The most important stock exchange of Jamaica is the Jamaica Stock Exchange established in 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica.
The main objectives of the Jamaica Stock Exchange may be listed as follows:
The main goal of the
Jamaica Stock Exchange is the development of the stock market and the stock exchange in Jamaica.
It is monitored that the
Stock brokers in the stock exchange operate in the highest standard possible.
Rules are formulated to gain the public confidence in the stock market and the stock market brokers.
Jamaica Stock Exchange facilitates the transaction of the stock market business.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange conducts research and circulates information in the domestic and international market.
The types of shares offered in the Jamaica Stock Exchange are the following:
- Ordinary or common shares
- Preference Shares
- Corporate Bonds
The Jamaica Stock Exchange do not trade in Government bonds. The Government bonds are traded in the Bank of Jamaica in the over the counter market.
Listing of securities in the Jamaica Stock Exchange
The securities are listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange depend on the Council of the Exchange . The Council in turn transfers the responsibility on a duly appointed committee.
The companies which want their shares to be listed in the Jamaica Stock Exchange must fulfill the following eligibility criteria:
- The total loan capital and the issued share should equal or exceed $200,000. the portion of the share capital should not be below $100,000.
- For ordinary shares there should be a minimum of 100 shareholders holding not less than $50,000.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange has become fully automated since January 2000. Its automated trading platform is known as Sunrise . The Jamaica Central Securities Depository was established in 1998 and since then the back office operations like clearing and settlement is fully automated. The following are the advantages of the automated trading system introduced in Jamaica:
- Efficiency is enhanced due to perfection in the entire system.
- Increase in the processing fees
- Reduction of the operating costs
- Reduction in the risk associated with the clearing and the settlement of transactions.
- Shortening of the settlement cycle brought about by automation.
To help the Broker- Members' clients in certain situation, the Jamaica Stock Exchange has created a Compensation Fund that compensates their losses. The contributions in the Compensation Fund is made by the Broker-members after considering their equity and preferred transactions.