Investor Confidence Very High

Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is reporting that investor confidence in the country is at an unprecedented all-time high, due to the stability of the economy and improved business environment.

In an interview with JIS News, Vice President of Research, Advocacy and Project Implementation at JAMPRO, Shullette Cox, said that one of the greatest successes of the economic programme is the ability of the Government to reduce public debt.

She added that inflation has been kept at single digit for the past six years and below five per cent last year.

“These are all signals that an investor looks at when determining whether or not a country can grow its investments, and by removing macro-level business risks, what the Government of Jamaica has also done is diminish the ability for external shocks or things happening in the global economy to impact investments that are placed in Jamaica, and that is a strong signal to investors,” Ms. Cox noted.

She said that at the 2018 Jamaica Investment Forum (JIF) in June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sold to the investors the fact that Jamaica has succeeded in removing macroeconomic risks from investing.

“They (IMF) spoke about the reduction of public debt moving from over 140 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) six years ago to now just over 100 per cent of GDP, and the plans for the country to get even lower in the coming years with an eventual plan to get to 60 per cent in the next decade,” the Vice President highlighted.

“The trends are poised for Jamaica to enter into a cycle of growth with public investment increasing; major urban and rural developments taking place; unemployment just over nine per cent, which is the lowest we have seen in eight years and importantly, poverty is also declining,” Ms. Cox outlined.