Sep 2012 Financial News

PanCaribbean to rebrand

Sep 26, 2012

Pan Caribbean Financial Services will next month ask shareholders to vote in favour of changing the company's name to Sagicor Investment Jamaica, a move to more closely align with parent company.

The banking subsidiary Pan-CaribbeanBank is also expected to undergo a name change.

"It's a big move but we think it's the right thing," said Donovan Perkins, chief executive officer of Pan Caribbean Financial Services. The company is majority owned by Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited, whose ultimate parent is Sagicor Financial Corporation of Barbados.

"We have a strong affinity; Sagicor owns over 85 per cent of PanCaribbean and so we wanted to reflect that close relationship which most people don't realise," he said.

The rebranding will rid PanCaribbean of any confusion between itself and Chinese-owned Pan Caribbean Sugar Company. The investment house felt the need in September 2011 to declare that the two were not associated to clarify public confusion over the names after the Chinese firm entered Jamaica.

Brand recognition

Still, Perkins said the main gain would be brand recognition and collaborations in areas such as marketing.

"Sagicor has an ambitious objective to maximise and grow. We contribute about 30 per cent of profits to Sagicor and so we are hoping that being more closely align to benefit from the marketing, recognition of the company and the brand in the market place," he said.

The rebranding programme began under Tanya Miller who has since resigned but will work with the company to finalise the project.

Miller was replaced by Ingrid Card as head of group marketing for Sagicor and PanCaribbean under a promotion to assistant vice-president.

The extraordinary general meeting is scheduled for October 13. Shareholders will also vote on a shift in the distribution of annual reports from a physical to electronic format.

"We expect shareholders to vote favourably," Perkins said of the rebranding.

PanCaribbean has a total of 1,627 shareholders. The stock trades at around J$20, placing its market value at J$11 billion.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com


'We have a strong affinity; Sagicor owns over 85 per cent of PanCaribbean and so we wanted to reflect that close relationship which most people don't realise.'


Source:
Jamaica Gleaner
Wednesday September 26, 2012

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120926/business/business7.html