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Financial News

Feb 2007 Financial News

Regional stock exchange for 2007?

Feb 05, 2007

General manager of the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD), Robin Levy, is hopeful that the proposed regional stock exchange, which would integrate the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) and the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE), will come on stream before the end of this year.

Levy told members of the Rotary Club of Kingston on Thursday that the three exchanges have already ironed out all compatibility issues with their trading network and it is only now up to the regulators to approve the system.

"The technicalities are all out of the way in terms of the exchanges co-ordinating what we are doing; it's really now in the regulators' hands - the FSC, and the regulators from Trinidad and Barbados" notes Levy. "They have met at least twice and are currently having their own discussions.We are hoping that by the end of the year it will come on stream."

The proposal to integrate the regional trading of equities on what will be called the Caribbean Exchange Network was brought to light at the recently concluded second annual JSE Investments and Capital Markets Conference in Montego Bay. It is believed that merging the three exchanges will not only create a larger investor pool but will also attract more companies to go public in a region notorious for its slow membership growth rate.

"The investors in all three territories will be able to invest in companies listed on any of the exchanges so they will have a larger (set) of options and they will be able to diversify their portfolio," says Levy. "Also, companies interested in coming to the market from any of the territories will have a larger investor pool so they will have more liquidity. this will certainly attract more companies (to list)."

In 1991, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados, in an effort to achieve greater mass and deeper regional integration, entered into an arrangement for cross-border trading. Today, however, while there are a little over 100 companies on the three exchanges combined, only a total of 11 companies are cross-listed and a variety of problems with cross-border transactions have prompted the new proposal for a harmonised regional exchange. The board members of the three exchanges are also lobbying for a 50 per cent reduction in cross-listing fees.


Source:
Julian Richardson
The Jamaica Observer
Sunday 4th February, 2007

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20070203T210000-0500_118742_OBS_REGIONAL_STOCK_EXCHANGE_FOR_______.asp