By: Anthony Morgan

President and CEO of Sagicor Group, Christopher Zacca, says with the company now pretty much out of tourism, the focus is on expanding their real estate and insurance portfolios in the Caribbean.

President and CEO of Sagicor Group, Christopher Zacca

For 2020, the company made some $14 billion for shareholders, down from the $15.6 billion recorded a year earlier. Zacca said the company would have hit the $16 billion mark last year if not for its remaining tourism investment.

Earlier this year, the Sagicor Group sold all its stock in Playa Hotel and Resorts at US$5 per share for a total of more than J$14 billion (US$100 million). However the Group still has a 20% holding of Sagicor Real Estate X Fund which owns the DoubleTree Hotel in Orlando.

“Our share of those losses would have come to about $2 billion,” said Zacca.  

At the same time, the CEO said tourism wasn’t a failed experiment for the company, adding that they could make a return to the industry should they see good deals with the potential of providing a valuable income stream rather than operational risks.

“We pride ourselves in contributing to national development and national growth and I think we aided the growth of tourism through our investments. There comes a time though when you have to look at what’s best for your shareholders and we just feel that at this time with the pandemic still raging, it’s better that we focus on our core [segment] and real estate development, which will continue to boost the economy as it recovers,” he said.

 Zacca said the company plans to venture into the commercial side of the real estate business, but is not looking to build office spaces especially with many companies closing their physical doors due to the health crisis.

He added that the plan is to also expand beyond local shores to other Caribbean territories.

“Commercial real estate meaning large residential developments; also warehousing because all the numbers are showing us that there’s a huge demand for warehousing which exceeds supply. We can also look at tourism or attractions as the industry rebounds but we would be more on the owning and leasing side rather than taking the operational risk,” said the CEO.

Meanwhile, Mr. Zacca said the Group also has plans to expand general insurance in Central America and life insurance in the Caribbean.

Last year, the CEO said the insurance segment of the group did “amazingly well”, making more than 2019.  Investments, he said, also came close to the previous year, with those figures also likely to improve through the upcoming launch of Sagicor Investments Cayman. 

“We have it up and running but we’re awaiting final approval from the regulators,” said Zacca. 

The Sagicor Group plans to become fully digital in the next three years. Zacca said the company has started to digitize all processes and touch points, noting that the transition will help the company drive profitability.

The company is currently the e-commerce engine behind many of the food delivery applications being used during the pandemic. Zacca noted that traffic on their e-commerce platform has also exceeded expectations.

“I’m not willing to share details yet but the e-commerce platform has really come into its own. I think it’s competitive. In terms of the platform, it’s superior, and fee wise it’s competitive and being taken up by big and small businesses so we really are playing our role in terms of the new economy moving forward,” he said.

The CEO also noted that the company stands ready to work with the Bank of Jamaica on the rollout of the digital Jamaican dollar next year.

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