Sagicor Manufacturing and Distribution Select Fund listed on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) on Wednesday, December 18, 2019, after successfully raising over $2.7 billion from over 5,000 applications.

Lead broker and lead arranger for the initial public offering (IPO), Sagicor Investments shared that all applicants were allotted the full complement of shares requested.

The IPO opened on November 20, 2019 seeking to raise $2.5 billion, with a right to upsize by an additional $1.5 billion. Shares for purchase were available in the Class C ordinary shares and were offered at a per share price of $1, for a minimum of 1,000 shares.

Reynaldo Thompson, manager —research, portfolio and fund management, Sagicor Select Funds Limited, expressed gratitude to investors at the listing ceremony on Wednesday morning.

“We are very happy that the market accepted what we came with, which was to present equities to the average investor,” he said.

“This is an exciting time for us at the Jamaica Stock Exchange,” Marlene Street Forrest, managing director, JSE, added following the strip insertion of the Sagicor Manufacturing and Distribution Select Fund. “We have seen that plans discussed have come to fruition. This is one more listing, and a significant listing because it provides investors an opportunity to buy a basket of securities that are listed on the market —our very own exchange traded fund— so this is a very important move for us.”

The fund will own stocks in the most successful manufacturing and distribution companies on the main and junior markets of the JSE. It will also track the manufacturing and distribution index on the main market.

The IPO for the Sagicor Manufacturing and Distribution Select Fund closed on December 4. It is the second listed equity fund on the stock market following the Sagicor Financial Select Fund, which was listed in August.

Sagicor Group Jamaica is a financial services conglomerate which commenced operations in 1970 as life of Jamaica Limited, the first locally owned life insurance company and the first life insurance company to be listed on the JSE.

The group offers products and services in the areas of banking, insurance, investments, real estate, asset management and retirement planning.

Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited is the leading life and health insurance provider in Jamaica while Sagicor Bank is one of Jamaica’s largest banks. Sagicor Investments is one of the top investments companies in the country.

Sagicor Group Jamaica is a member of the wider Sagicor Financial Corporation, which operates in over 20 countries. Its operations date back to 1840.