FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 7, 2015
The Leader of the Opposition visited the Jamaica Stock Exchange
(KINGSTON, January7, 2015): On Wednesday, January 7, 2015, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Andrew Holness, MP, along with his team (Mr. Karl Samuda; Miss Fayval Williams & Mr. Kent Gammon), visited the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD) for the first time since assuming office in January 2012. On hand to receive the Opposition Leader and his team were members of the Board, management and staff of the JSE Group.
Speaking at the Bell Ringing Ceremony, JSE General Manager Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest stated that “We are all aware of the many concerns to be addressed along our path to sustainable economic growth, these include: Transparency in the conduct of businesses; Reduction in unemployment; The development of alternatives to debt financing; Offering an efficient and transparent avenue for divestment of Government assets; Nurturing of an enabling environment to grow local businesses, increase capital formation and entrepreneurship; and Improving Regional & Global Competitiveness. The full and proper utilization of the Exchange can assist with achievement of these objectives. Continuous dialogue and partnership between the Government and the JSE can redound to achieving the desired goals”. She noted that of the over 60,000 companies registered with the Companies Office of Jamaica, the 35 listed on the JSE paid over seventy percent (70%) of the corporate tax collected. Mrs. Street Forrest suggested that, “It would seem logical that the Government, of which you are a part, must seek to encourage more companies to list on the Exchange”. She went on to note that the JSE will be introducing new products to the market, such as Online Trading and Depository Receipts, in the first quarter of 2015.
Deputy Chairman of the JSE, Mr. Ian McNaughton, welcomed the touring party and updated the audience on the products and services currently offered by the JSE Group. He reminded that the JSE not only offered the Main, Junior, U$ and Bond Markets, but that its subsidiary, Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD), is responsible for the efficient paper-free settlement of share trading and also offers a wide range of financial support services, such as registrar, transfer and paying agent services. He went on to inform that the JCSD in turn had a subsidiary, JCSD Trustee Services, which offered necessary trustee services to collective investment schemes and corporate bond issuers. He noted that this enlarged suite of services and products had positioned the JSE Group nicely to assist capital market growth in a variety of ways.
The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Andrew Holness expressed his delight to be at the Exchange, which he correctly hailed as the oldest in the English Speaking Caribbean, and noted that the Opposition saw the needed for a vibrant Stock Exchange as a critical part of growing the Jamaican economy. He noted that Jamaica’s rich human resources were being stifled by the current lack of economic development and posited that governments in developing economies such as ours have a role to play as market makers by putting underutilized resources, capital and entrepreneurs in touch with each other for the sake of economic stimulation. Mr. Holness questioned the rationale for changing the incentives offered for the Junior Market at precisely the time when economic stimulation was needed. He noted that the change had only seemed to stifle the largely successful market, with only two companies coming on board since that announcement. He noted the Opposition’s position that there is the need for Government to divest some services and entities, such as the National Water Commission, to the private sector. These entities could then enjoy improved capital funding and operational efficiency while serving to reduce Government’s debt.
After Mr. Holness rang the Stock Exchange’s opening bell, signaling the start of the day’s trading, the representatives of the Opposition met with the JSE team to discuss the efforts at developing the Stock Market and the regulatory efforts of the Exchange.
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CONTACT:
NEVILLE ELLIS
JAMAICA STOCK EXCHANGE
TEL: (876) 967-3271
