(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Investments and Capital Markets Conference in Jamaica on Wednesday was visionary and timely as participants had the opportunity to infuse new impetus into the 1989 Grande Anse decision to create a Regional Capital Market, the Most Hon. Percival J. Patterson, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Special Representative to Haiti said.

At Grand Anse, Grenada, Heads of Government had signaled the new path the Region would take by agreeing to move from a Common Market to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) including the establishment of a Regional Capital Market.

Mr. Patterson said “when I handed over to the Conference of CARICOM Heads in 1992, the results of Jamaica’s remit to bring together the then three existing Stock Exchanges, I made it clear that was merely a first stage. The process was to have continued and it did for a while, but it has come to a halt. The need for the Caribbean to finance an increasing portion of its development now makes a restart of that work an imperative.”

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Investments and Capital Markets Conference was held under the theme `The Revival of the Fittest’ which the former Jamaica Prime Minister said was “most apt as you gather an array of institutions engaged in raising long-term capital and directing such capital into profitable long-term investments”.

The timing of the event, he said, was opportune as the Caribbean struggled for survival in a changed and “most uncertain global economic environment and as the international community struggles to help Haiti rebuild after the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010.”

Delivering his remarks under the theme `Rebuilding Haiti: A Priority for the Caribbean’, Mr. Patterson pointed out what was required for Haiti’s renaissance and the potential that existed for that country to drive Caribbean development.

He made reference to the Haiti Action Plan for National Recovery and Development which estimated US$11.5B for public sector side of the reconstruction process, and the development of a US$1B-target CARICOM-Haiti Fund to facilitate the Caribbean Private Sector investment in Haiti.

“In light of the volume and types of financing required, I can see major possibilities for our Commercial banks, our Development Banks, Export Import Banks, and the Stock Exchanges,” Mr. Patterson said.

He expressed the hope that participants would take up the challenge to create the kind of Regional Capital Market to foster development not only of the original members of CARICOM, but also of Haiti, the grouping’s newest Member State “with this obvious need for capital for reconstruction and development.

The rebuilding of the new Haiti, he said, would create opportunities in virtually all areas and would require strategic alliances and partnerships among all actors, “those in Haiti, those in the Caribbean and those who belong to the Caribbean Diaspora.”

The former Jamaica Prime Minister issued a challenge to all Caribbean investors and facilitators to organize themselves to take advantage of this opportunity.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org