The Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange (DCSX) hosted the virtual event LEARN2GROW on November 27, 2020. The event was the closing of the DCSX World Investor Week 2020 campaign. World Investor Week 2020 was a week-long global campaign, starting October 5 to October 11, promoted by IOSCO, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection, and highlights the various initiatives of securities regulators in these two areas. Due to Covid-19, WIW2020 will be celebrated as well as throughout October and November. The DCSX since 2018 has supported the world investor week global campaign together with the regional coordinator for WIW organized campaigns, the Central Bank of Curaçao, and St. Maarten (Member of IOSCO).

This year we decided due to the current circumstances to do something different, a virtual event. An event where participants would have the opportunity to learn about our organization, the capital market, learn some insight into the regulation of our exchange. Most importantly learn about alternative ways to obtain financing including the benefits and risks related to them.

The event started with welcome words from our Managing Director, Mr. Abedd Hammoud. Followed by Mr. Rene Römer (DCSX Senior Commercial Advisor) who gave a detailed explanation about the general considerations, benefits, responsibilities for businesses and investors when we talk about listing and investing in listed entities. Mrs. Diana Intriago (Commercial ADvisor Latam) explained the DCSX Listing Process. The listing process is the process where a business is applying to enter the capital market with the goal to obtain regional or global recognition and/or to raise capital. Businesses can choose a technical listing or a tradeable listing. The purpose of technical listings is not to raise capital but to elevate the company’s profile on the market and to elevate the compliance level of the legal entity, at the same time it is considered a preparation to become tradeable in the future on the DCSX trading platform. Trade-able listings are what are known as “traditional” listings with the main purpose to raise capital or provide liquidity to the shareholders.

Mr. Errol Cova (CBCS Head of Investment Institutions and Trust Supervision Department) discussed whether Capital Market Development is an option or necessity. His presentation included a general overview of the capital market, the objectives of the CBCS, and the supervisory role of the CBCS.

Mr. Bharat Bhojwani (Managing Director, Curacaçao Heritage Fund) shared his experience with the listing of the Curaçao Heritage Fund on the DCSX. Bharat discussed what he thinks would be the ideal factors for listing including scale, good growth prospects, having audited or reviewed financial statements, good governance in order and using the Jamaica stock exchange’s Junior Market as a benchmark, the lessons learned from listing on the DCSX including the need to change the minimum investment requirement of 50,000ANG/25,000USD to a smaller amount like 1,000USD for a broader private sector participation, and the opportunities for improvement to help our capital market including having a tax incentive to list on the DCSX, oblige all government-owned entities to list their shares to improve transparency, form alliances with other exchanges to increase the ecosystem, increase the number of brokers/ market makers.

Mr. Justus Maartens (Managing Director, Building Depot) shared his experience with the listings of Building Depot Member Services (Smart Finance) and Building Depot Curaçao. The listing of Building Depot Member Services was the first local bond listing in the history of the exchange. He emphasized how important it is for companies to be prepared when deciding to list on an exchange. The preparation includes choosing your partners that will play a role in the capital-raising process. These partners include a financial advisor, bond agent, legal advisor auditor, lead broker, paying agent, and listing advisor. The process includes determining your goal and which type of instrument you need, consider the listing requirements (plan audits, prepare information memorandum, plan marketing, analyze the costs, etc. It is crucial for businesses to realize that getting the listing approved does not guarantee that the required capital will be raised. This depends on how the business is planning and promoting together with its partners. Therefore it is essential for businesses to have a plan B.

The event concluded with a Q&A session moderated by Mrs. Diana Intriago.

We want to thank all our speakers for their valuable insights and to all participants who attended and participated in the discussion. We couldn’t think of a better way to close our World Investor Week 2020 campaign.

Last but not least, we encourage you to continuously seek knowledge to improve and strengthen your financial literacy. We have a collection of interesting publications for you to start with. Visit our website at https://www.dcsx.cw/publications/