Listing prospects, market support unveiled at confab
Published:Friday | January 29, 2021 | 12:22 AM
Brokers revealed plans for new financial, real estate and index fund listings along with US$5 million in market support, during the annual Jamaica Stock Exchange capital markets conference that wrapped up in New Kingston on Thursday.
“We are going to take our real estate financing company, Sygnus Real Estate Finance, to the market this year,” said Beresford Grey, head and co-founder of Sygnus Capital.
The new financing company is seeking to raise US$20 million to US$30 million to invest in real estate ventures and projects, Grey said.
American brokerage GTS also announced plans to list exchange traded funds, or ETFs, on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. ETFs track an index or basket of securities on the equities market.
“An ETF is a security that trades like a stock that you can buy readily. We hope to grow that marketplace significantly over the next couple of years to launch ETFs directly on the JSE,” said Reginald Browne, principal at GTS Securities, while addressing the conference that was streamed online for the first time from Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
Browne said he will work with local brokers to determine which ETFs are appropriate for the Jamaican market. “We are working to bring their ideas to the marketplace,” he said.
Hundreds of ETFs trade on the US markets. In Jamaica, two index funds joined the market in the past two years: Sagicor Select Funds - Financial, which tracks the JSE Financial Index; and Sagicor Select Funds - Manufacturing & Distribution, which tracks the JSE M&D Index. Both are locally issued by Sagicor Investments Jamaica and are priced in Jamaican dollars.
The JSE indicated that for ETFs launched in US dollars, the listing would have to get the approval of the Bank of Jamaica.
“I believe, depending on the quantum offered to the market, there may be approval. We recognise the issue, but this is an ETF, which are structured to hedge risks,” JSE Group Managing Director Marlene Street Forrest said in response to Financial Gleaner queries.
In 2016, the JSE attempted to list US popular stocks by way of a proxy listing, called depositary receipts. Two brokers initially received approval for Jamaica Depositary Receipts, or JDRs, but regulatory issues led to the shelving of the listings.
“Concerning the JDR, the JSE will be approaching the Bank of Jamaica on this again,” said Street Forrest.
Profin seeking to list
On Wednesday, Profin Group, based in Haiti, said that they continue to work with the JSE for an eventual listing, but gave no timeline. The group provides financial services, including investment banking, regional investment funds and venture capital funds.
Meanwhile, the board of directors at NCB Financial Group have approved the allocation of up to US$5 million, to be spent over the next five years on capital market development across the region, according to Steven Gooden, CEO of NCB Capital Markets.
“Areas of focus will include, but is not limited to, financial inclusion, market liquidity, technology, alternative investments, impact funding, ratings and regulations,” said Gooden.
“The approach is a collaborative one and the markets we will focus on to start are Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana,” he said.