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• For the nine-month period ended July 31, 2019, The Limners and Bards (The LAB) Limited reported an increase in net profit of 17.3% to finish the period at $69.81Mn up from $59.51Mn for the corresponding period in 2018.
• Operating revenues increased by 24.3% (or $94.99Mn) which was the main contributor to the increased net profit. The growth in operating revenues can be attributed to increases in the company’s core business, production (up to $69.60Mn or 113.0%) and media (up to $30.20Mn or 15%).
• The stock has risen 202.0% since listing and closed yesterday’s trading session at $3.02. At this price the stock currently trades at a P/E of 33.33x which is above the Junior Market average of 29.30x.

(Source: LAB Financials)

• European Central Bank Executive Board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger became the latest policymaker to add her voice to those saying the time is not right to restart the bank’s quantitative-easing program.
• Yesterday Dutch Governor Klaas Knot said the outlook isn’t weak enough to resume buying bonds while Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has recently returned to type following his failure to be selected as next ECB head.
• The hawkish rhetoric ahead of the bank’s Sept. 12 meeting could be viewed as somewhat at odds with the data as today’s inflation figures showed price growth in the euro-area remains stuck at 1%, well below the ECB’s own target.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• A staff team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Alejandro Santos, visited Panama during July 17-23, 2019, on an invitation from the Panamanian authorities.
• Santos said, “while Panama remains among the most dynamic economies in Latin America, the economic recovery has been slower than anticipated. Real GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2019 (compared to 4% in the same period of last year), due to a softening in construction and services.
• More recent data pointing to a continuation of a sluggish recovery, lead the IMF to revise down its growth projection for 2019 to 5% (from 6% estimated in the February visit).
• Panama’s fundamentals remain solid, with the economy expected to recover and converge to its potential growth of 5.5% by next year, and inflation edging up to 2% over the medium-term.
• Authorities also expect to reduce the fiscal deficit by over 2% of GDP in the next two years, allowing Panama to observe the deficit limit under the fiscal responsibility law of 1.75% of GDP by 2021.

(Source: IMF)

NCB Capital Markets is first Caribbean sponsor of an IAAF Diamond League meet

Kingston, Jamaica – July 11, 2019: NCB Capital Markets has been confirmed as the first official Caribbean sponsor of an IAAF Diamond League meet. This strategic partnership between NCB Capital Markets and the Monaco Diamond League 2019 is part of the company’s thrust to expand its reach into international markets and invite foreign investors to do business in the region.

“We are very proud of our partnership with the IAAF Diamond League,” said Steven Gooden, CEO of NCB Capital Markets. “This event is known globally as a marker of the highest level of achievement in athletics, featuring top athletes from around the world such as our brand ambassador and double Olympic Champion, Elaine Thompson. We too are passionate about doing things at the highest level based on global best practices for the benefit of our regional clients.” As an official partner of the IAAF Monaco Diamond League 2019, we not only have the honour of reaching athletics fans all around the world, we also have an opportunity to show international investors that the Caribbean is open for business, and we are ready to partner with them on their regional investments.”

A leading investment bank and asset manager in the Caribbean, NCB Capital Markets is a subsidiary of the NCB Financial Group, which recently acquired controlling shares in Clarien Bank and Guardian Holdings Limited.

Through this partnership, NCB Capital Markets will enjoy significant brand presence at the stadium in Monaco, with exposure on print materials, bibs, digital screens and the official Diamond League website. Furthermore, global viewership of the event is expected to increase exponentially, as double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, who is the world leader in the 200m event, is expected to go head-to-head with two-time world champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas, and world silver-medallist, Marie-Josee Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast.

• Existing U.S. tariffs will have to be removed if there is to be a trade deal between Beijing and Washington, China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday.
• The leaders of the two countries agreed last weekend to relaunch trade talks that had stalled in May after U.S. officials accused China of pulling back from commitments made in the text of pact negotiators had said was nearly finished. Trade teams from both countries are in contact, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular media briefing.
• To get talks restarted, U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed not to put tariffs on about $300 billion in additional Chinese imports and ease curbs on Chinese tech giant Huawei. The United States now has tariffs of 25% on $250 billion of Chinese goods, ranging from furniture to semiconductors. China welcomes the U.S. decision not to slap new tariffs on its goods, Gao said, when asked how long the trade truce can last.

(Source: Reuters)

• In most places, you could select the new leader of a group with one vote, maybe two if it’s close. But the U.K. isn’t most places, and the Conservatives aren’t just any group.
• After five separate votes, they’ve narrowed it down to two candidates who will now spend four weeks touring the country to persuade the party membership to back them in yet another vote.
• The main thing is, Boris Johnson will face Jeremy Hunt amid rumors some of the Boris camp voted for Huntin a bid to get an easier opponent for the last round. Hunt’s chances are seemingly very, very small. 
• However, their visions for Brexit are similar: both want to deliver on the referendum result of 2016, both want to ditch or renegotiate the Irish backstop in the existing accord brokered by May, and both are prepared to contemplate a no-deal Brexit if they can’t get the changes they want.

 (Source: Bloomberg)

1. Wigton Windfarm Limited, a subsidiary of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), is the largest wind energy facility in the English-speaking Caribbean.

2. Located in Rose Hill, Manchester, the wind farm currently comprises three plants that have a total capacity of 62.7 Megawatts.

3. The company’s main objective is to facilitate and promote the use of wind and other alternative forms of energy to drive the diversification of Jamaica’s energy mix.

4. Since becoming operational, Wigton has reduced national oil consumption by close to 406,000 barrels which has saved Jamaica almost J$3 billion.

5. Wigton’s vision is to be a catalyst for increased usage of wind power and other renewable energies for electricity generation. In fulfilment of this goal, the company actively supports the growth of Jamaica’s renewable energy industry by developing human capital.

6. As a clean energy facility Wigton’s operations contribute to efforts to preserve the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change. Wind energy generation provides a viable alternative to combustion of traditional fossil fuels which cause greenhouse gas pollution.

When the Wigton Windfarm IPO (initial public offering) opens next week, investors looking to participate may now do so through a new, revolutionary digital platform courtesy of NCB Capital Markets.

The online portal, dubbed GoIPO and created in conjunction with the Jamaica Central Depository Service (JCSD), is designed to promote ease-of-use allowing participants to electronically submit their applications and thereafter receive real-time updates as to their status during the process. 

If Wigton is successful, the transaction stands to be among the largest, second only to Wisynco Limited’s floated in December 2017, as the wind energy company demands a raise of J$5.5 Bn.

“NCB Capital Markets had the distinction of executing the Wisynco IPO, which saw us processing over 8,000 applications… the most, by far, under the stock exchanges dematerialised framework, said NCB Capital Markets CEO Steven Gooden, admitting that the manual processing of the subscriptions proved to be an administrative and logistic nightmare for both NCB and the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

“Wigton in terms of dollar value is similar to Wisynco and as such, we thought it the perfect opportunity for us to showcase this solution that aims to faster process and update customers in less than one tenth of the time when compared to the traditional paper submissions,” he noted.

Of the GoIPO solution, he further noted that the platform was encrypted, provided security and confidentiality to users, who can access the digital portal once they have a JCSD number. Gooden said, too, that as selling agents of the IPO, NCB Capital Markets possesses the largest distribution channel within the broker space and clients who do not wish to apply digitally are encouraged to complete and return their forms to NCB Capital Markets locations islandwide.

“This is a major opportunity for Jamaicans from all walks of life, and this platform is our way of empowering the communities we serve,” he said referencing Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ 2019 New Year’s message wherein he said that the Government will be packaging and bringing to market several public sector assets for sale on the JSE.

“It’s an exciting time to be a Jamaican and as a leading brokerage firm, we believe in the creation of an ownership economy—giving everyday people the ability to own shares and actively participate in the country’s growth agenda,” Gooden said, noting that there is no charge or fees associated with accessing the GoIPO solution.

An IPO is an initial public offering, or the first sale of stock by a privately owned company to the public. IPOs are often issued by companies seeking the capital to expand, but in this case the government is divesting the company, for which it has 100 per cent ownership, in public hands.

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