Riding on the historical linkage between Ghana and Jamaica, the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) 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 MoU is being signed with a Caribbean Exchange and this presents enormous opportunities for both exchanges.

The step towards this MoU was occasioned by an earlier Regional Investment and Capital Market Conference in January 2022 by the JSE, where the GSE participated.

Formalising the partnership through the signing of an MoU, the Managing Director of the JSE, Dr. Marlene Street Forrest said the move will further cement linkages across markets whilst 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 that this partnership can ensure wealth creation and even further development of our markets from the frontier to emerging markets,” she said.

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 have to position themselves as critical economic development agents to seize the opportunities this trend presents.

Adding his voice during this momentous occasion, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh said “such partnerships with exchanges in other regions will help promote the sharing of best practices and knowledge transfer, which are critical to the development of capital markets.”

The JSE started operations on February 3, 1969, and it was the first stock market to be created in the English -Speaking Caribbean with over 100 listed companies currently. It has since created five markets comprising the Main Market, Junior Market, US Denominated Market, Bond Market, and Private Market.

The JSE operates using first-class and globally accepted technology and has been recognized internationally, by Bloomberg, as the No. 1 Performing Exchange in the World twice. It was fully demutualized on April 1, 2008, and is the only demutualized Exchange in the Caribbean.

Lauding the partnership as a historic event, Mr. Ekow Afedzie, Managing Director of GSE, said “the JSE has made tremendous progress in the past 5 decades of its existence and he was most looking forward to the 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 added