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SUPERPLUS FOOD STORES What does Michael Lee Chin have to do with the future of the Supermarket Chain controlled by this brother Wayne Chen?

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“Are you closing down or what, how the shelves dem so empty?” remarked an irate shopper in the Superplus Liguanea branch, confronting one of the store attendants walking through the supermarket. “Is the same way the one down half way tree look” remarked another shopper passing by. A casual stroll through the Kingston located Superplus stores by this writer, revealed much truth in the comments and observations by the two shoppers.

According to one industry watcher, there are unconfirmed reports that the privately held and controlled Wayne Chen led Superplus chain is having problems making payments to suppliers who have now apparently cut off supplies hence the scanty shelves. But how this could be, with reported annual sales of over JA$11B Superplus should be awash in cash. “That how it appears on the surface, the supermarket business is a very thin margin business, ranging from 2-3% and so they may be generating a lot of cash, but very little profit” was how one financial analyst summed up the situation.

This begged the question. Is the supermarket business a good business to be in at this time or quite frankly at anytime? Which led us to ask a very obvious question? Would Michael Lee-Chin invest in the supermarket business?
Given his publicly stated investment views and posture the answer would and should be a resounding NO.

Michael Lee-Chin established investment philosophy is “buying few excellent businesses in long-term growth sectors and holding these businesses for the long term in order to help investors prosper by preserving and growing their capital and minimizing taxes.”
Lee Chins Investment Philosophy
• Use other people’s money
• Find a role model
• Invest in a few businesses you understand
• Stay committed to your investment philosophy
Given this posture would he have advised his siblings to invest in the supermarket business.

More questions. To what extent if he is, is Michael advising his brother Wayne on the merits of investing in the supermarket business? Is he telling Wayne to cut and run or hold for the long term?
Or better still does Lee Chin view the supermarket business as a good investment and is putting his money where his mouth is.

If you were a billionaire and a savvy successful investor with brothers and other family members in the supermarket business and they were having a hard time making money would you bail them out, would you put your own money in, but then you don’t use your own money, you use other people’s money. What would you do?

There are cynics who would suggest that Michael and companies under his control are already major investors or backers of the supermarket group. But would Michael really throw good money after bad or is it that he sees it as a good investment.

These are all relevant questions, as the answer will give a clearer picture on the way forward for Wayne Chen and the SuperPlus Chain of supermarkets.

If you don’t already know Wayne Chen is the younger brother of billionaire Michael Lee-Chen and while heading and running the Super Plus chain, overseas a number of his bigger brother business. He is the Chairman of NCB Insurance Company Limited, West Indies Trust Company Limited and CVM Communications Group, a Director of National Commercial Bank Jamaica, NCB (Cayman) Limited, AIC (Barbados) Limited and the Christiana Town Centre Limited.

Chen stripping the group

Wayne Chen

Wayne-Chen

Wayne Chen announced in October last year that He was contracting the supermarket chain and would close a fifth store in Montego Bay but would expand others. Chen has been stripping the group of its loss-making stores indicating that the business was attempting to grow revenues by concentrating more on services like its cambio operations. Chen said that grocery had become the “loss leader” for the supermarket chain, but gave no specifics on the other business segments that were underperforming. Five stores have been culled from the group, and of the remaining 25, the majority, 22, are controlled by brothers Wayne and Richard Chen, while the others are held by other family members.
More than a decade ago, supermarket owners, hurting from market fragmentation and weak consumer spending, began a process of conglomeration with the hope of restoring profitability to their operations.

Progressive Grocers leads the charge

Back in 2003 there was a merging and acquisition frenzy going on in the supermarket sector with the consortium, Progressive Grocers acquiring four supermarkets in rural Jamaica, bringing to 18 the number in the chain, and helping to reinforce the oligopolistic market that has been developing within this industry.

The five-member grouping acquired a number of Jamaica’s independent supermarkets to become the second largest chain after SuperPlus Foods Stores, which operated at the time 27 outlets. GraceKennedy’s Hi-Lo had 15 shops. Together the three groupings controlled the lion’s share of the Jamaican market.

The acquisitions would give the Progressive Grocers even greater critical mass in procurement, to go up against SuperPlus, the industry’s behemoth that had also been on an expansion binge. The concept of the Progressive Grocers is to create an alliance that could jointly purchase goods to spread administrative cost in the management of this process, as well as marketing, and to create bargaining clout in procurement. Sources say, for example, that the group was also seeking to set up a central warehouse, a move that would allow it to further spread overhead cost.

At the time Hi-Lo had acquired six groceries and wholesales to control a total of 15 stores with plans to open another five stores later that year – one in Mandeville and Spanish Town, with the other three were supposed to be under construction. John Mahfood, former GraceKennedy chief operating officer in charge of retailing and projects at the time said that Hi-Lo would be adding between 5 and 6 stores per year over the next five years, bringing the total number to about 40. This has not materialised.

Not to be undone, Super Plus, with 27 stores at the time, also announced plans to open three more in Kingston.

Come 2006 Supermarket operators were crying out “We’re not making any money”. The tide had turned and the future looked dim.

So what went wrong?

Operating within an oligopolistic market – dominated by four major groups – Jamaica’s supermarkets were now bleeding red ink. This, the owners said, was the result of skyrocketing utility and other operating costs, interest burden on the debt associated with expansion, weak demand, and their inability to pass on costs to the increasingly price-sensitive consumer.

“Right now it is murder,” was how Wayne Chen characterised the business environment. “We are making a small profit, but we now have to be looking at liquidating non-core assets to cut our finance charges.”

In 2005/06 SuperPlus is reported to have recorded gross sales of $11 billion – making the group by far Jamaica’s largest retailer. Such critical mass was part of the business plan – to better spread overhead, give the group procurement clout, and improve its gross profit margin – all of which have been achieved. However, according to Chen, the steep increases in fixed and semi-fixed costs over the last two years have eaten away at the group’s net profit.

For example, there has been about a seventy per cent increase in the cost of electricity across the group over the past year. “Light bill at our Trafalgar Road location has moved from 800,000 to $1.4 million per month,” Chen told the Business Observer. In a business where red ink is all around, SuperPlus with its very small profit was, relatively speaking, holding its own.

GraceKennedy’s supermarket subsidiary, Hi-Lo, was reported to have lost $80 million that year. Hi-Lo’s electricity bill soared to $10 million per month, a 66 per cent increase on the $6 million previously. Security costs jumped by 20 per cent to $60 million. “Increase in costs, lower level in disposable income, compounded with a more competitive market make it challenging for companies,” noted Mahfood.

Hi-Lo by this time closed down two of its Kingston supermarkets – its branch at Tropical Plaza in 2004, and its Hagley Park Road store in 2005 reducing the Kingston branches to four, and the total number of stores islandwide to 13.

Ken Loshusan, operator of John R Wong Supermarket in New Kingston and Loshusan Supermarket Barbican Circle in Kingston, said his supermarkets were also not making any money. “How can you make money when light bill, rent etc. are all over a million dollars? We’re barely breaking even right now. We’re just creating employment, that’s it,” said Loshusan.

According to published reports, on average, the pre-taxation margin of supermarkets in the Progressive Group was about 20 per cent. However, increasing operational costs had eaten away at their margins, thus forcing most of the members into at best, break-even performance. “By the time we pay expenses, pay taxes we are left with nothing,” he complains. “If we raise (margins) half per cent, people will raise hell. All the expenses have skyrocketed. By the time we pay (expenses) we are left with nothing.”

In 2007 Progressive Grocers 28-member consortium comprised the second largest grouping of local supermarkets,

Chen commenting on the situation said that given the constraints faced by the industry in passing on costs to customers, there will be fallout within the industry.”We are gonna see some shakeout in the industry,” he declared.

“Sooner or later, some companies will have to drop out. By the end of the year, I expect some players to drop out.” Commented one operator.

Gassan Azan, the operator of MegaMart store and supermarket, said he too was experiencing sluggishness in the supermarket business, but that other non-supermarket items sold by his chain were helping to counter the fallout.

Like the other supermarkets, a major challenge at MegaMart was coping with the high electricity costs. For example, at MegaMart’s Waterloo Road, Kingston location, electricity cost had jumped from $1.1 million per month last year, to $1.7 million per month that year. At the other MegaMart store in Portmore, St Catherine, electricity cost had moved from $1.1 million per month to $1.8 million.

“Do you know how much more goods you have to sell to pay for the increase in light bill?” asked Azan. The two MegaMart stores had combined sales of $3.5 billion, but so far that year, sales have been flat, said Azan.

Moreover, according to Azan, the profit was generated mainly from the non-supermarket items which earned a much higher gross margin, and primarily at the Kingston store. “As a strategy, to achieve profitability what we have been doing is to push our non-food items,” he explained.

Chen cited several factors which he said accounted for the sluggishness in consumer spend at the island’s supermarkets. Among them: the tens of billions being spent each year on cellular phone usage. “The source of the money is not finite and it has to come from somewhere,” he said.

He also cited the increase in consumer electricity and fuel costs which divert consumer spending away from supermarket items, the slow-down in construction and its impact on purchasing power among working class Jamaicans. Chen also noted that the anti-crime measure ‘Operation King Fish’ had also curtailed criminal activities and their ability to fund consumption in the way they once did.

The SuperPlus boss says his stores have felt the impact of these factors.”Most stores in the chain are flat in Jamaican dollar terms, and some stores are down,” he told the Business Observer. “Some of the new ones continue to grow but at the expense at the older stores.”

But according to Chen, SuperPlus has been taking steps to improve its cash flow and financial position in light of the soft market.

“In some instances we are cutting back on wholesaling because of the margins,” he said. “We are looking at all of our resources that are not being utilized with a view to liquidating them to cut our bank finance cost. We are seeking to share the cost of running the business over a wider revenue base.”

A victim of its own success

Wayne Chen is obviously doing everything he can to diversify income streams and squeeze more margins out of the operation; these include building more money transfer facilities, ATMs, cambios, and pharmacies in its stores of which it now had five.

“The main push is to look at fixed cost. We have no control over rent so we need to offer more within the stores to defray them.”

It’s clear that the aggressive investment in new locations has not produced the desired results. SuperPlus’ success at growing into the largest retailer in Jamaica – in 2003, surpassing furniture retailer Courts – less than 10 years after the chain, which was started by Gloria Chen in the 1960s, and had been anchored in southern Jamaica, morphed into the well-organised corporate structure is today a victim of its own success.

Wayne Chen had declared his intention to aggressively grow the firm’s store count and roll out up to 400 additional items under the SuperPlus brand – moving the range to about 700 and, importantly, giving SuperPlus greater control over stocks and the ability to squeeze more profit in a business famous for its thin margins.

In recently published press reports Wayne Chen said he would not refuse a good offer for the islandwide family-owned supermarket chain, but says he has not put the company up for sale. Asked outright whether that meant SuperPlus was hunting a buyer, Chen dismissed it, but did not discount it as a future possibility. “Not at all,” he told the Financial Gleaner. “Not in the short term. We are right-sizing the company now,” he added.

Rumours however persist that Wayne is actively looking for a buyer for the reportedly money losing supermarket chain. But denials are in order until the ink has dried on the contract and the cheque handed over. Plans for an IPO must now be off the table given the current state of affairs and from all indications 2009 is going to be a very challenging one. Margins will be put under far more pressure and more red ink will flow throughout the sector.

And so we are back to Michael Lee Chin. Why? Well if we know for certain Michael’s views and investments in SuperPlus then we will know where it’s going.

Additional sources: Jamaica Observer

https://businessuiteonline.com/index.php/2018/10/09/the-walkbout-homestay-experience-coming-january-2019/

Business Insights

Subscription vs. Pay-Per-Use: Choosing the Right Revenue Model for Caribbean Business Growth

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In today’s dynamic business landscape, companies continually seek effective revenue models to ensure sustainability and profitability. Two prevalent models are the subscription-based model, employed by giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and the pay-per-use (or transactional) model. This article delves into the background, benefits, and disadvantages of each model, identifies the types of businesses best suited for them, and explores how Jamaican and Caribbean companies can leverage these models to enhance revenue and profitability.

Background of Revenue Models

Subscription-Based Model: This model involves customers paying a recurring fee—monthly, annually, or at other regular intervals—to access a product or service. Historically, this approach was common in industries like publishing (magazines and newspapers) and has now expanded to digital services, software, and entertainment platforms.

Pay-Per-Use Model: In this model, customers pay based on their actual usage of a product or service. This approach is prevalent in utilities, telecommunications, and emerging digital services where usage can vary significantly among customers.

Benefits and Disadvantages

Subscription-Based Model:

Benefits:

Predictable Revenue: Businesses enjoy a steady and predictable income stream, facilitating better financial planning and resource allocation.

Customer Retention: Regular interactions foster stronger customer relationships and loyalty.

Scalability: Easier to introduce new features or services to existing subscribers, enhancing value over time.

Disadvantages:

Churn Risk: Customers may cancel subscriptions if they perceive insufficient value, leading to revenue loss.

Continuous Value Delivery: Requires ongoing investment in content or service improvements to maintain customer interest.

Pay-Per-Use Model:

Benefits:

Flexibility: Attracts cost-conscious customers who prefer paying only for what they use.

Lower Entry Barrier: Customers can access services without committing to recurring payments, which can be appealing for infrequent users.

Disadvantages:

Revenue Variability: Income can fluctuate based on customer usage patterns, making financial forecasting challenging.

Complex Billing Systems: Requires robust systems to track usage accurately and bill customers accordingly.

Business Suitability

Subscription-Based Model: Ideal for businesses offering services or products with ongoing value propositions. Examples include streaming services (e.g., Netflix), software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, and membership-based organizations.

Pay-Per-Use Model: Suited for services where usage varies among customers, such as utilities, cloud computing services, and on-demand content platforms.

Maximizing Revenue in Jamaican and Caribbean Companies

For businesses in Jamaica and the broader Caribbean, adopting these models can open new revenue streams and enhance profitability:

Digital and Streaming Services: With the global rise of digital consumption, local content creators and media houses can adopt subscription models to offer exclusive Caribbean-focused content, catering to both regional and international audiences.

Tourism and Hospitality: Hotels and resorts can introduce subscription packages for frequent travelers, offering benefits like discounted rates, priority bookings, and exclusive experiences.

Utilities and Telecommunications: Implementing pay-per-use models for services like electricity, water, and mobile data can provide customers with flexibility, potentially increasing usage and revenue.

Agriculture and Produce Delivery: Farmers can offer subscription boxes delivering fresh produce to customers regularly, ensuring steady income and promoting healthy eating habits.

Fitness and Wellness: Gyms and wellness centers can provide subscription-based access to virtual classes, personalized training sessions, and wellness resources, expanding their reach beyond physical locations.

Implementation Considerations

Market Research: Understand the target audience’s preferences and willingness to adopt new payment models.

Infrastructure Investment: Develop reliable billing systems and digital platforms to manage subscriptions or track usage effectively.

Regulatory Compliance: Ensure adherence to local laws and regulations, especially concerning digital transactions and data protection.

Customer Education: Inform customers about the benefits and functionalities of the chosen model to encourage adoption.

Market Saturation – A Key Challenge Of The Subscription Revenue Model

This perspective highlights a key challenge of the subscription revenue model—that of market saturation. Since subscription-based businesses rely on a recurring customer base, their revenue growth is often tied to acquiring new subscribers or increasing prices for existing ones. When the market becomes saturated (i.e., most of the potential customers who would subscribe have already done so), companies are forced to find alternative ways to boost revenue, such as:

Raising Subscription Prices – As seen with Netflix and Amazon Prime, companies periodically increase fees to maintain revenue growth, but this risks customer churn if price hikes outpace perceived value.

Introducing Tiered Pricing – Companies may create premium subscription tiers with additional benefits to encourage higher spending.

Expanding Services or Content – Adding new features, services, or exclusive content can justify price increases and retain subscribers.

On the other hand, the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model offers more scalability and revenue flexibility because revenue is directly tied to usage volume rather than a fixed subscriber base. Businesses can grow revenue in several ways:

Encouraging More Frequent Use – Companies can create incentives for customers to use the service more often, such as dynamic pricing or special promotions.

Expanding Offerings – Businesses can introduce new features or services that increase usage without necessarily increasing prices.

Tapping into New Customer Segments – Since PAYG has lower entry barriers, it can attract a wider audience, including occasional users who wouldn’t commit to a subscription.

Impact on Business Strategy

Subscription models benefit from stable, predictable revenue but face growth limitations once they hit market saturation. Companies must innovate to retain users or find new markets.

PAYG models provide more room for expansion and revenue diversification but require continuous customer engagement strategies to drive repeat purchases.

For Jamaican and Caribbean businesses, a hybrid approach—offering both subscription and PAYG options—could provide the best of both worlds, allowing companies to maximize revenue potential while maintaining customer flexibility.

By thoughtfully selecting and implementing the appropriate revenue model, Jamaican and Caribbean businesses can enhance their competitiveness, cater to evolving customer needs, and achieve sustainable growth in the modern economy.

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GraceKennedy Limited (GK) Announces Additional Leadership Changes

These leadership changes align with the Company’s commitment to fostering a performance-driven culture while promoting innovation and consumer centricity.

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GraceKennedy Limited (GK) has announced key leadership changes set to take effect in 2025 as part of the Company’s succession plan.

Effective February 14, 2025, Andrea Coy will assume the role of CEO of GraceKennedy Foods, a move which will see the integration of the domestic and international segments of GK’s food division under a single leadership structure.

Since joining GraceKennedy in 2005 as Hi-Lo’s Financial Controller, Coy has held several key leadership roles within GK, including General Manager of Hi-Lo Food Stores and World Brands Services, CEO of Hardware & Lumber, Senior General Manager of the GK Foods Global Category Management Unit, and CEO of GK Foods Domestic. She has led GK’s international food operations since 2018 and is a member of the GK Executive Committee. Under her leadership, both GK’s domestic and international food businesses recorded significant growth in revenues and profitability. Coy holds degrees in Accounting from the University of the West Indies and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica. She specializes in Turnaround Management and has completed advanced studies in the field at Harvard Business School. She serves on the Board of the Bank of Jamaica.

Later this year, following a distinguished 25-year career at GK, Grace Burnett will retire as CEO of the GraceKennedy Financial Group (GKFG), effective August 14, 2025. Upon her retirement, Steven Whittingham, the current Deputy CEO of GKFG, will step into the role of CEO, ensuring a seamless transition in leadership.

Grace Burnett

Burnett joined GK in 2000 and has held several key leadership roles within the Group. She previously served as Managing Director of GK General Insurance and Allied Insurance Brokers, where she led strategic operations for GK’s insurance business. From 2014 to 2019, she was the CEO of GK’s Insurance Segment, driving growth and innovation in the sector. An attorney-at-law, she has been the CEO of GKFG since 2016 and holds the position of the President & CEO of GraceKennedy Money Services. She is also a member of the GK Executive Committee. Well-known for her expertise in customer service, operations, and talent development, Burnett has earned accolades both within GK and externally. Her outstanding contributions to the insurance industry and exemplary leadership were formally recognised in 2024 when she received the prestigious Insurance Association of Jamaica Leadership Excellence Award.

Steven Whittingham

Whittingham joined GK in 2013 and has been Deputy CEO of GKFG since 2022, overseeing the Group’s Insurance Segment, merchant banking, and investment portfolios. He is a member of the GK Executive Committee and leads GK’s digital transformation. He has held various leadership roles within GK, including Chief Investment Officer of GraceKennedy Limited, Chief Operating Officer of GKFG, President of First Global Financial Services and Managing Director of GK Capital Management. During his tenure he has been instrumental in driving GK’s expansion through strategic mergers, acquisitions, and greenfield startups, consistently delivering impressive growth across portfolios. Whittingham holds dual degrees in Systems Engineering and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 2024 he was appointed Chairman of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, and he has served on several public and private sector boards.

These announcements come as GK prepares for another major leadership transition later this week. Last month, the Company confirmed that Group CEO, the Honourable Don Wehby, CD, OJ, will retire on February 14, 2025, stepping down from the Board of Directors after a distinguished tenure.

He will be succeeded by Frank James, current CEO of GK Foods Domestic and former Group CFO. GraceKennedy remains steadfast in its commitment to executing its strategy and ensuring excellence across all its operations.

These leadership changes align with the Company’s commitment to fostering a performance-driven culture while promoting innovation and consumer centricity. As the GK team strives to achieve its vision of becoming the number one Caribbean brand in the world, these appointments will provide continuity and strategically position GraceKennedy for sustained growth and innovation in the years ahead.

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Businessuite Top 100 Caribbean Companies and CEO – 2024 Digital Edition

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Corporate Movements – February 2025

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Derrimon Trading Company advises that Mr. Winston Thomas has resigned from the Board of Directors of Derrimon Trading effective January 31, 2025. We thank Mr. Thomas for his contribution to the Board and wish him every success in his future endeavours.

Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited (SJ) wishes to advise that Mr. Gilbert Palter resigned as a Director of SJ and its subsidiary, Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited (SLJ) effective January 31, 2025. SJ is pleased to announce that the SJ and SLJ Boards have approved the appointment of Ms. Cathleen McLaughlin as a Director of these companies effective February 1, 2025, subject to regulatory approval. Ms. McLaughlin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania as well as a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has over three (3) decades of experience working in the area of Corporate Finance, including experience in capital markets in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Stefan Miller, as the acting CEO of Supreme Ventures Gaming Limited effective February 1, 2025.

Pan Jamaica Group Limited (‘PJG’) announces that Mr. Eric Scott, Deputy Chief Financial Officer will be leaving PJG to pursue other opportunities, effective March 31, 2025. PJG thanks Mr. Scott for his contribution to the Group and wishes him every success in his future endeavours.

 

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Industry Minister Wants More MSMEs Listed on Junior Market of Stock Exchange

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Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, says he wants to see more micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange this year.

He also urged MSMEs to take advantage of the recent amendment of the Income Tax Act, which allows companies to raise up to $750 million during an initial public offering, an increase of $250 million.

Senator Hill, who was addressing Wednesday’s (January 15) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, reasoned that the aim is to build companies that can compete not just in Jamaica but regionally and internationally.

“Two of our biggest companies have big companies in the United States – Grace and Jamaica Broilers Group. More than 50 per cent of Jamaica Broilers Group’s income comes not from Jamaica but from the United States, where they own a lot of companies,” he said.

Senator Hill shared that trade data show that between 1960 and 2021, negative trade balances were recorded in 60 of the 61 years.

A positive trade balance was only recorded in 1966.

“Unless we go and find new markets for our products and services and new markets for investments to come into Jamaica, we’re not going to be the rich country that we have to be,” he said.

“I want the private sector in Jamaica to realise that there are tremendous opportunities, as Jamaica is not the same country it was 10 years ago. Lots of people are making money the right way.

We want more and more Jamaicans to invest and we have 20 agencies in my ministry alone to work with you,” Senator Hill appealed.

For her part, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, said the Government is committed to facilitating further growth of the MSME sector.

“We believe that this will positively impact the MSME sector, as it will broaden the scope for more MSMEs to benefit from the suite of incentives afforded. Further, the increase will provide room for these companies to raise capital and improve productivity. This policy is in recognition of the pivotal role that MSMEs play in driving economic growth while promoting and encouraging local entrepreneurship,” Mrs. Williams said.

The 48 companies currently listed on the Junior Market benefit from a range of tax incentives that include conditional relief from income tax payments, exemption from transfer tax and stamp duty on transfer of shares.

The Junior Market had a market capitalisation of $148.5 billion as at the end of December 2024, having started with $785 million in 2009.

By: Judana Murphy,JIS

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