The Jamaica Stock Exchange is looking to Guyana!

So, the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) recently hosted its regional investments and capital markets conference in Guyana for the first time. 

The main focus of the conference was building out Guyana’s capital markets.

As you may know, Guyana is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, thanks to its oil and gas discoveries. The country has already produced over 11 billion barrels of oil and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Their economy is predicted to grow by over 30% this year!

The oil and gas industry is expected to propel the economy and attract a lot of investment. But on the flip side, the country is gonna need a whole lot of money to fund expansion to make sure it can sustain all the growth.

And that’s where Jamaica comes in. 

Capital markets refer to raising funds by issuing and trading in stocks, bonds and other long-term investments. 

As Guyana’s Finance Minister put it, the country’s financial needs, which are growing every day because of the rapid expansion of the economy, cannot be met solely through traditional means. 

And whether you believe it or not, Jamaica is one of the most advanced financial hubs in the Caribbean. I mean the JSE was listed as the best-performing global stock exchange twice. And more trading happens on the JSE than any other stock exchange in the English-speaking Caribbean – and it’s not even close.

So there’s a lot of expertise here.

As newly minted CEO of NCB Capital Markets, Angus Young said, developing Guyana’s domestic capital ensures that Guyanese citizens have the opportunity to participate in the success of the economy.

Also, let’s not pretend… Jamaica helping Guyana out gives us some goodwill. Like I said, Guyana is one of the fastest growing economies, AKA, a good friend to have. A good friend for the Government to have and a good friend for businesses to have. 

The Guyanese finance minister already invited Jamaican businesses to seek opportunities there.

So it’s a win-win for everybody.

And that’s the bottom line.