Apr 2008 Financial News

Regional exchange misses start-up date

Apr 02, 2008

A regional stock exchange encompassing publicly traded companies in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago by using the Caribbean Exchange Network (CXN) missed its April 1 start-up date yesterday.

The long-awaited CXN is meant to integrate the operations of the exchanges in the three countries and its vision is to create a common Caribbean securities market, removing as far as possible whatever obstacles exist to the free interplay of market forces.

The three exchanges are continuing the processes necessary to make the regional exchange a reality but other problems have arisen.

Meanwhile, the local stock exchange yesterday announced a five day trading.

Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange general manager and chief executive officer Wain Iton noted that getting new companies listed on the TTSE, which currently has between 33 to 34 companies, was also a major part of the development plan.

"We want to be as big as possible," he commented.

He noted that investors reaction has been favourable and investors would have access to their assets every day of the week, similar to a bank.

Stock trading days were previously only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Continuous trading on every business day, Monday to Friday excluding Carnival Monday and Tuesday or public holidays, commenced yesterday.

In relation to the regional trading, Iton told the Express: "As exchanges are doing what we have to do but there are regulatory issues now that are outside out control."

The difficulty in projects such as these is that the exchanges don't retain full control to implement them and now have to wait on the relevant authorities to complete the regulatory requirements, he added in a telephone interview last Friday.

Market sensitisation issues are other factors that have led to the hiccup in getting the regional stock exchange off the ground, in addition to formalising the regulations across several jurisdictions, Iton added.

It is reasonable to say the exchange could be up and running by the end of the year, he said, and advised investors to continue trading the way they were now.


Source:
Curtis Rampersad
The Daily Express, Page 10
Wednesday April 2, 2008

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_business?id=161302005