Riding on the historical linkage between Ghana and Jamaica, the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), has signed a historic memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) to forge a stronger relationship across the stock markets and the economies of both countries.
This is the first time such an agreement is being signed with a Caribbean exchange and it presents enormous opportunities for both exchanges.
The step towards the MoU was occasioned by an earlier Regional Investment and Capital Market Conference in January 2022.
Formalising the partnership through the signing of the MoU, the Managing Director of the JSE, Dr Marlene Street Forrest said the move would further cement linkages across markets, while also strengthening South/South diaspora connections.
This relationship with Ghana is very strategic to us as we pursue our 2025 vision to expand our borders for growth and sustainability.
“We believe this partnership can ensure wealth creation and further development of our markets from the frontier to emerging markets,” she stated.
New frontier
Africa, like the Caribbean, is the new frontier for development and attracting a lot of interest and investments across the globe.
Ghana and Jamaica alike have a growing and educated middle class with high demand for services.
Stock exchanges, therefore, have to position themselves as critical economic development agents to seize the opportunities this trend presents.
Promoting best practices
Commenting on the MoU, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh said such partnerships with exchanges in other regions would help promote the sharing of best practices and knowledge transfer, which were critical to the development of capital markets.
For his part, the Managing Director of the GSE, Ekow Afedzie, said the JSE had made tremendous progress in the past five decades of its existence.
He said the GSE was, therefore, looking forward to cross-listing and cross-trading activities to come from the partnership.
We believe that this collaboration can also lead to further development of our economies -not just in our stock markets but in general investment opportunities across both countries,” he stated