A securities market is like any other market where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods and services. The buyers (investors) are individuals and institutions who have money (capital) to invest. The sellers are corporations, governments and other investors. The products they sell are securities, including stocks, bonds and other financial products, which are exchanged for money.

The ECSE provides investors a new way to make money on their investments and participate in the expansion of local enterprises at the same time. It offers an opportunity for investing in and profiting from the growth and development of the economy of the Eastern Caribbean.

The ECSE provides a primary and a secondary market for trading securities. In the primary market, a public company or government (issuer) sells its securities for the first time to investors to raise capital to support its operations. The funds generated from this sale of securities go to the issuer.

In the secondary market, investors buy and sell securities among themselves. The proceeds from this trading activity go to the investors, not back to the original issuer.

Shares of all companies listed on the ECSE will be held in dematerialized form. This means that investors will no longer need to hold certificates to confirm proof of ownership. Once you buy shares now, you will not be given a certificate but a confirmation of the proof of ownership. Your shares will be held in electronic form at the Eastern Caribbean Central Securities Registry Ltd. (ECCSR), a subsidiary of the ECSE.

• In a regional market--where investors will own companies in different jurisdictions--it will be logistically difficult to move physical certificates from one country to the other. Even if undertaken, there is a likelihood that the same could be lost or their delivery delayed.
  
• Evidence of ownership can't be lost as the official record is maintained electronically by the ECCSR. You will receive periodic correspondence from the ECCSR regarding your shareholdings.
  
• Since physical certificates are no longer used, there is no possibility for theft of your records.
  
• If you wish to sell your shares, you can more efficiently execute your transaction, as there will be no need to transfer physical certificates to conclude the transaction.
  
• You can verify ownership of shares at any time without having to carry the physical certificates. Every shareholder will have a unique account number and an I.D. to be used to confirm ownership.
  
• Changes you require on your records can be more quickly processed.
  
• The ECSM and you are now part of global world of securities market modernization that is moving away from physical certificates and adapting to the New World order.

So once you buy or sell shares, the ECCSR will keep record of these transactions. The buyer of these shares will receive a statement from the ECCSR. On the ECCSR statement, the buyer will receive their Investor ID and Account Number.

The ECCSR is now the main record holder for these listed companies' shares. As a result of this, each shareholder is given a unique Investor ID and an Account Number. The Investor ID is a nine-digit number followed by capital KN (e.g. 000157511KN). The account number is numeric.

Also if you have changed your address, changed names or want to make a transfer (donation/gift), you could contact the ECCSR or follow instructions provided on this web site.

ECCSR will also communicate with you periodically apprising you of your shareholdings. Should you find any discrepancy, you could contact the ECCSR or your company.

Enterprises in the ECCB currency area need new sources of capital in order to compete effectively in the growing global marketplace. Capital allows them to buy new equipment, increase productivity and offer better services. The ECSE provides a market for buying and selling a variety of securities. The ECSE gives entrepreneurs a powerful new vehicle for raising capital to support modernisation, expansion, new employment opportunities and economic growth.