Jamaica gains 34 percent increase in foreign investments
A recent report from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) show Jamaica has increased its foreign direct investment by 34 percent in 2015. This makes the county top the region in investment inflows for 2015, as investments decreased by 12 percent in total throughout the Caribbean.
The annual World Investment Report (WIR) points to growth in the island’s tourism and business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors as the driving force behind the rise in investment inflow. Jamaica also attracted 40 percent of all the announced “Greenfield investments” (a form of foreign direct investment where a parent company builds its operations in a foreign country from the ground up) made in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In total, investments to Jamaica in 2015 were valued at US $794 million dollars, making the country the second largest host economy in the SIDS group.
Jamaica Promotions Corporation’s (JAMPRO) President Diane Edwards welcomed the news from the report, saying it was a reflection of what the Agency observed from its interactions with investors in the past year.
“We have definitely seen an increase in investor interest in Jamaica that has been steadily rising for the past few years,” she said. “This interest has certainly been stimulated by the improvements in the economy and doing business rankings. Investors look at the whole picture, and they see that Jamaica has been gaining in competitiveness and overall business friendliness. It is now up to us to accelerate this progress and to ensure that Jamaica continues to improve our timelines in delivery of all business approvals.”
Edwards noted that the agency has been tasked with making advances in the business environment through the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), and improving Jamaica’s business brand.
“There is more confidence in Jamaica now more than ever from local and international investors,” said Edwards. “JAMPRO will take advantage of these developments to ensure that we continue the upward trend in investments into 2017 and beyond.”
