Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. Proudly Announces its Third International Securities Market (ISM) Listing Sponsor
Bridgetown, Barbados. June 26th, 2017 – The Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. (BSE) is pleased to announce that, effective June 2nd, 2017, DGM Trust Corporation (DGM) was duly registered as a Listing Sponsor in good standing of the International Securities Market (ISM). As a Listing Sponsor, DGM Trust Corporation is authorized to engage International Business Companies (IBCs), both domiciled in Barbados and abroad, which may be seeking a primary or secondary listing of securities. The Listing Sponsors primary role is to conduct the necessary due diligence on a company (Issuer) to ensure that it is fit and proper for listing on the ISM and act as liaison between the Issuer and the BSE. The Listing Sponsor is also responsible for ensuring that, once listed, the Issuer is in compliance with its continued obligations under the Rules of the ISM.
On receipt of approval notification from the Executive Committee of the ISM, Wayne Fields – President – DGM Financial Group of Companies noted, “DGM Trust Corporation (DGM) is delighted and honoured to be approved as a listing sponsor within the new International Securities Market (ISM) platform of the Barbados Stock Exchange. DGM values the tremendous opportunities our participation will provide to our international clients enabling them to list and trade international securities which will afford them many tangible benefits. It is also a privilege to be part of the ISM in its early development. We believe that the ISM will make a significant contribution to the product offerings that will be available in Barbados to the international business sector and we look forward to its success.”
Marlon Yarde – Managing Director of the BSE stated, “The approval of DGM Trust Corporation – our third Listing Sponsor for the ISM – is yet another great accomplishment for the BSE. In fact, from the very launch of the ISM in March of 2016, we set a goal of procuring at least five of Barbados’ most prestigious practitioners to serve as the “home grown” Listing Sponsors for the market. We enjoyed a particularly interactive dialogue with DGM that started and continued on from our very first meeting in late 2016. Their participation – and keen support – is a valued addition to our core group of Listing Sponsors and lends further credibility to the competence and capability of our ISM ecosystem. We look forward to working with the DGM team to ensure the ISM’s success.” When asked about the progress being made on the ISM initiative he noted, “To date we have signed on three Listing Sponsors with two more signings in the pipeline as we speak. We are pleased with the response we have received thus far – it proves that our goal of attracting premiere practitioners in Barbados’ International Business and Financial Services (IBFS) sector is reaping the desired rewards. Not only have they identified the opportunities available to them; their participation will ultimately serve to benefit the economy as a whole.”
About the International Securities Market (ISM)
The International Securities Market (ISM) was formally launched on March 15th, 2016 at the Hilton Barbados resort. The ISM is a dedicated market for the listing and trading of securities by Issuers, who may or may not be incorporated in Barbados, that would otherwise be listed and traded on other exchanges across the world.
The ISM is structured to operate as a separate market of the BSE, a self-regulatory organization, with a separate set of rules applied to membership, trading, clearing and settlement and listing of international securities only sharing the same disciplinary/hearing processes outlined in the general Rules of the BSE. The ISM is primed to offer a breadth of financial products but will initially focus on vanilla offerings namely: equities, bonds and other fixed interest securities and investment funds – both open-ended and close-ended.
About the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE)
The Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. is one of the leading stock exchanges in the Caribbean region. It is located in Barbados – a premier location globally for international business and financial services. Formerly the Securities Exchange of Barbados, the BSE was re-incorporated on August 2nd, 2001 with the passage of the Securities Act 2001-13. As a result of the Act, the Barbados Securities Commission, now the Financial Services Commission (FSC), was established. The FSC has overall regulatory responsibility for the entire Barbadian Capital markets including all Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs), of which the BSE and its subsidiary the Barbados Central Securities Depository Inc. (BCSDI) comprise, as well as all public companies whether listed or not.
The Barbados Stock Exchange Inc. is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) with Correspondent Status.
About the Barbados and the International Business Sector
Barbados is a quality destination that is trusted and well regulated, following international best practice in capital market regulation. Though small in size, Barbados enjoys a stable and well-established democracy with a long tradition of respecting the rule of law and property rights and excellent infrastructure.
Barbados is the only low tax wealth management jurisdiction in the Caribbean with a comprehensive tax treaty network. Double taxation agreements (DTAs) ensure that foreign nationals – covered under Barbados’ international tax treaty network – are exempt from withholding taxes on dividends, interest or royalties realized locally. The island has 37 DTAs already in place and awaits the ratification of an additional 6 such agreements.