GraceKennedy, NCB star at JSE’s 15th Best Practices Awards
THE CURTAIN came down on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) 15th Best Practices Awards at a banquet at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on December 4. It was an evening of glitter and an excellent production befitting the “world’s best-performing stock market in 2018”. After all the individual awards in the six categories for both junior & main markets, as well as the five in the Member Dealer category, GraceKennedy Limited and NCB Financial Group Limited were the stars of the night, with both companies sharing the coveted Governor General’s Award for Excellence in the Main Market category. LASCO Manufacturing Jamaica Limited received the Governor General’s Award for Excellence in the Junior Market category. Meanwhile, the JSE Member Dealers overall winner was JN Fund Management Limited. They received the JSE’s Chairman’s Award. Marlene Street Forrest, managing director of the JSE, in her welcome, said: “Some of the accolades with which we were showered, included being named ‘Best Performing Exchange for 2018’, coincide with the period under which the awards are adjudged. We were also named among the ‘Top Five Best-Performing Markets for 2019’. In Europe, we were bestowed with the honour of the European CEO Awards for ‘The Most Innovative Exchange for 2019’.” Forrest further noted that, “No doubt this makes best practice even more critical. The world’s financial communities must see us as leading the charge for best practices in, and good governance of, our companies. I want to briefly reflect on the historic moment when we raised the Jamaican flag at the New York Stock Exchange and promoted Jamaica through the Bloomberg channel earlier this year. We would like your help to keep the flag flying.” Professor Neville Ying, chairman of the Best Practices Awards, in his video message, thanked his team for their dedication to a process that has impacted listed companies in a real way. He made mention of the five Jamaica Social Stock Exchange (JSSE) projects and how these entities were contributing to the general society in which these listed companies operated. He emphasised that companies needed to pay closer attention to the social side of their businesses.
WINNERS FOR 2018 BEST PRACTICES
The JSE’s Best Practices Awards recognises three groups of winners; its member dealers (stockbrokers) and listed companies on the main and junior markets. The companies are assessed by a 22-member committee of top business and academic professionals on their performance over the prior year. The member dealers (stockbrokers) are evaluated on five areas – revenue generation and market activity; investor relations; best website and expansion of investors and listed companies; with an overall winner being the recipient of JSE’s Chairman Award. The listed companies are evaluated in six categories – Annual Report; Best Performing Company; Corporate Disclosure and Investor Relations; Website and Corporate Governance, with the overall winner receiving the Governor General’s Award for Excellence.
MEMBER DEALERS AWARDS
In the category of Revenue Generation & Market Activity, the JSE recognises member dealers that during the year traded the most value on the exchange and participated in the JSE’s programmes: Winner: NCB Capital Markets Limited
Investor Relations
This award recognises the member dealer that consistently exceeds customers’ expectation by providing excellent customer service. Winner: JN Fund Managers Limited First runner-up: Sagicor Investments Jamaica Limited Second runner-up: JMMB Securities Limited