Jamaicans In Canada Soon To Trade On Local Stock Exchange

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) says, it hopes to receive authorization from Canada that will allow Jamaicans, residing in the North American country, to be able to participate in trading and other related activities, on the local stock exchange.

The JSE said, that it hopes to begin the transactions from April 1 and will accommodate more than 300,000 people of Jamaican descent and origin.

Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Arnaldo Brown, said, the arrangement will also afford native Canadians the opportunity to participate in the local stock market, which will enable them to receive tax credits in that country.

Addressing the launch of the Jamaica Association for the Resettlement of Returning Residents’ (JARRR) website, Brown, who has responsibility for Diaspora affairs, said, the JSE is pursuing similar arrangements for Jamaicans in the United States and the United Kingdom.

“So…Jamaicans, who are looking for outlets to invest, to buy shares, to buy stocks (and) to own companies that are traded on our stock exchange, can do so from (their) particular location,” he said.

“The…advent of technology gives us the opportunity to have what we consider to be a borderless Jamaica. Jamaicans in the UK, Canada, (and) Jamaicans in the US can participate in the activities in Jamaica, without setting foot on Jamaican soil,” he added.

The revamped website, which JARRR President, Percival La-Touché, described as “rebranded, refreshed, and retooled,” will cater to returned residents, persons in the Diaspora, businesses, among other stakeholders, by providing direct linkages to products and services offered locally.

Brown described the website as a “very important… (and) critical tool of communication,” for persons living in and operating businesses in the Diaspora, as well as in Jamaica.

The authorities believe that more than three million Jamaicans reside in the Diaspora, with the majority of them in the US, Canada and the UK.