The 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) was held on Thursday, June 22, 2017 at the offices of the JSE, 40 Harbour Street Kingston at 1:00 p.m. The meeting started with the JSE’s Chairman, Mr. Ian McNaughton, giving his report on the financial performance of the JSE. The Chairman stated that 2016 was another successful year for the JSE; a year in which profits climbed to a record $224M from $175M in 2015, a 28% increase; Total Equity rose from $621M to $808M, a 41% increase, while earnings per stock moved from $0.25 to $0.32, a 28% increase.
“The JSE would like to use this medium to express our appreciation to the Government for keeping the incentives in place for the Junior Market companies,” said the Chairman. “The JSE continues to appeal to Small and Medium-Sized businesses to make use of the Government’s tax incentives expeditiously to ensure that their businesses grow and develop. This would in turn result in the continued economic upturn of the country, a win-win for all stakeholders. The Board and Management of the JSE expect to see new listings on the markets in 2017 with the reinstating of the Junior Market Corporate Tax Holiday incentive programme and the preparations companies are making to access equity capital. We will continue to impress on companies the need to examine their debt/equity ratio so as to achieve long-term revival and sustainability. This should no doubt result in greater utilization of the market. We are also expecting that all aspects of the JSE’s business will continue to grow in 2017 especially the Depository Services and Trustees Services, as more of our Members Dealers and their clients seek creative avenues for business financing and wealth creation.”
The Managing Director of the JSE, Mrs. Street Forrest stated, “2016 was a remarkable year for the JSE and I commend the Board, Management and Staff for their effort to allow the Exchange to have a stellar performance. We are guided by our 2020 strategic plan and look forward in the coming years to continue to diversify our revenue stream to allow for the continued growth of the Stock Exchange. We are endeavouring to provide value to our stakeholders and especially our customers that in the long run will maintain the profitability of the Exchange. We continue to mobilize capital for companies and by doing this create avenue for investors to create wealth and become part owners of these companies and by extension grow the economy.”
The AGM was not without its share of excitement. During the question and answer session, shareholders made their observations, asked the Board of Directors and Management some pointed questions and ventilated their concerns.
The resolutions were voted on and all passed by the shareholders.
At a Special Board Meeting immediately after the AGM Mr. Ian McNaughton and Mr. Gary Peart were returned as Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively.
