Bond Deal of the Year Award Shows Confidence in Country – Finance Minister

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says the Latin America  Bond Deal of the Year award given to Jamaica by the International Financing Review (IFR), shows  the level of confidence which  the  international community has in  the country.

Accepting the award at the IFR 2015 America’s Award ceremony, at the IFR headquarters in Time Square, Manhattan, on February 10, the Minister said Jamaica won the award because of its very strong financial performance.

“This award reflects to the international community, Jamaica’s capability to perform exceptionally well in the international capital markets.  Jamaica successfully issued bonds worth $2 billion amidst the uncertainty in the global markets. By being able to issue bonds of this size and complexity at the lowest interest rate ever, is a great achievement for Jamaica.  This essentially shows that the international community has confidence in the country to meet its obligations, because of Jamaica’s strong financial performance,” Dr. Phillips said.

Meanwhile, Managing Director and Head of Latin America Capital Markets Organization, Citi Global Group, Christopher Gilford, lauded Jamaica for the remarkable transaction.

He added that the award recognizes the country’s  performance and its ability to perform well above its weight in terms of the size of the economy in the global financial market.

“Nobody comes close to the 14 per cent in the sum total of all their transactions, let alone in a single transaction which Jamaica did in a day,”   Mr. Gilford said.

The awards ceremony was attended by more than 200 representatives from prominent financial institutions in New York.