From beaches to business summits: Why Jamaica is attracting top investors

By Harry Owen

 “BIG UP!” were the inevitable first words at this year’s Jamaican Investment Forum, announced by Senator Don Wehby – the chairman of Jamaican government business and investment agency, JamPro – as he opened the event in Montego Bay last week.

In addition, Wehby is an accomplished business person, heading up GraceKennedy, one of the Caribbean region’s largest conglomerates with nearly JM$100 billion (US$763 million) in annual revenues.

Wehby was joined by a range of Jamaica’s top business figures and politicians at this year’s bi-annual conference – now in its third year – including Prime Minister Andrew Holness, fresh from an historic invitation to speak at the G7 in Canada.

“We do not shy away from the Jamaican brand,” Holness said. “We are in the business of fun and we will continue to develop that market – we are very proud of [Jamaica recording 4.3 million visitors in 2017] but we are also in the business of fiscal stability.”

Finance Minister Audley Shaw insisted the country is back on track following a difficult period.

“We want Jamaica to be the first choice to live, work, raise families and do business,” he said during a passionate address to delegates on the first day of the conference. Shaw argued the government’s national growth strategy is working, with unemployment at a record low of 9.6 percent, and inflation at a manageable rate of just over 4 percent.
He wants to cut national debt to 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The Jamaican Investment Forum was crafted to highlight the Holness administration’s commitment to engaging active direct, investment into Jamaica.

The investment strategy of Jamaica is directed into 6 key areas including:
 – business process outsourcing (BPO); logistics; manufacturing; agribusiness; tourism and energy.

Conference organisers believe it has proved successful, with JamPro encouraging US$395 million of investment in the country since 2012.

“I usually take the credit – I am a politician, I can’t help it,” Holness joked. “But the real drive for this came from our energetic minister, the honourable Audley Shaw.”

Shaw’s own measure of success included the fact that “I now see hundreds of cranes outside my office in Kingston! We are literally building Jamaica, confidence is high – we are the regional poster child for fiscal prudence.”
There was, however, a note of caution. “We don’t want to fly in the tourists and also have to fly in everything they need whilst they stay here.”

Shaw added: “a private sector partnership approach by the government is paramount – our role is to create the environment to support you, the private sector. We must utilize Jamaica’s under resourced assets – if the best management of these lies within the private sector, this is where it should managed.”

The first two Jamaican Investment Forum conferences were credited with creating 7,000 jobs through US$395 million of investment, raising the benchmark for 2018.

Confidence in the room this time around was palpable too.

It may be time for business folk to forget the Jamaica they think you know – that of poolside rum punches – and start to think of the country in a different light.