Bill to Restore Junior Stock Exchange Incentives to be Tabled

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says he intends to table a Bill in Parliament to restore incentives under the Junior Stock Exchange.

Speaking at a Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) breakfast meeting at The Knutsford Court Hotel, in Kingston, today (September 13), the Minister announced that the Bill will be tabled either today or Tuesday, September 20.

Emphasising the importance of the Junior Stock Exchange to the growth and development of local businesses, he cited the success of the iCool products by Lasco Manufacturing Limited (LML) and its founder, Lascelles Chin.

“He created iCool straight out of the Junior Stock Exchange. He told me that iCool is not only penetrating Jamaica, but they are now in the Guyana export market and they are targeting Trinidad and Tobago and other export markets,” Mr. Shaw said.

The Minister also singled out Jamaican Teas Ltd. as another success story, which is heavily involved in the export market.

Meanwhile, in an interview with JIS News, General Manager of the Jamaica Stock Market, Marlene Street Forrest, said she is pleased with Minister Shaw’s announcement.

“Continued talk about this means that the Government is serious. It means we’ll be seeing more companies being listed. Companies want to be listed but are not going forward until this (incentivising) is being done,” she said.

Mrs. Forrest pointed out that more companies should be “coming to market” in the fourth quarter of this year.

Incentives under the Junior Stock Exchange include a 10-year period when no corporate tax is paid for the first five years and 50 per cent of the prevailing rate is paid in the next five years; and companies have access to capital as a result of preferential treatment from banks.