Sat, 31 July 2010
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LATEST | HEADLINES :
 
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| Jamaica seeks U.S. $1.2 Billion from IMF |
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 In the wake of debilitating shocks from the global
financial crisis, Jamaica
has decided to borrow U.S. $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund
under a standby agreement.The sum, which represents about 300% of the island's quota with the IMF , is for a two-year-period with U.S. $400 million available up front. The island needs up to U.S. $800 million to plug a financing gap in the current fiscal year's budget. This will be Jamaica's first resumption of a borrowing relationship with the IMF since the previous Peoples National Party administration severed such a relationship in the mid nineteen nineties. Jamaica's Finance Minister, Audley Shaw revealed this in the Jamaican Parliament Gordon House on the afternoon of July 21, 2009. Shaw says Jamaica will hold further talks with Fund officials next week and emphasized that the government would keep all stake-holders, including the opposition Peoples National Party, abreast of the situation.  Shaw emphasized that a technical assessment
of Jamaica's
situation, supported by the IMF , is that unless there is an influx of new
capital, Jamaica's
ability to honour its international obligations will deteriorate sharply this
year. He also noted that without the assurance of such funding, investor
confidence would fall.Jamaica's main challenges this year resulted from a sharp reduction of U.S. $1 billion in earnings from its key bauxite/alumina sector - a situation which will impact significantly on the government's revenues. The Jamaican Finance Minister revealed that earnings from the bauxite/alumina sector fell by 97% in the first quarter of 2009. Jamaica's GDP fell by 3.1% in the first quarter of this year. He also revealed that over the next few years, the concessionary Petrocaribe arrangements with Venezuela could change, resulting in Jamaica losing up to U.S. $150 million per annum in official credit. By: Owen James |
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The Economy Jamaica seeks U.S. $1.2 Billion from IMF
The Economy Jamaica seeks U.S. $1.2 Billion from IMF
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