Diaspora Encouraged to Invest in Jamaica Stock Market
By: , October 9, 2014The Key Point:
The Facts
- Chairman of the JSE, Allan Lewis, noted that the JSE, for its part, has a unique role to play by facilitating the transfer of savings to productive enterprises in the country.
- Speaking of the ease with which people can now manage investments on the JSE, Mr. Lewis said persons can use the exchange’s website to view the list of companies listed and decide where they want to invest.
The Full Story
Members of the Jamaican Diaspora are being encouraged to actively participate in the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) as a means of helping to drive economic growth in the country.
“The Diaspora presents a wonderful opportunity to help the development of the country by investing in Jamaica through the stock exchange,” said Chairman of the JSE, Allan Lewis, while addressing a JIS Think Tank on Wednesday, October 8.
He noted that the JSE, for its part, has a unique role to play by facilitating the transfer of savings to productive enterprises in the country.
“To the extent that we can convince those living outside of the country to invest in Jamaica, the stock exchange stands ready to facilitate such investments,” Mr. Lewis said.
Speaking of the ease with which people can now manage investments on the JSE, Mr. Lewis said persons can use the exchange’s website to view the list of companies listed and decide where they want to invest.
“The beauty of the stock market today is that you don’t have to physically come to Jamaica to do so, you can stay in New York, in China wherever you are and invest, and the more persons do that the better we believe Jamaica will become,’ Mr. Lewis pointed out.
In the meantime, Assistant Vice-President of Treasury and Trading at Scotia Investments, Gregory Samuels, said that now is the right time to invest in the stock market.
Noting the recent positive reviews of the Jamaican economy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Standard and Poor’s, he said there is a direct correlation with the growth of the economy and the performance of the stock exchange.
“We have the companies that can help to grow wealth, that can help to give local manufacturers and owners the capital they need to continue this growth…the market has been underpriced for a while, it’s about to take off, and now is the time to invest,” he added.
The JSE is celebrating 45 years of operations in Jamaica providing a fair, efficient and transparent stock market to create wealth for Jamaicans.