Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange

Last updated

The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange Limited
Nicholas Tower.jpg
Type Stock exchange
Location Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Founded1981;43 years ago (1981)
Key peopleRay A. Sumairsingh (Chairman)
Ian Narine (Deputy Chairman)
Eva Mitchell (CEO)
Currency Trinidad and Tobago dollar
No. of listings35
Market cap US$18.60 Billion
Indices
  • Composite
  • All T&T
  • Cross Listed
  • SME
Website www.stockex.co.tt

The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) is the main stock exchange in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and the largest stock exchange in the Caribbean region by market capitalization.

Contents

As a member-state of CARICOM several companies from Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange also cross-list their stocks onto the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange.

The unique four symbol alphanumeric Market Identifier Code (MIC) used to identify the TTSE as defined under ISO 10383 is XTRN. [1] [2]

History

Foundation and establishment

The Securities Market which informally existed in Trinidad & Tobago for well over twenty years prior to the opening of the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange really achieved significance in the early 1970s when the Government decided as a matter of policy to localise the foreign owned commercial banking and manufacturing sectors of the economy. The thrust of the policy was to get such companies to divest and sell a majority of their shares to nationals.

Two bodies chosen to effect this policy were the Capital Issues Committee which was set up by the Ministry of Finance in July 1970 to direct developments in the primary market and the Call Exchange (an association of share dealers) which was established under the umbrella of the Central Bank in August 1965 to monitor activities in the secondary market.

Parallel to this development in the public sector in the early 1970s was the rapid establishment of private institutions such as trust companies and stock broking firms to satisfy the demands of investors in both the primary and secondary markets.

With such infrastructure in place and the concomitant increase in the securities business the decision was taken to establish a securities market within a framework of established Rules and Regulations to facilitate the development of the domestic capital market.

The establishment of the Stock Exchange under the provisions of the Securities Industry Act 1981 was a natural extension of the policy to formalise the securities market in Trinidad and Tobago. This Act was proclaimed on 23 October 1981 and the Stock Exchange was formally opened on 26 October 1981 under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance.

1995 Regulatory issues and updated legislation

Over the years and leading up to the current time, there was no doubt that the original Securities Law, that is, The Securities Industry Act, 1981 became ineffective. In attempting to bring both Primary and Secondary market activity under one umbrella, the Act created confusion, and for the most part the provisions were unenforceable.

This was because the Exchange as a regulatory Organisation, had no discretion to reasonably moderate the strict and unreasonable application of the letter of the Act once a particular provision was not explicitly stated in the Act. The Ministry of Finance, in recognizing this problem, worked with the Exchange to introduce a more dynamic piece of legislation.

As a remedial measure, the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, passed legislation repealing the 1981 Act and replacing it with the Securities Industry Act of 1995 which brought into operation the establishment of a Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 1995 Act vests with the Commission, the authority to maintain surveillance over the securities market and ensure orderly, fair and equitable dealings in securities. Furthermore, all market actors, meaning issuers, underwriters, investment advisers, stockbrokers and dealers, etc. must register with the Commission, who will be responsible for controlling and supervising their activities. The Exchange on the other hand will regulate trading on the secondary market, as well as the activities of the Members of the Exchange, subject of course to the oversight by the Commission.

On December 31, 2012 the Securities Industry Act of 1995 was repealed and replaced by the Securities Act, 2012.

2007 Financial crisis - present

The TTSE has experienced some slowdown, both in terms of activity and listings, within the last decade, stemming from legislation which restricted institutions from holding more than 10% of their portfolio in any single company's shares. The Global Recession (2007–2010) has also contributed to a depressed state of liquidity, listings and pricing on the TTSE. This was further compounded by the slowdown in the Trinidad and Tobago economy stemming from depressed commodity (oil and gas) prices from 2014 onwards. Despite this, there has been a number of large cap listings, including the listings of First Citizen's Bank and the Trinidad and Tobago Natural Gas Company Limited.

Trading

As of August 2018, the TTSE Market Capitalization was estimated at TT$120 billion (US$17.7 billion), with conglomerates and financial institutions accounting for the vast majority of value. The companies with the greatest capitalisation on the exchange are Republic Bank (RBL) and First Caribbean International Bank (FCIB). Significant capitalisation is also represented in West Indian Tobacco (WCO), Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago (SBTT), National Enterprises Limited(NEL), ANSA McAL (AMCL), First Citizen's Bank (FIRST), National Commercial Bank of Jamaica Limited (NCBJ), Trinidad and Tobago Natural Gas Company Limited (TTNGL) and Massy Holdings (MASSY).

Clico Investment Fund (CIF), listed on the Mutual Fund Market, is a company vested with the shares of Republic Bank Limited which were held by the now collapsed CL Financial. The security consists of those shares as well as Government of Trinidad and Tobago Bonds (S&P Rating: BBB+ (neg)). The company was listed in January 2013 and is a closed end mutual fund with a lifespan of approximately 20 years.

The energy sector of Trinidad and Tobago, which is the main driver of the economy and the major source of revenue for the country, is poorly represented on the TTSE, with only the minor oil company, Moraven Holdings (MOV) and National Enterprises (NEL) offering any access to the local energy market. The listing of TTNGL provided some opportunity to buy into the local energy market but significant companies such as Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin) and National Petroleum Marketing Company (NP) still remain entirely owned by the state. NEL is a government holding company which holds the state owned shares of the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Atlantic LNG (Trinidad and Tobago), TRINGEN (ammonia production) and the National Flour Mills (NFM), which in itself is separately listed on the exchange.

Since 2019, successive Ministers of Finance have mooted the idea to have large, successful state agencies list on the TTSE. These entities include, but are not limited to Petrotrin, Hilton Trinidad and the Unit Trust Corporation. There have also been calls to have NEL divested into its individual entities and have these entities listed separately. In addition, suggestions have been made for large multinationals operating in Trinidad and Tobago to list Depository receipt to allow wider national participation in these companies. Such companies include BP (Trinidad and Tobago Ltd), Mittal Steel and Repsol (Trinidad and Tobago Ltd). As a result of the sale of RBTT Holdings to the Royal Bank of Canada in a cash and share deal in the late 2000s, a significant number of RBC shares are held by former shareholders of RBTT Holdings, which, at the time of its delisting, was one of the widest held shares on the TTSE.

Regulation and location

The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange falls under the jurisdiction of the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission.

The TTSE is located at the Nicholas Tower building on Independence Square in Port of Spain.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Trinidad and Tobago</span>

The economy of Trinidad and Tobago is the third wealthiest in the Caribbean and the fifth-richest by GDP (PPP) per capita in the Americas. Trinidad and Tobago is recognised as a high-income economy by the World Bank. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, the country's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals. The country's wealth is attributed to its large reserves and exploitation of oil and natural gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Securities Exchange</span> Australian share market operator

Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange. The ASX was formed on 1 April 1987, through incorporation under legislation of the Australian Parliament as an amalgamation of the six state securities exchanges, and merged with the Sydney Futures Exchange in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petrotrin</span> State-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago

Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited was a state-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago. Its principal activities were the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons in addition to the manufacturing and marketing of petroleum products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbados Stock Exchange</span> Stock exchange located in Bridgetown, Barbados

The Barbados Stock Exchange or BSE is Barbados' main stock exchange. Its headquarters are in the capital-city Bridgetown. The body was established in 1987 by the Parliament of Barbados as the Securities Exchange of Barbados (SEB), and remained known as such until August 2, 2001. The unique four symbol alphanumeric Market Identifier Code (MIC) used to identify the BSE as defined under ISO 10383. of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is: XBAB.

CL Financial was the largest privately held conglomerate in Trinidad and Tobago and one of the largest privately held corporations in the entire Caribbean, before the company encountered a major liquidity crisis and subsequent bailout in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIBC Caribbean</span> Barbadian subsidiary of CIBC

CIBC Caribbean is a financial services company based in Barbados and the Caribbean subsidiary of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). The bank was founded in 2002 as FirstCaribbean International Bank through the merger of the Caribbean operations of Barclays Bank and CIBC, and in March 2006 both CIBC and Barclays announced that Barclays wished to exercise their option to exit the Caribbean venture completely resulting in CIBC gaining majority-control of the bank. In June 2011, it was announced the bank would be renamed CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank "to be more closely aligned to the CIBC brand, while still maintaining the FirstCaribbean name and local identity." The name was then later changed CIBC Caribbean in January 2024. The majority of the bank's revenues are generated by its operations in Barbados, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casablanca Stock Exchange</span> Stock exchange in Casablanca, Morocco

The Casablanca Stock Exchange is a stock exchange in Casablanca, Morocco. The Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE), which achieves one of the best performances in the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is Africa's third largest stock market after Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos. It was established in 1929 and currently has 19 members and 81 listed securities with a total market capitalisation of $71.1 billion in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stock Exchange of Mauritius</span> Stock exchange in Port Louis, Mauritius

The Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) ; is an organization responsible for the operation of Mauritius's primary stock exchange located at Port Louis. The SEM operates two markets: the Official Market and the Development & Enterprise Market (DEM). There are 40 companies listed on the Official Market representing a Market Capitalization of nearly US$5.3 billion, the DEM presently has 48 companies listed with a market capitalisation of nearly US$1.5 billion as at 31 July 2012. SEM is one of the leading Exchanges in Africa and a member of the World Federation of Exchanges.

The S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) index is a market-capitalisation weighted and float-adjusted stock market index of stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The index is maintained by Standard & Poor's and is considered the benchmark for Australian equity performance. It is based on the 200 largest ASX listed stocks, which together account for about 82% of Australia's share market capitalisation.

The Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) was a commercial bank based in Trinidad and Tobago and one of the largest commercial banking corporations in the Caribbean region. As of 2008, RBTT Holdings had a group asset base of over US$6.2 billion dollars. The RBTT group of companies operated several commercial banking businesses in other neighbouring islands, as well as various investment holdings in various parts of the Trinidad and Tobago economy. On 26 March 2008, RBTT Shareholders voted 98.18 percent in favour of selling the bank to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), who previously had divested the bank in 1987. On 16 June 2008, RBC completed the acquisition. RBTT Financial Holdings Limited and RBC Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of RBC, will amalgamate and continue as a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of RBC. The head office of the Caribbean operations for RBC will be located at Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, and the site of RBTT's headquarters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bermuda Stock Exchange</span> National bourse of Bermuda

The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), established in 1971, is located in Hamilton, Bermuda. The stock exchange's 2010 'Year End Review' report stated that its aggregate market capitalisation stood at US$319 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic Bank</span> Caribbean bank and financial service provider

Republic Bank Limited is a Caribbean financial institution headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago. It has operations in Anguilla, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. It was formerly a division of Barclays Bank in Trinidad and Tobago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago</span>

The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago is the central bank of Trinidad and Tobago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muscat Securities Market</span> Stock exchange located in Muscat, Oman

The Muscat Securities Market is the only stock exchange in Oman. It was established by the Royal Decree (53/88) issued on 21 June 1988, to regulate and control the Omani securities market and to participate, effectively, with other organisations for setting up the infrastructure of the Sultanate's financial sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guardian Holdings Limited</span>

Guardian Holdings Limited is a conglomerate of insurance and financial services companies in the Caribbean. Its headquarters are in Westmoorings, Trinidad and Tobago and its history goes back to 1847. At one time it was known as Standard Life and the company has since been rebranded under the name Guardian Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Trinidad and Tobago</span> Overview of and topical guide to Trinidad and Tobago

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Trinidad and Tobago:

The National Petroleum Marketing Company, better known by its brand name National Petroleum (NP), is a state-owned refined petroleum distribution and marketing company owned by the government of Trinidad and Tobago. From its inception in 1972 until 1999, NP was the sole government-authorized distributor of gasoline, diesel fuel, and other consumer refined petroleum products in the island nation. The company has since expanded into lubricants, liquified petroleum gas, aviation fuel, and bunker fuel.

The nation of Trinidad and Tobago has been the leading supporter of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Trinidad and Tobago was one of the four members in 1973 which then along with Barbados, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda moved to establish the organisation that today it known as the Caribbean Community and Common Market. The new organisation because a successor to the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, of which Trinidad and Tobago was a leading member and also a founding member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCB Financial Group</span> Financial Group in Jamaica

The NCB Financial Group Limited(JSE: NCBFG) is a financial services conglomerate operating in the Caribbean region and headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica. NCB Financial Group Limited is the parent company of the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica, the largest and most profitable financial institution in Jamaica. It is also the majority shareholder of Guardian Holdings Limited, one of the largest insurance providers in the Caribbean, and of Clarien Group Limited, a banking and investment management services provider based in Bermuda. The company is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange.

Trinidad Petroleum Holdings is a state-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago. Its principal activities are the exploration, development, and production of hydrocarbons, operations it conducts through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd. Trinidad Petroleum Holdings also owns Guaracara Refining Company Ltd, which operates the nation's only petroleum refinery. It also owns the Paria Fuel Trading Company subsidiary, which imports refined petroleum products, and stores and distributes them domestically.

References