Feb 2012 Financial News

Lee-Chin's Advantage General to list on JSE

Feb 08, 2012

After 47 years as a privately run general insurance company, Advantage General plans to go public and list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) within the next three months.

The company which has been in operation since 1964 says it plan to raise between J$450 and J$650 million in its initial offering of shares to the public.

Advantage General, which is a majority-owned subsidiary of Michael Lee-Chin's AIC Barbados group, will be the first general insurance company to be listed on the main exchange.

Lee-Chin's Portland Holdings acquired the UGI Group in 2006, which was then rebranded as Advantage. The acqusition was done through AIC Barbados.

Another long-standing Jamaican general insurer, General Accident, already trades on the stock market but is listed on the JSE Junior Exchange, while life insurance company Sagicor Life Jamaica is listed on the main exchange.

Advantage General is licensed to write motor, property, pecuniary loss, liability and accident classes of business.

At December 2010, Advantage General was the leader in the general insurance market - capturing 19 per cent of the J$25.8 billion in gross premium written, according to Insurance Association of Jamaica data.

Along with its headquarters in New Kingston, Advantage General has offices on Duke Street, Kingston, as well as the main town centres of Portmore, Mandeville, Christiana, May Pen, Ocho Rios, Black River, Savanna-la-Mar and Montego Bay.


Source:
sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica Gleaner
Wednesday February 8, 2012

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120208/business/business2.html