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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — High-level agriculture ministers from across the Caribbean have gathered to advance a groundbreaking capital-first strategy for overhauling the region’s food systems, repositioning the agricultural sector as a strategic, high-potential asset class for global and local investors.

Hosted by the United Nations Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean office, the one-day Food Systems Investment Forum held Tuesday brought together senior regional government representatives, leaders from international financial institutions, private sector investors, and global development partners under the central theme “Mobilising Equity Capital for Resilient Food Systems in the Caribbean.”

Following the conclusion of the forum, officials announced the official launch of a new UN-curated Deal Book, which showcases 320 million U.S. dollars worth of fully vetted, investment-ready opportunities spanning every segment of the Caribbean’s food systems. The curated resource is designed to sustain the deal-making momentum built during the event and create structured connections between institutional investors and regional food and agriculture enterprises.

In his opening address titled “From Policy to Capital Deployment,” Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, emphasized the critical urgency of closing the persistent financing gap holding back Caribbean food systems and unlocking new streams of private equity. Springett outlined long-standing structural challenges facing the sector: overall capital flows remain misaligned with development needs, most financing is limited to concessional loans or donor grants, and long-term patient equity capital is largely absent from the market. Compounding this issue, he noted that most private regional capital is currently diverted to non-productive sectors such as real estate, rather than flowing into the food economy that supports local livelihoods and food security.

Springett called on Caribbean national governments to strengthen regulatory and policy environments to attract investment, while urging private investors to recognize the growing pipeline of viable opportunities across agriculture, fisheries, food processing, and cold chain logistics. “The opportunity is here. Capital exists. But they are not connected in a structured and meaningful way,” he explained. “This forum is designed to change that…through a different kind of conversation — one that starts with capital: how investors assess risk, what makes a project bankable and what actually unlocks deals.”

John Morris, Chairman of International Asset Management and Managing Partner of the regional CaribGROW Fund, echoed the call for expanded equity participation, noting that well-managed Caribbean food businesses with proven revenue streams and defensible market positions are fully capable of delivering competitive financial returns. Drawing an analogy to the U.S. New York Knicks basketball team, Morris framed the challenge as a structural one, not a lack of viable opportunity: “The challenge is not the opportunity, the challenge is capital.”

Morris compared regional capital markets to a team sport, where sustained success depends on diverse stakeholders collaborating to build a robust ecosystem. He acknowledged that multilateral institutions, development finance bodies, regional banks, and national governments have already laid critical groundwork for investment, but emphasized that equity remains the missing core component. “Equity is where ownership, wealth creation and wealth retention live,” he said, warning that without access to equity capital, local businesses cannot scale and remain permanently vulnerable to foreign acquisition. By contrast, he explained, his fund’s model of taking minority stakes allows local families and stakeholders to retain control of their businesses, keeping generated wealth within the Caribbean region.

Barbados’ Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight highlighted the widespread shared commitment to action among all participants, noting that the conversation around Caribbean food systems has evolved far beyond a narrow focus on production alone. “This is an acknowledgement that we have come here to do something big and that is important. I also see in the room, people of like minds who I do not have to convince of the importance of the conversation,” she said.

Framing food systems as one of the most consequential economic and development opportunities for the entire Caribbean, Munro-Knight urged both public sector leaders and private investors to recognize the sector’s transformative potential. “If you want an equation that answers one of the most fundamental challenges facing this region, our food security, while also enabling social and structural economic transformation, then you’re in the right place at the right time,” she stated.

Drawing a parallel to the groundbreaking Bridgetown Initiative for climate finance, she stressed that “meeting the moment” requires innovative, equitable partnerships that center Caribbean voices as equal stakeholders and reimagine how investment capital is structured and delivered. She pointed to large-scale, investable projects across the sector including logistics infrastructure, agro-processing facilities, cold chain networks, digital agricultural transformation, and agritech innovation. “These are investable opportunities, big investable opportunities,” she said, issuing an open invitation to private sector partners to collaborate with regional governments. “We’ve come to the table, meet us with your capital.”

Unlike traditional industry conferences that focus only on policy dialogue, the 2024 Food Systems Investment Forum was designed to drive tangible action, facilitating direct one-on-one engagement between investors and government leaders, showcasing pre-vetted investment opportunities, and advancing active transaction negotiations and cross-sector partnerships. Attendees took part in investor-focused roundtables, thematic breakout sessions, and bilateral deal meetings all aimed at accelerating capital deployment and scaling initiatives to build more climate and food-resilient regional food systems. By centering equity capital, blended finance structures, and market-driven solutions, the forum seeks to unlock the full economic and resilience potential of Caribbean food systems while advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals across the region.

A proposed privatization of one of the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) most prominent blue-chip companies is set to deliver a massive $54 billion cash windfall to Jamaican minority investors, but market analysts warn that filling the gap the banking giant would leave in portfolios and the broader exchange will be a far bigger challenge than deploying the new capital.

Scotiabank Caribbean Holdings Limited, which already controls a 71.78% majority stake in Scotia Group Jamaica Limited, has tabled a $61.50 per share offer to buy out all outstanding minority shares to take the dividend-paying banking group private. Based on the more than 878 million outstanding minority-held shares, the total payout to diverse stakeholders — from large institutional investors like pension funds and unit trusts to retail individual shareholders — would hit an estimated $54 billion.

Following the announcement, Scotia’s stock climbed 1.4% or 82 cents to close at $59.40 on Tuesday, still trading $2.10 below the proposed buyout price, putting the company’s total market valuation at roughly $184.8 billion. If the transaction wins approval from minority shareholders and Jamaica’s Supreme Court, Scotia will be delisted, removing one of the JSE’s largest and most liquid domestic financial stocks from an exchange that already has a limited pool of sizable, tradeable companies capable of absorbing large institutional investments.

Industry leaders say the flood of cash from the buyout is unlikely to be reinvested in a single replacement asset, with allocation varying based on individual investor mandates, risk tolerances and prevailing market returns. Richardo Williams, senior vice-president for asset management and head of Barita Fund Managers, explained that while the JSE may appear to have sufficient listed equities on paper, practical constraints narrow the options for large funds dramatically.

“The binding constraint is less likely to be the existence of listed equities and more likely to be investable capacity under investment mandate and risk limits,” Williams shared in emailed responses to *Jamaica Observer*, noting that regulatory and internal rules bar large funds from concentrating too much capital in a single company or industry. Funds also need enough publicly traded shares to absorb large investments without triggering sharp price spikes, meaning many existing listed Jamaican companies are too small, too thinly traded, or already overrepresented in institutional portfolios to replace Scotia’s capacity.

The core challenge, Williams emphasized, is replicating Scotia’s unique value proposition for most investors rather than just finding a single replacement stock. For decades, Scotia delivered a rare combination of consistent dividend income, solid exposure to Jamaica’s financial sector, a proven track record of profitability, and enough trading liquidity to accommodate large position entries and exits. Recreating that balance will require investors to spread their $54 billion in proceeds across multiple stocks, bonds and alternative assets.

The bank’s most recent financial performance underscores its strength: it reported $10.1 billion in net income for the six months ending April 30, up from $9.2 billion in the same period a year prior, and its board recently approved a second interim dividend of 45 cents per share.

Davie Martin, general manager for trading and treasury at JMMB Group, echoed the concern that Scotia’s departure will shrink viable options for investors prioritizing liquidity and regular dividend income. Last year, roughly 26.4 million Scotia shares traded hands, compared to 117 million for NCB Financial Group and 19.6 million for Sagicor Group Jamaica. Data shows that the top 10 shareholders of Scotia control more than 82% of the company, with most non-controlling stakes held by long-term holders like pension funds, leaving only a small portion of shares actively available for trading at any given time.

“If the deal goes through, then minority shareholders will have to seek appropriate alternative investment options, which could be difficult, especially in the sizes required by institutional investors,” Martin told *Business Observer*.

If a large share of the buyout proceeds stays within Jamaican equities, Williams warned, it could create upward price pressure on the small pool of remaining large-cap blue-chip stocks, increasing portfolio concentration in a handful of companies and pushing down dividend yields for new buyers unless those companies raise their payouts. Martin added that the current market environment of higher interest rates, global economic uncertainty, and muted domestic equity valuations has already pushed many investors toward fixed-income assets like government and corporate bonds, meaning a portion of the Scotia windfall is likely to flow into assets outside the domestic stock market rather than back into JSE listings.

The proposed delisting also raises a broader question about the JSE’s ability to replace major listed companies when they exit. Based on current market values, Scotia accounts for roughly 10% of the JSE Main Market’s total capitalization, meaning its exit would remove one-tenth of the market’s value if other prices hold steady. Over the past decade, 12 companies have been delisted from the JSE with a combined pre-delisting market valuation of roughly $123.67 billion — nearly 50% less than Scotia’s current $184.8 billion valuation. While the exchange added 16 new Main Market listings over that same period, none have approached Scotia’s size, liquidity and market role. Martin noted that based on the past two years of listing activity, a direct replacement of Scotia’s scale is unlikely to come to the JSE quickly.

In explaining the rationale for the deal, Scotiabank said taking the company private will boost capital and operational efficiency, allowing the group to respond faster to market opportunities, with no material changes to Scotia’s ongoing day-to-day operations in Jamaica. Martin noted that privatization deals typically follow similar logic: majority owners benefit from reduced public reporting requirements and greater flexibility to make long-term strategic decisions, and often move to buy out minority stakes when they believe the public market is undervaluing the business.

This rationale mirrors the 2018 privatization and delisting of Cable & Wireless Jamaica, where the controlling owner cited low trading volumes, reduced administrative and compliance burdens, and simplified group structure as core justifications for the buyout. While Scotia’s deal has a different structure, the underlying logic of full integration over retaining a public minority listing aligns with prior Jamaican privatization transactions.

Since the buyout announcement, Scotia shares have climbed steadily: jumping 7.78% or $4.22 to $58.43 the Friday after the announcement, adding 15 cents on Monday, and rising a further 82 cents to close at $59.40 on Tuesday. Williams advised shareholders to wait for full transaction documents and independent valuations to assess the fairness of the $61.50 offer against Scotia’s historical performance, balance sheet value, future growth prospects and dividend track record. Beyond valuation, he added, shareholders must weigh the certainty of an immediate cash payout against the potential long-term gains of retaining an ownership stake in the business.

With regulatory and shareholder approvals still pending, the immediate debate centers on whether the offer fairly values Scotia’s shares. For Jamaica’s national stock market, however, the bigger, longer-term question is what will fill the gap left by one of its most important listed companies, if any replacement can be found at all.