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The Minister of Finance has confirmed that he has initiated steps to restart discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A delegation from the Fund will visit Jamaica starting January 17, and will meet with the Minister and his team, to discuss the current status of the economy and the prospects for the medium term, according to a release from...

The Net International Reserves (NIR) as at the end December 2011 stood at US$1.967 billion, an increase of some US$5 million over the November 2011 figure of US$1.961 billion. According to the latest NIR update from the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ), the reserves as at December 31 represented over 19 weeks of goods and services imports, based on the estimated...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, has assured the local and overseas business community that her administration will pursue a tight fiscal policy, reduce the country’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, and maintain the key macro-economic fundamentals. She has also emphasised that the newly elected government will be “very careful and prudent” in its debt management....

The start of the new business year, Tuesday, January 3, 2012 will see the Falmouth Tax Office operating from a new location at the Port Authority Building, 2 – 4 Tharpe Street in Falmouth, Trelawny, commonly known as the Old Wharf Building, opposite Juici Patties. The move to the new location became necessary due to the continuing growth and expansion...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, has commended the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for its assistance in addressing the impact of the “brain drain” on Jamaica. Speaking at a special ceremony at the PIOJ’s New Kingston offices recently to mark the IOM’s 60th anniversary, Dr. Hutchinson said the organization had been instrumental in...

KINGSTON — Recently released data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) showed that the level of net international reserves (NIR) at the end of November 2011, stood at approximately US$1.96 billion. The figure, though some US$70 million less than the US$2.03 billion in reserves recorded at the end of October, 2011, represents nearly 20 weeks of goods and services imports,...

Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw has outlined several achievements of the Finance Ministry including lowest interest rates in 30 years, single digit inflation despite the global recession, the JDX programme which saves Jamaica $31 billion annually in interest charges and the strengthening and stabilizing of the Jamaican dollar. Outlining the Government’s achievements since 2007 at a press conference at the Courtleigh...

KINGSTON — Advisor to the Minister of Industry Investment and Commerce, Dr. David Lowe, says that mobile payment services can facilitate commerce, by making business transactions more accessible, efficient and cost effective, especially for small businesses. Speaking at the Mobile Financial Services Conference on Monday December12, 2011, at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus, Dr. Lowe noted...

KINGSTON — Minister of Finance and Planning, Hon Audley Shaw, will later this week sign two loans, totaling US$ 198 million, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to improve the Kingston Metropolitan Area’s water supply, as well as to assist in the modernization of the fiscal administration to improve customs and tax revenue collections. The loans, which have an interest...

KINGSTON — The Ministry of Finance and Planning has refuted the claim of deferment of PetroCaribe interest payments, which appeared in the Financial Gleaner on Friday, December 2, under the headline "Gov't may seek Deferring Payment to Venezuela". In a release Monday (December 5), the Ministry said that the Government of Jamaica has not sought, and is not seeking, to...

KINGSTON — Rather than exhausting itself and becoming an unsustainable drag on the national treasury, an appropriately reformed pensions regime can result in significant savings, while enhancing the security of the pensioner. This message captures the contribution of the Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA) to the consultationson the Green Paper No. 2 – 2011, "Options for Reform of the Public Sector...

KINGSTON — Jamaicans in the Diaspora have been challenged to exploit the country's potential for realising a significant share of the US billion dollar Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. This charge was given at the recent 2nd Annual Awards and Scholarship Gala of the Jamaican American Bar Association, by Senator the Hon. Arthur Williams, Minister with responsibility for Information and...