The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Cable Bahamas yesterday expressed optimism that it had “created a path” for other Bahamian firms to follow by becoming the first local company to cross-list on another Caribbean stock exchange.

Kino Williamson, the BISX-listed communications provider’s finance chief, told Tribune Business it had taken “a big step” through last Friday’s listing of $14.7 million worth of preference shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).

“I think we are definitely the first Bahamian-owned entity to cross-list,” he said. “The JSE’s managing director mentioned that.

“It’s a big step. When you think about it, we are striving to be a global company, and part of our strategy is to get our name and company out there. It [the cross-listing] gives us more alternative avenues out there for fund-raising, and creates more value for shareholders.”

The Series 11 preference shares listed on the JSE are split into two tranches, one denominated in US dollars and the other in Jamaican currency. They represent the portion of last August’s $50 million preference share offering that Cable Bahamas sought to raise outside this nation from Caribbean investors.

The BISX-listed communications provider had engaged Scotiabank (Bahamas) and its affiliate, Scotia Investments Jamaica, to place the Caribbean portion of the issue, which targeted raising $20 million or 40 per cent of the proceeds. Ultimately, $14.7 million, or 34.4 per cent of the $42.7 million total raised, came from outside the Bahamas.

Besides establishing a milestone for Cable Bahamas, Mr Williamson said Friday’s cross-listing could also show the way for other Bahamian companies when it came to tapping capital markets and financing sources outside this nation.

“Hopefully, it allows other companies in the Caribbean to come to our market and vice versa,” he told Tribune Business, “with a company on the local market that wants to cross-list on a Caribbean exchange.

“We’re creating that path. We’re excited. It was a condition of [the preference share] raising to list. We’re happy to do it, and happy to accomplish this milestone for the company. It will be interesting to see how our shares do, even though they’re just prefs.”

Regional cross-listings, with Caribbean companies listing on the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX), and Bahamian firms going on other regional platforms, has often been talked about as one way to expand the local capital markets and boost their liquidity.

This, though, has yet to translate into action apart from Cable Bahamas’ JSE listing last week. The Bahamian private sector generally, encouraged by exchange control regime restrictions, continued to look inward rather than outward for investors, financing and markets.

Cable Bahamas, with its $100 million expansion into Florida, is one of the few to break that trend. Mr Williamson said the JSE was “extremely excited” to receive its preference share listing, given the potential boost to liquidity and the possibility it will act as a magnet for more cross-listings.

He added that the increased exposure to a Caribbean investor audience was a key attraction for Cable Bahamas, especially as the company undertakes rapid expansion through Aliv’s mobile license and its Florida initiatives.

“Hopefully with this move, once persons start to see us, particularly the Jamaican investors, following the transition from triple-play to quad-play provider, and see our growth, that creates avenues to raise additional funds if something comes up in the not too distant future,” Mr Williamson told Tribune Business. “We’re excited about it.

“We won’t stop. We’re back to the drawing board, looking at what’s next for the company, and hopefully we will come back with something.”