July 2025

Bridgetown, Barbados – The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) is pleased to announce that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been awarded the Consultancy for the ‘Study to Articulate Feasible Models to Effect a Regional Stock Exchange Among Participating States of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME)’.

Following a rigorous and transparent selection process, the decision to select PwC to lead the Study to Articulate Feasible Models to Effect a Regional Stock Exchange Among Participating States of the CSME was taken at a meeting of the CPSO, Regional Stock Exchange Study Project Steering Committee (CPSO-PSC) held on July 21, 2025. The CPSO-PSC is comprised of representatives from regional stock exchanges, dealer-brokers, listed companies, Central Bank Governors, the CARICOM Secretariat, regulators, and representatives from CPSO’s Executive Committee and Secretariat. The CPSO-PSC will maintain overall management and coordination responsibility of the Consultancy.

The ‘Study’ will focus on exploring models for a regional intermediatory mechanism for securities trading, incorporating key market institutions such as Securities Exchanges, Securities Regulators, Broker-Dealers and Issuers, that will achieve or approximate the essential features of an integrated capital market across CARICOM Member States. A key objective will be to identify a feasible framework that is both operationally efficient and minimally burdensome (financially or administratively) to participating institutions, while ensuring adequate regulatory oversight to safeguard investors.

The Study will be undertaken in two phases:

1. Phase I: Establishing The Feasibility of a Regional Stock Exchange
2. Phase II: Identifying The Appropriate Model and Outline of the Fit for Purpose Architecture

PwC’s comprehensive proposal, deep industry expertise, and proven track record in financial market development were key factors in their unanimous selection. The firm brings extensive global experience in advising on capital market reforms and regulatory frameworks. The PwC Team will work in close collaboration with the CPSO-PSC and other stakeholder entities to ensure that the project is undertaken in a manner which best aligns with regional aspirations and international best practices.

Efficient capital markets play a critical role in economic development by channeling resources from investors (individuals and institutions) to businesses and governments to support operational, investment and capital expenditure requirements. The benefits of securities exchange integration include optimal capital mobilization to support development, diversified risk, more efficient and competitive financial markets, lower financing costs, higher returns, and the overall increase in cross-border flow of capital.

The establishment of a robust and dynamic regional stock exchange is crucial for fostering economic growth, attracting investment, and providing new opportunities for businesses and investors across our Region.

This Study is expected to lay the groundwork for a more integrated and accessible capital market ecosystem within the Region, that presents opportunities for greater investment options and opportunities for capital raising People of CARICOM, businesses and regional economies.

The Regional Stock Exchange Study was endorsed by CARICOM Heads of Government at the Forty–Eighth (48^th) Meeting of the Conference, held in Barbados from February 19-21, 2025.

The CPSO is delighted to be partnering with regional stakeholders and with PwC in undertaking this Study, given the transformative potential for the Community.

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Bridgetown, Barbados – The Caribbean Private Sector Organization (CPSO) joins the business community of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region in mourning the passing of Mr. Don Wehby, former Group Chief Executive Officer of GraceKennedy Limited and esteemed member of the CPSO. Mr. Wehby passed away on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at the age of 62.

A consummate corporate leader, Mr. Wehby was a true visionary whose monumental work epitomized and significantly furthered the vision of private sector-led regional growth. His passion and leadership were instrumental in driving successful business integration within CARICOM, and between the region and key international markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Central America.

His transformative leadership at GraceKennedy from 2011 to 2025 more than doubled the company’s revenue and extended its footprint throughout the Caribbean and across several global markets. Through strategic mergers, acquisitions, and regional integration, he advanced a model of Caribbean business that was both globally competitive and deeply committed to the ideals of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) including promoting cross-border trade, and facilitating the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people.

Beyond his remarkable corporate achievements, Mr. Wehby made significant contributions to national public service in Jamaica, and to regional development. He served as a Government Senator and Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, and he received Jamaica’s Order of Distinction (Commander Class) in 2017 as well as the Order of Jamaica, the country’s fourth-highest honor, in 2024. This year, he was also slated to be inducted into the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s Hall of Fame in October.

Don Wehby’s legacy will remain a guiding light for Caribbean enterprise, integration, and transformation for generations to come. The CPSO extends its deepest condolences to his wife, Hilary, his three children, Stephanie, Nicholas, and Abigail, and the entire GraceKennedy family.

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Bridgetown, Barbados – The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) welcomes the decision by four CARICOM Member States: Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to implement full free movement of nationals by October 1, 2025, under the provisions of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and the Protocol on Enhanced Cooperation.  The CPSO is now calling on other CARICOM Member States to resolve outstanding administrative and legislative barriers and to adopt full free movement by December 31, 2025.

The call by the CPSO comes after CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, disclosed during the closing Press Conference of the 49^th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, the decision by four Member States to move forward with full implementation.  In his announcement, Dr. Holness also indicated that Jamaica was committed to implementing full free movement as it addressed the legislative and administrative constraints that had slowed its progress.

The CPSO celebrates these developments as a long-anticipated and necessary milestone for operationalizing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).  Since its establishment in 2020, the CPSO has consistently advocated for full free movement of labour across the Community, identifying it as a prerequisite for regional economic scale and resilience.

The Organization reiterated its position during the Business Forum Breakfast co-hosted with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and Sandals Resorts, held on the margins of the 49th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in Montego Bay on July 8, 2025. At that event, the CPSO also advanced the idea that labour from countries such as Haiti should benefit from managed and phased arrangements to address critical labour shortages in key sectors.

In his remarks, Mr. Gervase Warner, Chairman of the CPSO, emphasized that the restriction of intra-regional labour mobility has long stymied growth in high-potential sectors such as construction, agriculture, tourism, and services.

“The post-COVID recovery, rising global competitiveness, and the scale of opportunities in countries like Guyana and Jamaica demand swift access to skilled and semi-skilled labour across the region,” he noted. “This is an essential condition for private-sector-led expansion.”

This sentiment was echoed by other business leaders at the forum. CPSO Executive Committee members Mr. Christian Mouttet, Chairman of Victor E. Mouttet Limited and Agostini’s Limited (Trinidad and Tobago), and Mr. William Mahfood, Chairman of the Wisynco Group (Jamaica), both founding CPSO members, shared similar views as they raised the issue of labour mobility directly with the Heads of Government in attendance at the Breakfast Session.

At that time, Prime Minister Holness, in his response, intimated that a formal announcement regarding free movement of labour in the Region would be made later that day: an announcement which he was confident would provide some reassurance to the private sector.  Upon subsequently learning of the decision by the four Member States to implement full free movement, both Mr. Mahfood and Mr. Mouttet, expressed their satisfaction.

Dr. Patrick Antoine, CPSO’s CEO and Technical Director, disclosed that the organization had received direct outreach from both the authorities and private sector stakeholders in one CARICOM Member State regarding the potential provision of agricultural labour to support traditional crops including sugar, cocoa, banana, and nutmeg; all of which suffer from acute labour shortages.

“There clearly exists a meeting of the minds between those who want to supply labour and those who need it, and a new willingness on both sides to cooperate in whatever arrangements may be necessary to operationalize these ‘labour schemes’. However, this will ultimately require formal decisions by regional Governments.”

He further added, “The inability to access labour, especially higher-skilled labour, was a major binding constraint on the region’s ability to achieve the 25 by 2025 food security vision.”

Prime Minister Holness also announced that the Conference agreed to expand the the list of skilled categories under the CSME to include aviation personnel, photogrammetry specialists, field maintenance workers, and aircraft maintenance professionals.

The CPSO commends the decision of the Conference and the manifest leadership of the four implementing Member States. The Organization also acknowledges and welcomes Jamaica’s stated commitment to accelerate its own internal processes toward full implementation, having recognized it as an urgent priority for the Community, Jamaica’s economy and its private sector.

On behalf of the regional private sector, the CPSO continues to urge the remaining CARICOM Member States to urgently resolve the outstanding administrative and legislative issues so that the long awaited goal of full free movement of labour, desired by the People of CARICOM, can be realized by December 31, 2025.

The CPSO remains committed to working with Member States and the private sector to translate this important breakthrough into a fully realized framework for regional integration and shared prosperity.

About the CARICOM Private Sector Organization:

The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) is the most recently accredited Associate Institution of the Caribbean Community. The CPSO is a ‘Service Organization’ with a goal to mobilize and advance private sector participation in CARICOM, with a mandate to contribute to the full implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The Membership of the CPSO is comprised of private sector entities operating in the CARICOM space, including Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

For media enquiries, please contact:

The CPSO Secretariat

Email: info@thecpso.org | website: www.thecpso.org

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Montego Bay, Jamaica– A powerful collective call for urgent, coordinated action to resolve longstanding  obstacles impacting regional integration emerged from the PSOJ-CPSO Business Breakfast Forum, hosted on July 8, 2025, at Sandals Montego Bay. The event brought together regional heads of government and private sector leaders against the backdrop of the 49th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting.

Speakers highlighted that persistent inefficiencies, trade bottlenecks, and non-tariff barriers continue to suppress intra-regional trade, which currently accounts for just 11.2% of CARICOM’s total trade. Emphasis was placed on translating policy into practical reforms with a focus on accelerating implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and intra-regional trade, harmonizing trade standards and removing non-tariff barriers, deepening financial market integration, including the establishment of a regional stock exchange and addressing global policy shifts such as US reciprocal tariffs and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) global carbon tax.

Delivering the keynote address, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr. The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, the incoming Chair for CARICOM, as of 1st July, stressed “regional integration must be more than aspiration; it must serve as a critical shield of resilience and self-reliance. No business can thrive in isolation, and no government can respond alone. We must act with urgency and strategic coordination.”

Prime Minister Holness also reaffirmed Jamaica’s commitment to the CSME (CSME), noting recent reforms to the Common External Tariff and the development of the regional industrial policy framework.

Chairman of the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO), Gervase Warner, framed the Forum as a rare, yet vital, opportunity for public-private dialogue. He pointed to specific projects requiring action, including regional capital markets integration through the development of a regional stock exchange, mobilised digital infrastructure investment, and critical regional maritime transportation solutions.

Mr. Warner remarked, “We cannot afford inertia. Many of the barriers we face, including non-tariff
barriers, are self-imposed. The private sector must play its role in dismantling them.”

President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Metry Seaga, highlighted the private sector’s readiness to lead but noted the need for governments to create an enabling environment.

“We’re not here for another talk shop. Regional integration is no longer optional; it is a necessity for survival and growth. We need harmonized regulations, efficient customs systems, modern logistics, and reduced red tape,” Seaga asserted.

“Our job as governments is to facilitate and create a level playing field,” said Prime Minister Holness in response. “Regional integration cannot be treated as an economic aspiration; it must be a shield of resilience and self-reliance. We must act with urgency, coordination, and a strategic mindset to overcome the obstacles,” he added.

Bringing empirical weight to the discussions, Dr. Patrick Antoine, Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director of the CPSO, revealed cutting-edge insights and analysis, highlighting that CARICOM could face US$542.3 million in annual export revenue losses due to new US reciprocal tariffs.

Dr. Antoine advocated for a ‘CBI-Plus’ strategy to safeguard products outside the existing Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) preference regime.

He emphasized, “Every delay in CSME implementation represents lost opportunities for growth, jobs, and innovation.”

Dr. Antoine’s presentation also raised awareness regarding the looming IMO Global Carbon Tax and implications for the CARICOM Region, stating “we are also calling for an urgent convening of a technical
working group to address the global carbon tax’s potential impact on our trade competitiveness.”

Adding a frank regional perspective, Honourable Kerrie Symmonds, Barbados’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, urged CARICOM members to move beyond self critique toward practical action.

“We have missed too many boats—whether in production integration or sourcing diversification. Resilience means building new, reliable trade relationships beyond our traditional partners,” Minister Symmonds said. He also raised concerns about emerging global green protectionism policies, warning that CARICOM must engage early to protect its interests.

The PSOJ and CPSO underscored that the time for talk has passed, reaffirming their resolve to drive tangible outcomes through stronger public-private partnerships, actionable policy reforms, and region-wide collaboration with CARICOM governments.

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