Jamaica in V-Shaped economic recovery, says minister Shaw

By Rochelle Williams

KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – With Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 14.20 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2021, the country is now in a V-shaped economic recovery, says minister of industry, investment and commerce with portfolio responsibility for agriculture and fisheries, Audley Shaw; addressing the Jamaica Promotions (JAMPRO) ‘Explore Do Business Jamaica Virtual Investment Conference 2021’ on Wednesday, November 17.

In a V-Shaped recovery, an economy that has suffered a sharp decline experiences a fast and strong rebound. Such recoveries are generally spurred by a significant shift in economic activity caused by rapid readjustment of consumer demand and business investment spending.

Minister Shaw said Jamaica’s economy has and continues to benefit from the successful implementation of an Economic Reform Programme.

“Jamaica’s economy has, and continues to benefit from, the successful implementation of an Economic Reform Programme which resulted [prior to the pandemic] in entrenched macro-economic stability evidenced by relatively low unemployment and single-digit inflation rates; a declining debt-to-GDP ratio; and seven consecutive years of economic growth,” he said.

He noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates growth of Jamaica’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 1.5 and 5.7 percent respectively in 2021 and 2022, indicating improved performance of the economy.

IMF staff concluding statement of the 2021 Article IV Mission on Jamaica

As it relates to the country’s macro-economic performance measured by growth in real GDP, minister Shaw said Jamaica grew by a compounded average growth rate of 1.0 percent per annum for the period 2015 to 2019. This, he said, is compared with an average growth of 0.76 percent for the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Underscoring Jamaica’s favourable investment climate, minister Shaw cited several notable value propositions of the country, including Jamaica’s ranking in the 2020 Doing Business Report (World Bank, 2019) as the sixth easiest place to start a business, the 12th easiest for getting credit and the best Caribbean country for doing business.

The country was also named the top-performing stock market globally in 2015 and 2018, as ranked by Bloomberg and its Long-Term Credit Rating and Local Currency debt, which are rated B+ by international rating firm, Moody’s.