Shaw takes a bow for low interest loans

Finance and Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, is confident that Jamaica will pass the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2010 December test.

The tests are targets, jointly agreed on by the Government and IMF, which Jamaica need to meet to access funding from a US$1.27 million standby agreement negotiated in 2010.

Speaking at Mayberry Investments Limited’s first monthly Investors Forum for 2011, at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Wednesday (January 19), the Minister noted that Jamaica passed the initial three tests in March, June and September, 2010.

“I am confident that we will pass the December test, when the numbers are all finally in”, Mr. Shaw elaborated.

He said that, consequent on Jamaica passing the previous tests, the administration was able to draw down close to US$900 million of the US$1.27 million available under the standby agreement. Additionally, the Government raised over US$1.9 billion from multilateral institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), World Bank and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

He pointed out that these loans were at interests of between .63 percent and 1.2 per cent with the IDB, .63 per cent with the World Bank and 1.2 percent to 1.5 percent with the CDB and IMF, with others at two per cent and a few in the four to five per cent region.

Mr. Shaw contended that “by any standard of evaluation and measurement”, this was an outstanding achievement.

CONTACT: DOUGLAS McINTOSH