Lasco Distributors Limited (LASD) has advised that the Board of Directors declared the payment of a dividend of $0.0275 per share to shareholders on record as at September 17, 2015 payable on November 18, 2015. The ex-dividend date is September 15, 2015.

On Saturday, November 14, 2015 at 10:00 am, Jamaica Broilers Group Limited (JBG) will be hosting their 57^th Annual General Meeting at Jamaica Conference Centre, Ocean Boulevard, Kingston Mall in Kingston.

The Local Economy Expands by 0.8% in Q2

According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), the Jamaican economy expanded by 0.8% in the April to June 2015 quarter compared with the corresponding quarter of 2014.  The outturn for the period reflected the positive impact that the continued strengthening of the global economy has had on some of the major industries such Hotels & Restaurants, Transport, and Mining & Quarrying. Improvements in both business and consumer confidence also contributed to domestic demand. The Goods-Producing Industry grew by 0.7% relative to the corresponding quarter of the previous year with the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Mining & Quarrying and the Construction industries registering growth in real value added during the review quarter.  Expansion in the construction industry was driven by road rehabilitation and repair works and highway construction (Phase 1 and Phase 3 of the North-South link of Highway 2000) and hotel construction and expansion works. However residential construction declined, with housing starts down by 56.1% and the volume of mortgages down by 3.1%. The Manufacture industry is estimated to have contracted by 0.5% largely due to the fall-off in petroleum production. This decline was largely attributed to an unscheduled one month closure of the Petroleum Refinery for maintenance resulting in a 23 percentage points decline in its average capacity utilization.

The services industry grew by 0.7% relative to the corresponding period last year reflecting higher real value added in all Industries except Producers of Government Services.

For the first half of the calendar year, real GDP is estimated to have increased by 0.6% relative to the corresponding period of the previous year due to growth of 0.1% in the Goods Producing Industry and 0.7% in the Services Industry. The PIOJ projects that growth for the July to September quarter will be within the range of 1% to 2%, driven by favourable performance from most industries. Ongoing road rehabilitation work and hotel expansion should continue to impact the construction industry favourably. Heightened confidence levels following successive passing of IMF tests, stable consumer prices and the recent lowering of BOJ benchmark rates should provide the right condition for growth. That said, there is the risk that drought conditions will not only weigh on activity in the Agricultural sector but will affect other business activity as well. In recent times, a number of businesses have lost valuable production hours as a result of the drought and the effect of this could be seen in subsequent reports.

JMMB Group Limited (JMMBGL) – Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting

JMMB Group Limited (JMMBGL) has given notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held in the Grand Jamaican Suite of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, 81 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. The meeting is called to consider passing a special resolution to issue redeemable preference shares

Lasco Financial Services Limited (LASF) – Dividend Consideration

Lasco Financial Services Limited (LASF) has advised that the Board of Directors will consider a dividend payment at their meeting to be held on Thursday, September 3, 2015.

Scotia Group Jamaica Limited (SGJ) has advised that Mrs. Yanique Forbes-Patrick has been appointed Vice President, Marketing of The Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited, effective August 10 2015.

General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited (GENAC) has announced the appointment of Matthew Lyn as Non-Executive Director to the Board of GENAC effective July 28, 2015.

Proven Investments Limited (PROVEN) has advised that the Board of Directors declared the payment of a dividend of US$0.0015 per share for ordinary shareholders and J$0.1756 for shareholders who have requested payment in Jamaican Dollars. Payment will be made on September 10, 2015 to shareholders on record as at August 27, 2015. The ex-dividend date is August 25, 2015.

A dividend of J$0.10 for preference shareholders was also declared for payment on September 23, 2015 to preference shareholders on record as at September 9, 2015. The ex-dividend date is September 7, 2015.

National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ) has announced the appointment of Oliver C. Mitchell Jr. an Attorney-at-law, Advisor and Consultant with over thirty-five (35) years of experience in civil and criminal trials executive human resources practice and litigation avoidance counselling. Chairman NCBJ, Hon. Michael Lee-Chin O.J. said they’re please to have Mr. Oliver Mitchell join and are anticipating that he will add value to their seasoned Board.

Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust Limited (PJAM) has advised that the Board of Directors declared the payment of a third interim dividend of $0.70 per share, payable on September 18, 2015, to shareholders on record as at September 1, 2015. The ex-dividend date is August 28, 2015.