Caribbean Joint Action Plan Commits $960 Million in First Year

By: - May 27th, 2011

The European Investment Bank

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Caribbean Joint Action Plan, a collaboration between six leading development banks aimed at bringing the Caribbean out of the downturn, has totaled more than $960 million in commitments to private and public sector projects in the region in its first year. That number represents more than 100 percent of what had been pledged for the next three years. “In only a year, the Caribbean Joint Action Plan has demonstrated the clear value of enhanced cooperation between development finance institutions to support projects essential for economic growth across the Caribbean and our engagement in the region has surpassed targets,” said Warren Smith, the president of the Caribbean Development Bank, in a statement. The six institutions that form the initiative are the Caribbean Development Bank, German bank DEG, the European Investment Bank, the Netherlands Development Finance Company, the International Finance Corporation and PROPARCO.

Markets

Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines Merge

Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines have formally merged, with the Jamaican and Trinidadian airlines agreeing to create a “larger product which will build capacity and critical mass,” according to Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s Minister of Finance. “It will also allow for the increased viability and profitability of this new regional carrier.” Trinidad’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar […]

Markets

Fugro to Perform Bahamas Oil Survey

Global oil services firm Fugro will perform a high-resolution seabed survey of the licence areas belonging to the Bahamas Petroleum Company. The company has already performed a two-dimensional seismic program of its licences, which cover 15,676 square kilometers. “We are pleased to have signed this contract with Fugro and look forward to receiving the results […]

Markets

Jamaican Economy to Grow 1 to 2 Percent

The Jamaican economy could grow between 1 and 2 percent his year, according to the Bank of Jamaica. The growth will be driven by extensions in agriculture, mining and quarrying, along with hotels and restaurants. “The Jamaican economy has started to show concrete signs of recovery,” said BOJ Governor Brian Wynter. “Interest rates are at […]

Jamaica to Enter Medical Tourism Market

 Reginald Budhan, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Jamaica intends to enter the multibillion-dollar medical tourism market, although at this time it lacks the required facilities to do so. One investor, however, the Hospiten Group, is considering building a 200-bed hospital in Montego Bay, which would cater to private clients and […]

Bahamas Petroleum Company, in Survey, Finds Supergiant Structures

 By the Caribbean Journal staff The Bahamas Petroleum Company, which has offshore license permits in the Bahamas, said it had found structures similar to the so-called supergiant structures of the Gulf of Mexico and the Middle East. “What is most exciting is the scale and size of the structures we have been able to map […]

Guyana Gets $26 Million in European Union Aid for Sugar Industry

Reginald Budhan, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Jamaica intends to enter the multibillion-dollar medical tourism market, although at this time it lacks the required facilities to do so. One investor, however, the Hospiten Group, is considering building a 200-bed hospital in Montego Bay, which would cater to private clients and […]

Plans for $1 Billion in Chinese Funding for Caribbean

Eximbank China’s Export-Import Bank has plans to launch a $1 billion fund to invest in Latin America and the Caribbean, following several years of significant spending in the region. In 2009, China invested $7 billion in the region through private corporations on infrastructure projects ports and hotels. The investments were reported by Adam Wu, COO […]