Mideast investors eye Caribbean windfall

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Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean are now under the microscope of investors from the Middle East who are expected to visit the region in July to hold talks with business interests on regional tourism prospects.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, who made the announcement in Gordon House on Tuesday, told the country that Middle East interests want to support the Caribbean through investments.

He said that already a special investment fund has been set up for the Caribbean.

With more than 40 investors from the Middle East expected to visit the Caribbean in early July, Bartlett urged Jamaicans to prepare their projects for engagement.

Bartlett led a high-level tourism team in May to the United Kingdom (UK), the United States, and Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates to explore investment and airlift opportunities and to bolster travel to Jamaica.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/...bbean-windfall

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Focus on high-growth industries, streamline business processes - Diaspora

With the biannual diaspora conference currently under way, members of the diaspora with an interest in investing in their homeland want the process to be streamlined and focus placed on businesses with the potential to boost gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Dr Basil Wilson, former professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, said that the country continues to focus on the wrongs things when it comes to growing the economy. He believes that the focus must be on the macroeconomy, attracting the types of business that will boost GDP.

Wilson also wants to see Jamaica form more strategic alliances to boost economic growth. He wants to see the island identifying goods and services that can be exported to the United States market.

Allan Cunningham, who is currently involved in a construction project in Trelawny, said that the turnaround time for setting up a company in Jamaica needs to be shorter.

“In the United States, you can register a company and have it up and running in three days. In Jamaica, you are looking at possibly three years. The information portals need to be updated to allow for accurate information. The Government must invest in the necessary technology to shorten the turnaround time for establishing a business in Jamaica,” he said.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/...esses-diaspora