In yet another effort to encourage investment in the Region, Heads of Government agreed, at their tenth Meeting (1989, Grande Anse), to establish a regional Stock Exchange which would bring together the Stock Exchanges in the Region, namely the Barbados Securities Exchange, the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange. In 1991 these three Stock Exchanges entered into an arrangement for cross border listing and trading of securities (stocks/shares and or bonds). This would allow the stocks/shares and or bonds on the stock exchanges in each of these countries to be listed and traded in each others markets. As other countries establish stock exchanges they too will be eligible to become members of the regional stock exchange.

Stocks represent ownership in the company issuing the shares (the individual units of ownership) while a bond represents a long term loan which must be repaid. A stockholder is a part owner of the firm while a bond holder is a creditor who has a claim against the company equal to the value of the bond. The claim of bond holders rank higher than that of shareholders.

A Stock Exchange or Market is a meeting place for buyers and sellers of securities. Though there are buildings housing national stock exchanges, there is no building housing the Regional Stock Exchange. In this market, information is exchanged, through a broker, regarding prices and volumes so that investors can buy or sell securities at the best price. Anyone, be they CARICOM nationals or foreign investors, may buy or sell securities on the Regional Stock Market.

In addition to providing greater regional investment opportunities and increase the attractiveness of our Region as an area for investment both by regional and non-regional investors, the Regional Stock Exchange is intended to: promote the movement of capital across the Region and encourage the best possible financing for CARICOM firms, regardless where the entity is located. The Regional Stock Exchange also offers investors a wider market and greater choices in the selection of investment options. Participating in the Regional Stock Market might give firms a more cost efficient way of raising funds, rather than relying only on the domestic market with its traditional banking network for such financing. As the Region moves towards the Single Market and Economy, firms will need to position themselves to meet the challenges and to take advantages of the opportunities created by the wider market, not only for goods but also for investments. The Regional Stock Market provides an excellent mechanism for the latter.