JMMB to pay US$ dividends

Local shareholders of the Jamaican Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Group can now get dividends paid in United States dollars, the company announced at an investor briefing Thursday.

“We saw this as an opportunity to help with the foreign exchange crunch in Trinidad and Tobago by giving our shareholders this option,” Lisa-Maria Alexander, JMMB TT’s chief marketing officer, elaborated via phone yesterday. Shareholders are still able to receive dividend payments in local currency, but those who want to take up the Kingston, Jamaica-based company offer – at least in time for the dividend payment in December – have to submit their request to the TT Stock Exchange (via their brokers) by November 17. If they miss that deadline, their first US-dollar payment will be in June 2018, after all regulatory approvals from the TTSE are met. Also attending the Thursday briefing, held at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, was group chief executive Keith Duncan. In a release yesterday, Duncan said regardless of the challenges the company has had to navigate in TT, it still remained optimistic of its future here. “Despite an unfavourable foreign exchange market, unstable debt trajectory and a non-diversified economy, the organisation will continue to create opportunities by supporting growth in primary and secondary investment markets for fixed income, improving its operational efficiency and centralising and standardising functions,” Duncan said.

JMMB shares are currently trading for $2.07 per unit on the TTSE. The company has 1,630,552,530 shares issued with a market capitalisation of $3.375 billion.