BUZZ can confirm that Stanley Motta has been accorded with Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status, which will give the listed company a significant boost with its development plans.

The SEZ designation was acquired in February after much effort and compliance with regulations laid out by the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority. This designation will provide significant benefits for Stanley Motta going forward. In Jamaica, SEZs are being established to attract foreign direct investment, alleviate large-scale unemployment and to develop and diversify the economy. Stanley Motta stands to gain significantly from this initiative since SEZ companies benefit from a reduced corporate tax of between 7.5% and 12.5% instead of the regular 25% for other local companies.

Companies with SEZ designation benefit from duty-free importation, General Consumption Tax-free importation, no requirement to pay the other port-related taxes (additional stamp duty). In addition, SEZ status allows the company profits earned to be free from income tax for an indeterminate period. By being accorded SEZ status, Stanley Motta should see some benefits for the stock price, which has fallen 17.0% since the start of the year. Stanley Motta closed February 28th trading session at $4.95 and currently trades at a Price-To-Book P/B ratio of 0.94 X, which is above the Main Market Real Estate Sector Average of 0.85 X

In its just-completed annual report for 2019, Stanley Motta reported total income for 2019 increasing by 55% over 2018 when the company posted total income of $419 million, up from the $269.7 million posted in 2018. This is due to the 100 per cent occupancy of all rentable space for the full year, according to the company’s unaudited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019.