The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a three-year US$1.64 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Jamaica, as a signal of its continued support of the Government of Jamaica’s (GOJ) economic programme and the strengthening of the country’s macroeconomic framework. The Stand-By Arrangement will replace the existing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) which was scheduled to end in March...

Jamaica’s inflation rate continues to decline, with the figure falling to 1.9 per cent for the September 2016 quarter. This was 0.6 per cent lower than the out-turn for the June quarter, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor, Brian Wynter, has reported. He also indicated that the September out-turn represented the eighth consecutive quarter in which inflation had declined. The Governor...

Several companies in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector are seeking to set up operations in Manchester and other areas of central Jamaica, says Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw. The Minister said, recently he met with the president of Sutherland Global Services (SGS), and he indicated that their most productive BPO facility is located in...

Central Bank Governor, Brian Wynter, is maintaining that the Jamaican dollar is fairly valued at the current exchange rate of just over $129 against the US dollar. Speaking at the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) quarterly media briefing at the bank in downtown Kingston, on November 14, the Governor said that economic assessments support this, and that the Bank of Jamaica...

Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor, Brian Wynter, has welcomed approval of the country’s new three-year US$1.64-billion Standby Agreement by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board. The agreement, which was ratified at the Board’s meeting on Friday, November 11, immediately replaces the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) that has been in place since 2013 and will enable Jamaica to immediately access...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, is reporting that the Noranda Jamaica Bauxite operation in St. Ann has officially changed ownership in a “seamless” transfer. Noranda's parent company, Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation, received court approval to sell the operations to DADA Holdings LLC, under its affiliate, New Day Aluminum LLC for a purchase price of $24.4...

Co-Chair of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), Richard Byles, says significant improvement in foreign direct investments (FDIs) is a good indicator of confidence in the Jamaican economy. Mr. Byles, speaking at an EPOC press briefing at Sagicor head office in Kingston yesterday (November 10), said FDI stood at US$946.3 million for the 2015/16 fiscal year. This represents a 43...