Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, on Tuesday (January 19), tabled the third Supplementary Estimates for 2020-21 in the House of Representatives, which shows a $3.5 billion reduction in spending for the fiscal year. The revised Budget proposes a reduction in expenditure from $853.8 billion to $850.3 billion. The capital budget was reduced from...

On Friday, 15 January 2021, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) published its bulletin for the Consumer Price Index for December 2020. In this report, it was noted that, for calendar year 2020, the inflation rate was 6.4 per cent. The same release by STATIN also noted that the point-to-point inflation rate as at December 2020 was 5.2 per cent....

Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), Marlene Street Forrest, says the entity has undertaken several initiatives and programmed several others, in its quest to ensure the sustainability of its operations. Speaking during the digital launch of the JSE’s Private Market platform on Monday (January 11), Mrs. Street Forrest said successful engagements pursued in recent years include migrating the...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says Jamaica’s private securities market grew by approximately 100 per cent between 2017 and 2020, with the value of bond issuance transactions doubling from some $200 million to $400 million. He said that when compared to the banking sector, which recorded loan growth ranging between 16 and 35...

The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), on Monday (January 11), launched its latest offering, the Private Market, which will facilitate the listing of bonds and equities securities on the NASDAQ Platform. Managing Director of the JSE, Marlene Street Forrest, says the private listing and trading of securities on the new platform will be in accordance with the Financial Service Commission’s (FSC)...

As of January 11, 2021, Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) will begin the pilot phase of a Direct Funds Transfer Project, aimed at improving the process by which customers transfer funds to TAJ’s bank accounts for the payment of taxes and fees. Under the new arrangements, all funds transferred to TAJ’s bank must include a Direct Funds Transfer Number (DFTN), generated...

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has praised the Government for introducing measures to improve public investment management within Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and public expenditure efficiency. In a country summary contained in its final 2020 quarterly bulletin, the IDB said the establishment of the Public Investment Management Secretariat (PIMS) has been an “important step” in the thrust to improve...