KINGSTON, Jamaica — Finance Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, says 90 per cent of Jamaica’s outstanding debt to the Export-Import Bank of China will be repaid in 10 years.
Dr Clarke said that 99 per cent of the loans secured from China on behalf of Jamaica are at fixed interest rates of two and three per cent, which “are among the lowest interest rates in our entire loan portfolio”.
“Loans from China [also] represent a mere 3.9 per cent of the total $2-trillion debt of Jamaica. When you hear a loan being executed of (about) US$200 million from the China EXIM Bank, bearing in mind that at current exchange rates US$200 million is roughly $25 billion and then in a debt size of $2 trillion, it is just about one per cent,” he told attendees at LatinFinance’s third Caribbean Finance and Investment Forum, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston today.
Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, a day before, noted that the loans secured on behalf of Jamaica are done at the best interest rates and that there is no need to fear Jamaica’s relationship with China.
“I don’t think that there needs to be any fear-mongering. The Government of Jamaica has been very strategic and the sovereignty of Jamaica is always foremost in my mind. So when we engage, we engage with that as a non-negotiable part of the partnership,” Holness said.
Meanwhile, Dr Clarke assured the group of regional bankers and potential investors at LatinFinance’s forum that “there is no better place to invest than in Jamaica”.
He noted that all the economic indicators suggest that the Jamaican economy “is stronger than it has ever been”.
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