The Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Regulatory & Market Oversight Division (RMOD) on Friday September 18, 2009, launched its pioneering Automated Market Surveillance System at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel.
The system, which has been in development for the past year, will facilitate near real-time monitoring, investigating and tracking of trading activities on the JSE.
Mrs. Street Forrest in her opening remarks stated that, “in 2008 the JSE announced that it would be stepping up its surveillance and monitoring systems to ensure that we keep in line with international standards making sure that manipulation and insider trading is not even conceived by those who would want to do so. We have done well so far in respect to market regulation and surveillance. However, we seek to do better [by the implementation of this system] as we are aware, especially now when globally the spotlight is turned on proper regulation, that is important to reinforce and improve market confidence”.
The Chief Regulatory Officer, Wentworth Graham sees the need to streamline the division’s operations to ensure market efficiency. Mr. Graham emphasized that, “the Division requires a real-time, market surveillance system which will assist in the monitoring and tracking of potentially suspicious activities which may occur during trading on the JSE”, he also stated that “the new system, will assist in market surveillance, analysis and compliance, thereby improving the services offered by the RMOD to the market”.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Regulatory & Market Oversight Committee (RMOC), Mr. Livingstone Morrison, highlighted that the launch of this system marks another significant milestone for the Regulatory & Market Oversight Committee (RMOC) and the RMOD. “The RMOC is in the business of engineering market efficiency…..which requires that we ensure that information is made available to the investing public on a timely basis to allow for all available information to be reflected in stock prices quoted on the Exchange”, he explained.
Continuing, he pointed out that the Automated Market Surveillance System would help the RMOD to benchmark its regulatory and market surveillance and monitoring activities against international best practices. It will also strengthen the institutional arrangements necessary to ensure strict compliance with the market rules.
The Keynote speaker at the event, Executive Director of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Mr. Rohan Barnett commended the RMOD and the JSE for its role and initiatives in providing a fair, efficient and transparent Stock Market. He further stated, that “The JSE will be the first Stock Exchange in the Caribbean to employ an automated market surveillance system which means the JSE has joined the international trend in many developed financial markets in the USA, UK, Europe and Asia where exchanges have automated their market surveillance. The FSC looks forward to the utilization of this system to advance the efficiency of regulation, supervision and monitoring”, he stated.
“[This is extremely important] as all forms of market manipulation or abuses undermine investors’ confidence in the fairness and integrity of the securities market”, he further explained.
The RMOD’s Market Surveillance System comes on the heels of the JSE’s plans to integrate the region’s markets through the Caribbean Exchange Network (CXN), where, the system will definitely be a necessity.
