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  • 11 months ago
The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange has reported a decline in stock market performance in 2024 because of investors shifting from the equity market to other assets such as bonds. Vishanna Phagoo tells us more in our Inside Business segment.
Transcript
00:00Eva Mitchell, the Chief Executive Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange
00:05TTSC, highlighted that while 2024 was a year of lower stock prices, now it's an excellent
00:13time for investors to consider opportunities in the equity market.
00:18In an interview with Inside Business at the TTSC head office, Mitchell noted that the
00:23market experienced a decline of about 12% year-on-year, but believes that the market
00:29is now at a turning point, and encourages both institutional and retail investors to
00:35see this as a chance to invest at more favorable valuations.
00:40So 2024 stock market performance as measured by our market indices, it has been a year
00:50of decline for us, so the stock market did fall in 2024.
00:57As a matter of fact, our major index fell about 12% year-on-year, so it was a challenging
01:04year for us, and there were some major headwinds that would have led to that decline.
01:10I would say generally the problem is part of a systemic problem.
01:15She said to solve these issues, the TTSC is working to bring more initial public offerings,
01:21or IPOs, to market, and is also working with the relevant authorities to try to rectify
01:28this systemic issue.
01:30She believes that with the appropriate measures and policies, these problems can be addressed
01:36over time.
01:37Mitchell explained that the declining stock prices, coupled with an increase in short-term
01:43interest rates on bonds over the last year, would have also caused large investors to
01:48gravitate towards bonds and fixed markets because of its attractiveness and stability.
01:55We saw a lot of investors actually leave the exchange and sort out different types of assets
02:04in a bid to, I guess, chase after more attractive-looking assets, right?
02:11But the point I want to make is, even in the face of that, and even in the face of us not
02:18having a regular flow of IPO over the last year or so, we had two IPOs actually, but
02:24if you look at over the last five years, we did not have a consistent number of IPOs coming
02:29into our markets.
02:31But this presents an opportunity for investors because in the face of a declining market
02:39or lower prices, it is a perfect opportunity to actually buy.
02:43Mitchell said that the TTSC has been urging young people to become shareholders in the
02:47companies they patronize.
02:49She stressed that her team has been working diligently to debunk the myth that investing
02:55in the stock market is only for the wealthy.
02:58She encouraged young people and anyone interested in building long-term financial wealth to
03:03utilize the information on the TTSC website.
03:06Mitchell added that besides more IPOs, the TTSC is working on introducing a U.S. index-based
03:14product to local investors using local currency.
03:18She said conversations are being held with the regulators and key stakeholders of the
03:22market.
03:23Vishana Pagu reporting for InsideBusiness.
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