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When the Wigton Windfarm IPO (initial public offering) opens next week, investors looking to participate may now do so through a new, revolutionary digital platform courtesy of NCB Capital Markets.

The online portal, dubbed GoIPO and created in conjunction with the Jamaica Central Depository Service (JCSD), is designed to promote ease-of-use allowing participants to electronically submit their applications and thereafter receive real-time updates as to their status during the process. 

If Wigton is successful, the transaction stands to be among the largest, second only to Wisynco Limited’s floated in December 2017, as the wind energy company demands a raise of J$5.5 Bn.

“NCB Capital Markets had the distinction of executing the Wisynco IPO, which saw us processing over 8,000 applications… the most, by far, under the stock exchanges dematerialised framework, said NCB Capital Markets CEO Steven Gooden, admitting that the manual processing of the subscriptions proved to be an administrative and logistic nightmare for both NCB and the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

“Wigton in terms of dollar value is similar to Wisynco and as such, we thought it the perfect opportunity for us to showcase this solution that aims to faster process and update customers in less than one tenth of the time when compared to the traditional paper submissions,” he noted.

Of the GoIPO solution, he further noted that the platform was encrypted, provided security and confidentiality to users, who can access the digital portal once they have a JCSD number. Gooden said, too, that as selling agents of the IPO, NCB Capital Markets possesses the largest distribution channel within the broker space and clients who do not wish to apply digitally are encouraged to complete and return their forms to NCB Capital Markets locations islandwide.

“This is a major opportunity for Jamaicans from all walks of life, and this platform is our way of empowering the communities we serve,” he said referencing Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ 2019 New Year’s message wherein he said that the Government will be packaging and bringing to market several public sector assets for sale on the JSE.

“It’s an exciting time to be a Jamaican and as a leading brokerage firm, we believe in the creation of an ownership economy—giving everyday people the ability to own shares and actively participate in the country’s growth agenda,” Gooden said, noting that there is no charge or fees associated with accessing the GoIPO solution.

An IPO is an initial public offering, or the first sale of stock by a privately owned company to the public. IPOs are often issued by companies seeking the capital to expand, but in this case the government is divesting the company, for which it has 100 per cent ownership, in public hands.

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(Bloomberg) Oil price action has moved from a selloff to a collapse, with West Texas Intermediate plunging 7.1 percent in yesterday’s session. The latest leg-down in the price came after OPEC warned that demand for its crude is falling faster than expected. A barrel of WTI for December delivery was virtually unchanged at $55.75 by 5:45 a.m. Eastern Time as the International Energy Agency welcomed the oil market’s return to surplus.