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Capital Markets Redefined: Achieving The Impossible

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Good evening and welcome to the 18th JSE Group’s Regional Conference on Investment and the Capital Markets. We are pleased to be hosting this stellar and premium conference on investments and the capital markets in collaboration with our international, regional and local lead sponsors: Jefferies and NCB Investments Limited and Dequity Capital Management Limited, as well as other invaluable sponsors who have been with us over all these years or those who have recently joined us. We appreciate this vital support which has been the life blood of the event.

Tonight, I celebrate the fact that we are once again congregated in a manner that brings out the best in us, that is the ability to feel the pulse of discussions and to greet each other with a sense of positivity and in a spirit of collaboration. I am pleased that we have returned to a face-to-face setting aided by technology to facilitate those who are unable to be here in person, throughout the three (3) days of conference.

However you choose to join us, we know that there will be significant opportunities available for you to listen, participate, dream and ultimately to innovate and implement. We also know that you will have an enhanced experience this year as we celebrate the18th staging of this forum which is considered the blue ribbon capital markets and investments event in our region.

As capital market operants, we are conscious that as the world turns, the capital markets are not static and are driven by economic activities, entities and expectations of all who operate therein. As we look and plan for innovations, we must plan for the myriad of risks that are around and surround us.

Let us embrace the conference theme: ‘Conference Markets Redefined – Achieving the Impossible’ as it begs us to contemplate how markets can achieve what is impossible. Impossible here is used within the context of the present and how a country, or a region is perceived. However, the impossible calls for visionary thinking that propels us to see the future differently and find how we can make a difference. Therefore, the charge for this Conference is for us as regional leaders in the capital markets, to dare to be different in ways that allow us to shine in technological innovation, developing sustainable products and services and providing solutions that can be adapted globally.

Financial markets ecosystems are changing and with ingenuity comes superior risks and rewards. Therefore, actors in the capital markets must quickly adopt and adapt to new technologies to deliver superior services aimed at surpassing customers’ requirements and expectations and delivering real return on investments. That is how achieving the ‘Impossible’ can and should be measured.

I quote no statistics tonight when I say ‘Re-imagined’ could mean simply getting back to the basics of life, hearts that are pure and a love that endures that would see us building the capital markets on the back of service and care; a care that would drive us to embrace the concept and fact that if we are to build faster and move further, we must collaborate to develop the social sector by improving the ecosystem and concentrating on the social sector as an engine of growth.

During the course of this Capital Markets Conference, we will be delving into solutions that will propel the growth of the capital markets in a manner that democratizes wealth while building sustainable economies. The solutions will provide us with a sense of pride which is more than profits, but one that creates the multiplier effect for the overall upliftment of our people. While we discuss frameworks and governance, let us not be carried away by them but immerse ourselves into the frame of mind to work conscientiously with proper governance systems and procedures, so they live and breathe and take root within the culture of our organization.

It is important that as we navigate through unprecedented changes in the markets that we research fresh approaches that will drive micro and macroeconomic stability for our region. In closing, the Jamaica Stock Exchange wishes to reassure the region and the world that we understand that confidence and transparency drives a market, and we continue to be proactive in our approach to protect those who depend on us to deliver on our promise of mobilizing capital for growth within a fair, ethical, efficient and transparent environment.

As you delve into the upcoming days of conference, I wish you every success. The Conference has been strategically placed at the beginning of the year to help set the tone for the coming months. It will examine issues such as:

Opportunities for growth through investments from the Diaspora;
Doing business in Africa;
*The use of technology to re-shape businesses;
*The digital assets market;
*Food security;
*Alternative investments;
*Corporate governance;
*Renewable energy
And other stimulating topics of discussion.
We will have our always exciting Venture Capital Pitch Room and of course our signature networking event ‘Fashion, Culture & Cuisine’. We have an array of speakers who will stimulate, energize and encourage you to dream the impossible dream; to fight those unbeatable foes; to bear with unbearable sorrow; to run where the brave dare not go, and to reach the unreachable stars.

This should be our quest as we use this Regional Conference to meet, greet and network, knowing that the discussions, deliberations, sharing and caring are the keys to ‘Reimaging the Regional Capital Markets and Achieving the Impossible.

Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director, JSE, addressed the opening night of the JSE Conference on the topic: “Capital Markets Redefined: Achieving the Impossible”

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Businessuite News24

We Understand The Nature Of The Business World And How It Operates.

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“As somebody said to me today, who called me, a very prominent businessperson, who said to me that it is extremely unusual to have a CEO for almost 20 years in a publicly-traded company, so that in and of itself speaks for itself.”

“The fact is that sometimes we get to a point where different stakeholders may have different points of view on the direction in which a company should go, or how things should be managed or evolved, and that’s fine. And if there is a difference and you can’t come to a resolution around it, then separation is part of the resolution. We understand that. That’s part of the game. That’s part of the business that we are involved in,” Hylton told the Business Observer.

Hylton spent 20 years as the head of the NCB Group, while Cohen spent just over 19 years. Both were acknowledged for their service by the bank in a statement in which it was confirmed that they are to be replaced.

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Businessuite News24

I Have A Tremendous Sense Of Accomplishment….Hylton

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“We have demonstrated over many years a true owners’ mentality in terms of how we have managed the business. We have treated the business as if it was our own — early mornings, late nights, vacation, no vacation — it was always about the business.

It Has Been A Tremendous Experience Which I And Cohen Enjoyed.

The business is strong, the business is in good hands. I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment. When we went into NCB, this was an institution that had just failed, had just been rescued, and was in the process of just being rebuilt. It was an institution in which many did not have the confidence, many did not think it had the wherewithal to become a true icon. But this institution is now not just a Jamaican icon, it is a regional icon. It has accomplished tremendous things over this period of time. Not only in terms of the bottom line performance, which has really been outstanding, with up to last year earning nearly $40 billion after taxes. But also in terms of the growth of the business across the region, moving from two or three countries to now being represented in 22 countries across the region, to have representation in Europe. I have a tremendous sense of accomplishment,”

Patrick Hylton in an interview with the Business Observer.

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Businessuite News24

Michael, I Am Not Here To Sell You A Bank.

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Coming out of Jamaica’s financial sector meltdown, there were not many takers for assets such as NCB, Hylton said. After negotiating for more than a year, he met alone with Lee-Chin and made a proposal that may have sealed the deal.

“’Michael, I am not here to sell you a bank. I am here to sell you a vision of a bank. I am not here to sell you this bank for what it is today. I am here to sell you this bank for what it can be in the future’,”

Hylton recalled telling the billionaire Canadian-Jamaican businessman.

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Leadership Conversations

The Transformation Unfolding Before Our Eyes – The ‘Professionalising’ Of The Public Service Through Commensurate Compensation And Enforcement Of Standards.

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“The country must have a clear sense of what is required of parliamentarians and ministers. In proposing a job description, we are not suggesting anything new or outside our laws and constitution. However, few people have a full appreciation of what the appointment requires. It is hoped that this job description will help members of the public better appreciate and understand the roles and responsibilities.

After careful consideration it was agreed with the Ministry of Finance that it would be a more efficient use of resources and more effective management to roll all efforts into universal reform of the public service, including the job letters for ministers and the executive level performance-based system.

“We have taken a massive step forward with the comprehensive restructuring of our system of public-sector compensation. While critically important, compensation is one element. The Government is determined, and we are moving forward with the complementary key element, which is accountability for performance. Our mission is to ensure that the people of Jamaica enjoy the best public service, the best governance and have access to the best quality of leadership… that any country can have,” Mr. Holness

As a result, in 2019, instructions were given to prepare job descriptions for ministers, and the Transformation Implementation Unit submitted a draft in 2021 after the dislocation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The notion that the reform is piecemeal, or puts the cart before the horse is totally wrong. While we have not been able to communicate all that we have been doing, as several elements are not mature to the point where they could become reality, the transformation unfolding before our eyes is the most significant and comprehensive effort ever undertaken in the history of Jamaica to achieve an efficient and effective public sector.

There are those who hold the view that public service, particularly the political side of it, must be a ‘calling’, and those who offer themselves must do so without expectation of commensurate remuneration. There are others who believe that there is no need to properly pay public servants, particularly politicians, because they will ‘supplement’ their incomes through informal, opaque, or corrupt means. This is the commonly shared thinking that has driven our approach to compensating holders of public office — both administrative and political — in this country since our Independence. Where has it got us?

While we must acknowledge that these views are not without some groundings in our history and lived experience, there comes a time in the life of any society where we must approach the problem from a different angle and apply new thinking and perspectives.

If Jamaica is to achieve its immense potential, the philosophy that has guided our approach to public sector compensation since Independence must change.

It is crucial to recognise the importance of ‘professionalising’ the public service through commensurate compensation and enforcement of standards, rather than relying on the altruism of the public servant and chance that they will make the best effort in serving the country.

While the spirit of selflessness and dedication to the nation are necessary and admirable attributes, depending on them alone is not a sustainable approach to building a competent and efficient public sector. Offering competitive and fair compensation is necessary in improving the motivation of the officeholder.”

Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Tuesday June 20th 2023 tabled in Parliament his long-promised job descriptions for Cabinet ministers and other legislators.

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Leadership Voices

Only The Chief Has The Authority And Influence To Drive Sufficient And Sustainable Change.

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“History suggests that it will take some time before companies get more value from their investments. In 1987, economist Robert Solow observed that “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.” U.S. productivity didn’t accelerate until the 1990s, by which time companies had started to figure out how to harness computers. Today, companies might be experiencing something like a second “Solow Paradox” as they try to make sense of a new generation of digital technology, according to Olivia White, senior partner with McKinsey Global Institute.

It is up to CEOs to move this process forward. Productive use of technology might be regarded as a whole-of-company effort, to borrow the “whole-of-government” concept from the public sector, in which every available lever is applied to a large-scale problem. Throughout history, the entire company has been rewired with each successive generation of emerging technology, from the telegraph and telephone, through the internet, the mobile phone, and now the cloud and artificial intelligence. In a hierarchical organization with one leader at the top, only the chief has the authority and influence to drive sufficient and sustainable change.”

By Steven Rosenbush

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