In a move likely to further extend its influence in the regional brokerage industry the Jamaican firm NCB Capital Markets Limited (NCBCM) has disclosed that it is in the process of moving forward with the establishment of its planned business footprint in Guyana.
While there has, as yet, been no official overall report on the progress that has been made up to this time, a Jamaica media agency said recently that the company’s efforts to roll out a presence in Guyana remains on track.
NCB Capital Markets Ltd. is the wealth and asset management arm of Jamaica’s National Commercial Bank which 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, holding one of the first five seats on the Jamaican Stock Exchange., the media report says.
Regional assessments of the company suggest that it has strategically positioned itself to take advantage of such opportunities as may arise in the Caribbean and it is in that context that its interest in Guyana is seen.
Here in the Caribbean, the company has already secured operating licences to ply its trade in Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. It says that it is currently pursuing the creation of physical offices in Georgetown, Guyana’s capital.
NCB is one of several regional and international companies seeking to capitalize on business opportunities that have arisen in Guyana out of the country’s world class oil finds and its attendant growth potential.
Up until now, NCB has been reportedly working with Guyana, remotely, through its Trinidad hub, NCB Global Finance.
A report in the Jamaica media quotes NCB’s CEO Steven Gooden as saying as saying that “In terms of entering Guyana, it is something that we are actively pursuing as we hope to be there this year.” While Gooden is quoted as saying that the company has “actually incorporated an entity” in Georgetown, it was yet to start operations “as we go through the regulatory processes.”
