(KINGSTON, June 25, 2009): Yesterday’s 32nd Annual General Meeting of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) was hailed as an important milestone in the Organization’s history, being its first as a publicly listed company.
Chairman Mr. Curtis Martin spoke to the commendable financial and strategic achievements of the JSE in 2008. He noted that the financial results in particular were significantly buoyed by a few substantive transactions during the year. Mr. Martin said “the JSE Group was able to record a substantive profit for the year in the amount of $208M, up from $44M in 2007, which is an increase of over 300%. Earnings per share increased from 68 cents to a very impressive $6.19 per share. Total Assets rose from $1.02 billion in 2007 to $1.22 Billion in 2008. This was a very healthy growth given the turbulent times”.
General Manager of the JSE, Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, spoke to the vision of the JSE for 2009and beyond. She looked at several of the areas that the JSE would be working assiduously on to ensure the continued viability of the Exchange and the fulfillment of its mandate for Jamaica’s capital market development, including:
- The launch and development of the Junior Market. Small and medium size companies will be targeted and at least four (4) companies are expected to list before the year- end.
- Development of new products for the market, to ensure the continued diversification of the JSE’s revenue stream and provision of additional choices for Jamaican investors.
- Enhancement of the Company’s internal infrastructure in readiness for CXN.
- The development of a training institute ; and
- Continued and greater collaboration with the Government, investors, listed companies & other key stakeholders.
Miss Nicole Lambert; was appointed to the Board, to represent the Jamaica Bar Association, replacing Miss Hilary Phillips Q. C. who resigned during the year to take up appointment as a Judge in Jamaica’s Court of Appeal.
At the Board of Directors meeting held immediately after the AGM, Mr. Curtis Martin, of Capital & Credit Group was re-elected Chairman of the Board while Mr. Christopher Williams of NCB Capital Markets was appointed Deputy Chairman.
