JAMAICA Stock Exchange (JSE) Managing Director Marlene Street Forrest said the bourse aims to capture a portion of the growing global market for green and sustainable bonds, which totalled more than US$1.3 trillion in issues last year.

This follows JSE’s launch of a green bond market, part of a broader strategy to diversify the exchange and attract foreign investment. The market for green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds (GSS+) was introduced at JSE’s 20th Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference 2025 in Kingston last week.

The green and sustainability bond market refers to a segment of the global fixed-income market wherein bonds are issued to finance projects with environmental or social benefits. This market is growing rapidly as governments, corporations, and investors align their financial strategies with sustainability goals such as the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“We need a part of that. Jamaica has to be the focal point in terms of getting that green bond environment together. It is essential to ensure that our listed companies not only understand this framework but also recognise the internal environmental standards they need to adopt within their organisations to successfully raise green capital,” Street Forrest told journalists at the Jamaica Observer Business Forum earlier this month.

“We have quite a few large listed companies right now that are interested. They are waiting for the market. Right now we can’t call the names, but if you look down the list [of public companies], you might be able to tell,” Street Forrest added about the prospects for the green and sustainable bond market.

She, however, highlighted at the conference that just as the junior market of Jamaica Stock Exchange was launched months before the first listing took place, the green and sustainability market is also being launched ahead of any listings.

So far, JSE has created two markets – a Jamaican-dollar and a US-dollar market – for green and sustainable bonds. It has also launched a website dedicated to green and sustainable bonds which includes the Jamaica green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked (GSS+) bond guide for those seeking to invest.

“Through our Nasdaq platform we have created the Green Bond plus market. What we are saying is, ‘Companies that want to raise capital and it is green capital, there is the facility that is available.’ “

While not willing to say which companies are showing interest, Street Forrest however said JSE is also preparing itself to launch a green bond.

“We are looking at, for example, solar energy. Right now about 60 per cent of the energy used at the JSE comes from solar and the rest is supplied by JPS. We will be issuing a bond to increase that coverage to 100 per cent,” Street Forrest highlighted. JPS refers to Jamaica Public Service Company, a monopoly distributor of light and power in Jamaica.

Apart from plans to raise funds to increase the generation of solar power for the exchange, Street Forrest also said assessments are now being made on the impact Kingston Harbour and drainages in downtown Kingston have on the exchange. She said the aim is to understand how environmental factors impact the operation of the exchange. The impact assessment is now being done with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It will help to determine how much the JSE needs to raise to fulfil its green ambition including what investors can expect as a return on their investments.

Still, just like the nearby Bank of Jamaica, JSE has set up a remote operating location, in the event, its headquarters on the waterfront, downtown Kingston is inoperable.

“We have learned from the COVID period. We do not get a lot of visitors in the stock exchange like the BOJ does for exchanging currency and so on, so we can function remotely and we are set up to function remotely. We have all the capability that all staff members can function. The market itself can function remotely, but trading and settlement can take place, so we really don’t need another building; however, we do have one.”

Street Forrest said that remote location is on Woodley Avenue, off Red Hills Road in St Andrew.