Nicaragua joins El Salvador and Panama’s stock market

The Nicaraguan Stock Exchange completed the process of integration to the stock market that El Salvador and Panama have been holding for six years, a decision that marks a milestone in Central America, said the general manager of the entity, Gerardo Argüello.

This agreement “marks a before and after”, the businessman announced, as quoted by El Mundo newspaper.

Argüello said that the potential assets investors in his country’s market will be able to access would grow 70 times, as they will be linked to a market estimated at some US$54 billion.

“Additionally, our issuers will have more opportunities to place their instruments and finance the growth of their companies in a more competitive, dynamic, and promising space,” he added.

The agreement was signed by the executives of the stock exchanges of the three countries and the Superintendency of the Financial System (SSF), which regulates the Salvadoran market.

El Salvador and Panama pioneered stock market integration in the region in May 2017 when the first direct transaction was finalized through a remote operator that allows brokerage houses to participate in operations in both countries without needing an intermediary, recalls a newspaper report.

Central America has several integration fronts in the customs area, and its most successful case is the energy market, but the stock markets have operated separately, the note specifies.

Rolando Duarte, president of the El Salvador Stock Exchange, said that integrating the three exchanges seeks to facilitate more business, eliminating geographical barriers.

With information from Sputnik