Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter
Roy Johnson, executive chairman, Jamaica Stock Exchange. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WESTERN BUREAU:
ROY JOHNSON, chairman of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), says consensus is critical if the region is to translate years of animated talk into the vibrant action needed to exploit the new CARICOM Single Market reality.
"The mindset of the key players has been more focused on the difficulties and the initial competitive disadvantages their own jurisdictions could encounter, as against the mechanism to overcome those difficulties," said Johnson during his address to delegates at the JSE conference on Investments and the Capitals Markets in Montego Bay, on Wednesday.
Noting that the idea of an integrated Caribbean capital market was generated from as far back as 1989 and has yet to be implemented, Johnson said if the Caribbean countries are not prepared they will be left behind.
"In order for the region to achieve it's full potential and play a more dynamic role in the international economy ... it must resolve the perceived and real problems of integration and organise itself regionally," he stated.
REGIONAL INTEGRATION
With its multiplicity of politicians and bureaucrats to administer the affairs for such a small regional population, Johnson suggested that regional integration would not be effective unless bureaucratic red tape is eliminated.
He also said there is significant split between those in decision-making positions, those affected by the decisions and those who have tasks affecting the decision.
"Stakeholders must know the roles they are required to play" he said. The media articulated aspects of the issue but no consistent approach has been evident so that significant stakeholders remain sceptical about the viability of a regionally integrated economy.
He emphasised the need to develop a capital market through which the region can develop the critical mass needed to attract international capital. This requires regional markets to be harmonised by paying attention to the policy framework and regulatory oversight of the capital markets across the region.
The free flow of capital across the region must be ensured by enhancing the cooperation and integration of the exchanges, he said.
He also proposed the cross listing of companies presently traded on the Caribbean Exchange minus initial listing fees if they if they met special criteria, one of which would be the agreement to issue 40 per cent of their stock to the market.
