KNGSTON, Jamaica — Wisynco Group Limited raised the single largest amount of ordinary equity capital from investors via an IPO, raising $6.1 billion to list on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) today.

Nine hundred Wisynco employees also took the opportunity to become part owner of the group. They were among the over 7,000 investors to invest in the IPO. Two thousand new investors were added to the stock market.

Wisynco is the 11th company to list its ordinary or preference shares on either the main or junior markets since the start of the year, which has now seen a record amount raised on the stock market in any one year – of over $15 billion.

Wisynco said it is also the sixth company to list on the Main Market of the Exchange since the beginning of the year. This increases the total number of listed companies to 35 and the total listed securities to 46 on the Main Market. Including Wisynco, the total number of companies listed on the JSE is 70, representing 95 securities.

“I wish to take this opportunity to encourage more of our large companies to seek equity capital from the market in order to further expand and increase their level of competiveness both within Jamaica and globally,” said Marlene Street Forrest, managing director of the JSE at the listing ceremony today.

“Based on the levels of oversubscription when offers are made available to the market, it is evident that investors are interested in good companies in which to invest. There is a definite appetite for equity and quasi equity securities. This increase in awareness of the market and willingness to participate is not by accident or an overnight feat. This has been achieved by the hard work, especially in recent years, of our brokers, attorneys and other market players in educating the market and putting in the hours to work with both companies and investors to seek capital and invest in solid businesses respectively.”

Said William Mahfood, chairman of Wisynco: “Eighteen months ago, nobody expected Wisynco to be listing based on the fire that destroy the facility. But today the journey has taken us to the Stock Exchange and listing of our company on the market. I want to thank the staff for their unwavering support in allowing us to accomplish this feat. The oversubscription of our shares also provides a testament of the faith that Jamaicans have in our company.”

Herbert Hall of NCB Capital Markets Jamaica Limited, which brought Wisynco to market, said this is one of the single largest transactions that NCB Capital Markets has done in terms of listing on the market.

“For this transaction we had over 10,000 applications amounting to over $19 billion dollars and this says a lot for Wisynco and the confidence that Jamaicans have in this company. It shows that Wisynco is also a household name in Jamaica and the company is poised not only to continue to expand into the minds and the hearts of Jamaicans, but across the region, to drive growth and give investors a great return on their investments,” he said.