KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaican investors are now able to acquire shares in entities listed on the Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange (DCSX). This, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), facilitating the arrangement between the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) and the DCSX.

According to a release on Tuesday, the MOU was signed during a Bell-Ringing Ceremony at the JSE in Kingston.

The partnership is expected to enable the cross-listing of companies on both exchanges and facilitate greater educational training, via the JSE e-Campus, and leveraging of online trading platforms.

In his remarks, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill, welcomed the arrangement, describing it as one which supports Jamaica’s economy, which, he pointed out, grew by 8.2 per cent in 2021.

Senator Hill, who noted that the Companies Office of Jamaica registered 4,570 new companies and 13,432 business names since January, said this indicated that “business confidence is high, up to 18.3 points [in] September”.

“We’re seeing [that] that’s the highest [out-turn recorded] in about 20 years,” he added.

Meanwhile, managing director of the JSE Group, Dr Marlene Street Forrest, said the MOU allows local investors a “foot into [the] European [markets]”, adding that “[the] DCSX will also have a foot into Jamaica and the other Caribbean islands”.

“The strength of this relationship is the fact that if our smaller exchanges combine externally, it will be seen as a force and people will see it as a place to invest. When you’re smaller, it’s harder to attract capital inflow [and] foreign direct investments. So, joining together with other exchanges in the region is really the way to go,” she said.

For his part, managing director of DCSX, Dirk-Jan de Graaff, said focus will be placed on furthering the Exchange’s linkages with international partners, noting that their collaborations have, so far, afforded them access to markets in Latin and South America.

He added that “via our European partnerships, we try to connect Dutch and European capital, not only to our local community but also to our international partners,” advising that the DCSX is “intensifying relationships with other countries in the region [as well as] Colombia, Brazil, and Suriname [among others].”