which holds a portfolio of equity and/or debt securities of companies located in Latin America and the Caribbean. To date, PCF II, which started in July 2014, has raised US$136 million to date with a target of US$200-250 million.

Global private equity investors in PCF II include International Finance Corporation (IFC), European Investment Bank (EIB), German Development Bank (DEG), Export Development Canada (EDC), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC).

A Chance to Co-Invest

For Robert Almeida, a Managing Partner and Member of the Investment Committee, this offer is one that potential investors should pass up

lightly. Speaking with Businessuite Magazine following a recent Investor Briefing on the PJX, put on by brokers, Victoria Mutual Wealth Management, he indicated that Portland was built on the premise of ‘wealth creation for all’. He says the opportunity will not only offer potential investors the opportunity to have insight into Michael Lee Chin’s investment portfolio but will also provide them with an opportunity to join him in his investments.

However, he says it must be noted that the PCF II is a long term investment with irregular dividend payments. He says while this may prove as a deterrent to investors who are interested in immediate returns, this ensures that when returns are seen, it is to the maximum advantage of both individual investors and PJX itself.

However, the management partner says, should still not find this investment as a profitable one and not support the

the thing is, it’s not just about creating an opportunity for just institutional partners to participate, but for the broader public to participate.

An Invitation to Co-Invest With Michael Lee Chin and Portland JSX


IPO in search of the full $1.23 billion, the company will consider other avenues for listing on the JSE as it already meets all the requirements. In October 2015, Portland JSX did a successful private placement, raising $1.7 billion from several local and regional institutional investors.

“As a company, we already have the capital….because we already raised the money in our private placement, at worse we’ll be a $1.7 to $2 billion capital company. So even if we do not raise the additional $1.2 billion, it’s still a decent amount of capital and we can still list. We’ve got enough capital, we don’t need the extra”, he told Businessuite Magazine, “the thing is, it’s not just about creating an opportunity for just institutional partners to participate, but for the broader public to participate”.

It is expected that the company, which intends to list approximately one month after its IPO, will do so by Introduction. This is a similar move taken by Sterling Investments in October of 2014 when it listed by introduction its 4,014,547 ordinary shares on the market at a price of $134 under the symbol SIL.

TECHNOLOGY

JPS Partners With CONEC Mobile Wallet To Offer Mobile Money

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) and Conec Mobile Wallet have signed a partnership agreement aimed at allowing customers to pay their bills from their phone or other device, without a bank account or credit card.

The partnership gives JPS customers the opportunity to make bill payments at any time, from anywhere, using their mobile phones, tablets or computers.

Speaking at the launch, JPS CFO, Dan Theoc said the partnership gives JPS the opportunity to utilise technology to fulfill customers’ needs. He said this “partnership with CONEC gives JPS customers access to an innovative solution that is quick, easy and secure. With CONEC, JPS customers will be able to make bill payments at any time, from anywhere, using their mobile phones, tablets or computers. Customers will no longer have to be concerned about travelling to a bill payment location, standing in line or walking around with cash”.

He says the decision was made to enter

Kelly Tomblin, President and CEO, JPS, (left) and Heston Hutton, CEO, Conec Mobile, (2nd right) sign the partnership agreement for Mobile Money

An introduction is suitable in the case of a company that does not need to raise capital and satisfies the JSE requirement in terms of the public spread of shareholding, capital size, etc. It is the quickest and cheapest means of listing, as there is no offer to the public and minimum formalities are required.

PJX Profitability

Almeida says so far, PCF II has made investments in three companies with several deals in the pipeline across multiple sectors. The Fund has investments in Panama Wind, a wind energy project in Panama; CFFI Ventures (Barbados) Inc (“CVBI”), an opportunity which resulted from the Cable & Wireless and Columbus Communications merger; and Clarien Group Limited (“CGL”) – the parent company of Clarien Bank Ltd (“CBL”) – a leading bank in Bermuda. He says there are also plans to invest in several other entities, in various sectors across the Caribbean as the company continues to diversify its portfolio through profitable investments.

PCF II, which started in July 2014, has raised US$136 million to date with a target of US$200-250 million.

“Unlike peers in other markets which have optimized their portfolio risk and returns by diversifying their portfolios globally and making substantial use of private equity investments, most Jamaican institutions have been prevented from this investment best practice by regulatory or other constraints,” said the prospectus adding that the listing of PJX forms a way to unlock that potential.

VM Wealth said PCF II will be managed by the same team that administered the successful first fund, AIC Caribbean Fund (“ACF” or “Fund I”), which invested US$162 million and has returned US$374 million to date.

The management team at PCF II consists of seasoned and experienced investors Robert Almeida, Joe Vescio and Doug Hewson.

this agreement as JPS is “aware that our customers are constantly seeking more convenient and secure methods to make their payments to us”. Theoc says as JPS continues efforts to re-imagine solutions, this partnership gives the company the opportunity to utilise technology to fulfill customers’ needs. Meanwhile, according to CEO of CONEC, Heston Hutton, “this partnership is particularly important to us, as JPS joins other utility providers on the CONEC® platform”. He says with this move, all Jamaicans can pay their electricity bills at their own convenience using the fully functional CONEC® Mobile Wallet. He says this move shows that there are “very exciting times for Jamaica and we are pleased JPS is working with us to make financial inclusion a reality for all.”



COMPANY REPORTSBig Plans Ahead For Lasco Trio For 2016 Financial Year

Big plans are in place for Lascelles Chin’s trio of companies for the 2016 Financial Year.

Addressing shareholders at the Mayberry Investor Briefing last earlier this year, the Chairman of the Lasco group of companies, including Lasco Distributors, Lasco Manufacturing and Lasco Financial Services indicated that there are major plans in the works for the company for 2016. He says among those plans are the expansion of the Financial services division’s list of offerings, introduction of new products to the market and the expansion of the distribution warehouse.

New Additions to the Market

Several new products, including four additional flavors of ‘Ice Dream’, are on stream to be introduced the market during this financial year. According to Lasco Manufacturing’s Managing Director, Robert Parkins, these are expected to come on line once the plant’s increased production capacity is achieved.

He says so far production capacity at the liquid plant is at its peak after the 2014/ 2015 US$5 million investment was made to improve equipment. Parkins says during the 2015/2016 financial year an additional investment of US$4.5 million was spent on new equipment that is expected to double production capacity. “Several new products are scheduled to come on stream in this financial year once the increased production capacity is achieved.” he said.

For the Financial year under review, net profit generated was $826 million, a 35%

increase over the previous year. Parkins says overall gross profit margins were $2.38 million. He says this improvement was impacted by the provision of $133.7 million for deferred tax as the company has started to accrue for its tax liability.

However, Parkins says the company continues to perform remarkably well considering the “significant increase in expenses due to staff costs, equipment maintenance and interest charges from the expansion. He says it is the expectation that within the next year or two, both the liquid and powder operations will record exciting profits”. Overall, he says he is optimistic about the future of the Lasco Manufacturing plant and the anticipated growth in profit from the modifications underway.

Strengthening Operations, Pushing Sales

Lasco Distributor’s Peter Chin says the focus for this year will be on strengthening operational capabilities, service delivery and continuing to aggressively push to increase volumes.

In his audited financial report to shareholders for the year ended March 31, Chin indicated that key to the improvement of operational capabilities and service delivery will be the warehouse expansion project targeted to be completed in the new financial year. He says the completion of this project is expected to further bolster Lasco’s logistics handling capabilities. The Managing Director says there will also be improvements in internal processes, operational efficiencies and upgrading of the company’s technology platform.

For the year ended March 31, the company reported a net profit of $716.8M which represents an increase of 31% or $170.0M over the previous year. Revenues increased to $14.5B, a growth of 31.0% or $3.4B over prior year. Gross profit margin also saw a 33% increase to come in at $2.7B increased. Chin says this was propelled by Lasco Distributor’s “strategic drive to increase market share in key product categories”.

He says following the April 1 appointment of the company as Lasco Manufacturing’s exclusive distributor for all export markets, he is “excited at the tremendous opportunities for growth in the export business, and have begun expansion initiatives to grow the LASCO brand in current territories as well as expand into newer ones”.

In Pursuit Of Expansion

Meanwhile, the focus for Lasco Financial Services will be on pursuing expansionary activities as a strategy to achieving growth.

Managing Director Jacinth Hall Tracey says while new investments impacted expenses and cash flow, the company was able to record a 15.7% increase in profit before taxation for the Financial Year ended March 31, moving from $191M in 2015 to $220.9M for the period under review.“During the financial year, we made significant investments to diversify our business lines. We added a cambio location in Port Antonio; in September our first business loans branch was launched and we closed the year with four (4) locations. We also launched our Telecoms Division with the distribution deal for Smart Phones and wearable devices. This investment impacted our expenses mainly due to a 77% increase (30) in staff complement to roll out the new locations and an aggressive marketing support to launch the telecoms business”, she said. The Managing Director continued, “We faced several challenges throughout the year especially in the Cambio and Remittance Industry; debanking was an ever present risk, one which we expect to continue into the immediate future.”

Tracey-Hall says as the company looks to the year ahead, plans are in place to “pursue our expansionary activities in our existing as well as new business lines as part of our strategy for growth”.


STOCK MARKET FOCUS

TOURISM AND TRADE RELATIONS

Getting Your Business Stock Exchange Ready (Part 2)

Jamaica and Ethiopia Look to Improve Trade Relations with Introduction of Long Haul Flights between Both Countries

One of the major requirements to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) is that upon listing, the subscribed voting share capital must be no less than $50M or more than $500M and it should have at least 25 participating voting shareholders holding no less than 20% of its issued share capital.

To even remotely be able to reach this number however, one of the first things a company must be able to do is increase its profits. Using

The Governments of Jamaica and Ethiopia have made arrangements to improve the travel and trade relations of both companies.

During his visit to the country last week, Ethiopian Ambassador to Jamaica, North America and Mexico, His Excellency Girma Birru met with Minister of Transport and Mining, Mike Henry to organize the facilitation of long haul flights between Jamaica and Ethiopia, through Ethiopian Airlines.

ActionCoach Founder, Brad Sugar’s Marketing Leverage Chart as a guide, we will over the couple editions, explore the five ways a company can increase their profits.Despite Jamaica’s progress in doing business, local companies continue to struggle, especially when it comes to sales. In many cases, these struggles are due to the state of the economy and the belief by salespeople that they’ve hit the upper limit of people and companies to sell their products or services.

In the May Edition of Businessuite Magazine (which can be found on our website at Businessuiteonline.com as well as on issuu.com) we focused on how to generate leads. This is one of 5 ways that Sugar’s chart identifies as a way to grow a business. The others include, the conversion rate of a business, , the number of transactions, average dollar sale and profit margins. For this week, we will look at ‘Increasing Profits by Maximizing Your Conversion Rate’.

Before we go any further, it is important to know

In outlining the benefits of long haul flights between Jamaica and Ethiopia, Ambassador Girma Birru indicated that these “long haul flights between Ethiopia and Jamaica will increase prospects for tourism and trade between the two countries, particularly because Ethiopia views Jamaica as the gateway to the Caribbean”.

The move is a part efforts by the Ethiopian government to explore ways in which Ethiopia can further collaborate with Jamaica in the areas of tourism, education, culture, sports and air transport

Ahead of his visit, His Excellency Girma Birru had stated that “Jamaica and Ethiopia have enjoyed a historical and cultural affinity; however, there are many opportunities for Ethiopia and Jamaica to cooperate with each other- particularly in the strategic development of tourism, the trade sector and the sporting industry. This visit will, therefore, shed light on areas for further collaboration.”

The discussion regarding long haul flights is an important step as Ethiopia seeks to further strengthen its cooperation with Jamaica and

what exactly a conversion rate is. This is the percentage of people that actually bought. If ten people walk through a store and three people buy, that store’s conversion rate is three out of ten, or 30 per cent.

According to Sugars, one of the most important is identifying your customer’s number one concern in doing business and then promising them it won’t happen when doing business with you. He says other strategies to improve conversion rates are: measuring conversion rates, staying in touch with your customers through cards, newsletters, etc., using testimonials, quality brochures, rewriting quotes and proposals into action plans, educating on value not price, using sales scripts, and defining your uniqueness.

Simply put, Sugars says if there’s nothing different about you, people will only buy from you because of convenience, or price, nothing more.

exchange best practices for the development of tourism in both countries and the region.

Ethiopian Airlines is owned by the Ethiopian Government, serving 81 international destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. It is also one of the fastest growing companies in the airline industry and is among the largest on the African continent. The airline was the recipient of the 2016 African Airline of the Year Award. Long haul flights between Jamaica and Ethiopia would make it easier for Jamaicans and Caribbean nationals to travel throughout the African continent.

His Excellency Girma Birru is the first Ambassador appointed by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Jamaica, having presented his credentials to the Governor General, His Excellency the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen, on Tuesday May 12, 2015.

His visit, which lasted until Thursday, comes weeks prior to a visit by Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to Jamaica.

ISP Finance Services Limited Listing on the JSE’s Junior Market on March 30, 2016

Ethiopian Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Girma Birru shares a handshake with Hon. Mike Henry, Minister of Transport and Mining as Honorary Consulate for Ethiopia in Jamaica, Yodit Hylton looks on.


Shareholders of Barbados based Sagicor Financial Corporation (SFC) will this week vote on the company’s request to move its headquarters to Bermuda.

In a notice to shareholders dated April 29, 2016, the board of directors said a “majority of two-thirds” of shareholder votes was required at the annual general meeting on June 8 to continue with its registration in Bermuda and discontinuance in Barbados.

TRINIDAD: Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Communication has called for the region to better address issues of cyber-security and information security in order to improve confidence in both investors and citizens.

Speaking at the a regional conference under the theme “Exploring Innovation in Transactions and Financing the Caribbean” last month, Maxie Cuffie indicated that as

The decision to relocate the company’s headquarters, was taken in January last year, following the downgrade of the Barbados’ sovereign rating to B from BB- on December 19 by Standard & Poor’s, and the subsequent downgrade of Sagicor Life’s rating from BB+ to BB- and Sagicor Finance Limited’s US$150 million 10-year senior unsecured note to B because of “ratings on life insurers are capped at two notches above the sovereign rating of the country of domicile”.

The company said after carefully assessing the three shortlisted jurisdictions in which to register the company – Bermuda, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Kingdom – the board agreed that subject to appropriate shareholder approval, “the company should be continued into Bermuda and this was pursued”.

In their rationale, the directors of the company said they considered the

the internet and technological advances continue to reshape the way business is done the reality of increased economic crime continues to have a serious impact on the economy .

He says as such, cyber-security legislation and the proclamation of the Electronic Transactions Act and the Data Protection Act are back on the agenda as key deliverables of his Ministry.

“These two bits of legislation were designed to both modernise Government’s ability to accept electronic payments and protect those persons who provided their data to financial and other institutions.I give the financial community the assurance that this present administration will do what is necessary, what is opportune and what is left to be done to ensure that the

REGIONAL

Barbados: Sagicor Financial Shareholders To Vote On Bermuda Move This Week

Trinidad and Tobago’s Communications Minister Wants Region to Make Better Attempt to Address Cyber Security and Information Security

proposed move practical, adding that they felt it was in the best interest of Sagicor that it “continues as an exempted company” under the laws of Bermuda and discontinued as a company under the laws of Barbados.

Sagicor says in addition to its investment grade, Bermuda was chosen because of the ease of redomiciliation, tax impact, ratings stability as well as reputational risk.

“Bermuda is rated investment grade, it has a very tax friendly regime, it had no regulatory hurdles for our business and the ease of continuance meant it could be achieved in the most efficient way,” the company stated in a document released to the press.

IFC fulfils the mandate for which it was intended, and that Trinidad and Tobago assumes its place as the financial hub of the region.” Cuffie said.

He added that as cyberattacks continue to escalate, financial services sectors must begin to leverage and link innovative cybersecurity tools, through a cloud-enabled service.

Cuffie says the question the region must consider is if it is truly equipped to deal with the modern versions of cyber-crime. He says additionally, the regional authorities need to consider how they can position themselves in such a way that any such threat to the financial services sector in the region can be met with the requisite level of resistance.


Documents

Businessuite markets june 2016