Above: Kingston (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a $60 million loan aimed at improving “competitiveness” in Jamaica, the bank announced last week.

The loan will “promote tax and land titling reforms and improve access to credit,” the bank said.

The loan is part of the third phase of an IDB programme aimed at supporting macroeconomic sustainability in Jamaica, along with continued implementation of a “national competitiveness framework” and simplification of the country’s tax administration, among other initiatives.

The funding will go toward reforms to expand access to credit and to “reduce distortions in Jamaica’s tax system,” the IDB said in a release.

It will directly benefit private sector companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, which are most adversely impacted by the “current framework for doing business and accessing finance,” the IDB said.

The loan is for a 20-year term, and will be managed by the Planning Institute of Jamaica.