THE Government of Jamaica has listed 16 securities with a face value of $623.20 billion (US$3.93 billion) on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), marking a major step in developing the local debt market and improving how government bonds are priced and traded.

The initiative, a joint effort between the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) and the JSE, went live on Wednesday after more than three years of preparation. The electronic trading of GOJ bonds is now conducted on the JSE’s Nasdaq Matching Engine platform and settled through the BOJ’s JamClear®-CSD depository and Real Time Gross Settlement systems.

“The main objective is to enable price discovery through an enhanced framework for secondary market trading of GOJ securities,” the BOJ stated in an annual report.

The listing brings Jamaica in line with regional exchanges such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, The Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean, where government securities are already traded on exchange platforms.

Listing government securities is designed to improve liquidity in the domestic bond market, making it easier for investors to buy and sell government securities, while also helping to build a yield curve that can be used to price corporate debt more efficiently.

However, early trading data points to limitations in access and visibility. A review of JSE trade quotes showed no US dollar-denominated GOJ bonds listed, with only the 2061 benchmark investment note reflecting a bid and ask price.

The listing comes at a time when the Government is preparing to borrow $250 billion to support the current budget and rebuild following the impact of Hurricane Melissa, raising the prospect that a more active secondary market could help attract additional pools of capital.

Globally, bond markets have come under pressure from rising yields amid geopolitical uncertainty. While Jamaica’s 2028 global bond has remained relatively stable, longer-dated bonds due in 2036, 2039 and 2045 have declined between three and five per cent this year.

The addition of government debt also supports the JSE’s broader push to expand its bond market, which remains small relative to equities. The exchange currently lists 13 corporate bonds worth $17.51 billion and three US dollar bonds valued at US$32 million, compared with an equity market capitalisation of $1.862 trillion.

Despite the new listings, access for investors remains largely intermediated. Purchases of GOJ bonds must still be made through brokers or primary dealers via the BOJ’s JamClear®-CSD system, and the securities were not visible on the JSE’s Jtraderpro platform as of Thursday. Also, investors who don’t use brokers connected to Jtraderpro are still not able to directly trade the corporate bonds via their broker’s electronic platform.

More broadly, efforts to deepen the market continue alongside other developments, including new listings on the Junior Market and ongoing refinancing activity by financial institutions.