Monique Hepburn, News Editor
Roy Johnson, executive chairman of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), speaks at the launch of the inaugural Regional Conference on Investments and the Capital Markets at the Office of the Prime Minister in Montego Bay, yesterday. The three-day conference is scheduled for January 17-19, 2006 at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay. - HERBERT MCKENIS/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
WESTERN BUREAU:
WITH THE agenda of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) far advanced, Roy Johnson, executive chairman of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), is calling for increased discussion and analysis on how the regime will impact local and regional capital markets.
"In our view the CSME is really a tool that is to be used for growth and development in the region, but unless we understand how to use the tool and its likely impact, we will not benefit from its creation," said Mr. Johnson.
PROVIDING FORMAL FRAMEWORK
He was speaking at the launch of the JSE's inaugural Regional Conference on Investments and the Capital Markets at the Office of the Prime Minster in Montego Bay, yesterday.
"CARICOM has drafted and circulated a financial services agreement which is aimed at providing a formal framework for harmonisation and convergence in the provision of financial services in the region. But we do not feel that there has been enough understanding of the likely impact of the CSME to enable the market actors to properly position themselves."
Mr. Johnson contended that the JSE does not believe that the impact of the financial services agreement and its impact on the development of Jamaica's capital markets is clearly understood by all the stakeholders concerned.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULED
The three-day conference is scheduled for January 17-19, 2006 at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay. It is to be held under the theme "Creating Investment Opportunities for the growth and development of the region's capital market in a globalised environment" and is being sponsored by Oppenheimer and Company Incorporated.
Presenters will include Prime Minister PJ Patterson and the prime ministers of Barbados and St. Lucia, Owen Arthur and Dr. Kenneth Anthony, respectively. Other speakers include Sam Stovall, director of Standard and Poors and Sir Shridath Ramphall, Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies.
