Access to domestically issued Government of Jamaica (GOJ) securities is set to improve in short order as the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) and Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) work to launch a fixed income trading platform under Jamaica’s deepening financial agenda.

The JSE had mentioned the facilitation of GOJ securities in June 2019 at the Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ) conference at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. The JSE had mentioned in its 2023 annual report that it had expected the trading platform to allow domestically issued GOJ securities to be traded by the end of 2024.

However, that did not materialise with the BOJ’s 2023 and 2024 annual report giving more context on what has taken place. During October 2023, sign-off was received between the JSE and BOJ regarding communication protocols between the BOJ’s JamClear® CSD and JSE’s fixed income trading platform, NASDAQ Matching Engine (NME). That event was followed by the Nasdaq delivering a test environment for the communication between the two platforms with an updated test environment delivered during 2024.

System testing began in June 2024 with the project 93 per cent complete at the end of 2024. Market participants testing the system were enrolled in training and user acceptance testing during the period. The BOJ further noted that a marketing plan was drafted along with discussions geared towards the finalisation and execution of the project. The Ministry of Finance & Public Service (MOFPS) indicated its policy position towards the project by mandating the use of the JSE NME to trade GOJ securities. The activities to support all eligible participants ability to the MOFPS’ stance was 50 per cent complete at the end of 2024.

“This project is an important element of continued market development in Jamaica. The main objective is to enable price discovery through an enhanced framework for secondary market trading of GOJ securities. This initiative should also foster greater transparency, promote greater market liquidity and information sharing as well as improve the efficiency of the capital market,” stated the BOJ’s 2024 annual report.

Currently, investors must go through a primary dealer or other authorised participant to trade government securities. That means that investors are likely to hold the securities to maturity, a move which means that there is no secondary market price for these securities and lower trading activity. A marketplace to trade GOJ securities improves price discovery and liquidity of these instruments while encouraging more market participation.

The GOJ Jaman 2039 bond is currently listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and traded on the Euro MTF Market of that exchange. This bond currently has a face value of US$1.24 billion, an 8.00 per cent interest rate, has a closing price of US$116.2485 and a best bid price of US$115.0550. This international listing of GOJ bonds allows for a wider pool of investors to invest in GOJ securities and trade the instruments in accordance with their investment stance.

The trading of domestically issued GOJ securities is one of the major initiatives being pushed by the JSE in 2025. The JSE’s 2024 annual report noted that it is aiming to move onto phase two of its data commercialisation initiative in Q2 2025 with the JSE Datasphere which should have AI-powered insights and customizable dashboards.

The JSE also expects to have an online trading platform (Jtraderpro) upgrade during this quarter (April to June) with the JSE to have an event at 2:30 pm on May 22 by its Harbour Street head office to launch a new version of the Jtradepro platform. This upgrade is set to bring a new user interface along with other additions to bring more equity trading online. After launching a redesigned mobile application in 2024, the JSE also expects to introduce online trading capabilities to the mobile app.

The JSE expects to launch short selling during the third quarter (July to September) with the exchange awaiting the Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) non-objection to the JSE short selling rules and the JCSD securities and lending borrowing rules. The had previously intended to launch short selling in late 2022, but that timeline shifted as it sought to get the market feature right. The JSE also noted that there is an ongoing review of the Junior Market rules regarding the transition of companies to the Main Market.

While the 2024 annual report mentioned several major highlights across the group, there was only one mention of succession planning. The JSE launched a search for a chief executive officer in October 2024 and extended the search multiple times. The Q1 2025 report did not provide any update on the replacement for JSE Managing Director Marlene Street Forrest, who has served as general manager and managing director since September 2000. The JSE managing director reached retirement age in December with the JSE noting that she would continue in her capacity until her successor is chosen.

The JSE’s first quarter (January to March) results showed that its consolidated income grew 36 per cent from $633.81 million to $861.10 million largely due to a 246 per cent rise in cess income from $73.92 million to $255.54 million. That rise in cess was largely due to a rise in value traded during the first quarter with the Main Market experiencing a 212 per cent increase in value traded from $9.69 billion to $24.51 billion. The JCSD trade fee also moved from 0.03 to 0.04 per cent on January 1 which increased the overall fee charged on every equity trade to 0.36 per cent.

Operating expenses increased by $61.24 million or 12 per cent to $554.18 million as the JSE adjusted staff salaries across the group and filled vacant roles along with advertising and promotional activities ramped up during the period. The higher top line plus higher investment income pushed the JSE’s profit before tax (PBT) up by $169.86 million or 111 per cent to $323.05 million with consolidated net profit rising to $236.26 million with earnings per share (EPS) rising from $0.13 to $0.34. The trailing twelve months EPS was $0.92.

On a segment basis, the JSE’s core operations reversed a loss before tax of $24.59 million to a PBT of $125.45 million. The JCSD services’ PBT moved up five per cent to $85.53 million with JCSD Trustee Services’ PBT rising by 17 per cent to $112.07 million.

The JSE’s consolidated asset base increased 19 per cent during the quarter from $3.34 billion to $4.05 billion as receivables and government securities purchased under repurchase agreements grew double digits to $796.49 million and $708.94 million, respectively. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $271.84 million. Total liabilities grew 81 per cent from $525.30 million to $951.54 million as contract liabilities moved from $26.61 million to $505.26 million. Shareholder’s equity improved eight per cent to $3.10 billion with a book value of $4.42.

The JSE stock price declined three per cent on Tuesday to $12.58 which left the stock down five per cent in 2025 with a market capitalisation of $8.82 billion. The JSE paid a $0.30 dividend totalling $210.38 million on April 30 to shareholders on record as of April 14. The JSE will have its 48th hybrid annual general meeting (AGM) at 1:00 pm on June 25.