Stability in the bag, investment now the target

Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service Audley Shaw says the Government will be pushing hard to achieve healthy economic growth.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Thursday July 29, 1010 – Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service Audley Shaw says the Government will be pushing hard to achieve healthy economic growth during the current financial year, now that it has achieved macro-economic stability.

Addressing a group of influential financiers, business executives and investors at a business luncheon at the Reform Club in London yesterday, he said the main emphasis would therefore be on attracting new investments to the country, which will lay the foundation for economic growth.

"We have taken some bold steps and succeeded in stabilising the economy. Now that we have economic stability, we have to go for growth. That is our priority and the significant feature going forward," Shaw said.

Jamaica's macro-economic plan got support from the group which included holders of Jamaican bonds on the European and global bond markets. They expressed satisfaction with the government's progress to date and lauded the minister for the highly successful Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) initiative, which has brought about a significant reduction in the cost of the countries' debt-servicing.

Shaw provided an update on the social and political situation in Jamaica, noting that the country was ripe for investment.

He also outlined several of the initiatives being pursued by his administration to ensure that Jamaica becomes more investment friendly, while challenging the guests to explore and seize on the opportunities that exist in the tourism, agriculture and agro-processing and other sectors in the economy.