Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General has told members of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) that the strengthening of the regional equity market is critical to the realization of a vital element of the Caricom Single Market – the free movement of capital among member states of the Community.
Addressing the annual dinner of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel on Wednesday, December 5 Carrington said that the free movement of capital which he described as the piece de resistance for the regional business community was intended to facilitate the unhindered movement of capital among member states of the community, allow for equal rights to the purchase of stocks and shares in any territory in CARICOM, provide access to a wider source of capital and allow for the diversification of investment portfolios. Carrington noted that while some level of trans-regional capital flows had developed among Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica through stock offers and “limited arrangements for trading of shares” the regional equity market remained weak and underdeveloped due to the predominance of the family business culture. He noted that of the 132 firms listed on regional stock exchanges only 13 are cross-listed and that those cross-listed represented almost 50 per cent of total market capitalization in the region.
In his address to the Chamber dinner the Caricom Secretary General also drew attention to the importance of the creation of common standards for goods and services produced in the region. “To facilitate doing business in the CSME regional standards must conform to international specifications – a matter which is critical to international competitiveness and export market development is the responsibility of the Caricom Regional Organization for Standards and Quality’.
Dr. Carrington also said the Competition Commission and the Caribbean Business Council (CBC) are vital to the effective functioning of the Single Market.
With regard to the Competition Commission he said that it was intended to play a central role in seeking to avoid “the abuse of dominant market positions, thereby ensuring that the benefits expected from the Single Market are not frustrated by anti-competitive business practices.” The Competition Commission is due to be launched in Suriname early next year.
Dr. Carrington noted that the CBC which was launched in June this year is intended to serve as a single united voice for the regional private sector in its relations with the Councils and Organs of the Community. “I urge the business community of Guyana to take an active role in the further development and strengthening of the CBC which has already been proposed as an Associate Institution of the Community,” Dr. Carrington said.
