Buoyed by its new-found profile as the pick of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries as a potential regional investment haven, Guyana is preparing to entertain the presence of the highly regarded Jamaican investment company, NCB Capital Markets Ltd.
The company announced earlier this month that having opened up “robust” business opportunities in Georgetown in recent months it is preparing to establish a physical presence here.
NCB Capital Markets Ltd. is the wealth and asset management arm of Jamaica’s National Commercial Bank and offers investment options and advice for institutions and individuals. Previously Edward Gayle and Company Ltd, NCB Capital Markets Ltd. is one of the pioneers of the equity market in Jamaica. It was established more than half a century ago as an “equity boutique” to facilitate the development of a vibrant stock market in Jamaica. It is the oldest operational brokerage house in the English-speaking Caribbean.
While no specific timeline has as yet been disclosed for the establishment of offices here, NCB says that its decision comes in the wake of having done good business with Guyana recently, opening up pleasing prospects for a worthwhile future relationship. Currently, the company services its Guyana market through its southern hub in Trinidad and Tobago. Analysts of Guyana’s continually transforming business profile over the past few years will see the decision by the Jamaican investment company to put down roots here as yet another manifestation of the new-found confidence which the regional and international business communities are placing in Guyana following the country’s huge successive oil & gas finds beginning in May 2015.
Last week NCB Capital Markets Chief Executive Officer, Steven Gooden, who made the disclosure at a business forum in Jamaica said that the decision had come on the back of the company doing good business with Guyana with the prospects for the future appearing increasingly encouraging. “The reality is that the economy is going to grow and there is a need for significant infrastructure improvement… there are significant financing opportunities now and in the future,” a Caribbean Business Report story quotes Gooden as saying.
