Jun 2004 Financial News

CMMB Eyes Local Stock Market

Jun 28, 2004

BY NEXT YEAR, CARIBBEAN MONEY Market Brokers should be listed on the local stock exchange. This from Keith Duncan, son of founder Joan Duncan, in an interview with the BUSINESS AUTHORITY about the continuation of his mother’s vision for the capital money markets within the Caribbean.

Joan Duncan, a Jamaican, started the company, Jamaica Money Market Brokers, back in 1992 from her daughter’s apartment.

She passed away in 1998 and the legacy which she left was carried on by her daughter Donna Duncan-Scott and son Keith.

“My mother set a firm foundation for our growth. The vision was to create vibrant, dynamic secondary market trading for fixed income securities and other securities across the Caribbean. We have done very well; we are the largest security dealer in Jamaica. We have a huge capital base of JAM$4 billion, market capitalisation of US$500 million, and we are listed on stock exchanges in Jamaica and Trinidad,” he said.

He added that Barbados would be next. They are already a member of the local stock exchange but the listing should take place within a year.

Keith, now deputy managing director of the company, said they had a client base of 80 000 plus, and a strong client base in Trinidad as well. But CMMV’s vision was still young and its sights were not only focussed on the geographical spaces in which they currently operated.

The vision was “to package Caribbean financial services not only for the Caribbean market, but also for international markets including. That is North America, Europe and Asia.

He told the BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY the company intends to make this vision a reality by moving through the Caribbean, setting up businesses and developing expertise and then financially engineer products to meet the needs of the investors and institutional retailers across the region.

The 41-year old, who is carrying on his mother’s vision, said after CMMB consolidates the Caribbean, the intention was to move and also make clear the differences between Latin American and Caribbean financial instruments.

Duncan stressed that most investors in North America, Asia and Europe and the Caribbean Diaspora, tended to look at Latin America and the Caribbean as one big group but the two had very distinctive traits.

“The Caribbean has been very stable politically, has never defaulted on debt outside a few territories, and therefore we are seen as a very stable region, so we intend to highlight those differences between ourselves and Latin America and bring the Caribbean into the indices of the world, and have us seen as a receiver of investors from across the world,” he said.

He added that this would help make the Caribbean a powerful regional block.

“We have all the elements to make ourselves first world. We have bright, bright people to move us forward in the capital markets,” he said.

As to what method would be used, that was not yet etched in stone, but he said the company was not averse to strategic alliances but they were very open, and “each player would have to bring something to the table”.

Duncan said currently investment support from Caribbean nationals was very high for the brokerage firm, and 15 to 20 per cent of investments came from the Diaspora.

He added that the intellectual capital and money which first and second generation Caribbean people overseas had, and were willing to put back into the region, would be their winning formula.

As for his expectations from the Barbados location, he said this market was still very conservative and education would have to be a major part of their action plan. He views investment as a way to grow and meet one’s goals, and that was what they intended to teach.

The ambition is to have 20 per cent of Barbados’ market share within a two year period.

Source: http://www.nationnews.com/StoryView.cfm?Record=51045&Section=Business&Current=2004-06-28%2000%3A00%3A00