Above: Kingston (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Foreign direct investment to Jamaica rose 75 percent in 2012, according to preliminary data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

That represented a total of $381 million in foreign direct investment to Jamaica in 2012, up from $218 million in 2011, although still far short of its levels of investment before the global economic crisis, when, for example, Jamaica received $1.4 billion in 2008.

The increase in Jamaica came in large part due to mining and tourism, although both sectors are receiving “a fraction of the sums they used to,” the UN said.

In the past two years, Jamaica’s telecom sector has received the biggest foreign investment boost, with new entrants like Digicel and Columbus capturing the market from Cable and Wireless.

Foreign direct investment to the Caribbean region as a whole rose by $2.25 billion in 2012, a 39 percent increase.

The Dominican Republic received the most foreign investment, a total of $3.61 billion. Within CARICOM, Trinidad received the most overall foreign investment, at $2.34 billion, while Belize saw the biggest growth rate, at 96 percent.

The Bahamas saw the region’s biggest drop in foreign investment, falling from $971 million in 2011 to $465 million in 2012, a 45 percent reduction.

Grenada also saw a drop in foreign investment, falling 28 percent to $33 million from $45 million the previous year.

Haiti received $179 million in FDI, practically the same amount as in 2011, despite some new investment in manufacturing and services.