May 2007 Financial News

Sagicor move could be good news for economy

May 01, 2007

BARBADOS could be a major beneficiary of foreign exchange earnings from Britain, following the decision of Sagicor Financial Corporation to trade shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The Central Bank of Barbados has given the regional finance giant permission for the unlimited trading of shares on the LSE by Barbadian residents.

However, this was with the condition that, unless prior approval from the Central Bank had been obtained, all proceeds from the sale of shares on the London Stock Exchange by residents of Barbados must be remitted to Barbados.

This means that with the exchange rate between the English Pound Sterling and Barbados Dollar currently at four to one, the Sagicor listing could be good news for the local economy. Sagicor had to obtain various permissions from Barbados regulatory authorities, including the Central Bank, before it got the green light to trade all of its common shares on the LSE from last week Friday.

Director of the Bank’s Foreign Exchange and Export Credits Department, Jefferson Reeves, in a letter dated April 4th and sent to Sagicor Financial Corporation General Counsel and Secretary Sandra Osborne, gave the go-ahead for aspects of the Sagicor listing and the grounds under which it could take place.

This followed letters dated February 22, 2007 and March 9, 2007 in which the company sought the Central Bank’s approval for its shareholders to transfer their holdings from time to time to a depository facility in the United Kingdom for purposes of trading their shares on the London Stock Exchange, and for individuals resident outside of CARICOM to have blanket permission to own shares in Sagicor Financial Corporation from time to time.

The correspondence outlined that these permissions were granted subject to the Barbados Stock Exchange reporting to the Central Bank within 24 hours all transactions involving non-residents; unless the prior approval of the Central Bank had been obtained, the purchase and/or sale of shares on the London Stock Exchange by residents of Barbados was limited to transactions in Sagicor’s shares only; and non-resident individuals of companies, which hold more than ten per cent of Sagicor’s shares, must obtain the Central Bank’s approval to do so.

Sagicor also announced that arrangements had also been put in place to facilitate the transfer of shares to the London market through Sagicor’s registrar, Barbados Central Securities Depository.

Shares in the Trinidad and Tobago Central Depository to be traded on the London Stock Exchange will be routed through the Barbados Central Securities Depository, the company added. (SC)Ç

Source:
The Barbados Advocate
Monday April 30, 2007

http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/IndexNewBusinessleft.cfm?Type=B