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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