Stock market investors who are clients of Stock and Securities with shares held in the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD) may hear by next week if their accounts will be the subject of a sale of assets to another financial institution, a development that if were the happen would maximise the proceeds from all the company’s physical and intangible assets in the interest of all the company’s creditors.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange subsidiary
Stock market clients of SSL have been unable to trade their stocks since the Jamaica Stock Exchange terminated its Member Dealers Agreement with Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) effective February 24. Consequently, SSL and its clients were allowed to trade on the exchange.
Some SSL clients have been upset about their inability to trade, made worse by the absence of an update on the matter.
ICInsider.com contacted the Managing Director at the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Marlene Street, to elicit her response on a number of issues relating to the ability of investors to get access to their shareholdings held through SSL.
What is the position of shareholders and their shares in the central depository?
Response: Shareholders who have their securities deposited in the JCSD can rest assured that their securities are safe. Ownership of these securities cannot be transferred without their consent. Shareholders may view their statement from the JCSD Portal at jcsdportal.jamstockex.com or from the JSE’s website at jamstockex.com.”
Can shareholders access their shares now and if not, when and what is holding it up?
Response: “All shares held by investors at the JCSD are held under the account of a Broker Participant. To purchase or sell shares, an investor goes through their broker, the same applies if they desire to transfer their shares applies. Since the shares are held under the account of SSL, in this instance, the JCSD cannot transfer securities without their concurrence.”
“ We have written to the Temporary Manager of SSL to request approval to transfer the securities held by JCSD SSL account holders to brokers of the investors’ choice. We are aware that the Temporary Manager and the FSC are in discussions regarding same however, we await a final response to be able to guide the investors on how to access their shares.”
Heavily oversubscribed Initial Public Issue, 
At the close of the market, Access Financial closed with a loss of 2 cents at $45, trading 5,000 shares, 
AMG Packaging ended at $2.10, with 205,479 stock units, Blue Power concluded trading $1.02 higher at $34.87, with 10,000 units, 
If the general pool is not boosted by much than the general public will end up only a very small sum.
Importantly, the company currently has interest debt of $300 million and carries a high level of inventories of just under a year’s supply. In 2014 the company booked through its equity reserves a mark down of $129 million for impairment of inventory and receivables. For the nine months to September this year gross cash flow $50 million before working capital needs and after it ended at a net outflow of $9 million. With those numbers bank financing for expansion is going to be challenging. The capital raised should go a long way in easing this constraint.
2014 they made $43 million, just $10 million in 2015 helped by bad debt recovery of $10 million and $35 million in 2016.
