From April 1, 2015 Canadians Will Be Able To Invest In Jamaican Stock Market

Beginning April 1, Jamaicans residing in Canada will be able to participate in trading and other related activities, on the local stock exchange.

This, as the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) is set to receive authorization (designation) from the Canadian administration, which will facilitate this arrangement, via the Internet, for the over 300,000 persons of Jamaican descent and origin, currently residing in that North American country.

State minister for foreign affairs and foreign trade, Arnaldo Brown, said the arrangement will also afford native Canadians the opportunity to participate in the local stock market, which will enable them to receive tax credits in that country.

A tax credit is a sum subtracted from the total amount a taxpayer owes the state, and directly reduces taxes.

The state minister made the disclosure on Monday in Kingston, while addressing the launch of the Jamaica Association for the Resettlement of Returning Residents’ (JARRR) website.

Brown, who has responsibility for Diaspora affairs, said the JSE is pursuing similar arrangements for Jamaicans in the United States, and United Kingdom.

“So… Jamaicans, who are looking for outlets to invest, to buy shares, to buy stocks (and) to own companies that are traded on our stock exchange, can do so from (their) particular location,” he noted.

“The… advent of technology gives us the opportunity to have what we consider to be a borderless Jamaica. Jamaicans in the UK, Canada, (and) Jamaicans in the US can participate in the activities in Jamaica, without setting foot on Jamaican soil,’ he added.

The revamped website, which JARRR president, Percival La-Touché, described as “rebranded, refreshed, and retooled,” will cater to returned residents, persons in the Diaspora, businesses, among other stakeholders, by providing direct linkages to products and services offered locally.

In commending the JARRR’s initiative, Brown described the website as a “very important… (and) critical tool of communication,” for persons living in and operating businesses in the Diaspora, as well as in Jamaica.

It is estimated that upwards of three million Jamaicans reside in the Diaspora, with the majority of these located in the US, Canada, and the UK.