Marlene Street (centre), general manager of Jamaica Stock Exchange. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
THREE HEADS of state have so far confirmed their participation in the Jamaica Stock Exchange's inaugural regional conference on investments and the capital markets, to be held January 17 to 19, 2006 at the Half Moon Club in Montego Bay.
The Prime Ministers are P.J. Patterson of Jamaica, Owen Arthur of Barbados and Dr. Kenneth Anthony of St. Lucia.
The conference is being staged in association with Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. under the theme: "Creating Investment Opportunities for the Growth and Development of the Region's Capital Markets in a Globalised Environment." Among the list of distinguished speakers are Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. Omar Davies; Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Bruce Golding; Chancellor Emeritus, University of the West Indies, Sir Shridath Ramphal; Director-General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica, Dr. Wesley Hughes; Federico Sacasa of Caribbean & Central America Action; Michael Moore of U.S. Securities Exchange Commission; Sam Stovall of Standard and Poors; Alexandre Ibrahim of New York Stock Exchange; Gregory Fisher of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Professor Avinash Persaud of Intelligence Capital.
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Speaking at a Press Briefing in Montego Bay Tuesday, general manager of the JSE, Mrs. Marlene Street-Forrest said, "The exchange believes we ought to facilitate the exploitation of the capital market and investment opportunities in Jamaica, within the region and globally."
It is against this a background that the JSE is hosting the three-day conference, "to provide the forum to bring parties together for investment discussion, and enable participants to have better and more accurate information about opportunities that exist within the region and where there are impediments, to discuss these, proffer and set a timetable for result oriented solutions."
Mrs. Street-Forrest says the local Exchange is committed to highlighting and emphasising regional stock markets in respect to providing a source for investment and capital formation. She says the Exchange will delve into offering of new products such as bond and mutual funds and focus on showcasing the market as a sound and attractive investment destination.
She notes that while traditionally stock exchanges have focused largely on facilitating transactions in respect to the equities market, only few have not broadened their horizon and widened the products and securities offered to the market. In keeping with its mandate to facilitate the growth and development of the market, the 36-year-old Jamaica Stock Exchange has now embarked on other activities of market development and has laid the foundation for ensuring that there is excellent infrastructure to maintain an efficient market.
She says the Stock Exchange recently formed an important alliance with Bloomberg, recognising that market information allows the world financial centres and its emerging market fund managers a tool to measure the equity performance and the volatility of the market.
