First Quarter Results on State of the Economy to be Announced in Two Weeks

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Don Wehby, has said that the Government will be announcing its first quarter results on the state of the economy within the next two weeks.
The Minister, who spoke to JIS News at a function held yesterday (July 30) to change the name of CGM Insurance Brokers to CGM Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited at the company’s downtown Kingston office, said that the results are good.
“I can assure you that the results are very good both on the expenditure side (and) the overall fiscal position at this time. As you have heard, the (tax) amnesty programme is going exceptionally well, so we are doing well,” he said.
He informed further that the “Net International Reserve, is now over $2.3 billion, remittances are up, and our tourist flows are up, so we are doing quite well.”
He noted that one concern “that we have is the whole issue of oil and its impact on the cost of living and inflation here, so that is something that we have to manage very carefully. But I am quite happy for the first quarter in terms of the performance of the treasury.”
In the meantime, he informed that an announcement will be made soon on a new Chief Executive Officer for Air Jamaica.
“The short listing has been completed and I have made a recommendation to the Prime Minister in terms of who (the person will be) so it will be announced sometime next week, if not before,” Senator Wehby said.
Meanwhile, the Minister said that Jamaica’s insurance industry is an excellent avenue for growth and noted that it is well developed in terms of international standards.
“Insurance penetration is measured as a ratio of insurance premium to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). (It) has in recent years averaged about 5.5 per cent in Jamaica compared to 2.5 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 3.5 per cent in emerging markets, and nine per cent in industrial countries,” he said.
“Jamaica has a modern regulatory framework that provides a benchmark for our Caribbean neighbours and it is continually being adjusted to keep pace with the changes in international standards and practices,” Senator Wehby continued.
The Minister noted further that the insurance industry accounts for about 11.5 per cent of the financial assets of the country’s financial system. This, he said, is in comparison to the securities and banking industries, whose share of assets amount to approximately 34 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively.