Karl Townsend, chief country officer (Jamaica) of JMMB Group Limited’s capital markets unit, announced that JMMB Securities Limited has been engaged by Alliance Financial Services Limited (AFSL) to be the stockbroker and financial advisor for AFSL’s upcoming initial public offer (IPO), on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, subject to regulatory approval for the JSE.

The announcement took place at the recent Jamaica Stock Exchange Capital Markets Conference at Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. Townsend further explained,

“The draft prospectus for AFSL’s IPO has been submitted to the regulators and

subject to regulatory approval, I expect that this IPO will be launched before

the end of February 2020.

The full prospectus will

share the details of the offer, in addition to the company’s financial

performance and strategic direction, for the benefit of the investing public.

AFSL is a family-owned company that is licensed by the Bank of Jamaica to provide cambio and remittance services, since 2004. The company operates from headquarters at 7 Belmont Road, Kingston 5 and four locations at Liguanea, St Andrew; Mandeville, Manchester; May Pen, Clarendon and Portmore, St Catherine. As a MoneyGram super-agent, its remittance business line is also supported by 68 sub-agents islandwide.

In sharing details about the 16-year-old company’s financial performance, Robert Chin, deputy chairman and vice president, reinforced the solid track record of the company, noting that, over the last five years, there has been consistent growth of its top line, evidenced by a 31.6% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue, coupled with a 54.6% CAGR in net profit after tax. The financial entity has also demonstrated the ability to provide significant shareholder value, with a return on average equity (ROAE) of 55%, in 2019, which is among the highest when compared to listed companies in the financial industry, on the JSE.

Over the last 18-month

period (April 2018 – September 2019), AFSL’s cambio volumes represented

approximately 8.3% of the cambio market and 3% of the entire foreign exchange

market, comprising cambios and authorized dealers. AFSL estimates that it

accounts for approximately 30% of all incoming remittances, from MoneyGram

Payment Services Limited. JMMB Securities Limited was

the arranger and broker for JMMB Group Limited’s additional public offer of

shares (APO) in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, which raised J$12.4B in

November 2019 on the back of total subscriptions of J$19.6B, making it the largest

public offer of ordinary shares in Jamaica’s history.