JSE going regional through JCSD Trustee service
Published:Friday | October 27, 2023 | 12:08 AM
Jamaica Stock Exchange Limited, which operates as JSE Group, is prospecting for business within the Caribbean as a custodian of investment securities. The intent to go regional was first disclosed during the capital markets conference co-hosted by…
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Jamaica Stock Exchange Limited, which operates as JSE Group, is prospecting for business within the Caribbean as a custodian of investment securities.
The intent to go regional was first disclosed during the capital markets conference co-hosted by JSE in Guyana in mid-October.
“We are working to have this completed by 2024,” JSE Group Managing Director Marlene Street Forrest reaffirmed this week to the Financial Gleaner.
The push will be done through JCSD Trustee Services Limited, a 15-year old operation that offers trustee services and custodianship of securities.
Street Forrest said the plan had a twofold objective: aiding the development of a capital market within the Caribbean; and developing a new revenue stream for JSE Group.
“In line with the company’s strategic initiatives, we assess the need of the markets to see if there is a need for our service, any growth opportunity in the market, and for further diversification of our income stream,” said Street Forrest. However, she anticipates challenges in recruiting talent and acclimatising to the slow pace at which things get done in many Caribbean markets.
“It is difficult to identify persons with the requisite skills,” she said.
Additionally: “Travelling between Caribbean islands is very difficult and time-consuming, as there are no direct flights to many of the islands.”
JCSD Trustee Services is a direct subsidiary of the Jamaica Central Securities Depository Limited, which is owned 100 per cent by JSE Group.
Last year, the depository grew its revenue to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion in 2021. JCSD Trustee Services revenue was not disclosed.
The JCSD itself did 951,626 transactions, which involved a volume of 10.44 billion shares valued at $74.35 billion. That’s almost twice the volume and the value seen the year before, when JCSD completed 505,334 transactions involving 13.12 billion share units valued at $38.4 billion.
JSE Group’s total revenue tops $2 billion annually. Its earning come from the operations of JCSD and JCSD Trustee Services, fees charged for listing and other services, cess and fees for market trades, and the operation of the JSE eCampus.