The 2019/20 capital expenditure budget for the 56 Self-Financing Public Bodies (SFPB) is projected at $71.9 billion. The sum is $13.5 billion more than the figure for 2018/19, which totalled approximately $58.4 billion, and is expected to result in the entities attaining an overall balance deficit of $3.2 billion over the period. This is according to the Government’s 2019/20 Fiscal...

The Government is to spend approximately $27 million on the ‘Implementation Support for Skills Development for Global Services’ project, during the fiscal year 2019/20. Details about the project are provided in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The main objective of the project is to promote the growth of the Global Services Sector in Jamaica,...

The Microcredit Act (2019) was tabled in the House of Representatives on February 26 by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke. The Bill seeks to regulate the persons who provide microcredit services, ensuring that such persons are licensed by the Regulatory Authority. They will also be required to keep proper accounting and other records...

A total of $34 billion (approximately US$265 million) was raised over the last four years from equity fund investments facilitated under the Jamaica Venture Capital Programme (JVCP). The JVCP was established by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) in 2013 to provide micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with access to alternative equity financing. Coordinator of the JVCP, Audrey Richards,...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, has endorsed the launch of the Association of Chinese Enterprises in Jamaica (ACEJ), which is geared towards enhancing communication between the Jamaican business community and the Chinese enterprises operating in the island. The launch took place on Tuesday (February 26), at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston....

Cabinet has given approval for increases to be granted to government pensioners. Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, said details will be provided in the 2019/20 Budget Debate by Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke. Senator Reid was speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing, held at the Office of the...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) will receive an additional $60 million to continue work on the Technical Cooperation Facility VI (TCF VI) in the new fiscal year. This is contained in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The five-year project, which commenced in November 2016, aims to identify and implement relevant, sustainable, visible and...