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Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, called for banks to invest more in the manufacturing sector to help the country produce its way out of the economic crisis. While expressing full confidence in Jamaica's ability to survive the global economic downturn, the Minister said that banks, through their lending policies, must show greater confidence in the productive ability...

Government's commitment to the development of a better tax compliant system has been reinforced with the establishment of the Large Taxpayer Office (LTO). The LTO is part of a long-term economic framework of tax reform and auditing capabilities. The Office caters exclusively to the key three per cent of the country's taxpayers who are responsible for paying some 80 per...

The Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) has clarified its decision to introduce a $5,000 note, bearing the image of the late former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Hugh Lawson Shearer, in September. Responding to questions from journalists at the BoJ's quarterly press briefing, today (May 20) BoJ Governor, Derick Latibeaudiere, said the introduction of the $5,000 note is in keeping with...

Governor of the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ), Derick Latibeaudiere, has said that the bank continued to pursue a tight monetary policy stance in the last quarter of the financial year, in order to maintain stability in the market. Speaking at the BoJ's quarterly press briefing, on May 20, Mr. Latibeaudiere said during the March quarter, the bank acted swiftly to...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has proposed food processing as an alternative to the disabled bauxite/alumina industry as a major foreign exchange earner. "The implosion we have had with the bauxite industry is a wake up call for all of us," Mr. Shaw told Tuesday night's first in a series of Post Budget Town Hall...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, is calling on Jamaicans to reduce the demand for imported goods and foreign exchange, finding ways instead, to use less and earn more. Speaking at the first in a series of town hall meetings organised by the Government on Tuesday (May 19) in Mandeville, Manchester, the Minister said he was tired...

Jamaica is entitled to apply for just under US$1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for balance of payments needs, but the Government is not anxious to make the approach, Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding has said. Mr. Golding insists that the Government would only contemplate resuming a borrowing relationship with the Fund, if the country faces significant...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the Hon. Audley Shaw, left Jamaica today(May 12) for London, where he will headline the list of speakers for this year's "Outlook for the Future" a series of economic forums hosted by the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) under the theme, "The Economic Imperatives for Jamaica 2009." Mr. Shaw welcomed the opportunity to...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator the Hon. Don Wehby, says the Government may have to enter into a standby facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in order to fulfill the country's balance of payments, if the current global economic downturn persists. Noting that the public debt currently totals just over $1...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, leaves the island today (May 12), for the United Kingdom (UK), where he will headline the list of speakers for this year's 'Outlook for the Future', a series of economic forums, hosted by the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), under the theme: 'The Economic Imperatives for Jamaica 2009'. The forums,...

There should be no increase in the retail prices of alcoholic beverages produced by J. Wray & Nephew Limited, Jamaica's premier producer, despite the increases in the Special Consumption Tax (SCT) announced in Parliament on May 6 by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw. Mr. Shaw said that the reversal of Government's decision to impose General...

The Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), which represents thousands of civil servants, celebrated its 90th anniversary, with a church service on Sunday (May 3). President of the JCSA, Wayne Jones, in an address at the Ridgemount United Church, Mandeville, read on his behalf by Chairman of the JCSA's Manchester Chapter, Tyrone Foster, said that as the organisation enters the period...