Anniversary
On June 30, 2013, with all attention on concerns about the expansion of the airport, the future of sugar, legislation about anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism, the price of gold and critical deadlines about the Amaila Falls hydropower project looming, no one noticed that the Guyana Stock Exchange (GSE) had reached an important milestone in its existence. June 30th, 2003 was the day that the GSE opened for business and was doing business for 88 days by the time an official ceremony was held. As such on June 30th, 2013, the GSE had reached its 10th year of existence and had completed its 517th session of trading. The lack of attention to the progress of the fledgling capital market in Guyana is evidence that the trading of shares of companies is yet to become a part of daily life. It is therefore appropriate to talk about the GSE in light of its 10th anniversary milestone.
Organized financial market
The GSE is an organized financial market where persons and institutions interested in buying and selling the shares of the listed companies go to have their trade executed. After 10 years, only one company, Trinidad Cement Limited, is officially listed on the exchange. The other companies which were grandfathered onto the exchange are still pending official listing. The decision however remains that of the companies. With electronic communication available, in-person visits to the brokerage house is not necessary. The most important function of the stock exchange is that it creates a continuous market where the opportunity always exists to buy or sell securities. Investors can sell their holdings quickly and it also means that they are not obligated to hold any of their investments forever. As with all markets, an important component is price. The GSE helps to determine the price at which the shares of the companies listed on the exchange are bought and sold. Price is determined by the buy and sell orders of investors and reflects supply and demand for the securities and the price discovery helps the companies to value their shares.
Grandfathered
Over the 10 years of its existence, the number of companies making up the Stock Exchange has not changed significantly from what it was at the inception. The Exchange started trading activities with 12 companies in its secondary list on June 30, 2003. These companies are there because they were grandfathered onto the exchange. They were allowed on because they were around a long time. While these companies were able to bypass the procedures for being officially listed on the exchange, they have not fully regularized their status. By its 517th session on June 24, 2013, of the 15 companies on the GSE, as said above, only
