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Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) Governor, Brian Wynter, says Jamaica’s reserves remain comfortably above the international benchmark of 12 weeks of imports of goods and services. This, he said, is despite the Bank’s intervention in the local foreign exchange market to cover higher net demand for current account transactions, which net private capital inflows were insufficient to meet. He was speaking...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Hon. Horace Dalley, says that while the Government is fully committed to the divestment of Caymanas Park, it is not prepared to “give it away." Addressing stakeholders at a Horse racing Summit at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on August 23, Mr. Dalley said that “the most challenging and...

Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) Governor, Bryan Wynter, is reporting that the inflation rate recorded for the April to June quarter averaged approximately 1.5 per cent. This figure, he notes, is significantly lower than the revised forecast range of  between three and five per cent which the BoJ announced in June, subsequent to implementation of the revenue measures outlined by Finance...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says that as Jamaica embarks on the next phase of its journey as an independent state, the fundamental challenge will be to lay the foundation for a new economic architecture to advance sustained development. The Finance Minister was addressing scholars, government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, the business community...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, is reporting flat growth of 0.1 per cent for the April to June 2012 quarter. He informed that the modest gross domestic product (GDP) outturn occurred against the background of a relatively stable macroeconomic environment, with better than expected fiscal deficit and continued moderate inflation. “For April to...

The Government has identified several investment opportunities arising from its promotional activities during the recent London Olympics that it will be pursuing. Addressing a post-Olympics press briefing on August 8 at Jamaica House,  Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, said that over the 10-day period, when the country staged ‘Jamaica House 2012’ in London, a total of...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, said that the operations of all agencies under the Ministry that deal with enforcement and compliance, will need to be streamlined in order to ensure greater efficiency. "In the area of enforcement and compliance, we need to rationalise our operations," Minister Phillips said today (Aug. 10), during a meeting with...

Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, is reporting an 11 per cent increase in tax revenues for June 2012, over the same period last year. The Finance Minister, who was speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 31), attributed the improvement to increased levels of compliance on the part of taxpayers. “The fact is, before the...

Minister of Finance and Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has affirmed the Government’s intention to have a new agreement in place with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of this year. He was responding to comments made in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 31), by Opposition Member of Parliament, Karl Samuda, who stated that...

Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says that reducing the effects of natural disasters is critical to the country’s economic programme, based on the significant impact of loss and damages on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He said data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) indicates that damage associated with hurricanes, floods and droughts has cost the...

The Government is moving towards the implementation of a merged structure between the Agricultural Credit Board and the Department of Co-operatives and Friendly Societies. This was announced by Minister of State for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams on July 18, during her contribution to the 2012/13 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives. She noted that the move...

Last week, I visited Washington D.C. where I had discussions with the staff of the International Monetary Fund and with the Inter-American Development Bank, covering Jamaica’s macroeconomic programme. The objective of the visit was to present the Fund with an update on the macro economic developments in Jamaica, including the recently concluded Budget exercise and more importantly, to settle definitively...