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Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda, has announced that the Government's efforts to divest its factory spaces has so far resulted in the sale of $43 million worth of property. Mr. Samuda told the House of Representatives yesterday (January 26), that the Factories Corporation of Jamaica was intended to be a developer of facilities, which would then...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon Michael Stern, says that the Government has remained committed to stimulating a culture of research to improve the nation's health, as well as its ability to generate investments and jobs. Mr. Stern said that the practical use of science, technology and innovation would be crucial to the success...

President of the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF), Wayne Chen, has emphasised that teamwork must be maintained at the workplaces to ensure productivity. "The JEA is about making the employer/employee relationship as smooth as possible, because at the end of the day, all of our enterprises depend on efficient employees," he told the monthly meeting of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce,...

Motor vehicle owners have another six weeks in which to clear approximately 350 damaged and over-aged vehicles that have piled up at the island's wharves. Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda, making the announcement at a press conference held at the Ministry in New Kingston today (December 22), said that the move was prompted by interest groups...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Mr. Reginald Budhan, has stressed the need for constant mapping of the creative industries to ensure that they can be developed and utilised for the benefit of the country. "We need constant mapping of our creative industries in order to facilitate policy making, assess their potential and identify those creative...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda, has called on the CARICOM Secretariat to establish a monitoring mechanism for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which would, among other things, enable countries to share best practices. He noted that there is no mechanism in place to ensure that the success that one member state has achieved...

Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda, has said that small businesses, with the potential to enhance the productive sector, will be given financial assistance to operate in a sustainable manner. "I believe that, as Government, we must now move to deal with a new approach to financing small businesses in Jamaica," Mr. Samuda said. He was addressing the...

The Furniture and Wooden Products Incubator Project's Design Centre was officially opened on Friday (December 4) following a brief ceremony at the offices of the Bureau of Standards Jamaica on Winchester Road in Kingston. Now in the pilot phase, (the second of four phases) the Incubator project is being implemented by the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce through the...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, the Hon. Karl Samuda, has said that while Jamaican products are of good quality, more need to be done to raise standards to the international market level. "We need to go much further. It needs to become second nature for us to produce the best quality that we can produce," Mr. Samuda told the...

The Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI) is pushing for greater emphasis to be placed on the Meeting, Exhibition, Events and Convention (MEEC) industry, which is not being given the same level of attention as tourism. Consulting Officer, Investment Services, at the JTI, Ms. Kerisha Cadogan, told a forum put on by year four hospitality students of the Excelsior Community College,...

The Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) has announced an extension of its amnesty to February, 2010, to allow all charitable groups to file outstanding returns at reduced costs. Charitable groups include churches, charitable organisations, service clubs, professional associations, community-based organisations and other such groups, which are registered under the Companies Act as companies limited by guarantee without a share capital....

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Michael Stern, has said that in the new global economic environment, more emphasis has to be placed on protecting consumers. "With the liberalisation of markets globally, privatisation of Government services, increased Internet usage and developments in new technologies, consumers need to be properly protected in the market," the...