Govt. Committed to Creating Right Investment Climate – PM

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has emphasized the Government’s continued commitment to creating the right investment climate in Jamaica.
“Doing business in Jamaica has become easier and the Government is committed to go even further to make it more easier to attract more investors to Jamaica,” she said.
Mrs. Simpson Miller was delivering the keynote address at the Alcoa Women’s Network Second Global Leadership Conference for Alcoa’s senior management women on October 24 at the Reston Hyatt Hotel in Virginia. The Prime Minister pointed out that Jamaica was now receiving increased investments in a number of areas, including tourism, bauxite, telecommunications, trans-shipment and cruise shipping. Turning to investments in the hotel sector, she pointed out that major projects were underway and on completion, some 12,000 hotel rooms would be added, representing a 50 per cent increase in that sector. For the bauxite and alumina industry, the Prime Minister said that JAMALCo is expected to produce an additional one million tonnes of alumina per year, with 150,000 tonnes being produced by year end in the first phase of the expansion programme.
On cruise shipping, the Prime Minister said major expansions have taken place at the port in Kingston and expansion and improvements are already underway at the island’s two airports, adding that these investments underlined the growing recognition of Jamaica as a choice investment destination. “The United Nations performance index of inward foreign direct investments has ranked Jamaica in 17th place in terms of attracting foreign direct investments,” she said. The Prime Minister also pointed out that both the world economic forum business competitiveness index and the World Bank’s doing business report rank Jamaica favourably among countries in the region. She told the audience that there was a greater measure of macro-economic stability, with inflation down to single digits, and the country’s Net International Reserves (NIR) were at record levels. “My government is convinced that the basic macro-economic programme that the country has been pursuing is a sound one and will be continued under my leadership,” the Prime Minister stressed. Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Professor Gordon Shirley and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Carlton Davis accompanied Mrs. Simpson Miller to the ceremony.