FINANCE Minister Dr Nigel Clarke has announced that the Government will be moving ahead in the upcoming fiscal year to increase the capital threshold for companies listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Clarke made the announcement during the opening of the 2024/2025 Budget Debate on Tuesday after years of lobbying from the Jamaica Stock Exchange and members of the securities dealers sector.

“We will be amending the Income Tax Act to increase the maximum participating voting share capital of companies listed on the junior stock exchange from $500 million to $750 million,” Clarke told Parliament.

He did not say when the higher cap will take place, but told the Jamaica Observer shortly after that he hopes the legislation can be amended in time for the higher threshold to be implemented by the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, the period between April and June.

The current $500-million cap for companies listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange has been in place since 2016.

Clarke told the House that the reason for increasing the cap was “to facilitate growth of the MSME sector and just in keeping with the cumulative movement in the consumer price index over the eight years between 2016 and today”. When the limit was imposed, it was consistent with the sizes of medium-size enterprises at the time.

Reacting to the announcement, managing director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Marlene Street Forrest said the move will have a positive impact on the market in general and the Junior Market in particular and will have a positive spin-off for the economy.

“I’m pleased that the minister has announced his intention to increase the threshold,” Street Forrest told the Jamaica Observer shortly after the announcement. “This is going to energise the market and it has been long in waiting, and the current companies that are listed on the market have been anticipating this announcement so that they can move to further productivity and also the companies who intend to list on the market and have been waiting, I would imagine that now we will see them coming to market,” she added.

The Junior Market was set up in 2009, with Access Financial Services being the first listing. Since then, more than 50 companies have listed on the Junior Market, but there are now 48 active companies. iCreate, a Junior Market company has been suspended, while General Accident migrated to the senior market last September. Lasco Manufacturing and Lasco Distributors are to migrate to the senior market this month.