A leading financial consultant has backed calls for the creation of a unified Caribbean stock market, warning that the absence of such a market is holding back regional economic growth and the ability of businesses to scale across borders.
Managing director of EY Parthenon Caribbean, Maria Daniel, suggested that a regional securities exchange would offer companies the opportunity to expand their operations within the region, while providing investors with a wider range of options.
She told Barbados TODAY: “We need to just accept that we’re small — small populations, small size, as big as we think we are individually. The only way we’re really going to have scalability in the Caribbean is to be one, have the same regulations, the same stock exchange, the same currency, hopefully one day.”
Daniel, one of the facilitators at a two-day Innovation Growth Market (IGM) 200 workshop, explained that a regional stock exchange could attract investors from across the Caribbean and potentially from outside the region. She said: “This would enable investors to come from any country as well as for companies to expand across the Caribbean.
“So the Caribbean stock exchange to me is the answer that we all know for the longest while, but nobody is actually doing it.”
The consultant noted that technological advancements have made it easier than ever to implement such a market. “With the technology available today, it would be easier to implement such a market,” she said, pointing out that digital trading platforms and online reporting could overcome previous logistical challenges.
“That would help, especially SMEs who are struggling… because we’re sharing the risk among more people, a larger population. You’re also able to tell your story to more people, so you know, investor risk appetite varies. So I might like something — a certain sector, a certain idea, believe in it — and somebody isn’t. So the more people that you have that you can spread that around, the more benefit it’s going to be for the SMEs.”
Daniel highlighted Jamaica’s Junior Stock Exchange as a successful example. “Jamaica has really, really done it well, and I’ll tell you why. To borrow in Jamaica would cost you 20 per cent and 25 per cent, as high as 40 cent in early years, so therefore they were forced to go into equity capital because debt was just too expensive… it is one of the reasons why Jamaica has been so successful.”
A unified Caribbean stock exchange could provide similar benefits across the region, Daniel said. “It’s going to give SMEs the ability to raise capital, to tell their story to investors, and to have access to more people who might invest in them.”
Daniel also stressed that foreign investors could benefit. “If we have the same regulations and one exchange, then foreign investors can come in with confidence, because they know that they’re not going to be dealing with ten different sets of rules,” she said.
She urged political and business leaders to take action. “We have the tools, the technology, and the knowledge. What we need now is the political will and collaboration among our governments to make this a reality. A Caribbean stock exchange is not just an idea — it’s a necessary step for economic growth and integration in the region.”
louriannegraham@barbadostoday.bb
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