National Commercial Bank of Jamaica plans listing on New York Stock Exchange

(Dow Jones Newswires) – National Commercial Bank of Jamaica has filed plans to offer up to US$225 million in American depositary shares (ADS) as the Jamaican bank looks to raise funds for general corporate purposes.

The company as well as shareholders plan to offer an undisclosed number of ADS.

National Commercial is Jamaica’s largest and most profitable banking and financial-services company, based on consolidated total assets and profit for fiscal 2011, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company had a 29.1 percent share of the Jamaican banking and financial services market regulated by the Bank of Jamaica, as measured by consolidated total assets, as of Dec. 31. Shares of the company are currently listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange.

For the six months ended March 31, National Commercial reported a net profit of 4.77 billion Jamaican dollars (US$54.8 million), down from a year-earlier profit of JMD6.12 billion (US$70.3 million) as higher operating expenses masked improved operating income. It had roughly US$4.25 billion in total assets as of March 31.

The company also plans to use proceeds to finance the expansion and improvements to its infrastructure and to pursue potential future acquisitions and other strategic investments.

The company has been authorized to list its ADS on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NCJ.